On This Day

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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Mon Mar 20, 2017 7:37 am

On this day in 1887 the combined Smokers and Non-Smokers of Australia and England have a rest day - one that is probably more gratefully received by one than the other. We will look at the fact that, unusual though this game was, it was not the first instance of such a game.

The final game of the 1884 series had split itself up into similar lung health based categories to round of their tour. The squad did not split itself so neatly in half in this instance so both teams had to be supplemented by players from Victoria so as to make the team's even.

The scorecard proves an interesting document on some of the formative names of cricket and their smoking habits. Such luminaries as W.G. Grace, E.M. Grace and Charlie Bannerman are revealed to be Non-Smokers whilst Fred Spofforth, Lord Harris and Charlie Thornton were Smokers. W.G. captained the Non-Smokers whilst Harris took charge of the Smokers.

The game was not as batting friendly as the one from 1887 and the Non-Smokers were all out for 250. Before the close of the first day the Smokers were batting however their batting was poor and they reached just 111 - W.G. Asked them to follow on. There was little improvement in the Smokers' second innings and the Non-Smokers ended up winning by nine wickets.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Mon Mar 20, 2017 7:55 am

Accidental double post
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Tue Mar 21, 2017 8:16 am

On this day in 1887 a thrilling conclusion to the Smokers v Non-Smokers match despite it was only cigars on offer instead of a result.

With the final day of this entertaining novelty match opening with neither side yet to begin their second innings, a result seemed unlikely. This was put to the test when the Smokers had a monumental batting collapse which saw William Bates pick up five wickets in a period where the last seven batsmen were dismissed for the gain of a mere 54 runs. The Smokers were all out for 356 and were asked to follow on. Short of another batting collapse the game was heading for a draw.

If you cast your mind back to the prizes that were offered by the cigar companies; the main ones had already been claimed. Arthur Shrewsbury and Joey Palmer, as top runscorers for their team were honoured whilst Bates and Johnny Briggs had the best figures for their respective teams. With the official prizes all tied up, there was one souvenir that was up for grabs - the match ball.

William Scotton was facing the last ball and played it for a single. As soon as he did, he began chasing his own ball and was soon engaged in a race with fellow Nottinghamshire teammate Mordecai Sherwin. Scotton beat him to the chase, picked up the ball....and was given out for handling the ball before the over was called.

An unusual end to an unusually entertaining game.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Wed Mar 22, 2017 9:40 am

On this day in 1992 one of the most farcical World Cup games was played out between England and South Africa.

South Africa won the toss and elected to bowl with a place in the World Cup final at stake.

England lost two early wickets in the form of Graham Gooch (2) and Ian Botham (21). Graeme Hick put the show back on the road with one of his more impressive performances with a 93 ball 83 despite some slow and canny bowling from South Africa. He had the barest of support with Alec Stewart helping him with 33 runs and Neil Fairbrother with 28. The lower middle order faired even worse until Dermot Reeve came out and rasped, what we would now call, a T20 style innings worth 25 with a strike rate of 178.57. England's total was 252. Meyrick Pringle had the best figures of 2-36.

South Africa's chase was steadily accumulating. In the same way as the English innings, key batsmen got settled but did not push on to big scores. Andrew Hudson provided the impetus with 46 at the top and Jonty Rhodes provided 43 in 38 balls batting at six and seemed to be leading South Africa to the win. Heavy rain struck with South Africa needing 22 runs off 13 balls....and the focus became less the cricket and more the rules.

As soon as the rain struck Gooch led his team off the pitch, much to the crowd's disdain.

