Worth a ton: Top Aussie Test knocks under 100, Part 3

It has forever been a peculiarity of cricket, a sport so infatuated by numbers, that the difference between 99 and 100 is so much more than just a single run.

Part 1: Gilchrist, Khawaja & Smith | Part 2: Border, Gilchrist & Warne

Batting greatness is often measured in hundreds made as much as runs scored, which can mean the value of some decisive batting performances over the years has been diminished simply because they have fallen short of the magical three figures.

This week, cricket.com.au will look back on Australia's 15 most important sub-100 innings in men's Test matches of the past 40 years, acknowledging the gritty half-centuries and backs-to-the wall innings that won Test matches, saved series and defined careers but don't appear in that all-important hundreds column.

The criteria

When ranking these performances, extra weight was given to those knocks that have taken on a greater significance beyond solely the substance of the innings itself; runs that paved the way for a breakthrough series win, led to a rare Test victory abroad or secured a face-saving draw.

It means performances like Ashton Agar's 98 on Test debut in 2013, while an instant Ashes classic, was not included as it came in a match and series that Australia lost, and Agar himself was dropped just two Tests later.

We've set the qualification time period at the past four decades, since 1982, and considered only sub-100 scores by Australians in men's Test matches.

9) Matt Renshaw & Mitch Starc

First Test v India, Pune, 2017

Renshaw

Batter's score: 68

Team score at start of innings: 0-0

Team score at end of innings: 7-196

Percentage of team total: 26.1

Starc

Batter's score: 61

Team score at start of innings: 6-190

Team score at end of innings: 260

Percentage of team total: 23.5

Next highest score: 38

Match result: Australia won by 333 runs

Series outcome: India won 2-1 (four matches)

By Martin Smith

A famous Australian Test win that will forever be associated with the batting brilliance of Steve Smith and landmark bowling performance of Steve O'Keefe could well have taken on a different complexion had it not been for two important batting contributions on the opening day.

On a pitch in Pune so devoid of grass it was likened to the surface of Mars by spin king Shane Warne, rookie opener Matt Renshaw and veteran David Warner breezed to 82 without loss in the morning session before Australia suffered the kind of batting collapse that had plagued them for the previous 12 months.

A score of 2-149 become 9-205 in a little more than 20 overs either side of tea, and Australia's plight would have been far worse if not for Renshaw.

Image Id: F5F3BADBC24C4847B390E7CFA36E5BC7

The 20-year-old, given his chance as part of a player cleanout after Australia been rolled for just 85 against South Africa in Hobart, used his long reach to blunt India's spinners and employed the sweep shot effectively as he struck 10 fours and a six in scoring 68 from almost three hours at the crease.

Not even an unscheduled toilet break just before lunch, which infuriated his skipper and led to scathing criticism from ex Test captain Allan Border, could hold him back.

But his dismissal as part of a collapse of 4-15 in the evening session, which had India's openers pondering a tricky period to finish the day, led to one final batting cameo that proved crucial in the final wash-up.

Image Id: 6A6E53123CA244D18F7E824FC019D648

With only No.11 Josh Hazlewood for company, Mitchell Starc launched a blistering counter-attack as the pair added 55 valuable runs for the last wicket, of which Hazlewood contributed just a single.

Having hammered off-spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Jayant Yadav over the mid-wicket fence, Starc targeted Ravindra Jadeja in an over that went for 15 and then clubbed two boundaries off Ishant Sharma as the pair, against all the odds, survived until stumps on the first day.

Starc's cameo, and Australia's innings, ended in the first over of day two when he mis-timed another slog at Ashwin, but the left-hander's 61 from just 63 balls steered the Aussies to a total of 260, which was more than they would have hoped for amid the crush of wickets the previous day.

And when O'Keefe (6-35) helped Australia scythe through India's batters to rout them for just 105 in reply, a score of 260 suddenly looked well above par.

As the pitch continued to deteriorate, Smith's memorable second-innings hundred and another six wickets to O'Keefe rightly took the plaudits as Australia recorded their first win on Indian soil in 12 attempts.

But the contributions of Renshaw and Starc, albeit when batting was at its easiest, only increased in value as the match wore on.

8) Ryan Harris

First Test v West Indies, Barbados, 2012

Batter's score: 68no

Team score at start of innings: 7-250

Team score at end of innings: 9d-406

Percentage of team total: 16.7

Highest score of the innings: 73

Match result: Australia won by three wickets

Series outcome: Australia won 2-0 (three matches)

By Adam Burnett

Lion-hearted paceman Ryan Harris produced a couple of famous match-winning performances with the ball during his all-too brief Test career, but this effort with the bat spared Australian blushes in the Caribbean a decade ago.

After West Indies piled on 9d-449 in the opening Test in Barbados off the back of 103 from Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Australia found themselves staring at a sizeable first-innings deficit when their skipper, Michael Clarke, was out for 73 with the score at 5-215.

In a rain-affected clash, Harris strode to the middle early on day four with Australia 7-250, and only one side seemingly in with a chance of winning the Test.

Image Id: 47507D6CD7C34090A17871BC5F45E17A

Yet the right-hander, who had seldom utilised the extent of his ability with the bat at international level, dug in alongside wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade, finding his feet and doing his utmost to keep Australia in the contest.

