In pursuing an argument that I don't think has too much going for it, Stephen Moss makes reference to a game of cricket I remember well: England vs West Indies at Old Trafford in 1976. I remember it even though I wasn't actually there, but for reasons that must remain shrouded in mystery for the time being about four miles away, at home; on the Saturday afternoon of the Old Trafford Test, I was listening to the commentary on radio while attending to the garden. That was in the days when I still indulged in such time-wasting folly.
But why I especially remember this Test is that it contains a thing of statistical beauty. West Indies batted first and were bowled out cheaply (this was a side, remember, with Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Clive Lloyd) for 211. As Stephen Moss notes, England were then themselves bowled out for a mere 71. What he doesn't mention - the thing of beauty - is this. In their second innings the Windies put together the small matter of 411 for 5 declared, with both Richards and Greenidge compiling centuries, in Greenidge's case his second in the match. And not one of those 411 runs, as it turned out, was needed. The Windies went on to bowl England out for 126 in the second innings (Andy Roberts 6 for 37), so that their modest first-innings total exceeded all of England's runs in both innings. The 411 for 5 declared was just for show.
Of such things is the glory of Test match cricket composed.