On This Day

[The Professor]

On this day in 1959 Karachi's Hanif Mohammed bats through the day to put Bahawalpur to the pump.

Hanif ended Day Two of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy semi final with a score of 255* - scoring 230 runs in the day. He was aided and abetted in his efforts by Waqar Hossain and his brother Wazir Mohammed.

Waqar, coming in after Alimuddin was dismissed without adding a run to his overnight total, scored 172 in 155 minutes for the second wicket. Hanif was by far the most dominant however as Waqar scored a mere 37 runs.

The second century partnership of the day came from Wazir Mohammed, Hanif's brother and the second of three Mohammed brothers in the Karachi side. This partnership was worth 103 in a shade over an hour and a half. Again Hanif had the better of his brother as Wazir scored just 31 of these runs.

The day ended with Karachi on 383/3 - 198 runs ahead of Bahawalpur. Hanif was joined at the crease by Wallis Mathias who was on 18.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1959 Karachi and Bahawalpur have a rest day... so, in honour of Hanif, Sadiq and Mushtaq Mohammed we look at the other three times that three brothers have played in notable matches.

W.G., Fred and Edward Grace

The Grace brothers made their Test debut in the same match against Australia in 1880 and it was the first recorded time three brothers played in a match. In this match W.G. scored 152 runs and took three wickets. The other Grace brothers did not prosper so well; Edward scored 36 and 0 whilst Fred got a duck in both innings.

Frank, George and Alec Hearne

This is a more remarkable match where two different sides had brothers on each side of the match. This is the first time this has ever happened in Test cricket. Frank was representing South Africa, whilst George and Alec turned out for England. Frank was making his debut for South Africa (despite playing twice for England) whilst the two English representatives were also making their debut. Frank scored 24 and 23 for South Africa but his English brothers didn't fair so well. George scored a combined 9 runs whilst Alec got two ducks.

Hanif, Mushtaq and Sadiq Mohammed

The three Karachi brothers went on to play a Test Match together ten years after the Quaid-e-Alam Trophy match in question. In this instance Hanif did not come out on top - he scored 22 and 35 but Sadiq 69 and 37 and Mushtaq scored 14 and 19. Strangely enough it was Sadiq's debut match for Pakistan but Hanif's last match - due to their eleven year age difference.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1959 Karachi's Hanif Mohammed (almost) bats through two full days and (almost) gets five hundred runs.

Hanif continued to exploit Bahawalpur's bowlers despite yesterday's day of rest. In fact he and Wallis Mathias put on the highest wicket thus far - 259. Mathias was eventually run out on 103. The only man other than Hanif to get anywhere near three figures.

The Bahawalpur bowlers must have been in dream land after the dismissal of Mathias which marked a spell where they got three wickets for the gain of 99 runs. Not great but by far the best bowling they had put up.

Hanif's score accelerated and, with the help of Abdul Aziz, he reached 499 and was facing the last ball of the day. To the shock of the Karachi crowd he hit a short single, went for it....and was run out.

Retrospectively many people have tried to explain away Hanif's decision. A popular, if not romantic notion, was that Hanif did not realise he was on 499 and instead believed he was two away from the landmark. His short single was an attempt to farm the strike so he could bat in the morning.

Irregardless of the manner of his dismissal the longevity of Hanif's innings was as impressive as the score accrued. He began batting after tea on Thursday and was out off the last ball on the Sunday. Overall he batted for 10 hours and 35 minutes. Both the score and the length of time at the crease were World records.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1959 Karachi seize an emphatic win against Bahawalpur.

Karachi declared on their overnight first innings total of 772 - a first innings lead of 587.

It only took 41 overs for Karachi to bowl out Bahawalpur to seize a huge victory for Karachi. The only batsman that showed any intent for Bahawalpur was opener Ijaz Hussain who scored 32. He was one of only three Bahawalpur batsmen to get into double figures - the others being Ghiassudin Ahmed (12) batting at 6 and Riaz Mahmood (10) batting at 10. Bahawalpur ended up only being able to post 108.

The wickets were spread around the Karachi bowlers but the best figures came from Ikram Elahi whose 3-10 added to his match figures of 7-58.

Karachi won by an innings 479 runs.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1982 Pakistan's Kamran Akmal was born.

Kamran Akmal was born to a family of Cricketers and his brothers, Adnan and Umar, are also Cricketers.

Akmal first rose to worldwide prominence in 2006 when he scored seven centuries for Pakistan over the course of one Summer. This, however, proved to be his high water mark for the Pakistan team and he was eventually dropped in 2008 for a combination of poor batting and wicketkeeping.