To fully understand what happened next we must put ourselves in the shoes....or potentially the hats....of the umpires. The rule that they would have consulted first read thusly: "If the innings of the team batting second is delayed or interrupted and it is not possible for that team to have the opportunity of batting for the same number of overs as the team batting first, the overs to be bowled shall be reduced at the rate of 14 overs per hour for time lost." No sooner had this rule been read, the rain stopped. One over was deducted. This brought another rule in to play: "If, due to suspension of play, the number of overs in the innings of the team batting second has to be revised, their target score shall be the runs scored by the team batting first from the equivalent number of highest-scoring overs, plus one. In a rain-interrupted match, or a match interrupted by any other cause, it should be noted that the important figure is the target score, which in effect is set by the umpires when they decide on the number of overs able to be bowled to the team batting second." Clear?

This meant that England's worst over - which was a maiden - was knocked off the target score...meaning it stayed exactly the same. By the time this was figured out two overs had been lost which meant that South Africa needed 22 runs....from 1 ball. They scored a single from that ball and that was that.

One more for fans of the rule books than fans of the game.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Thu Mar 23, 2017 9:11 am

On this day in 2014 India's bowlers lead them to a West Indian walkover.

All the Indian bowlers played their parts. Bhuvenshwar Kumar's figures of 3-0-3-0 were the most economical T20 figures in it's formative history whilst Mohammed Shami was equally as impressive. It was Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja that did the most damage, however. Against such incisive bowling, West Indies looked limp. Even Chris Gayle, who did hit sixes in his 49 ball 34, never looked comfortable nor expansive. Gayle and Lendl Simmons (27) were the only West Indian batsmen with scores anything close to applaudable. West Indies total looked distinctly average at 129-7.

India polished off the total with very little to worry about, despite the loss of Shikhar Dhawan with one run on the board. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli laced together a partnership of 106, that took India to the brink. When Kohli was out for 54, caught by Gayle off the bowling of Marlon Samuels, Sharma took the lead. Yuvraj Singh perished for ten before the end but Suresh Raina saw India over the line. Sharma finished with 62*
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Fri Mar 24, 2017 8:32 am

On this day in 2015 New Zealand seize narrow rain affected victory to progress in World Cup at South Africa's expense.

South Africa started poorly as they lost Hashim Amla for 12 and Quinton de Kock for 14 but it was the rain that hit South Africa hardest When it struck in the 38th over AB de Villiers and the impressive du Plessis were in full flow turning the African team's fortune around. and the damp weather proved to ruin their rhythm and give the New Zealand bowlers the chance to consolidate and confer. When they resumed du Plessis was removed on 82 whilst de Villiers looked more subdued. Eventually they reached 281. Trent Boult continued his fine form in this World Cup with figures of 2-53 but the best figures of the night came from Corey Anderson with 3-72.

New Zealand's attack came in waves. First Brendon McCullum scored a 59 ball 32 that lowered the run rate hugely and then Grant Elliott and Corey Anderson combined to grab 103 to push the New Zealand total up. Things still looked dicey when Anderson was dismissed leaving New Zealand on 252-5 and needing 46 off 31 balls. This ambled to 12 needed off the final over. Daniel Vettori and Elliot combined with two boundaries a piece to claim victory for the antipodean team much to the disappointment of a clearly deflated South Africa.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Sat Mar 25, 2017 10:27 am

On this day in 1955 New Zealand escape big trouble on Day One of Second Test against England.

New Zealand lost the toss and were asked to bat. Bert Sutcliffe lost both, opening partner, Gordon Leggat and, first drop, Matt Poore for the gain of no runs; rendering New Zealand 13-2. Frank Tyson bagged both wickets.

Sutcliffe and John Reid then put together a partnership of 63 in one of two defining partnerships of the day. Sutcliffe was first out for 49; the first wicket for Brian Statham. New Zealand were 76-3.

Geoff Rabone had built something of a reputation for being a worthy foil for a set batsman - and so he proved alongside Reid in a partnership that consumed a majority of the afternoon session. When those two were dismissed for 73 and 29, the New Zealand tail had very little to offer.

As Day One ambled to a close, New Zealand lost wickets with startling regularity. Harry Cave and Tony MacGibbon were both out in single figures and, in a perfect end to the day from an England perspective, Bob Appleyard dismissed MacGibbon and Ian Colquhon off the last two balls of the day.

