Horatio Nelson was a British Navy officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars. During one of these battles, Nelson suffered multiple injuries that resulted in him losing an arm, an eye, and another (unknown) part of his body. A man with exceptional leadership qualities, Nelson breathed his last in 1805.
New Zealand’s first-class cricket team was named Nelson in 1874. During the 1891 season, the first and last match of the team saw them end their innings on a modest 111. This vaguely represented Horatio Nelson’s one eye, one arm and one other part.
The number 111 also resembles a batter getting clean bowled with the bails dislodged. It has thus prevailed in the sport of cricket that multiples of 111 (222,333,444…) are unlucky for the batter. To counter this bad luck, it is said that one needs to lift one foot off the ground. This was popularized by late David Shepherd. A jolly umpire, Shepherd would hop and lift one leg off the ground when the score reached 111/1, 222/2, etc. Shepherd would explain Nelson as “one eye, one arm, and one lump of sugar in his tea.”
On 11th November, 2011, at 11:11, a test match between South Africa and Australia saw the innings score of 111/1. South Africa needed 111 runs to win. Umpire Ian Gould raised his leg for that minute. Recently, on 8th May 2019 in a Women’s T20 match, Trailbazers collapsed from a score of 111-2 to 111-7 against Velocity.
Nelson is a superstition. ‘Nelson strikes’ is what the commentators say when a team loses wickets on a Nelson score. Thus, Nelson is a phenomenon of coincidence with a historic connection and theatrical numerology.
