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to send out an inferior batter to attempt to survive the worst conditions a batter can face and their technique can fail them. 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, costing the team a
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of public safety and law enforcement. In doing so they protect more capable batters from being out cheaply in what may be a period of tiredness or poor light at the end of the day and again the following morning when the early-morning conditions may favour the bowlers who will be refreshed from their
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It is very rare but not unknown for a team to use nightwatchmen when an innings begins late in the day. Teams will trust in the ability of the specialist opening batsman to do their usual job of handling the new ball regardless of how difficult that might be. Australian
Captain and opening batter
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who normally batted 10th or 11th opened as a nightwatchman for
England in a 2019 Test match against Ireland, surviving a single over at the evening then top-scoring for the innings with 92 runs the following day with Ireland collapsing in the last innings to be all out 38 chasing 182.
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and hoping to exchange the inevitable loss of wickets for the time it would take for the wicket to start playing better. Although not necessarily done late in the day, the reversed order effectively turned the promoted part of the order into nightwatchmen for the upper half.
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The role of nightwatchman is generally given to players who emphasise defensive technique over quick run-scoring, most often a bowler who would normally bat in the 8th or 9th position. There have been occasions when nightwatchmen have made a big score and six have made
173:. The tactic failed miserably as Khan was bowled all ends up on his second ball faced. Salman then had to come out to bat anyway, and he only lasted two more balls before Hazlewood found an easily caught edge, finishing the over with a three wicket maiden.
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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.
122:). The defensive technique inherent to the role may also lead to their play being too slow for the conditions, the nightwatchman being too good to get out, but not good enough to score at the desired rate of their team.
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opened the 2nd innings as a nightwatchman in the 1st Test between Sri Lanka and
Pakistan in 2009 having batted at 9 in the first innings. Herath took the final 6 balls of the day with usual opening batter
86:. The nightwatchman's goal tactically is to play conservatively on the night to get through the evening and then play a more even style to score runs and turn over the strike to their batting partner.
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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*.
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with half an hour to play. Lyon only lasted 4 overs, forcing Haddin to the crease to face a handful of overs and being dismissed on what became the final ball of the day.
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at the other end. The next morning
Warnapura was out caught on the second ball of the day while Herath scored 15 off 60 balls before an LBW dismissal to Younis Khan.
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who comes in to bat higher up the order than usual near the end of the day's play. The nightwatchman's job is to maintain most of the strike until the close of play.
567:, Larwood made 98 as a nightwatchman, the highest innings made in the role up to that time as well as the highest Test score Larwood would make in his career.
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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
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night rest. The theory is that losing two top-order batters in quick succession would be worse than losing one top-order batter and a
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would place himself in the role on several occasions while he was the New
Zealand captain. Wicket-keepers may also take on the role,
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wicket while negating any benefit from using the nightwatchman. In 2014 against India, the
Australian side protected wicket-keeper
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opening the batting and being dismissed for 0 runs each. It was the only time either opened the batting in their Test career.
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has remarked that most batters will accept a nightwatchman when asked, but as an opener he had never been offered one.
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England have instead favoured the lower order batsman to play aggressively (the
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holds the record for the highest Test score from a nightwatchman, scoring 201
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abandoned the tactic during his captaincy of
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once scored 270 not out as the #7 batsman after such a reversal, with
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720:– Statistical analysis aiming to debunk the concept of nightwatchman
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with two overs left. This was done to protect genuine all-rounder
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In 2024 the
Pakistan team in a match against Australia sent
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The tactic has potential drawbacks. It is inherently a
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125:The nightwatchman is not to be confused with the
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670:"Nightwatchmen (2) – Opening and Wicket-keepers"
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615:"A nightwatchman to remember"
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491:Chittagong Divisional Stadium
36:Chittagong Divisional Stadium
636:Ashdown, John (2023-02-17).
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588:"What is a night-watchman?"
563:. In the final Test of the
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38:during the second test of
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137:Nightwatchmen failures
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229:Chuck Fleetwood-Smith
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239:There have been six
177:Opener nightwatchmen
739:Cricket terminology
206:Reversing the order
672:. 3 November 2014.
412:Harare Sports Club
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734:Batting (cricket)
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541:in 1999 at
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184:Mark Taylor
152:Nathan Lyon
148:Brad Haddin
131:declaration
112:Steve Waugh
100:Ben Barnett
728:Categories
655:2023-07-20
571:References
531:of England
527:Alex Tudor
499:Bangladesh
495:Chittagong
486:Bangladesh
199:Jack Leach
159:Sajid Khan
116:Ben Stokes
96:Wasim Bari
92:Alan Knott
32:Bangladesh
650:0261-3077
592:BBC Sport
543:Edgbaston
475:Australia
369:Australia
320:Australia
315:Tony Mann
244:centuries
120:nighthawk
104:Ian Healy
80:centuries
67:tailender
621:12 April
537:against
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420:Zimbabwe
407:Zimbabwe
282:Pakistan
62:watchmen
30:against
598:27 July
550:century
535:not out
517:Boucher
445:England
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268:Ground
265:Versus
256:Player
143:paradox
47:cricket
34:at the
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299:London
295:Lord's
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328:India
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259:Team
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547:test
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