Despite being dropped from the longer formats, Akmal still represented Pakistan in T20s. His performance behind the stumps in the 2009 World Cup was particularly creditable. Akmal also showed his T20 skills in the inaugural IPL season where he played for Rajasthan.

His form in the shorter form of the games saw him briefly return into the Test squad in 2010. His spell back in the Pakistan team was brought to an end when he was embroiled in a match fixing allegation involving dropped catches in the Test series against Australia. He was also caught up in the scandal for which Mohammad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were prosecuted. He had a spell away from cricket while these allegations were investigated. On them being dropped, in 2012 he returned to the ODI team.

Despite his performances in the longer form of the game being limited, Akmal proved he still had it when he was the top scorer in last season's Quaid-e-Azam trophy.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1969 England and Surrey's Martin Bicknell was born.

Bicknell was a very competent swing and seam bowler who also was a decent lower order batsman.

Whilst his career never reached dizzying heights he was always very well thought of. He made 4 Test and 7 ODI appearances for England in the early 1990s and was voted a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2001.

He retired in 2006.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1938 India National Team Footballer and Cricketer Chuni Goswami was born.

Goswami was better known as a footballer and played for Mohun Bagan for the entirety of his career. He was affiliated with the team from the age of 8 until his retirement at the age of thirty. His excellence and international renown is exemplified by the fact that Mohun Bagan once turned down a bid from Tottenham Hotspur for his services.

He made fifty appearances for the Indian football team and captained them to victory in the Asian Games of 1962.

1962 was a big year for Goswami as he also made his debut for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy. When Goswami retired from football at the age of thirty, he dedicated his career to cricket. Overall he played 46 matches for Bengal - scoring 1592 runs and taking 47 wickets.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1862 the Melbourne Argus carried a feature anticipating the arrival of the All-England Cricketers.

Surprisingly the Argus goes on to say that an Australian team had yet to be assembled and that a squad of twenty two have been selected but more are being called up by the day. The Argus also shares the tidbit that the Australian fielding is especially poor.

The Argus goes on to share that the Melbourne ground has undergone a number of renovations thanks to the kind donations from Felix William Spiers and Christopher Pond - two famous restauranteurs and hoteliers. The jewel in their crown was the 700ft long grand stand which held several thousand spectators.

Unbeknownst to the waiting Australians, a number of the household names they were expecting to turn out against them had retired and a number of bookmakers were put grievously out of pocket with regards to this lack of information.

[The Professor]

On this day in 2016 India squandered a decent lead to allow Australia to take the third ODI.

India started off poorly when their key man from the previous ODI, Rohit Sharma, fell for 6 but they would have felt confident by the end of their innings - especially when their star man, Virat Kohli, bagged a century and was ably supported by Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane, who both made half centuries.

The Australian bowler to be best pleased with his yield would be John Hastings who got career best figures of 4-58 - including the wickets of Kohli and Rahane.

After posting 295, India had Australia four down within thirty overs and looking down the barrel of a gun. Two strong opening partnerships between Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh (48) and then Marsh and Steve Smith (64) set Australia off nicely. However it was a partnership worth 80 between James Faulkner and Glenn Maxwell that put the result beyond any doubt. Maxwell brought himself within a whisker of his century - falling for 96 just before the end of the innings.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1992 soldier and Somerset Cricketer David Deshon died.

Deshon was a promising schoolboy Cricketer who lost the prime of his career to the war. Deshon came to prominence in an MCC Schools game in 1941 and scored a century. Big things were hoped for for the young man however in the very next year he was a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery.

Deshon ended up making only four appearances for Somerset; three in 1947 and a final one in 1953. He scored 82 first-class runs at an average of 11.71, with a highest score of 21.

He died suddenly of a heart attack in Heathrow Airport at the age of 69.

[The Professor]

On this day in 2013 India edge ahead in the ODI series v England.

A joint effort by all of the Indian bowlers put paid to the England side as the visitors struggled to beat a middle order wobble. At one point England were 68-1 and looking strong after they were inserted by MS Dhoni. The swing bowling of Mohammed Shami saw Alistair Cook sent back lbw with the score on 24-1 but Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen built from there. After, first, Pietersen and, then, Bell departed in the fourteenth and fifteenth overs, England never got a look in. Joe Root attempted to bat for longevity rather than big scores but when he was dismissed for 39 off the bowling of Ishant Sharma the game really was up.

In contrast to the English batsmen, India looked calm and assured on the Ranchi track and excelled. Inevitably they were lead by Virat Kohli and his score of 77 but he was backed up with a thirty three from Gaultan Gambhir and a thirty from Yuvraj Singh.

India eventually won by 7 wickets with 131 balls remaining.

[The Professor]

On this day in 2016 India trip up against Australia.

