On This Day

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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Mon Oct 10, 2016 7:26 am

On this day in 1974 Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire's Jason Brown was born.

Brown made his debut for Northamptonshire against Yorkshire in 1996; however he did not become a staple in the team until 2000. From then on he played fairly steadily until 2008.

In the 129 matches he played in this time; Brown had taken 414 wickets, with 22 instances of taking a fivefer. He flirted with the England set-up; playing for the A team and playing on a warm-up match for the full team in 2001, however he was never selected for the senior team.

At the end of the season he was released by Northamptonshire and joined Nottinghamshire. He only played a handful of games before injury forced his retirement.
"It has been said of the unseen army of the dead, on their everlasting march, that when they are passing a rural cricket ground the Englishman falls out of the ranks for a moment to look over the gate and smile."
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Tue Oct 11, 2016 7:17 am

On this day in 1994 one of the most exciting young Indian cricketers at the moment, Hardik Pandya, was born.

Despite being only 22 he has enough big moments from this year alone for him to have a top _ list; so here we go:

1. 39 runs in an over for Bardoa v Delhi– The sort of over that goes down in domestic cricket history. In the 19th over of the innings, Pandya showed how able a batsman he was and displayed his big-hitting prowess as he cleared the ropes on all occasion – add to this some slopping bowling, Pandya’s over read: 6, 4b, 6, 6+NB, 4, 6, 6

2. Saving a six for India v Australia– Not often we get a moment of spectacular fielding in one of these lists but Pandya’s effort to stop Travis Head from scoring a maximum was something to behold. Falling backwards he bats the ball away like a goalkeeper. Only saved two runs but was a mark of the young man.


3. 31 for India v Bangladesh in Asia Cup - A hard-hitting display in the Asia Cup that saw him make 31 off 18 balls and led to plaudits from many big names in Indian cricket. In the same game he also got a wicket to show he is not all about the bat.

4. 79 for India A v Australia A – Not a huge score or a landmark innings but here Pandya showed his ability to hold his temperament in a situation where wickets were being lost with frightening regularity. He held together India A’s tail and was the most dynamic of the batsmen towards the end – at only 21.

5. Killer catch of Muhammad Kaleem in T20 World Cup – Rare enough to have one moment of fielding precision in a list, let alone two. Might have seemed a footnote in a game where other names stood out but Pandya showed great composure to realise he had been wrong-footed and dive forward at just the right moment and claim the catch.
"It has been said of the unseen army of the dead, on their everlasting march, that when they are passing a rural cricket ground the Englishman falls out of the ranks for a moment to look over the gate and smile."
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Wed Oct 12, 2016 6:59 am

On this day in 1911 Vijay Merchant was born.

Merchant, as might be suggested by his name, was born into a wealthy family in Bombay.

Despite the fact that Merchant's cricketing career lasted 18 years he only played ten matches. This is mainly due to the fact that his career neatly straddled the Second World War. Despite this lack of game time he is considered to be one of the finest Indian batsmen of all time.

He was a consummate professional and was one of the first advocates of having his game filmed to allow him to watch it back and refine his technique. This paid dividends in the 1936 tour of England where he topped the batting with 1745 runs at 51.32.

It seemed that Merchant thrived in English conditions. His second tour of England, eleven years later, he made 2385 runs, average 74, with seven centuries against County teams.

Going out in style, Merchant posted his highest score in his final ever match - 154 v England.

In his 10 Tests, all against England, spread over 18 years, he made 859 runs, and in 47 Ranji Trophy innings he reached 100 on 16 occasions, totalling 3639 runs at the astounding average of 98.75.

He went on to become a cricket administrator, broadcaster, writer and national selector, and charitable advocate of the handicapped. Merchant died after a heart attack in Bombay on October 27, 1987.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Thu Oct 13, 2016 6:55 am

On this day in 2015 Pakistan kicked off their Test series with England in combative fashion.

The bulk of Pakistan's first-day total of 286 for 4 were made in Shoaib Malik’s 168-run stand for the second wicket with Mohammad Hafeez. Both of their innings were far from chanceless. They both had chances spurned that would have made this England’s day. First Ian Bell dropped Hafeez on 7 – he went on to make 98. If he had caught it Pakistan would have been 12-2. The second chance was the fault of Stuart Broad. When Malik was on 40 he was caught off a no-ball – he went on to stand unopposed on 124 overnight.

