On This Day

[The Professor]

On this day in 2012 England have the best of South Africa on Day One.

In their first Pietersen-less Test, England were full of purpose and determination.

Graeme Smith was out in the ninth over with a complicated DRS based review wherein England successfully proved that the ball nicked the South African captain's inside edge. A mere sideshow to further controversy to come.

The day's main controversy came on the dismissal of Jacques Kallis - a not-out decision that was reversed after England successfully made use of the DRS system despite the fact that Kallis' bottom hand had been withdrawn from the bat when the ball made contact with his glove. The fact that this had come so hot on the heels of a similar delivery that dismissed Alviro Petersen was even more galling. Steven Finn, who had bagged both of these wickets plus that of Hashim Amla, found himself on 3-22 in 7 overs and South Africa found themselves at 54-4.

South Africa rallied after lunch with partnerships of 51 between AB de Villiers and Jaques Rudolph and then 58 between Rudolph and JP Duminy.

After tea, the returning Graeme Swann dislodged Rudolph for 42 and left South Africa at 163-6. England's hopes would have been high but Duminy proved a sterner test than they had given him credit for. He led the resistance until he was out for 62 to the new ball as much as he was to Jimmy Anderson.

Play was stopped early when the floodlights failed at Lord's. South Africa were on 262/7 with Vernon Philander on 46 and Dale Steyn on 21.

[The Professor]

On this day in 2012 South Africa's bowlers put them in the driving seat.

South Africa's innings ended with Vernon Philander getting his career highest score of 61 to help his side to 309 - adding an impressive 47 in 13.4 overs. Dale Steyn was dismissed by Andrew Strauss while a dangerous looking Morne Morkel, who looked likely to stick around for a while with Philander, was caught behind off the bowling of Steven Finn.

The early part of England's innings was reminiscent of South Africa's - in fact the fall of the fourth wicket happened with 56 runs on the board for both teams. All of England's senior batsmen were dismissed cheaply - including Strauss. In the last over before lunch Morkel demolished Stauss' stumps and sent him packing for 20. Alistair Cook had 7 from 40 balls when he chased one he shouldn't and was caught by Jacques Kallis off the bowling of Graeme Smith. Jonathan Trott was lbw to Steyn for 8. James Taylor looked bright initially but, after two boundaries off Steyn, was dismissed by Morkel for 10.

The only batsmen that stood up to be counted was Kevin Pietersen's replacement, Johnny Bairstow who made an unbeaten 72 from 137 balls that kept England in contention. Bairstow added 124 in 38 overs with Ian Bell who scraped to 58 off 158 before Vernon Philander ended Bell's stay at the crease. Bairstow played more dynamically and fearlessly. England are 101 behind South Africa with Bairstow on 72 and Matt Prior on 22.

[The Professor]

On this day in 2012 South Africa's batsmen pile on the pressure against England.

England's tailenders forced England to a slim six run lead over South Africa. It seems the South African bowlers had got the measure of Johnny Bairstow as they limited his scoring and then got him out five runs from a maiden Test century. He had lost Matt Prior and Stuart Broad and was looking to up his tempo - instead Morne Morkel clean bowled him. A last wicket partnership worth 32 from Graeme Swann and Steven Finn forced England over the line...just.

England's bowlers started brightly. They removed the dangermen of Alviro Petersen (lbw off Stuart Broad for 24) and Graeme Smith (lbw off Swann for 23) for a mere fifty runs but Jacques Kallis and Amla looked dangerous. Kallis was dismissed, lbw to Finn, for 31 but by then the score had swelled to 121-3.

Prior, usually so strong from behind the wicket, made a mistake that could prove costly. With Hashim Amla on 2, the England wicketkeeper dropped a glancing shot off Broad. By the end of the day, Amla was on 57 and looking every bit the dangerous batsman he can be.

South Africa hold a lead of 139 runs, with seven wickets remaining. Amla is on 57 with nightwatchman Dale Steyn on 0.

[The Professor]

On this day in 2012 South Africa are firmly in the driving seat to win the Test and claim top spot on the Test rankings.

Hashim Amla began the day as he finished yesterday and marched his way to an imperious 121. He started the day on 57 and did not race to his century - it coming off the first over after lunch. His batting wore the bowlers down.

As the afternoon wore on it seemed like the other batters were following in Amla's stead and were planning to wear the bowlers down - however Steven Finn refused to be worn down and claimed 3 for 19 in seven overs. These were not insignificant wickets either. He dismissed Amla, AB de Villiers and Jacques Rudolph. De Villiers being a key wicket for England as he was dropped by James Anderson on 8 - he was finally dismissed for 43.

