During my long cricket watching career I have only seen one triple century. This was scored by the New Zealand Test batsman Ken Rutherford during the Scarborough cricket festival of 1986. As was then the custom the touring side played their last match of the season at Scarborough and for many years the opposition was a high class side of Test players forming H.D.G. Leveson-Gower's XI or T.N. Pearce's XI. The games were often given the label of a sixth Test Match.
By 1986 standards were not quite the same and D.B. Close's XI, led by the former Yorkshire captain who by then was into his mid-fifties, was somewhat below the quality of the immediate post-war period. However some critics have questioned the value of Rutherford's innings suggesting the opposition was a hotch potch of league cricketers and others past their best. This was not quite the case as Close's team contained no less than eight Test cricketers.
Of the other three Franklyn Stephenson, although never picked to play Test cricket by the West Indies after going on a 'rebel' tour to South Africa, was an outstanding county cricketer, particularly during his time with Nottinghamshire when he became one of Wisden's five cricketers of the year and was the last player to achieve the double of a thousand runs and a hundred wickets in a season.
Although the other two had played first class cricket, they had only played league cricket in England.
Mark Harper from Guyana was the brother of West Indian Test player Roger Harper and Rod Estwick, a quick bowler from Barbados, who had been professional at Bradford Park Avenue and Todmorden, was the half brother of Sylvester Clarke of Surrey.
So not really a bad side and when you see that Rod Estwick dismissed opener Edgar for one, Martin Crowe for one and skipper Jeremy Coney for a duck, New Zealand were struggling somewhat at 113-4 before Rutherford, partnered by Evan Gray turned things round with a vengeance. The two of them put on a partnership of 319 with Rutherford very much the dominant partner. He was in fact the next man out scoring 317 from only 245 balls, which included forty five fours and eight sixes. Gray made only a modest 88, but was happy to give Rutheford the strike at every opportunity.
New Zealand eventually declared on 519-7, made in only 94 overs, in reply to Close's XI's score of 257 all out, of which Boycott made 81 and Javed Miandad 41. The bowling figures were obviously nothing to write home about, Estwick the best with 3-95, but Stephenson only 1-90, Chris Old 0-46 from only eight overs, and Dilip Doshi, the Indian slow left armer 1-142. Doshi, who played county cricket with Warwickshire went for four sixes in one over.
Close's side managed to salvage a draw by batting through the last day for a very comfortable total of 358-5, notably from the two Pakistanis - Sadiq Mohammed with 77 and Javed Miandad with 102 not out. Harper made 55 and Collis King, the West Indian, 48 before being run out by the much younger Miandad. Bob Taylor of Derbyshire and England kept wicket for Close's team but did not have a lot to do as very few balls went past the bat.
For the record Rutherford's innings was the fifth fastest triple century of all time and the second fastest ever in England, bettered only by the Australian McCartney against Notts in 1921. It was also the highest ever innings at Scarborough, beating Jack Hobbs 266 in 1925.
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