On This Day

[The Professor]

On this day in 2006 England seize the moral victory as the First Test against India is drawn.

England declared overnight leaving India a chase of 367 to claim the win.

Just as in the first innings, Virender Sehwag underperformed and was out in the fourth over, again, to Matthew Hoggard. This brought together Wasim Jaffer and Rahul Dravid, the partnership that so competently closed out the second day. They impressed again and put on 197 runs in 64 overs. Jaffer was the most destructive of the two in his 306 ball stay, but it was Dravid out first for 71 to the spin of Monty Panesar. Just three overs late Jaffer was celebrating his hundred and then dismissed by Andrew Flintoff in the same over. India were 198-3.

This brought together Irfan Pathan and MS Dhoni who looked to rebuild until Dhoni was caught by Andrew Strauss off the bowling of Hoggard. Again, three overs later Pathan walked back with an impressive run a ball 35. India were sensing time was running out and at 215-4 they had to go big or go home.

Shortly after Harbhajan Singh went home trying to accelerate and getting clean bowled by Steve Harmison. Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman saw the rest of the day out and stumps were drawn with India still short by 107 runs.

[The Professor]

On this day in 2015 India continue their fine World Cup form with victory over West Indies.

West Indies won the toss and elected to bat. A decision that Dwayne Smith was left to rue when he was out for just 6, caught behind off the bowling of Mohammed Shami.

Marlon Samuels then came to be partnered with Chris Gayle and he too was out cheaply; run out for 2. West Indies were 15-2. Gayle got the bit between his teeth and began to play some big strokes. This led to his demise for 21 with his team on 35.

The West Indies team seemed to lack any sense of unity, intelligence or acumen with the bat. It was Jason Holder who managed to spare too many blushes with a fifty but the West Indies were all out for 182 without facing all of their allocated overs.

Despite the low total West Indies did scare India at points. At 78-4 and 134-6 India looked vulnerable. Just as the West Indies' innings began with some poor batting, so too did the Indian chase. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were both out for single figures and Kohli had to hold things together. There was a middle order wobble too when Ajinkya Rahane was given out to a dubious catch for 14, five overs before Suresh Raina was given out for 22. Ravindra Jadeja added to the issues through bad shot selection to be out for 13.

It was the 45 from MS Dhoni that settle the Indian nerves and shepherded his team to victory despite the lack of partner. He was accompanied by Ravi Ashwin in the end who stood unopposed on 16.

The victory marked eight successive games won by India in World Cups.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1947 Holkar get off to an inauspicious start in Ranji Trophy against Baroda.

In an age where the domestic championship final was unlimited for time Holkar played as if they were under huge scoreboard pressure.

In the blink of an eye they were 20-4. Madhavsinh Jagdale, Bhausaheb Nimbalkar and C.K. Nayudu were all dismissed for nought, with the latter two both dismissed in the same Vijay Hazare over.

Chandu Sarwate and C.S. Nayudu managed to stabilise for a while with a partnership of 25 but when the latter fell for a frenetic 20 he was soon followed back to the pavilion by Jamshed Bhaya. The fourth duck of the day. At lunch Holkar were 76-6.

After lunch Sarwate found a couple of ready partners in the form of Hiralal Gaekwad and GN Kunzru who scored 47 and 55 with the set partner. Even the last two batsmen played the game and farmed the strike to Sarwate to boost the score. Number ten, Surendrasingh scored 5 in a partnership of 21 whilst number eleven, O.P. Rawal, got 4 in a partnership of 35.

Eventually Holkar were all out for 202. Sarwate was stranded on 94.

Baroda got to 16 without loss in reply with SG Powar on 5 and Raosaheb Nimbalkar on 10.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1947 Gul Mohammad and Vijay Hazare spare Baroda's blushes against Holkar.

Day Two of the Ranji Trophy final seemed earmarked to be just as much of a procession as Day One. Whilst nowhere near as bad as Holkar's opening batsmen, Baroda found themselves at 91-3 as the only batsman that managed to push on after a good start was Raosaheb Nimbalkar who was out for 43. SG Powar got only a further 9 runs before falling and, first drop batsman, Hemu Adhikari was gone for 19. All three were dismissed off the bowling of CK Nayudu.