When it got to the tail, Vernon Philander continued a successful spell with the bat with a tenacious 35 that further dragged the day away from England. It took England 17.2 overs after tea to bowl South Africa out. Philander was first out to Anderson who also got Imran Tahir. Graeme Swann claimed the wicket of Morne Morkel. South Africa were all out for 351.

England's day was finally buried when both openers were dismissed in the early overs of the reply - both off the bowling of Philander, both lbw. The score at the end of the day was 15-2. England need another 329 runs on the fifth day.

[The Professor]

On this day in 2012 South Africa seize the series and the Test number one spot from England.

Ian Bell did not add a run to his overnight score of 4 when he drove at Vernon Philander and was caught by Graeme Smith, second attempt, at first slip. James Taylor was also gone for 4 after a mix up that caused a run out - a majority of the blame for which can be placed on Jonathan Trott. England were 45-4

Jonny Bairstow helped picked England up from the doldrums through a score of 54 from 47 balls. Whilst he was the more junior batsman in the partnership with Trott, it seemed like Bairstow was calling the shots in their partnership of 89. When Bairstow's innings was ended by Dale Steyn in mid-afternoon, Trott seemed all at sea. He was next man out 9 overs later off the bowling of Steyn.

Stuart Broad (37) looked positive in a spirited performance from the lower middle order. A delivery by Kallis in the penultimate over before tea, brought his downfall as Hashim Amla took a catch at long leg.

At tea, England needed 125 from 33 overs with three wickets left and decided to go on the offensive. Matt Prior and Graeme Swann added 62 from 8.4 overs before Swann perished for 41, run out by Imran Tahir. The luck seemed to be with Prior who was dropped twice in successive balls and he continued to make a fist of it.

The game finished suddenly. Graeme Smith caught Prior on 73 off the bowling of Vernon Philander and, the very next ball, Steven Finn was out for a duck caught by the other elder statesman- Kallis. A suitable way to win back the Test crown.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1914 Kent and England bowler Doug Wright was born.

Wright's career was initially hampered by the wealth of bowling talent at Kent and he did not become a regular until the age of 22. Within two years he was one of the most well thought of bowlers in the game and was named one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year in 1939 - a year where he produced 16/80 against Somerset and 9/47 against Gloucestershire.

A late bloomer to the Kent side, he was also a late entry to play Test cricket. He was selected for the 1936 tour of Australia and played a substantial part but his defining spell in the international setup did not come until 1946. Much of this can be put down to his unorthodox run up which many cricket purists sneered at. To quote David Frith: "With his technique running in from over 15 yards, hopping and skipping as he went, and whipping over a wristy and finger-spun ball that would dip, bounce and deviate crazily off the pitch, to expect long-term accuracy was to display a dismal ignorance of physics."

In what was a largely defensive Ashes series Wright's best figures came in the first Test where he got 5/167 and the last where he got 7/105 including the high profile wickets of Don Bradman, Lindsay Hassett and Keith Miller.

1947 proved a good year for both club and country. He took 177 wickets for Kent and also played a blinder against South Africa at Lord's where he got match figures of 10/175.

The England tour of Australia in 1950-1 was a low point for Wright - beset by poor bowling, bad luck and injury. The only highlight came in the Fourth Test with figures of 4/99. This was followed by a tour of New Zealand which proved to be Wright's last international foray.

Wright returned to Kent where he soon became their first professional captain and continued to perform very well despite it being a dark hour for Kent. In 1954 he bagged 105 wickets and bettered that in 1955.

At the start of 1957, Wright made it clear he wished not to be captain any more and by the end of the summer announced his retirement. In his career he took seven hat-tricks, more than anyone else in history, and 100 wickets in a season ten times.

After his career as a cricketer he became a coach at a school until 1971. His amiable personality and natural wit would have proved quite a hit with the boys. This can be proved by my favourite Wright quote. When asked about his favourite over he had ever bowled his response was: "Bowling to the Don at Lord's. Every ball came out of my hand the way I wanted and pitched where I wanted. I beat him twice. It went for 16."

[The Professor]

On this day in 1912 wickets aplenty fall at the Oval as England beat Australia in farcical circumstances.

