Carry the bat

In cricket, the term carry the bat (or carry one's bat) refers to an opening batsman who is not dismissed ("not out") when the team innings is closed.

The term is mainly used when the innings closes after all 10 wickets have fallen; that is, the other 10 players in the team have all been dismissed ("out"). It may also be used in situations where one or more of these players retire out or are unable to bat through injury or illness, and the remaining players are all dismissed normally. It is not used, however, in any other situation where the innings closes before all 10 wickets have fallen, such as when it is declared closed, or when the team successfully chases a set run target to win the match.

The term "carrying one's bat" dates back to the very early days of cricket. Initially it referred to any not out batsman, but by the 20th century the term was used exclusively to refer to opening batsmen. The expression comes from a time when the team used to share bats so the outgoing batsman would leave the bat on the crease for the next batsman to use. Therefore, if an opening batsman were to survive the entire innings, he would literally be "carrying the bat" back to the pavilion.

Carrying one's bat is a relatively rare occurrence in international cricket.

In more than 2,000 Test matches, a batsman has carried his bat only 51 times. The first to do so was South African Bernard Tancred in March 1889, against England at Newlands in Cape Town, hitting 26 not out (off 91 balls) as his team were bowled out for 47 in their first innings. The most recent player to achieve the feat is Kraigg Brathwaite, who scored 142 not out against Pakistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on 1 November 2016. New Zealander Glenn Turner holds the highest score with 223 not out in his team's first innings of 386 against the West Indies at Sabina Park, Kingston in February 1972, while West Indian Desmond Haynes is the only man to have carried his bat through three Test innings.

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Wikipedia