Gordon Greenidge's 214* at Lord's — The Chase of 342 in 1984

Gower had been criticised for over-cautious declarations earlier in the series and chose Lord's to be aggressive.

England declared their second innings at 300/9 leaving West Indies 342 to win in 78 overs, calculating the pitch was wearing.

Gower's controversial declaration on the final morning set West Indies a target most teams would have tried to bat out for the draw. Greenidge had other ideas. He went after Bob Willis, Ian Botham and the spinners from the start, taking 29 from a single Geoff Miller over and reaching his double hundred from 241 balls. Larry Gomes supported with an unbeaten 92. The pair put on 287 in the largest fourth-innings chase ever completed at Lord's at the time, finishing on 344 for 1 with two overs in hand. Greenidge's innings — 214 not out off 242 balls with 29 fours and two sixes — has been ranked by Wisden among the greatest fourth-innings hundreds ever. Gower spent the rest of his life defending the declaration.

“He took the game away from us in a session.”

“Gordon was on a different planet that afternoon.”

Gower's declaration was second-guessed for years; he maintained he had backed his bowlers, not condemned his team.