WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT – Glenn Turner’s one-man show

   Glenn Turner was easily one of New Zealand’s best batsmen. He represented the Kiwis in 41 Tests and an equal number of ODI’s with distinction, averaging 44.64 and 47 respectively. In first class cricket, he has recorded an amazing 103 centuries – with a best of 311*. But undoubtedly the most eye-popping of these hundreds came at St Helen’s, Swansea in 1977, when Turner was playing for Worcestershire.

   The hosts Glamorgan declared at 309/4 in 100 overs after electing to bat first. Michael Llewellyn (91*) and Gwyn Richards (74*) put on an unbeaten 161 for the 5th wicket, while opener Alan Jones made 48. The former England test spinner Norman Gifford took 3/91. By stumps on Day 2, Worcestershire were 44/2, having lost Barry Jones and Phillip Neale. Turner was unbeaten on 39 already.                             Glenn Turner in full flow during his days at Worcestershire

  The next day Turner proceeded to play one of the most unique innings ever. Glamorgan bowled out Worcestershire for just 169 in 68 overs, but Turner entered the record books by carrying his bat and making 141* – a staggering 83.43% of the total number of team runs. The next best score was 7 by Gifford, with whom Turner added 57 for the 9th wicket, rescuing his side from a very worrisome 93/8. Elton Cordle was the wrecker-in-chief with 5/53, but none could remove Turner even as the rest of the batsmen crumbled around him. The other ten batsmen managed only 14 scoring shots among them!

  ”As each of them came out, in what looked like a disaster area” remembered Turner, “I told them there was nothing wrong with the pitch, but they didn’t seem to believe me!” Turner’s percentage of the innings total – 83.43% – remains the first-class record.

  The third day of the game was washed out and the match was drawn. Worcestershire finished the season 13th while Glamorgan finished 14th. Namibia’s Gerrie Snyman came close to breaking this record at Sharjah in the 2007-08 Intercontinental Cup, when he scored a stunning 230 out of 282 runs against Kenya.

Match Scorecard – http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/37/37233.html