England beat South Africa:

The only Test Match decided on the last delivery

by A.C. de Silva

Len Hutton made the top score of 83 in the first innings total of 253 and didn’t seem to be troubled by the South African bowling.

Cricket is an interesting game and it is made so exciting when the result is so close.

Take the case of the first Test of the 1948-1949 rubber - the only time a Test has been decided on the last ball.

This unique instance came about in the game between South Africa and England on December 20th 1948 in Kingsmead, Durban, South Africa.

To get things moving, South Africa won the toss and decided to bat and they made 161 batting first in the first innings.

Alec Bedser troubled the South African batsmen and took 4 for 39 in the South African total of 161.

The South Africans were troubled by the bowling of England's Alex Bedser who took 4 for 39.

The Englishmen went in and didn't seem to be troubled with the South African attack and made 253, with Len Hutton making the top score of 83.

The top wicket-taker for South Africa was Tufty Mann who took 6 for 59. but the South Africans had something is worry about an incident much later - when Mann had to die of cancer just four years later at the tragically young age of 31.

Came the second innings and South Africa made somewhat a better reply than what they made in the first innings with 219. In the first innings they made 161 and together they made 380 with both first innings and second innings.

So, England had to make 128 runs in their second innings in order to win the match.

England progressed steadily, but needed eight runs from the last eight ball over for victory.

At the crease were Alec Bedser and Cliff Gladwin and to trouble them there was Springbok's Lindsay Tuckett.

Bedser levelled the scores off the 6th Sixth ball but then Gladwin missed the seventh delivery. It was down to the last ball. Gladwin missed again but the ball hit his thigh pad and he and Bedser rushed a leg-bye to ensure victory for England.