Stumps were drawn with New Zealand on 199-8.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Sun Mar 26, 2017 9:50 am

On this day in 1955 a slow pitch makes dull viewing as England bat against New Zealand on Day Two.

New Zealand's tail was tidied up within two overs for the gain of no runs as Brian Statham took the last two wickets to take his figures to 4-28.

Overnight the conditions of the Auckland pitch deteriorated hugely which made England's batting difficult. Rain had made the pitch sluggish and the light was dim. Furthermore two periods of rain during the day ruined England's fluency.

This meant that shots that were singles weren't worth talking about whilst shots that would have rolled for four were held up in the field. Indicative of this slowness was Peter May, whose score of 48 took just over two hours after lunch. His contribution was the main attraction of what was quite a stagnant day.

From the New Zealand perspective wickets were shared between Alex Moir and Johnny Hayes who both got two.

The score at stumps was 148-4 with England 52 runs behind New Zealand.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Mon Mar 27, 2017 6:58 am

On this day in 1955 New Zealand and England have a day of rest, so we look at Auckland's inauspicious record at this point.

The wet Auckland pitch proved difficult to score runs on in Day Two for England. This was a bad omen as no Test match that had been played in Auckland had ever reached a result.

Five Test had been played in Auckland: three against England (2 in 1930 and 1 in 1933), one against West Indies (1952) and one against South Africa (1953). All five of these games had been slow going and had petered out into a draw.

Not the best of signs for this evenly poised Test.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Tue Mar 28, 2017 6:52 am

On this day in 1955 New Zealand crumble in dramatic fashion to capitulate to innings loss against England.

Len Hutton, 19 overnight, held the tail together for England. He was assisted by Trevor Bailey in the morning session in a partnership of 51 but, when that was broken through Bailey being caught behind off the bowling of Harry Cave for 18, England did not have much else to offer.

Hutton batted into the middle of the afternoon session but was removed by Tony MacGibbon for 53 to take England to 201-8. A final wicket partnership of 28 between Frank Tyson and Brian Statham took England to 246 all out. A lead of 46 over New Zealand. Evenly poised.

New Zealand began their second innings shortly before tea. At tea the score was 13-3 with only opener Bert Sutcliffe holding on. Tyson had dismissed John Leggatt for 1 and Matt Poore for a duck in his first over whilst Statham claimed John Reid, who got 73 in his first innings, for 1.

The spin of Johnny Wardle saw off Sutcliffe shortly after tea. Bob Appleyard then entered the fray and dismissed four batsmen - including three in four balls.

One final spell for Statham finished the match off as he bagged the last two batsmen in a single over. New Zealand were all out for 28 runs and England had won by an innings and 20 runs.

The English bowlers figures were something to behold. Appleyard finished with 4-7 while Statham ended up with 3-9

New Zealand's 26 is still the lowest total in a Test match - beating the 30 that South Africa twice got against England.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Wed Mar 29, 2017 4:54 pm

On this day in 1871 Surrey and England's Tom Hayward was born.

Hayward was born into cricket with the two generations above him both playing first class cricket for Surrey.

Hayward first turned out for England in 1895 - the year he made his debut for Surrey - and hit the ground running by making a century in his second Test.

In the latter part of his career, Hayward formed an alliance with Jack Hobbs for both club and country. The athleticism of Hobbs acted as a crutch for Hayward as he began to age and lose his pace. Between them they had partnerships over one hundred, forty times - including doing it four times in one week. Stamina was clearly a strength for Hayward as he also managed to score a century in both innings of a match twice in one week.

