The second match of the two-match Test series between Zimbabwe and South Africa, played at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, saw a Wiaan Mulder’s unique act that has left cricket fans in shock.
South Africa won the first Test by 328 runs, and a similar result was expected in the second Test. The current World Test Champions were expected to easily make it 2-0 in the short series.
Second Test
Batting First, the Proteas, led by stand-in captain Wiaan Mulder went hard against the Zimbabwe Bowlers and put a stunning display of power-hitting to reach 626/5 by the 1st session of the second day.
Captain Wiaan Mulder batted aggressively and scored a triple century. This made him the highest individual scorer for South Africa in a Test match surpassing Hashim Amla’s 311*
With Mulder closing in on 400 to beat Brian Lara’s record, Mulder made a shocking declaration of the South African innings.
Wiaan Mulder had the golden opportunity to break the Brian Lara’s record for the highest individual score in Test cricket (400 runs). The Proteas captain was batting on 367, needing only 34 more runs to break the record, but to everyone’s surprise, he declared his and the teams innings after lunch on the second day.
Many felt he should have gone for it given he had the chance to go for the 400* record.
Wiaan Mulder faced 334 balls for his 367 which meant he was batting fast and another few more overs for him to break the record would have not harmed South Africa.
Why did South Africa declare the innings?
South Africa had enough runs on the board against the weaker Zimbabwean team to enforce a follow-on, thus avoiding the need for a second innings, especially with three days remaining in the match.
But the question still remains, why didn’t Wiaan Mulder go for the record and declare?
Multiple reasons may have triggered the decision. Zimbabwe Test team is ranked 12th among full-member ICC nations. Zimbabwe does not even participate in the World Test Championship. Not being a strong opponent in this format, they were pitted against the current World Test Champions, South Africa.
Another reason for the declaration could be the game was played as a four day format and not the traditional 5 day game which constitutes a traditional International Test match.
The proteas had enough runs on the board to dismiss Zimbabwe twice in the balance 3 days.
Prince of Trinidad Regrets Wiaan Mulder’s Declaration
Mulder said that Lara also told him that, should he ever find himself with the chance to break the record again, he needs to go for it and score way more than 400.
“Now that things have settled a little bit, I’ve chatted a little bit to Brian Lara…He said to me I’m creating my own legacy and I should have gone for it. He said records are there to be broken and he wishes if I’m ever in that position again, I actually go and score more than what he had,” Mulder told SuperSport.
Reaction to the declaration
South African all-rounder Wiaan Mulder’s decision not to go for the highest individual test score has been met with mixed reactions from Cricket fans.
As per Mulder, he decided to declare the innings for respect of legendary Brian Lara who holds the record of highest individual Test score.
Mulder’s innings was the fifth highest individual score in Test cricket and the highest by a South African.
Mulder said South Africa’s head coach Shukri Conrad had told him, “Listen, let the legends keep the really big scores.”
West Indies cricket legend Chris Gayle was also upset with the declaration, believing he made a significant mistake out of nervousness.
Gayle told ‘TalkSport’, “If I had the chance to score 400 runs, I would have gone for it. It doesn’t happen all the time. You don’t know when you’ll get another triple century. Whenever you get such an opportunity, you try to make the most of it. But Mulder was very generous in this matter. He said he wanted the record to remain with Brian Lara. Maybe he was nervous. He didn’t know what to do in that situation. Suppose you’re on 367; you have to take the risk of breaking the record. How else will you become a legend, because records come with being a legend.”
“It doesn’t matter which opposing team it is. If you score 100 runs against any team, it’s a Test century. If you score 200, 300, or 400 runs, that’s Test cricket. It’s the best game. Mulder got nervous and made a mistake.”
Top 5 Highest Individual Scores in Test Cricket
Brian Lara (400* runs off 582 balls) – West Indies vs England – (St. John’s, 2004)
Matthew Hayden (380 runs off 437 balls) – Australia vs Zimbabwe (Perth, 2003)
Brian Lara (375 runs off 538 balls) – West Indies vs England (St. John’s, 1994)
Mahela Jayawardene (374 runs off 572 balls) – Sri Lanka vs South Africa (Colombo, 2006)
Wiaan Mulder (367* runs off 334 balls) – South Africa vs Zimbabwe (Bulawayo, 2025)
SuperSports View
Wiaan Mulder opted not to break Brian Lara’s record for the highest individual Test score will turn out to be one of the biggest blunders in the history of the game. While is a section of people who are showering praise on the declaration, calling it a selfless act. We feel that not going for the record belittles the Great Man’s Legacy.
A large section of people wanted Mulder to go for the record.
Mulder stated he wanted to respect thereLara’s record. Then the question should arise, why did he break Hashim Amla’s record in the process? Was his record not to be respected?
We strongly believe that Mulder should have gone for the record, as an additional few overs of batting wouldn’t have changed the result of the game.
Records are meant to be broken.
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