Pipped at the post
Jeff Thomson on Melbourne 1982, the one that got away
10-Apr-2009
 |
 |
Australia, chasing 292 to win had been 218 for 9 overnight. The last-wicket pair, Jeff Thomson and Allan Border, inched them closer till they were within striking distance.
Thomson: "I was not worried about getting out. I looked up at the board and we needed only four to win. I thought I would get a single so AB could hit the winning runs. How stupid is that?! It was a half-tracker and a bit of an away-swinger. I just tried to push it out for a single rather than smash it. All I did was get an edge. I was spewing. I was so angry because I had decided what to do with that ball before seeing it. I went into the English dressing room and gave them a real mouthful - told them they were going to pay at Sydney. That was not like me. It was one of the all-time low moments in my life." Photograph by Getty Images
Thomson: "I was not worried about getting out. I looked up at the board and we needed only four to win. I thought I would get a single so AB could hit the winning runs. How stupid is that?! It was a half-tracker and a bit of an away-swinger. I just tried to push it out for a single rather than smash it. All I did was get an edge. I was spewing. I was so angry because I had decided what to do with that ball before seeing it. I went into the English dressing room and gave them a real mouthful - told them they were going to pay at Sydney. That was not like me. It was one of the all-time low moments in my life." Photograph by Getty Images