An interesting day’s play in Test cricket was witnessed, as South Africa’s captain Wiaan Mulder went on to become the second player from his country to register a Test triple century. And because he was scoring at a strike rate of over 100, and then team at nearly 6 runs per over, time was not an issue either, batting first in this game.
There wasn’t much of rain on the forecast for the next few days and we think that South Africa could’ve batted on for a couple of more sessions at least, and contest a 750+ total as well. However, it wasn’t to be as after lunch, we saw the away team come up with a shock declaration, with their new captain 33 runs away from a world record in the longest format of the game.
Why did Mulder declare on 367?
One conclusion we’ve surely arrived at is that the declaration was an afterthought, and not something that was planned. We say this because they didn’t declare before lunch, and went into the first break of the day at 626/5 in 114 overs. News came in later about the declaration and it was truly shocking, because Mulder was scoring very quickly in the last few overs before lunch.
Wiaan Mulder on declaring
“I thought we had enough and we need to bowl. Secondly, Brian Lara is a legend let’s be real. He got 401, or whatever it was, against England
For someone of that stature to keep that record is pretty special. I think if I get the chance again, I would… pic.twitter.com/97LxjltM1Z
— Werner (@Werries_) July 7, 2025
There was no race against time and he could’ve got there within the first 10 over in the second session. So, the only reason we believe could’ve come into play was the fact that Mulder and team didn’t want to go past the legendary Brian Lara’s score, and declared as a sign of respect for the West Indian great, who had career best scores of 375 and 400, both against England.
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We’ve seen this happen in the past when Australia’s Michael Clarke declared his team’s innings when he was batting at 329*, just 5 runs short of the great Donald Bradman’s best Test score of 334. However, questions could then be raised of why he didn’t come closer to the score?! He finished as the 5th highest score in Test history, but could’ve very been the 3rd and 2nd highest too.
“I thought we had enough and we need to bowl. Secondly, Brian Lara is a legend let’s be real. He got 401, or whatever it was, against England. For someone of that stature to keep that record is pretty special. I think if I get the chance again, I would probably do the same thing. Speaking to Shuks, he kinda said to me as well: ‘Listen, let the legends keep the really big scores’. You never know what’s my fate, or what is destined for me, but I think Brian Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be.”
Just the 7th player to score 350+ in Test cricket, and registering the highest score in an away Test, Mulder was happy not to chase Lara’s record, while we personally think he could’ve got much, much more than 400 in this game. Eventually, Zimbabwe was bowled out for 171 in only 43 overs and the match is likely to end on Day 3 itself, so there was clearly no lack of time in the game.
SA will win this Test with a day to spare, those few overs after lunch would never haunt them.
400 was a deserved.That said 367 is an amazing achievement.
Congratulations Wessie!— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) July 7, 2025
FAQs on Mulder delcaration
Q. Why was Wiaan Mulder declared?
Ans. Wiaan Mulder wasn’t forcefully declared but instead, decided to declare as the captain of the team. He believed they had enough on the board and didn’t want to chase the ‘legend’ Brian Lara’s record of 400.
Q. Why did Mulder not break Lara’s record?
Ans. Mulder believed that legends deserve to keep such special records and instead of trying to break it, he wanted to preserve that iconic moment of 400, scored against England in 2004.
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