On this day in 1990: New Zealand bowler concedes 77 runs in a single over

Exactly on this day in 1990, one of the most bizarre incidents had taken place in the game of cricket when New Zealand’s Bert Vance conceded 77 runs in a single over while playing for Wellington against Canterbury at Lancaster Park. Conceding more than 60 or 70 runs in a 10-over quota of an ODI game is considered poor even in these times and thus one can imagine just how bizarre and poor that over from Vance was.

The incident took place on the final day of Wellington’s Shell Trophy match. It was Wellington’s last game of the season and they needed an outright victory to win the competition. On the final morning of the match, Wellington declared their second innings, leaving Canterbury to chase 291 in 59 overs. In reply, Canterbury started poorly and found themselves 8 down for just 108.

It was followed by a stubborn stand between Lee Germon and Roger Ford as the duo stopped the rot and seemed set to hold out for a draw. Towards the end of the day, the equation was down to 95 from 2 overs. A draw was looking like the most possible outcome as a well-set Germon looked destined to secure a draw for his side.

And with all the chances of winning the game looking lost at that time, Wellington coach John Morrison and their captain and wicketkeeper Erv McSweeney came up with an unconventional idea. The ball was given to Vance who would have been the last man to bowl in a match in normal circumstances. In a career spanning six seasons, Vance had sent down only 39 overs and had done nothing notable with the ball.

Wellington wanted to concede easy runs to Canterbury to lure them into going for a win and were hopeful that it might give them the breakthrough. So the over began. With the license to bowl as bad as possible with him, Vance aced the task. He bowled deliberate no-balls and full-tosses to make sure Canterbury got close to the target.

Of his first 17 balls, Vance bowled only one legitimate delivery. His full-tosses were dispatched over the boundary with ease by Germon as the disinterested fielders remained firm at their position. Germon hit five consecutive sixes at one point and brought up his 100 on the sixth ball of the over after starting the over on 75.

Overall, Germon took 70 off the over, including eight sixes and five fours. Ford, on the other hand, managed five runs from the two balls he faced midway through the carnage. The proceedings on the field were so bizarre and unexpected that the shell-shocked scorers had to ask the spectators to help keep count.

Wellington’ Bert Vance conceded 77-run in an over in a #first-class match in #1990. Over: #0444664614106666600401 pic.twitter.com/wIZsSYN3Mm

— Gaurav (@GauravDas) October 27, 2014

The umpires were in a similar situation and eventually called the over complete when in reality only five legitimate balls had been delivered. By the time the match reached the final over, the scorecard had yet to be updated. Canterbury, nonetheless, needed only 18 runs to register an unexpected win but did not know about it. They struck another 17 off the first five balls of Ewan Gray’s over but Ford, who was unaware of the score, blocked out the final ball.

The game ended in a draw but Wellington still managed to clinch the trophy for the first time since 1985 after other results went their way.