The day began fairly innocuously- England were leading by 198 runs and had six wickets in hand. Over and above this, due to rainfall overnight, the day's play did not start until 11.45. C.B. Fry and his partner 'Young Jack' Hearne began strongly and added 27 to the total before Gerry Hazlitt's first ball removed Hearne on 14. This brought together Fry and Johnny Douglas and by lunch the pair had got the total to 149 - a lead of 283 and only one wicket down in a slightly shortened morning session.

After lunch, Hazlitt expertly turned the screw on England and also swung the impetus away from the bat by removing the last five English batsmen for the gain of just a solitary run. Fry was first out on 79, leaving his team at 170-6 on what was a fine innings alongside Douglas, who was Hazlitt's second victim of the afternoon. The tail had nothing to offer. England were all out for 175.

The Australians needed 310 to win. The innings started at half past three. In the second over, before a run had been scored, Charles Kelleway was caught, Douglas just about managing to hold the ball. Claude Jennings was then joined by Charles Macartney and some spectacular cricket was played. The pair were on 46 runs in next to no time however both were out in very quick succession; Jennings caught off a high ball for 14 off Harry Dean, with the same bowler clean bowling Macartney for 30. Australia were 46-3.

Looking to keep the scoring impetus up, Warren Bardsley and Syd Gregory planned to go for quick singles. This plan did not pay off when Bardsley was run out for a duck by Jack Hobbs. There was some controversy as to the validity of the decision but the umpire's word was law.

Bardsley's dismissal marked a collapse akin to the English one. Three more wickets fell with the score at 51, and the innings was over for 65. England winning the match by 244 runs.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1952 the Indians began their tour match against Middlesex.

Having already played their four matches with England (won three, drawn one) the Indians faced off against Middlesex. Vijay Hazare won the toss and elected to bat. His opening pair of Pranab Roy and Datta Gaekwad justified this choice with a partnership of 52 - but this proved just the aperitif to bigger things to come.

When Roy was caught and bowled by a familiar face to the Indians, Denis Compton, it brought out Vijay Manjrekar who pulled off the defining innings for the Indians. His initial partnership with Gaekwad yielded 85. Things were looking very promising for the Indians. When Gaekwad was clean bowled by another England bowler (albeit one who wasn't selected for the Indian Tests) Alan Moss the wheels came off the Indian innings.

Manjrekar was forced to hold together a middle order wherein batsmen four through six scored a combined total of six runs. The Indians had gone from 137-2 to 154-5. It was only when Coimbatarao Gopinath came out that Manjrekar found any stability - and even then he was forced to take a lot of the strike.

The Indian tail showed a considerable amount of wag with Gopinath getting 23 and penultimate man out Ghulam Ahmed (whose career average would be 8.92) scoring 30. Manjrekar ended up with a score of 104 before being bowled by Jack Young - by now a veteran of the England side having not played for 4 years. The Indians' total was 289. Moss had the best figures with 4-29.

Middlesex had enough time in the day to open their innings. Their openers Jack Robertson and Harry Sharp stood on 26 and 18 respectively with their side trailing the Indians by 245 runs.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1952 there was a rest day between the Indians and, what must have been a very familiar looking, Middlesex XI.

Of the team that faced off against the Indians only three players had no affiliation with the England cricket team - past, present or future. Of the three that did not make the grade two were veterans: Harry Sharp aged 35 and Leslie Compton aged 40. The other was just a kid: William Knightley-Smith - a talented right handed batsmen - who was 20 and collapsed and died on the eve of his thirtieth birthday.

Two players that the Indians would have had close knowledge of were Bill Edrich and Denis Compton. Despite reaching the end of his career and not playing in the recent series, Bill Edrich was a face and a figure that many of the Indian batsmen had come up against before. On the other hand, with Denis Compton they may have felt more comfortable. Compton faced off against the India team for England in the first and second Tests but was unimpressive enough (Average of 14.75, High score of 35) to have been dropped for the final two Tests.

The Middlesex XI also had a fair sprinkling of veteran England talent in it as well. Jack Robertson had had a decent career starting in 1947 and may have considered himself still an England international, having made his most recent appearance in February of 1952. That appearance would be his last. John Warr was a recent English selection too having played two tests the year before in Australia - however these would be the only two tests he would ever play. When it comes to real veterans you would have to turn to forty year old Jack Young and 49 year old Jim Sims. Both players careers were brief but a lot of this can be put down to the war. Sims played four Tests between 1935 and 1937 whilst Young played eight between 1947 and 1949.