There were some small successes for England – the dismissal of Misbah-ul-Haq for a mere three was a definite plus point; especially for Jimmy Anderson who looked imperious. England also limited Younis Khan – although he will be pleased that he became Pakistan’s all-time leading Test run scorer.

Pakistan stand on 286/4 with Asad Shafiq (11) alongside Malik.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Fri Oct 14, 2016 7:13 am

On this day in 2015 Shoaib Malik hit a huge double ton on the way to humbling England.
Yesterday Malik teamed up with Mohammad Hafeez to great effect – today it was Asad Shafiq with whom he broke the fifth-wicket record for Pakistan in Tests against England. That huge partnership of 248 – coupled with the boiling heat – made it a traumatic day for English bowlers. Adil Rashid got the worst of the treatment from Malik – his debut innings figures of 34-0-163-0 were the worst by any bowler in the 138-year history of Test cricket. Once Malik had got his double century he upped his run rate and really made the debutant pay. Even more galling was the fact that there have been many bowlers who have bowled much worse on debut over the last 138 years – but today was someone just not on top form against someone on the very topmost form.

Cook was forced to turn to the bowling of Joe Root and Ben Stokes – more out of desperation than strategy. The day’s bowling can be summed up by the fact that Stuart Broad getting a ball somewhere near the wicket caused mass celebration in the English ranks. It was Mark Wood, after tea, who managed to give England something real to celebrate when he dismissed Shafiq for 107. From there three more wickets tumbled – all to Ben Stoke. Pakistan declared on 523-6.

England had 23 overs to bat out the day – which put new opener Moeen Ali in the spotlight – however he and Alistair Cook managed to close out the day with no fuss. It was not Ali who was most tested but, instead, Cook who had the ball rolling towards his stumps at one point and had to jab it away. The only solace there can be is that the Pakistani bowlers looked as ineffective as the English ones.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Sat Oct 15, 2016 10:15 am

On this day in 2015 Alistair Cook leads the way for England with a spirited fight back.

Cook was an ever present throughout the day and acted as the binding agent for a number of tenacious partnerships - in much the same manner as Shoaib Malik did on days one and two. He showed his ability to time and place shots to perfection and got everything right. This did not mean his innings was chanceless. He was oh so close to being lbw on 101 of the bowling of Zulfiqar Babar. The best chance that he gave was when he was already on 143. Fawad Alam had to make up a lot of ground and dropped the catch.

Moeen Ali looked a more than competent opener and put on a good partnership with Cook but Imran Khan got one to spin hugely to claim the rookie for 34.

Troubled England batsman, Ian Bell, looked to be playing a completely different game to his captain. He scored 1 run before lunch and looked ill at ease. He adopted a different approach to Cook, it didn't pay off but he persevered. His confidence grew during the second session and he began to show his full range of shots.

Just as the England bowlers looked a class apart when they were in the field, the Pakistani bowlers looked all at sea in the beating heat of the UAE. The mirrors to yesterday also stretched to the fact that Pakistan bagged some late wickets just as England did yesterday. Wahab Riaz got the wickets of both Bell and Mark Wood in the dying embers of the match. Bell had become overly adventurous and holed out to gully. Wahab was their most effective bowler....but not their best. Throughout all this Cook remained resolute. He stands on 168 overnight with Joe Root on 3.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Sun Oct 16, 2016 10:58 am

On this day in 2015 Alistair Cook produced the longest innings in England's Test history, and the third-longest of all time, to stamp his authority on the first Test.

Let's start away from Cook. Joe Root, Cook's overnight partner, did what Root does best: put in the hard work, edge towards a century and then got out to a ball that he shouldn't have been chasing.

Wahab Riaz, at his aggressive best, made light work of Johnny Bairstow and gave Ben Stokes something to think about when he came in. Stokes was the first batsmen to be dismissed by spin in this match - gone for 57 by Shoaib Malik.

