Most amazing achievement 99.9% of Americans won't care about

[Lori]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
A star batsman like Australia's skipper, Ricky Ponting, might never get out.

[/ QUOTE ]

Would a skilled batsman be able to defend his wicket indefinately if he is not trying to score runs? If so, I would think that a team chasing an unreachable target should be able to secure a draw every time. Couln't the batsman just deflect the ball into the ground on every ball until times up? (Is this really that hard to do with a big cricket bat, and the restrictions on bowling form?)

[/ QUOTE ]

Eventually the ball hits a bump, or the bowler does something ridiculous and you get out.
In the 70s and early 80s, many players tended to play this way, making the sport incredibly tedious for all but the most hardened of fans.

In this shot the batsman is trying to move the ball away with his pads (this is only legal in some circumstances, that's a discussion that's way too complicated for now). The bowler however has done something quite special.

Lori