Flashback: Captain Mike Denness drops himself from a Test match

Representing a team in any sport becomes a matter of great pride in a player’s life in their professional careers. The selection or having to show the exit doors is an aspect taken care of by the selectors and the management, which also includes the captain of the side.

However, a skipper dropping themselves in a contest is something which seldom occurs. That said, among those rare occasions, in the 1974-75 Ashes tour, skipper of the English side- Mike Denness dropped himself for the fourth Test in Sydney.

Denness was a controversial choice as Ray Illingworth’s successor as critics claimed he wasn’t a good enough batsman to justify a place in the side. His idea of stepping down occurred in the second Test but he continued till the side closed the third Test low-scoring draw. This was when he stepped aside and let someone else do the talking with the bat.

However, the bold decision did not work as England lost the match by 171 runs and with it, the Ashes. One of the highlight aspects in the contest was stand-in skipper John Edrich breaking his ribs as he was struck by Dennis Lillee and was immediately taken to the hospital.

The English side was unable to chase down the mammoth total of 400 set by arch-rivals and thereby handed the series win to the side. Following the massive loss, Denness, who returned to the side for the final two matches, scored a half-century in the fifth Test and a century in the final one. Though the skipper decided to drop himself for the said contest, Denness believed he succeed as a captain but not as a batter before making the bold decision.