Cook did not have it all his own way during the day. His first half an hour looked edgy and nervous. It seemed like the loss of Root helped him focus his mind though and he knew that the responsibility was now all his. Later in the day the introduction of Rahat Ali seemed to unsettle his rhythm somewhat too, almost causing him to be caught behind at one point.

By the time Cook was dismissed he had scored 263 runs, his second highest score ever, and had batted for a shade less than fourteen hours. With this mammoth innings the game is all but dead as a sporting fixture. There have been two huge totals and with two English wickets still in hand, England have a slender lead of 46 with a day's play left.
"It has been said of the unseen army of the dead, on their everlasting march, that when they are passing a rural cricket ground the Englishman falls out of the ranks for a moment to look over the gate and smile."
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Mon Oct 17, 2016 7:35 am

On this day in 2015 the slow burn of the last four days was replaced with a fiery finish between England and Pakistan.

A Pakistan collapse gave England a chance of a victory in this match and a race against time, and the dying of the light, ensued.

England, 569 for 8 overnight, added 29 runs for the loss of Rashid in a ponderous first hour, before Alastair Cook decided enough was enough and declared on 598 for 9. This gave Jimmy Anderson his chance to have a run at the Pakistan batsmen. And run at them he did, grabbing two wickets in five balls to reduce Pakistan to a jittery 3 for 2. It was Mohammad Hafeez who stuck around the longest with a 55 ball 34 before being dispatched by Ben Stokes off a run out.

The next moment of note was the partnership between Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq to tease the England bowlers with a nervy looking 66. Younis was the first man gone – the first Test wicket of Adil Rashid. He had only three overs to wait for his second; getting Asad Shafiq for 6. When Misbah was displaced for 51 by Moeen Ali, Pakistan were 159-6. Rashid and Anderson then teamed up for the last three wickets in the space of two overs.

Pakistan lingered over their over rate – as you would have expected them to and England shuffled their pack; starting with Jos Buttler and Moeen but there was not enough time in the world. They failed – but it was a moral victory for England.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Tue Oct 18, 2016 7:10 am

On this day in 1952 Pakistan ended their first ever Test match with an innings and 70 run loss to India.

On an event where all but Amir Elahi and Abdul Kardar (who had previously played for India) were making their debuts it is no surprise that the newly formed Pakistani team were outclassed by their nearest rivals.

Vinoo Mankad proved to be the difference in the Pakistan first innings. The day before he had already dismissed Israr Ali and Imtiaz Ahmed and he added another 6 wickets in 16 overs to wrap up the Pakistan first innings for 150 runs. Hanif Mohammad opened the day on 42 and was top scorer when out for 52 – Mankad’s first dismissal of the day. Due to India having accrued 372 they were entitled to ask India to follow on; which they duly did.

Mankad was not so alone in the wicket taking column in the Pakistan second innings but still did enough for figures of 5-79; bringing his match total to 13-131. He was abetted by Ghulam Ahmed this time out with figures of 4-35.

The Pakistan batsmen did slightly better for themselves with an extra two runs added on. Hanif was gone for just one but that was made up for by Imtiaz Ahmed (41) and Kardar (43). It was not enough to even make India bat again but was signs of improvement for the newly formed Test nation.
"It has been said of the unseen army of the dead, on their everlasting march, that when they are passing a rural cricket ground the Englishman falls out of the ranks for a moment to look over the gate and smile."
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Wed Oct 19, 2016 7:44 am

On this day in 1860 Australian and South Australian wicket-keeper Arthur ‘Affie’ Jarvis was born.

His Test career ran for ten year between 1885 and 1895 in an era where almost all matches were played out between England and Australia. Despite the longevity of his career he only played 11 Tests due to the fact that his time in Test cricket coalesced with that of Jack Blackham.

He played 141 matches for South Australia; scoring 3161 runs in 226 innings.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Thu Oct 20, 2016 7:36 am

On this day in 1859 English and Middlesex cricketer and missionary George Studd was born.

Studd, born in Wiltshire, was the second eldest of the Studd brothers – the most famous cricketing family in Victorian England. He played for a number of clubs that have since gone out of existence most notably: Eton, Cambridge University and the Cambridge Long Vacation Club.

