OTD: Mile Atherton slipped at Lord's and missed century for 1 run

Perhaps one of the most tragic moments in cricket history. The way Mike Atherton missed his first Test century at Lord's was a completely out-of-mind incident. He turned for a straight third and slipped on the green side-strip pitch. Mike hurriedly tried to get up on his knees, but he couldn't help but see Ian Healy plucking the bails off.

The infamous incident of cricket history happened on June 20, 1993. The match was between England and Australia. In the second innings, the host team, England, was batting on follow-on. Compared to the first innings, England was batting with more confidence in the second.

One of the openers, Mike Atherton, was well settled on the pitch and could've easily achieved his hundred if he could show some more patience. The incident took place when the Englishman was batting on 97. Using his wrist, the right-handed batter pushed the ball towards the forward square leg. In those days boundary lines used to be wider than today's games. The ball was rolling towards the boundary line, and the fielder had to cover a fair amount of ground to capture the ball.

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'Feet wrapped up in a blanket'

In the meantime, Atherton, who was on 97, already took a couple of singles and pushed hard for the third run to complete a landmark hundred. When they turned for the third run, he slipped on the green patch and couldn't get up to his. Then the commentator on air said, "Like running in a nightmare, with feet wrapped up in a blanket." 

Atherton departed for 99. The England batter fought brilliantly to save the match, but the target (632/4d) set by Australia was too high for them to achieve. In the end, the visiting side won the match by an innings and 62 runs.