World Pi (π) Day — Remembering Malcolm Marshall’s Manchester Mayhem when his bowling figures read 22/7

July 5, 1988. Malcolm Marshall routed the English batting for the umpteenth time, this time at Old Trafford, to finish the Test with second innings bowling analysis of 7 for 22. On World π Day, Arunabha Sengupta recalls the only time 22/7 (the approximation of pi) was registered as the final bowling figures during an international match.

The beleaguered English sides of the 1980s. How they suffered ceaselessly in the face of fearsome fast bowling and brutal belligerent batting of the men from the Caribbean. The feeble attempts at resistance were blown away by furious pace and flailing willows. Such was the tale of most of the decade, which left in its wake multiple clean sweeps and disillusioned cricket fans of the Mother Country.

Amidst the multiple whitewashes, England managed the relative high of staving off defeat in one of the summer Tests of 1988 — some would have been quite chuffed at losing the series by a mere 0-4 margin. It was a thoroughly blank slate, on which even four captains could not register a notch for England. And on such a canvas was appeared the famed approximation of π as a bowling figure, for the only time in international cricket.

It was the great Malcolm Marshall who did it. Having conquered the Englishmen over and over again on the cricket field, he finally chose to humiliate them in the mathematical manner as well.

The match followed a familiar script. Manchester was characteristically overcast, with rain stopping play often during the first four days. England were soon 55 for 4 as the ball moved about, propelled at tremendous pace by Marshall, Courtney Walsh, Winston Benjamin and an enormously tall newcomer by the name of Curtly Ambrose.

By the end of the interrupted first day, England were bowled out for 135 and West Indies had already started their innings. Marshall’s first innings figures read an impressive, but not quite spectacular, 2 for 19 from 12 overs.

The motley group of English bowlers tried gamely to restrict West Indies on Day Two, and even had them struggling at 187 for five at one stage. But as rain continued to come in from the west, to drive the cricketers off the ground, Jeff Dujon and Roger Harper stitched together a partnership that made the English shoulders droop with every added run. By the end of the third day, as half centuries from the wicketkeeper and the off-spinner took West Indies to 357 for six, the only hope for England was borne by the moisture laden west wind blowing into Old Trafford.

The morning of the fourth day was completely washed out by rain, and cricket was stopped again after Marshall had had a brief and enjoyable hit with the bat. At quarter past four, captain Viv Richards decided that he would have to do with a lead of 249. The declaration was announced with a maximum of 136 overs in which the West Indian bowlers had to bowl England out.

However, they did not require even a third of that.

By the end of the fourth day, Marshall had sent back Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting while Benjamin had got Martyn Moxon slashing to slip.

Contrary to expectations, and the faint hopes of the England supporters, the sun smiled brightly on Manchester on the fifth morning. And as the ground basked in impeccable weather, Marshall steamed in.

The struggle was brief and pathetically unequal. Ambrose accounted for Allan Lamb and John Emburey, the latter captaining the hosts in that particular Test. The rest of them were banished from the ground by Marshall Law.

David Gower, David Capel, Paul Downton, Phil DeFreitas were all caught by the fielders who hovered round the bat like vultures. And finally, hardly an hour into play on the final morning, Marshall rattled the stumps of Graham Dilley to end it all. England were bowled out for 93. And Marshall’s figures read 15.4-5-22-7.

Till date, this has been the only time that 22/7 has registered in the final bowling figures during an international match.

Brief Scores

England 135 (Courtney Walsh 4 for 46) and 93 (Malcolm Marshall 7 for 22) lost to West Indies 384 for 7 decl. (Gordon Greenidge 45, Viv Richards 47, Jeff Dujon 67, Roger Harper 74, Malcolm Marshall 43*; Graham Dilley 4 for 99) by an innings and 156 runs.

Man of the Match: Malcolm Marshall.

(Arunabha Sengupta is a cricket historian and Chief Cricket Writer at CricketCountry. He writes about the history and the romance of the game, punctuated often by opinions about modern day cricket, while his post-graduate degree in statistics peeps through in occasional analytical pieces. The author of three novels, he can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/senantix)