5 Weirdest declarations in the history of Test cricket

2. The Ashes, 3rd Test, 1937

Australia and England clashed against each other in the Ashes series of 1937 with the Aussies hosting the series. Melbourne played the host to the 3rd Test and the home side batted first in that game. They posted 200 runs on the board but declared the innings at the loss of 9 wickets. The visitors did the same thing in their first innings.

England’s captain Sir Gubby Allen and tail-enders Bill Voce were batting on zero when England’s scoreboard read 76/9. They were still 124 runs behind Australia’s total thus, it seemed like the two batsmen would try their best to curb the lead.

However, Allen surprised everyone by declaring the innings as the pitch was wet. The move totally backfired as Sir Don Bradman scored a double hundred in the second innings and Australia went on to win the match by 365 runs.