Clive Rice hits century in total of 143 where the second highest score was 10!
Clive Rice… his unbeaten 105 meant he scored 73.4% of Nottinghamshire’s 143 against Hampshire © Getty Images
On July 4, 1981, Clive Rice amassed an unbeaten 105 in a total of 143 for Nottinghamshire against Hampshire. The Nottinghamshire score became the lowest in a completed First-Class innings to include a century. Karthik Parimal looks back at that eventful day of play.
Clive Rice was, without a shadow of doubt, one of the finest all-rounders to have graced the sport. It’s unfortunate that his career coincided with the apartheid era, which saw South Africa’s isolation from the international stage. His dexterity, though, was put to good use in the domestic circuit. He was an integral part of Nottinghamshire, the English county side, although he was once expelled from there when Kerry Packer set sights upon him and offered him a lucrative World Series Cricket deal. However, it wasn’t long before he was roped back in and his contributions thereafter were truly invaluable.
Last man standing
By the early 1980s, Rice was placed at the helm of a strong Nottinghamshire side, which included other celebrated players such as Richard Hadlee and Derek Randall. In the 1981 Schweppes County Championship, they were slated to face a formidable Hampshire unit, in a three-day game at Bournemouth. Considering the sombre conditions on offer, Hampshire won the toss and put Rice-led Nottinghamshire to bat first. The new ball bowlers — one a certain Malcolm Marshall and the other Keith Stevenson — immediately made use of the assistance. Paul Todd and Basher Hassan fell in quick succession and, at 19 for two, skipper Rice walked out to control the damage.
But what transpired was nightmarish for the batting team. When Tim Robinson fell for 10, little did one know then that it would be the second-highest score. Realising the fact that his batsmen were unable to cope with the tricky conditions, topped by Hampshire’s classy bowling attack, Rice decided to take charge. A 29-run partnership ensued, and then Roy Dexter, whose contribution was just four runs, edged one to wicket-keeper Bobby Parks off Marshall. Soon, John Birch, who also scored just four, was dismissed in exactly the same manner.
Meanwhile, Rice, who was flummoxed by the happenings at the other end, maintained his composure and kept looking for ways to accumulate runs. With Hadlee by his side, he attempted to steer his team out of troubled waters, but Hadlee fell, and Eddie Hemmings and Kevin Cooper walked out to the middle and walked back without any score under their belt. At 89 for eight, Rice was running out of partners, and options. He then began to shield his tail-enders from the strike in an attempt to put up as many runs as possible on the board.
It was as if the match was being played on two different surfaces. At one end, wickets fell like nine-pins, but Rice plundered the bowling from the other as though he were playing under bright skies on a flat wicket. The ninth scalp fell for 142, but by then Rice had notched a coveted ton. The last batsman, Michael Bore, was out caught for nought, as Nottinghamshire finished on 143 with Rice stranded on 105.
It was one of the most incredible innings under trying circumstances. The Wisden Almanack termed his performance as ‘remarkable’. None of the remaining batsmen, apart from Robinson at the top with 10, crossed double-figures.
Both Marshall and Stevenson collected four scalps in that innings. Nottinghamshire had a lot to worry about, but Rice set a record which perhaps didn’t call for a celebration. The total of 143 had become the lowest completed First-Class innings to include a century. In terms of percentage, Rice contributed 73.4. Almost 20 years later, Gujranwala, too, were dismissed for 143, against Bahawalpur, and Rizwan Malik’s contribution was an unbeaten 100 (69.93% of the total).
What followed?
Hampshire responded with a first innings total of 190 — thanks to Rice and Hadlee, who bagged four wickets apiece, but the shortcomings in the batting department were covered by Marshall and Stevenson, who took five wickets each to shoot Nottinghamshire for just 99 in their second innings. Rice could muster just nine this time around whereas Hadlee topped with 40. A target of 53 was then knocked off nonchalantly and Hampshire registered a nine-wicket victory.
Brief scores:
Nottinghamshire 143 (Clive Rice 105*; Malcolm Marshall 4 for 32, Keith Stevenson 4 for 86) and 99 (Richard Hadlee 40; Malcolm Marshall 5 for 64, Keith Stevenson 5 for 32) lost to Hampshire 190 (Richard Hadlee 4 for 59, Clive Rice 4 for 50) and 53 for 1 (Mark Nicholas 22*) by 9 wickets.
(Karthik Parimal, Correspondent with CricketCountry, is a cricket aficionado and a worshipper of the game. He idolises Steve Waugh and can give up anything, absolutely anything, just to watch a Kumar Sangakkara cover drive. He can be followed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/