Hayward has the distinction of scoring 1000 runs in 19 consecutive seasons for Surrey. His highest total was 3518 in 1906 - a record that stood until 1947. His greatest feat came in a county game where he got 315* against Lancashire in 1895. In his penultimate year he became the second player to score one hundred centuries in first class cricket. Altogether in Hayward scored 43,409 runs with an average of 41.69 and took 481 wickets at a cost of 22.94 each - a facet of his game often overlooked.
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Re: On This Day

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Wed Mar 29, 2017 5:26 pm

Good stats.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Thu Mar 30, 2017 7:39 am

On this day in 2016 England beat New Zealand to progress to the World Cup Final.

New Zealand started brightly but the persistent nature of the English bowlers soon wore them down. They lost Martin Guptil cheaply for 15 but England had to wait until the tenth over for the next wicket as Kane Williamson and Colin Munro put on 74 for the second wicket. Munro was unexpectedly effective with a brutal 46 off 32. Once those two were popped off, New Zealand lost wickets regularly and Corey Anderson had very little support to turn to. It was Ben Stokes who turned the screw bagging two wickets hot on the tails of each other in order to pile the pressure on the antipodean team. He ended with 3-26 and New Zealand ended on 152-8.

Jason Roy dominated the English chase with his quickfire 78 from 44 balls at the top of the innings. He set off right from the start with two boundaries in his first over and never looked back from there. In comparison, Alex Hales looked somewhat pedestrian in his 20 off 33 before being caught by Munro off the bowling of Mitchell Santner.

Thanks to Roy, by the half way mark, it was all over. England needed a mere run a ball from the 12th over onwards and won with 17 balls remaining and seven batsmen back in the hutch.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Fri Mar 31, 2017 6:42 am

On this day in 2005 Leicestershire and Worcestershire's Charles Palmer died.

An unusual figure for the time - Palmer cut a bold figure being somewhat diminutive and playing in spectacles.

He started his career in 1938 at Worcestershire and scored three centuries in his second season. His career was then interrupted by war.

He became an amateur player and also a schoolteacher after the war but in the 1950s was signed by Leicestershire where he played some of his best cricket.

Playing for England once, he was de-facto player-manager during the unhappy 1953-4 tour of West Indies at the age of 34. He did not impress with wither the bat or the ball - scoring 22 and a duck and getting no wickets.

He escaped from this unimpressive form to record one of the more unusual spells of bowling in domestic cricket. In 1955 he took 8-7 in two overs against Surrey. At one point his figures were a remarkable 12-12-0-8.

After his retirement he became affiliated with cricket politics for Leicestershire and the MCC.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Sat Apr 01, 2017 10:10 am

On this day in 1984 India, Tamil Nadu and Punjab's Murali Vijay was born.

Vijay's career began early - despite the fact he did not reach international pedigree until much later in his career. He was not a hugely eye-catching Cricketer in his youth but found his way into the senior Tamil Nadu team for the 2006 Ranji Trophy. In his debut season he finished as the third highest run scorer with 628 runs. In his second year he did very well to help himself to 582 runs and a high score of 230*.

In 2008, his fine form saw him picked for the India A team for a series of games against New Zealand. Later that year he made his Test debut in a dead rubber match against Australia - a game in which he looked comfortable and helped India off to good starts in both innings. Off the back of this performance he was selected for the ODI team to face a touring England team but did not play a game.

It took over a year for Vijay to play for India again. In December 2009 he played a solitary game against Sri Lanka and got 87. Early the following year he was taken on a tour of Bangladesh as a supplementary member of the squad but ended up playing in the First Test after V.V.S. Laxman sustained an injury. His reserve status was retained throughout 2010. Despite the Test frustration, he did make his ODI debut in 2010 playing against South Africa, Zimbabwe and New Zealand.

Vijay then spent two years in the wilderness before being recalled to the squad during the 2013 series against Australia. He was hugely impressive in this series and registered scores of 167 in the Second Test and 153 in the Third. This saw him force his way into selectors' minds and he was part of the squad for the 2014 tour of England - where he scored his first century outside of India.

His most recent Test century came against Bangladesh in June 2015.

Last year he was made the captain of Punjab for their unsuccessful IPL season.
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