The pair put on 35, at which point Harris took on the lead hand in the two crucial partnerships that followed; first an entertaining 44-run union with Ben Hilfenhaus (24), and then an even more impressive 77 with Nathan Lyon (40no).

Throughout, he seized on anything full, driving handsomely, and his fifty came up with a stylish flick through mid-wicket.

On 66 he correctly reviewed an lbw verdict that had gone against him, allowing he and Lyon to add another 15 runs before an emboldened Clarke chose to close the innings with Australia still trailing by 43.

Image Id: E4B40303B2B847D7B20F999A23984422 Image Caption: Hilfenhaus and Harris celebrate an unlikely Australian win // Getty

It proved a shrewd move. By stumps, West Indies were in tatters at 5-71, and a remarkable turnaround win looked possible.

"To score some runs was good but I'm just trying to win this Test match," Harris said after play. "We're in a good spot now. We have one more day to go. We just want to get some wickets early in the morning.

"At one stage today, we thought it was probably going to peter out to a nice slow draw but that's Test cricket. This is the way it can turn around pretty quickly."

Image Id: 9FEBA78F7F12492B907E46755A668118 Image Caption: Harris struck seven fours in his match-changing knock // Getty

On day five, it was achieved – Australia chased down 192 in 47 overs and, fittingly, Harris was out in the middle when Hilfenhaus scrambled the single that handed them a nail-biting three-wicket win.

Having been almost 200 runs behind when Harris walked to the middle, Australia had not only staved off defeat but grabbed an unlikely series lead and would go on to triumph 2-0.

Harris's unbeaten 68 remains the highest score by an Australian No.9 against West Indies, and the near three-and-a-half-hour effort was almost twice as long as any of his other 38 Test innings. 

7) Steve Waugh

Fourth Test v West Indies, Antigua, 1999

Batter's score: 72no

Team score at start of innings: 3-96

Team score at end of innings: 303 all out

Percentage of team total: 23.8

Next highest score: 51

Match result: Australia won by 176 runs

Series outcome: Drawn 2-2 (four matches)

By Adam Burnett

One of the most pulsating series of modern times came down to the fourth Test in Antigua, where West Indies needed only a draw to upset Steve Waugh's mighty Australian side.

And it was a finale chock-full of subtext.

Waugh and head coach Geoff Marsh had made the stunning call to drop Shane Warne, who was yet to rediscover anything close to his best form following shoulder surgery the previous year.

Image Id: 8FD70D7B94B84246BB494B3D18F094D8

Meanwhile, the rival skippers had gone century for century across the first three Tests, hitting two apiece, with both of Brian Lara's match-winning epics to rival anything of the era.

By the time the fourth Test arrived, Lara had knocked Waugh from the No.1 Test batting ranking, and in his first series in charge following the retirement of Mark Taylor three months earlier, the blowtorch had turned squarely on Waugh.

"I was fiercely determined, I must admit," Waugh told cricket.com.au on the 20-year anniversary of the series. "I knew the pressure was on the team and myself – my first series as captain, we'd made the big call to drop Shane Warne, we were 2-1 down and we were at (Curtly) Ambrose's home ground in Antigua, which was a hostile place to play.

"There was a lot of noise around the ground, a fair few distractions, and I really had to focus."

Image Id: 742AEE0548794A07A91F1042F1D76EEC Image Caption: Waugh stood firm on a pivotal first day // Getty

After winning the toss, Waugh had walked out to bat midway through day one, with Australia 3-96 and the contest evenly poised.

Half-century stands with Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting followed, and the visitors reached stumps at 5-221, with Waugh unbeaten on 52 and Ambrose having claimed the wicket of Ponting late in proceedings. 

The next morning, the giant Antiguan struck three more quick blows, and it was only the defiance of Waugh and some spectacular late-order hitting from Colin Miller (43) that pushed Australia to 303.

"Waugh was a tough guy – he never backed down from a fight," recalled Windies opener Sherwin Campbell. "He played to his plan and ground out that situation through great concentration."

Image Id: 3491BC5D6EEF4FEFBA936943FC866E46 Image Caption: Waugh stood firm in his first series as Test captain // Getty

Across more than five hours, the Australian skipper had remained unbowed, producing the sort of innings that defined his career at the most critical juncture. 

"I rate that knock pretty highly," Waugh said. "It was just an immense mental battle to get through that innings, and make sure we batted for a long time.

"I knew I just had to keep batting and batting to put ourselves in the best position I could to win the Test match. That was the number one thing in my mind."

Despite another Lara century – this time an 82-ball blitzkrieg for an even 100 – Australia took an 81-run lead into the second innings, and Langer (127) and Mark Waugh (65) ensured they were never headed.

Image Id: EE7635A17C1B42CE82BAD84CC9E90533 Image Caption: Australia retained the Frank Worrell Trophy after a 2-2 draw // Getty

The hosts folded for 211 in the face of a 388-run target on the final day to hand Waugh's side a series-levelling victory.  

In his final Test against Australia, Ambrose finished with eight wickets, and the Windies legend had special praise for Waugh when he reflected on the contest two decades later.

"He may not have been the most attractive player you would see, like his brother Mark, but Steve Waugh, I've got a lot of respect for him," he said.

"A determined, gritty, stubborn cricketer, he would come to the rescue when his team needed him most."

Return on Thursday as we bring you Part 4 of 'Worth a ton: Top Aussie Test knocks under 100'