Twenty-one behind, and declared

The Bridgetown card of January 1935 has four totals on it: 102, 81 for seven declared, 51 for six declared, 75 for six. Two of the four innings were closed by their captains with wickets in hand and runs still to get, and the side that declared behind won by four wickets, in a four-day match that took three.

One hundred and two

England put West Indies in. George Headley made 44 and was run out; nobody else passed 15. Ken Farnes took four for 40 and George Paine three for 14, and West Indies were all out for 102 in 47 overs. England were 81 for five at the close of the first day, Wally Hammond 43 not out.

Full scorecard: West Indies v England, 1st Test, Bridgetown, 8–10 January 1935 →

Eighty-one for seven, declared

Rain fell overnight. On the second morning Hammond and Errol Holmes were both out at 81 without adding a run, and Bob Wyatt declared at 81 for seven, 21 behind. The ledger: Wyatt 8, Maurice Leyland 3, Hammond 43, Patsy Hendren 3, Les Ames 8, Jim Smith 0, Jack Iddon 14 not out, Holmes 0. Three men did not bat. Leslie Hylton had taken three for 8 in 7.3 overs.

A captain declares behind when he judges the pitch will be at its worst for the next hour and wants the other side batting on it. That is not on the card. What is on the card is the next innings.

Fifty-one for six, declared

West Indies sent their tail in first. Hylton opened with Rolph Grant. Manny Martindale came in at three, Puss Achong at four.

The first three wickets fell at 4, all to Smith, on debut. Cyril Christiani made 11, Hylton 19, Clifford Roach 10 not out. Headley, held back to seven, was caught for 0 at 51, and Jackie Grant declared with the total at 51 for six. Smith, a fast bowler playing his first Test, had five for 16 in eight overs, four of them maidens.

West Indies had been 33 for three at the close of the second day, Hylton 17 and Christiani 6, and the declaration came on the third morning. The target was 73, and England had a day to make them on the same pitch, which by the card’s evidence nobody had yet batted on for long.

Seventy-five for six

England reversed their order too. Farnes and Smith opened. Smith was caught behind for 0 at 3, Farnes for 5 at 7, Holmes for 6 at 25, Leyland for 2 at 29, Hendren for 20 at 43, Paine for 2 at 48.

Hammond, held back to sixth in, made 29 not out with a six, and Wyatt 6 not out. Martindale took five for 22 in 8.3 overs. The total was 75 for six, in 16.3 overs, and the card’s result line reads England won by 4 wickets.

What the card shows of the weather

Nothing, directly. It shows two declarations that make no sense on a dry pitch, two batting orders turned upside down, and four innings that between them produced 309 runs in 112 overs. The weather is the only explanation the numbers have, and the card leaves it to be inferred. Nine of the twenty-two players were on debut, and the umpires were Courtenay Reece and Edward Ward.

What the card holds

A declaration at 81 for seven, 21 behind. A declaration at 51 for six in reply. Two innings opened by fast bowlers. A five-for from a debutant in eight overs, and a five-for from Martindale in the fourth innings. And a Test decided on the third day of four, on a card whose highest score by anyone was 44.

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No. 8 in The Rain Rule, a series of 9.

NextDeclared at 903