For Australia David Warner and Aaron Finch put together a powerful start with an opening partnership of 187 - however it was the late runs of Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell that saw Australia push on to their total of 348. Smith was very impressive - getting to 50 from 27 balls.

Mitchell Marsh, given a chance at number three, looked less impressive and was gone for 33 - the second scalp for Umesh Yadav.

To say that India should be disappointed with their efforts in an innings whereby Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli both got centuries characterises the level of implosion the middle order and tail sustained. Kohli was, as ever, imperious - reaching his fifty in 34 deliveries. This fine display of batting left India needing 72 runs from 75 balls. Child's play.

The only excuse that may be offered by India is the loss of Ajinkya Rahane to an injury sustained while fielding which caused everyone else to be bumped up a spot. After batsman number three only one more batsman (Ravindra Jadeja) got a score in the double figures. Wickets came regularly and with every one, India lost their confidence.

It was the bowling of John Hastings (2-50) and Kane Richardson (5-86) that ensured that India were put to bed without much trouble as India set about self destructing.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1868 Surrey and England all-rounder Bill Brockwell was born.

Brockwell was one of the many stars in the star studded Surrey line up of the late 1800s. Between 1891 and 1902, Brockwell was a regular fixture in the Surrey line up. In these years Surrey won the Championship eight times. Brockwell' best year came in 1894 when he made 1491 at an average of 38.9. His most effective bowling year was 1899 when he took 95 wickets.

Brockwell made seven appearances for England between 1893 and 1899 - but was nowhere near as prolific as he was for Surrey. He averaged under 17 with a high score of 49.

Altogether in the course of his career he took 544 wickets in first-class matches at an average of 25 runs and scored 13,228 runs with an average of 26.

After retiring from cricket, Brockwell fell into poverty and died a pauper in 1935.

[The Professor]

On this day in 2004 rain does not dampen Australia as they beat India.

The Indian innings was a story of two batsmen; VVS Laxman and Yuvraj Singh both got centuries to spare the blushes of their more disappointing team mates. Sourav Ganguly was out with a single run on the board and Parthiv Patel would have been disappointed with just 28. Laxman had already got started when Rahul Dravid was another high profile disappointment - gone for just twelve. All three batsmen were caught behind by Adam Gilchrist. Laxman and Yuvraj were undefeated at the end of the innings on 106 and 139 respectively.

Gilchrist was the hero for Australia. Such was the quality of India's total the Australian team needed to score at six an over to win. Simon Katich was out for just one in the second over but from there it was the Gilchrist show.

Rain interrupted play when Australia were 73-1 and the neutral would say that India still had the edge. This sense was further heightened when Irfan Pathan took two wickets in the same over, first getting Ricky Ponting for 42 and then Damien Martyn - both caught behind.

Then came a series of batsmen who came out big but fell too soon. Andy Symonds looked to be getting the hang of it when he was dismissed for 16 - leaving Australia on 176-5. Michael Clarke clobbered 21 from 20 balls.

Throughout all this Gilchrist was the glue that held the innings together and before you knew it India were walking off defeated but not before the man of the match was sent packing 5 runs short of his century.

[The Professor]

On this day in 2016 India claim last gasp victory against Australia.

After the first innings it seemed like David Warner and Mitchell Marsh would be grabbing the headlines with their twin centuries. These two batsmen covered up the loss of Aaron Finch, Steven Smith, George Bailey and Shaun Marsh within the first 22 overs for just 117 runs. The tone was set within the very first over when Ishant Sharma got Finch to guide the ball on to his off stump. Smith, on the other hand, looked easy and graceful until he undervalued debutant Jasprit Bumrah and found Rohit Sharma on the end of his pull shot. It was a full team effort with the ball for India. Shikhar Dhawan got the better of Bailey and Shaun Marsh was run out by Umesh Yadav.

Warner battled on resiliently despite the revolving door of partners whilst Marsh staged a middle order fightback. 330 was a decent target considering from where they had come.

Sharma and Dhawan got India off to a stormer with their partnership of 123 though neither batsmen got to triple figures. For seventeen overs the pair looked unstoppable. Sharma in particular looked full of gusto and was one run away from his century when a tight field placement from Smith and clever bowling from John Hastings proved his downfall.

Hastings looked very impressive for Australia whilst the spin of Nathan Lyon and Smith looked eminently unimpressive.

India's victory was propped up by two performances from cricketers at very different ends of their career; Manish Pandey and MS Dhoni. Whilst not looking as impressive as the batsmen that had gone before, Pandey managed to push on and claim his first ODI century. He was joined by Dhoni with 35 needed from three overs. The pair took 13 from the 48th over and nine from the 49th. It was Marsh - seemingly the hero from earlier - who bowled the last over and let victory slip out of Australia's hands.