Nightwatchman (cricket)

In the sport of cricket, a nightwatchman is a lower-order batter who comes in to bat higher up the order than usual near the end of the day's play.[1] The nightwatchman's job is to maintain most of the strike until the close of play (remaining in overnight after the end of the day's play, hence the name) and so protect other, more capable batters from being out cheaply in what may be a period of tiredness or in poor light at the end of the day, and then again the following morning when the batters have not yet ‘got their eye in', or when the early-morning conditions may favour the bowlers. The theory is that losing two top-order batters in quick succession would be worse than losing one top-order batter and a tailender.

Jason Gillespie holds the record for the highest Test score from a nightwatchman, scoring 201* against Bangladesh at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium during the second test of Australia's 2005-06 tour of Bangladesh

However the nightwatchman's effort is not considered to be wasted, nor are they expected to play foolishly; otherwise they would not last very long. The role of nightwatchman is generally given to players who emphasise defensive technique over quick run-scoring. However, there have been occasions when nightwatchmen have made a big score, and six have made centuries in test matches. Generally speaking, the nightwatchman plays conservatively on the night, but the next day may be allowed a freer role to score runs.

The tactic has its drawbacks - if the nightwatchman gets out before the end of the day, the batting team may need to send out a more capable batter to prevent the loss of further wickets, thereby costing the team a wicket while negating any benefit from using the nightwatchman; and even if the nightwatchman does survive until the end of the day, the beginning of the next day's play will see refreshed bowlers with better light facing a less capable batter. As a result, not all captains use the tactic; Steve Waugh, for example, abandoned the tactic during his captaincy of Australia.[2] Furthermore, under Ben Stokes England have instead favoured the lower order batter to play aggressively (the nighthawk).[3]

The nightwatchman is not to be confused with the pinch hitter, a middle to lower order batter who is promoted up the order in limited-overs games, or in first-class games where their team is looking for a quick declaration, in the pursuit of quick runs without too much concern for their wicket.

Test centuries by nightwatchmen

There have been six test centuries by nightwatchmen (as of 2019), as recognised by ESPNcricinfo:[4]

Player Team Score Versus Ground Year
Nasim-ul-Ghani Pakistan 101 England Lord's, London, England 1962 Second Test
Tony Mann Australia 105 India WACA Ground, Perth, Western Australia 1977 Second Test
Syed Kirmani India 101* Australia Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India 1979 Sixth Test
Mark Boucher South Africa 125 Zimbabwe Harare Sports Club, Harare, Zimbabwe 1999 One-off Test
Mark Boucher South Africa 108 England Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban, South Africa 1999 Third Test
Jason Gillespie Australia 201* Bangladesh Chittagong Divisional Stadium, Chittagong, Bangladesh 2006 Second Test

There has been debate about whether Nasim-ul-Ghani (who later opened in a Test) and wicketkeeper Boucher were genuine nightwatchmen – however, in the matches in question they both came in at No. 6, at the end of the day, ahead of more recognised batsmen, and Cricinfo considers them to have been nightwatchmen.[4]

Alex Tudor (of England) was close to making a century as a nightwatchman; he made 99 not out against New Zealand in 1999 at Edgbaston,[1] and was stranded one run short of his maiden test century when Graham Thorpe got the total to the point where a boundary was needed for the win with Tudor being on 95 runs, needing a six to reach his century. Tudor then hit the winning runs with a four, leaving him on 99*.

Also close was Harold Larwood. In the final Test of the 1932–33 Ashes, Larwood made 98 as a nightwatchman, the highest innings made in the role up to that time.

References
  1. "What is a night-watchman?". BBC Sport. 25 August 2005. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  2. English, Peter (17 October 2004). "A nightwatchman to remember". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  3. Ashdown, John (2023-02-17). "Release the Nighthawk! England's novel approach to the nightwatchman". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  4. "Records – Test Matches – Batting Records – Most runs in an innings by a nightwatchman". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
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