His most prolific season was in 1882 where he made 1108 runs. George was surprisingly poor in the four Tests that he played; scoring just 31 runs in 7 innings.
He moved to Los Angeles in 1891 where he became a missionary working with some of the most poor and destitute Americans. He continued this until his death in 1945.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Fri Oct 21, 2016 7:15 am

On this day in 1996 India beat Australia in the 3rd match of the Titan Cup – a triangular series also including South Africa.

Australia won the toss and chose to bat. The partnership of Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh, worth 92 runs really got Australia’s innings going. This was then further bolstered by a partnership of 82 between Taylor and Michael Bevan. Australia got to the cusp of 200 with no trouble but an Anil Kumble led late salvo destroyed the last few overs and they would have been disappointed to have only posted 215.

India’s response started poorly and they were soon 47-4. Run outs started to creep into the game with India desperate to get runs on the board. Sachin Tendulkar was the only calm head and he helped guide India through the choppy waters. He finally settled into a rhythm with Ajay Jadeja with whom he dominated a partnership of 79. Another later crumble saw Tendulkar forced to go it alone but, when he bowled by Waugh, Australia would have been comfortable for the win. They did not account for the last week partnership of Javagal Srinath and Kumble. The bowlers put on a total of 51 to pull off a surprise heist for the Indians.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Sat Oct 22, 2016 9:13 pm

On this day in 1983 Ajay Lalcheta was born.

Lalcheta began his career by playing underage cricket for India and Saurashtra but emigrated to Oman - making his debut in 2011.

Oman finished third in the first tournament in which he played – losing only to Afghanistan and Hong Kong. This meant that Oman had a chance to qualify for the 2012 T20 World Cup.

Qualifying was not so easy for Oman. They lost to Italy, Uganda, Kenya, Scotland, the United States, Namibia and Ireland rendering them to finish bottom. Lalcheta only missed five of these games and was a standout performer for the underperforming Omanis. He took 4/13 against Afghanistan and played in every match from there however did not get another wicket.

Since that tournament Lalcheta has been an ever present for Oman. He has 24 wickets in 34 International games.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Sun Oct 23, 2016 9:02 am

On this day in 1900 one of England's best ever captains Douglas Jardine was born.

Jardine was the son of a cricketer and soon took up the mantle from his father; making 997 runs at 66.46 in his debut season.

He made his debut in a touring side in 1928 as part of an MCC team that toured Australia. Four years later he would return to Australia with the MCC team - this time as captain. It was here that Jardine played his role in the infamous Bodyline Series. The furore that came from Jardine's decision to allow Harold Larwood and Bill Boce to bowl in a way that Australia deemed dangerous was immense. The MCC supported Jardine during the tour but in 1934 changed their rulings to outlaw such bowling.

Away from scandal, Jardine was playing some of his best cricket. He top scored against West Indies in 1933 with a score of 127.

As the 1930s drew on, Jardine's powers faded and by 1937 he had withdrawn from first class cricket.

In 22 Test match appearances he hit 1296 runs, average 48, and held 26 catches. During his career his runs numbered 14,821, average 46.90, the highest of his 35 centuries being 214 not out against Tasmania in 1928-29.
"It has been said of the unseen army of the dead, on their everlasting march, that when they are passing a rural cricket ground the Englishman falls out of the ranks for a moment to look over the gate and smile."
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Mon Oct 24, 2016 9:28 am

On this day in 1964 Australia ended their long tour of Pakistan with the only Test match of the series.

It was something of a changing of the guard for the Pakistan team. Six players were given their debut and Hanif Mohammad was handed the captain's armband for the first time. Hanif got off to a corker by winning the toss and putting Pakistan in.

The opening pair of Khalid Ibadulla and Abdul Kadir dominated the opening sessions. They scored fast and well; grabbing 249 runs in just under five hours. This was the largest opening partnership for Pakistan by quite some length.

Kadir would have felt hard done by for being run out five runs short of a maiden Test century on debut. He was replaced by Saeed Ahmed who would have been the first and only man to be happy with being out for seven. Those seven runs, however, took him over the threshold to 9000 career runs.

Khalid batted throughout the day and was, rather fittingly, out off the very last delivery for 166.

By the end of the day Pakistan were well in control at 284/3 with Javed Burki and Hanif at the crease for Day Two.
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