Nervous nineties
Encyclopedia
The Nervous Nineties is a commonly used term in cricket
.
The term refers to a specific form of analysis paralysis
, when a batsman feels when he has scored more than 90 runs
in a test innings, and is nervous because of the pressure and desire to convert this into a century
(100 runs). Therefore this situation is referred to as batsmen being in the nervous nineties. Batsmen tend to bat in a more conservative manner when they are close to their century, in order to avoid missing out on the milestone. Batsmen dismissed on 99 are considered the unluckiest of all the nervous nineties victims. There are many batsman who have been dismissed in the nineties with multiple instances of batsmen being dismissed on 99.
The opposing captain
may position his fielding in order to create extra pressure to get the batsman out. As a result of this many batsmen fail to score hundreds from nineties.
Statistically, one of the worst victims of the nervous nineties was Australian opener (and now commentator) Michael Slater
, dismissed in the nineties nine times in his test career, and surviving to make a century only fourteen times. West Indian batsman Alvin Kallicharan's record was similarly poor, dismissed in the nineties seven times for only twelve career centuries. India
n Sachin Tendulkar
has scored in 90s 18 times in ODIs and 10 times in test cricket and holds the record for highest number of dismissals in the 90s (a total of 27 times) across all forms of international cricket.
Legendary batsman Sir Donald Bradman holds the record for most test centuries scored in a career without ever being dismissed in the nervous nineties: a total of 29 centuries. Greg Chappell
(24 centuries) and Michael Vaughan (18 centuries) have the next best records.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
.
The term refers to a specific form of analysis paralysis
Analysis paralysis
The term "analysis paralysis" or "paralysis of analysis" refers to over-analyzing a situation, so that a decision or action is never taken, in effect paralyzing the outcome. A decision can be treated as over-complicated, with too many detailed options, so that a choice is never made, rather than...
, when a batsman feels when he has scored more than 90 runs
Run (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement...
in a test innings, and is nervous because of the pressure and desire to convert this into a century
Century (cricket)
In the sport of cricket, a batsman reaches his century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. The term is also included in "century partnership" which occurs when two batsmen add 100 runs to the team total when they are batting together. A century is regarded as a landmark score for...
(100 runs). Therefore this situation is referred to as batsmen being in the nervous nineties. Batsmen tend to bat in a more conservative manner when they are close to their century, in order to avoid missing out on the milestone. Batsmen dismissed on 99 are considered the unluckiest of all the nervous nineties victims. There are many batsman who have been dismissed in the nineties with multiple instances of batsmen being dismissed on 99.
The opposing captain
Captain (cricket)
The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player...
may position his fielding in order to create extra pressure to get the batsman out. As a result of this many batsmen fail to score hundreds from nineties.
Michael Slater
Michael Jonathon Slater is a former Australian cricketer who played in 74 Tests and 42 ODIs for the Australian cricket team from 1993 to 2001...
, dismissed in the nineties nine times in his test career, and surviving to make a century only fourteen times. West Indian batsman Alvin Kallicharan's record was similarly poor, dismissed in the nineties seven times for only twelve career centuries. India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
has scored in 90s 18 times in ODIs and 10 times in test cricket and holds the record for highest number of dismissals in the 90s (a total of 27 times) across all forms of international cricket.
Legendary batsman Sir Donald Bradman holds the record for most test centuries scored in a career without ever being dismissed in the nervous nineties: a total of 29 centuries. Greg Chappell
Greg Chappell
Gregory Stephen Chappell MBE is a former cricketer who captained Australia between 1975 and 1977 and then joined the breakaway World Series Cricket organisation, before returning to the Australian captaincy in 1979, a position he held until his retirement 1983...
(24 centuries) and Michael Vaughan (18 centuries) have the next best records.