There were also two young lads in the squad who would go on to make appearances for England. Twenty year old Alan Moss, who got the best figures on Day One, would have to wait two years before being called up to the England squad. He played 9 games and got 21 wickets. The other young figure was a 20 year old Fred Titmus who would be selected for England the year after Moss but stuck around for twenty years, playing 53 Tests and becoming a pivotal figure throughout the sixties and early seventies.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1952 Middlesex bat well but are one big performance away from overhauling the Indians' lead.

Jack Robertson and Harry Sharp continued as they left off on the last day's play and continued to form a combative partnership. They added 35 runs together until Sharp was caught behind off the bowling of Vijay Hazare leaving Middlesex on 79-1. There then followed a procession of batsmen who came in to support Robertson who got themselves in and then got themselves out. Bill Edrich, Denis Compton and William Knightley-Smith both got scores in the low twenties and the high teens but were then dismissed. When Robertson also went for 85 - lbw by Ramesh Divecha - it exposed Middlesex's soft middle order and tail.

From there the highest score for Middlesex was John Warr's 35* but he found himself very little to work with when the two batsmen before him plus the two batsmen after him got out for single figures. The only lower order batsman that wanted to make a fist of it was old Jack Young who joined Warr with a ninth wicket partnership of 22. Middlesex were all out for 255. The Indian's most impressive figures came from Hazare who got a stunning 7-50. Hazare got the last six batsmen in a row and did not need the assistance of any fielders in doing so.

The Indians had time enough to start their second innings and began dubiously with both Datta Gaekwad and Vijay Manjrekar gone for a cumulative 46 runs. The pair, who had combined to score 166 runs together in the first innings were out clean bowled by Alan Moss and, most embarrassingly, in the case of Manjrekar hit wicket to the final ball of the day. Fellow opener Pranab Roy stands on 51 joined by nightwatchman Khokhan Sen. The Indians have a lead of 143.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1952 big scores from Indians and Middlesex do not stave off a draw.

The Indians' first partnership of Pranab Roy and Khokhan Sen was everything that a nightwatchman partnership should be with Sen getting a quick fire 8 and then clearing the way for Polly Umrigar. Roy and Umrigar combined well and formed a partnership of 168 runs which took Roy to his century and drew the Indians towards a total of 300. When they were both dismissed in short order by John Warr for 131 and 86 respectively, Vijay Hazare called them in with the score at 294-5 - a lead of 328.

The Middlesex response began very poorly with Harry Sharp going for a duck with only three runs on the board for Middlesex. Despite this Jack Robertson and Bill Edrich went a long way to putting some life back into the game with an 145 run partnership. Edrich did most of the heavy lifting - which was probably a good thing considering that Robertson was second man out for 81. Edrich continued his rich vein of form with another century partnership with Denis Compton. This partnership could have really done damage to the Indians but both batsmen were dismissed within three overs of each other for 129 and 70 respectively.

Time was running out on the game and the two captains shook hands with Middlesex only 39 behind with 5 wickets in hand.

[The Professor]

On this day in 2015 Australia faced their only ODI against Ireland.

Despite winning the warm-up game, Australia still showed frailties that would have worried Darren Lehmann. Rain was the first stumbling block that Australia had to contend with - it forced a late start and stalled the game's flow a number of times. When the game did start it seemed like Australia were going to fix themselves firmly in the driving seat. Joe Burns and David Warner opened up with an 139 run opening partnership which would have concerned Ireland. The rapidity of their innings was as destructive as their style - they reached 100 off 88 balls. Ireland managed to compose themselves and soon stemmed the flow of runs and got Australia under control. The next stage was getting wickets.

Once wickets came there was one for all the bowlers. The best spell was when Tim Murtagh got Warner for 84 just before George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell were sent back in single figures. Australia went from 165-2 to 170-4. Shane Watson came back to sort things out with a steadying 26. Australia's total was 222.

William Porterfield and Paul Stirling were sent back with just 7 runs on the board but Ed Joyce and Niall O'Brien made a fist of it. They got 86 off 76 balls before Joyce went too big and was bowled by Maxwell. Two overs later Maxwell also claimed O'Brien. Ireland were 106-4 and devoid of their biggest batting talents. In the grand scheme of things, Ireland only needed 46 off the final five overs but such is the quality of the Irish middle order it proved too much. Five of the last six batsmen were out for single figures, largely thanks to Nathan Coulter-Nile, and Ireland were all out for 157.

[The Professor]

On this day in 2012 South Africa beat England in an ODI and became the first team to seal number one spot in all three forms of the game.

South Africa had a lot to thank Hashim Amla for. His score of 150 was South Africa's sixth highest in ODIs and couldn't be replicated by England. There was also personal glory for Amla. He became the fastest man to 3000 runs in this match.

