Scoring a hundred at Lord's is amazing: Ballance

Image
Press Trust of India London
Last Updated : Jul 19 2014 | 12:26 AM IST
England's century-maker on day two of the second Test versus India here, Gary Ballance today said that his side needs to make use of the remaining wickets tomorrow and try to take a lead in the first innings.
Ballance scored 110 runs and added to his century tally at Lord's, where he got his maiden Test hundred earlier in the summer against Sri Lanka. This was his second century in four Tests and helped England finish the day at 219/6, 76 runs behind India's total.
"It is a nice place to play cricket, and I just love batting here. I thought that I will have to scrap hard on this wicket. It will not be pretty or exciting to watch, but at the end of the day, it's about doing a job. I tried to be patient," Ballance said after his hundred.
"I knew I was going to play and miss, so tried to leave as much as I could and just waited for anything with a bit of width or anything too straight. Luckily, I fought hard - got an edge through the slips early on - and being patient paid off," he added.
The edge he mentioned was induced by Stuart Binny in the 40th over of the innings and skipper-keeper M S Dhoni let it go as Shikhar Dhawan watched frozen at first slip. Ballance was on 32 at that time and made this chance count.
"Just to score a hundred at Lord's is amazing really. It's been an interesting week. I didn't really expect it, but it's nice to score some runs and put us back in a decent position," he said, referring to the night-club incident after the drawn Test in Nottingham.
The batsman had been photographed dancing with his shirt off and although he didn't break any curfew rules after the Test was over, he was slapped on the wrists by the ECB for indecent public behaviour.
"I didn't see it coming, and it was a bit embarrassing. I was probably a bit naive, but I didn't really break any rules. I was just having fun after a Test match. But I'll learn from that, and probably won't do it again," said Ballance admitting regret.
*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Jul 19 2014 | 12:26 AM IST

Next Story