Bulawayo Test: Wiaan Mulder does a selfless act with Brian Lara's 400 in sight
In an act that will go down in the annals of cricketing folklore, South Africa's stand-in Test captain Wiaan Mulder prioritized team values over personal milestones during the second Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.
The 27-year-old, who became the first player to score a Test triple ton on captaincy debut, raced along past 350 and had reached 367 with a real possibility of hunting down Brian Lara's all-time record of 400* that was made against West Indies at Antigua in 2004. With a flat pitch, tired bowling attack and plenty of time still remaining in the game, the milestone was there for the taking for Mulder who was batting flawlessly.
However, Mulder opted to declare with the team total having reached 626 in 114 overs. It left the all-rounder with the fifth highest individual Test score of all-time, only behind Mahela Jayawardene (374), Brian Lara (375), Matthew Hayden (380) and Brian Lara (400*). While the scenarios are different, Mulder's act had shades of former Australian captain Mark Taylor who did a similar act during the Peshawar Test against Pakistan in 1998.
The Aussie left-hander, also the captain at the time, had notched up his maiden triple century and steadily got to 334, thereby equalling Sir Don Bradman's Australian record for the highest individual score in Tests. At that point, Taylor decided to declare the innings as a mark of respect to the yesteryear legend, earning accolades worldwide. Mulder's intent was more about putting his team first even though there would barely have been any criticism at him if he had batted deeper, considering the amount of time left in the game.
What makes the achievement and declaration all the more heart-warming is the context of this innings from Mulder. While a Test match against Zimbabwe isn't supposed to be a high-pressure game, particularly in their den on decent batting decks, Mulder came into the series with battles of his own. At quick glance, his Test average of 38 (boosted understandably by the unbeaten triple ton) and 2024 average of 64 are impressive but the all-rounder always seemed an unsure starter from the outset.
A compact batter technically with also the power game to boot, Mulder has been a seasoned performer in South Africa's domestic circuit while also having plied his tried successfully in England's County Championship. However, it seems like the national side wasn't sure of the role that they wanted from him. After initially batting in the lower middle order which is also his natural role, Mulder has recently been thrust to bat at no.3 with regular captain Temba Bavuma and coach Shukri Conrad both backing him unconditionally.
That said, batting at no.3, especially in the WTC era on result oriented pitches is no easy ask. Mulder had a tough initiation to the role and struggled in the first innings of the WTC final against Australia's potent attack. However, he found his mojo in the second innings although he couldn't convert it into a bigger score. At no.7, where he has batted 23 times out of his 34 innings, his average read a poor 21.95.
With plenty of talents waiting in the wing to enter the Test team, you felt that batting out of position may cost Mulder's career.
The all-rounder put all that to bed with a stellar show in the ongoing Zimbabwe series. He piled on a majestic knock of 147 in the first Test of the series where Keshav Maharaj was the stand-in captain with Bavuma out injured. Then, the left-arm spinner also got injured, leaving the role for Mulder in the second Test. It showed the amount of trust that he has within South Africa's team management and Mulder didn't let them down, slaying records on leadership debut.
The triple hundred from Mulder was the second by a South African and the youngest by a captain. He also notched up 264 of his own on the opening day, ranking sixth in the list of most runs scored in a day's play ever. Bradman (271), Denis Compton (273), Virender Sehwag (284), Wally Hammond (295) and Bradman (309) are the other five instances of higher aggregate than Mulder.
The selfless act from Mulder, though, will remain immortal, just like his flawless triple hundred. If the innings spoke volumes about his mental fortitude and skills, the other act showed the man's persona.
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