Proteas stand-in skipper Wiann Mulder has said that respect for Brian Lara convinced him to declare 33 runs short of the former Windies star’s world Test record, against Zimbabwe at the Queens Sports Club on Monday. Mulder hammered an unbeaten 367, a Proteas record and the fifth highest score in Tests, before declaring at lunch on Day 2 of the second Test. We take a look at some of the weirdest declarations in the history of Tests: England vs South Africa 5th Test, January 2000, Centurion Put in to bat first, South Africa were at 155/6 at the end of Day 1’s play, with Lance Klusener and Shaun Pollock on the crease. Not a single ball was bowled over the next three days due to rain. South Africa eventually declared on 248/8, with Klusener’s 61 the highest score. England couldn’t bat in the first innings and South Africa forfeited their second, leaving England 249 to win in what became a delayed ODI. Riding on Alec Stewart’s 73, the visitors went past the target easily. Cronje had suggested the declaration move to Hussain with the run option, thought to around 252 when South Africa declared their first innings at 248/8. Australia vs England 3rd Test, January 1937, Melbourne Opting to bat first, Australia declared on 200/9, with Stan McCabe’s 63 the highest score. In response, England declared on just 76/9, with Wally Hammond scoring 32. In the second innings, Jack Fingleton scored a century and skipper Donald Bradman a double hundred as Australia posted a massive 564. Needing to chase a whopping 689, Maurice Leyland tried his best with a century but a five-for from Chuck Fleetwood-Smith restricted England to 323. It is possible England would have done better had Gubby Allen’s declaration been made earlier but, as one authority put it, he couldn’t be expected to possess second sight. India vs Australia 2nd Test, March 2013, Hyderabad Opting to bat first, Australia declared on 237/9, with skipper Michael Clarke’s 91 the highest score. In reply, India posted a whopping 503, riding on a century from Murali Vijay and a double hundred from Cheteshwar Pujara. In the second innings, Australia were dismissed for a paltry 131 as Ravichandran Ashwin picked five wickets. It was the 11th instance of a side losing a Test after declaring in its first innings, but the first in which the team declaring lost by an innings. Australia vs England 1st Test, December 1950, Brisbane Opting to bat first, Australia were bowled out for 228, with Neil Harvey’s 74 the highest score. In reply, England declared their innings on just 68/7 as Bill Johnston picked five wickets. Australia declared their second inning on just 32/7. Arthur Morris and Sam Loxton were out before a run was scored and wickets continued to go down so fast that Lindsay Hassett retaliated by a declaration which gave England an hour and 10 minutes to bat before the close. Having to chase 194, England were bowled out for a paltry 122, despite Leonard Hutton scoring 62. Jack Iverson picked four wickets. India vs Pakistan 1st Test, March 2004, Multan In this marquee clash, opting to bat first, India declared their innings on 675/5, with Virender Sehwag scoring a triple hundred but what infuriated several fans and experts was that skipper Rahul Dravid declared the innings when batting legend Sachin Tendulkar was batting on 194. In reply, Pakistan posted 407, riding on Yasir Hamee’s 91. They were asked to follow on and were bowled out for 216, despite Mohammad Yusuf scoring a century. Anil Kumble picked six wickets.