He opened the South African innings with a partnership of 89 with his captain, Graeme Smith. England's bowling began well but their fielding let them down. Amla could have been run out on 1 by Samit Patel and then again on 62 by James Anderson. Both chances were spurned. He also could have been caught on 42 by Craig Kieswetter and again at 92 by Patel. If that's not a catalogue of errors it is at least a pamphlet. The pair started slowly but began to accelerate after the seventh over. They appeared to be targeting Tim Bresnan and protecting themselves against the spin of Patel.

It was the less fancied bowler that dismissed the captain though. Smith went too hard too soon after his half century and was sent back for 52. Amla struggled to find a consistent partner from then. JP Duminy and Dean Elgar looked underwhelming in comparison to Smith - and very much mortal in compared to Amla. AB de Villiers stuck around for a partnership of 65 but the innings was very much revolving around Amla now. He scored 52.2% of England's 287 runs.

Where South Africa's innings began in moderation, England's began in desolation. Alistair Cook was bowled for a duck early doors by Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Despite this early set back, Ian Bell showed an impressive urgency that added an impetus to the English innings. The loss of his partner Jonathan Trott was something of a set back but Bell persevered...for ten runs and then was out to Robin Peterson.

Peterson also got the next man out, Ravi Bopara, for 16. Kieswetter became Elgar's first wicket - on a day where seven South African bowlers had a go. No other batsmen had anything to offer and it seemed like everyone else - irregardless of country - was bowling on a different track to Amla. England were all out for 207 - 80 behind South Africa.

[The Professor]

On this day in 2013 Australia faced off against England in the first T20 of their series.

Aaron Finch produced an electric performance for Australia to put England to the sword. Australia's score of 248-6 was the highest between two Test playing nations and was largely down to Finch's record breaking 156.

David Warner was out for just 1 - going for a slog hit and losing his bat and his wicket at the same time. This brought together Finch and Shaun Marsh. As you can imagine there were a fair few sixes coming off Finch's bat - 14 to be specific. His first ball was a six and he didn't abate from there. Each of Finch's landmarks came up with a six; his half-century, from 26 balls; his hundred, off 47, beating McCullum's record, and his 150. The English bowlers were almost a side note in the performance. They were not poor - they just met an immovable object. Part time bowlers were exposed. Joe Root's single over cost 27 and Danny Briggs' 23. The only bowler with anything to crow about would be Jade Dernbach with figures of 4-0-35-3 - including the wicket of Finch.

England made a good fist of the response but two world record innings in a day was too much to ask. The first over went for seventeen and people began to wonder what witchcraft had beguiled the ground but wickets began to fall. Mitchell Johnson, who bowled that fateful opening over, got the first scalp of Michael Lumb for 22 and then returned to get Eoin Morgan for a duck. Josh Hazlewood was another top Australian performer with the wickets of Alex Hales for 8 and Luke Wright for 4. The only batsman to get close to to Finch's heroics was Root. After receiving a ball to the face early on his innings, he recovered to grab a 29-ball fifty and took 19 off a single Mitchell Johnson over. He was eventually not out for 90. England could only muster 209 - on a regular day that would be a good total...this was not a regular day.

[The Professor]

On this day in 2014 India put on an ODI masterclass to beat England.

MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bowl. An hour later and England were 75-0 and starting to make Dhoni's decision look a poor one. Dhoni brought the spinners on and the game swung as much as the ball. Suresh Raina claimed Alex Hales in his first over for 42 before Alistair Cook was stumped on 44 to give Ambati Rayudu his first international wicket. From there on it was a spinner's world - England just lived in it.

Ravindra Jadeja forced the stumping of Joe Root with some massive turn with Ravi Ashwin doing something similar to Eoin Morgan five overs later. England had gone from 82-0 to 120-4.

Ian Bell was proving stubborn but was dispatched through a clinical run out from Mohit Sharma for 28. Ben Stokes was soon to follow for a mere two runs caught by Raina off the bowling of Ashwin.

Jos Buttler (42) and James Treadwell (30) added some punch to the lower order and dragged England to 227.

In India's reply, Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan struck very different figures. Dhawan looked unsure and tentative and got out for 16. Rahane looked composed and combative and crept towards his half century - just missing out on 45. Virat Kohli played a similar hand. Expressive batting but missed out on the big score - out on 40.

Rayudu then showed his worth in the middle order - top scoring with 64* - alongside Raina (40).

England were simply outclassed.