This brought together Mohammad and Hazare who not only managed to stop the rot but banish it entirely. They batted throughout the whole of the afternoon and evening session and stood unopposed at the end of the day. Not only did they manage to grind the score higher and higher they also managed to tire out the fielders due to the fact that Mohammad was a leftie and Hazare was right handed. Cue frequent field changes.

The day ended with even-tempered Mohammad on 67 and the much more destructive Hazare on 117. Baroda were 283-3 and 81 runs ahead.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1947 Gul Mohammad and Vijay Hazare's impressive partnership continues.

Whilst this was an undoubtably a huge cricketing achievement it does not lend itself to being written about at length.

Mohammad and Hazare, 67 and 117 overnight, batted all day to swell their individual totals to 269 and 200 respectively. In the reverse of the way they started yesterday, it was Mohammad who put his foot down and managed to overtake the deficit of his partner as Day Three progressed. The day ended with Baroda on 574-3, 372 runs ahead of Holkar.

There are precious few written accounts of this day's play but it deserves it's place in cricket history.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1947 Mohammad and Hazare's record breaking partnership comes to an end.

Anyone who expected the partnership of Mohammad and Hazare to finish any time early on Day Four would have been disappointed. The pair continued to pile on the runs throughout the morning and afternoon session.

It was Mohammad who was out first. Despite the fact that, at stumps on Day One he was lagging behind Hazare, he finished his innings hugely outstripping his partner. He was caught by Madhavsinh Javdale off the bowling of Hiralal Gaekwad for 319. This ended a record breaking partnership of 577 besting the previous highest score that had also been accrued in a Hazare partnership. This record stands to this day.

The hours of preparation that Maharaja of Baroda had put in to being padded up was somewhat absurdly ended with a score of 1. He was followed back to the pavilion in short order by Mutyalswami Naidu and Amir Elahi for 8 and 1 respectively. After a partnership of 577, Hazare was forced to endure ones of 3, 21 and 1.

Hazare was next man out. Another victim of the Gaekwad and Javdale combination. His score was 288.

The tail wagged as well with scores of 24 and 17 from Shamrao Vichare and Ahmed Patel. This helped drag Baroda's total to an impressive 784 and their lead to 582 - almost exactly the partnership of Mohammad and Hazare.

Holkar managed to kick start their somewhat futile chase and lost a wicket early. Mushtaq Ali was run out, perhaps seeking quick runs, for 10. Holkar managed to get to 23-1 by stumps.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1947 Holkar fall to huge loss to Baroda in Ranji Trophy final.

The day started inauspiciously for Holkar as they lost the first innings top runscorer Chandu Sarwate for just 1 run, Madhavsinh Jagdale soon followed.

This brought Bhausheb Nimbalkar to the crease who managed to hold in there despite the lack of any substantial partners to aid him. The only other batsman that offered him any kind of help was C.S. Nayudu who put on 28. When Nimbalkar fell for 87 the score was 155-6 and only 18 more runs were added as the lower order showed they had nothing to offer.

The most effective bowler of the day was Amir Elahi who got 6-62. Vijay Hazare also got 2 wickets, taking his match total to 8-137 to go alongside his mammoth run scoring feat.

Baroda had won the Ranji Trophy by an innings and 409 runs.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1992 New Zealand prove their ODI dominance with World Cup victory over India.

India won the toss and, fearing rain, chose to bat. They got off to a catastrophic start whereby Kris Srikkanth was out third ball and Ajay Jadeja had to retire on 13 with a hamstring injury. Captain Mohammad Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar put India back on track with a partnership of 127 that spanned over thirty overs.

When Azharuddin fell for 55 off the bowling of Dipak Patel, Tendulkar soldiered on with Kapil Dev with whom he put on 35. After Tendulkar's dismissal for 84, no Indian batsman managed to make a stand and the runs dried up in the death overs. Eventually India were 230-6 in their fifty overs. Chris Harris was New Zealand's best bowler with figures of 3-55.

Mark Greatbach gave New Zealand the explosive start that India lacked and scorched 73 in 77 deliveries. In his whirlwind of an innings, New Zealand shot to 118-2 and were comfortably ahead of the required run rate. Andrew Jones took over the mantle of batsman in chief after Greatbach perished. He went though four partners, the most successful being Martin Crowe, who made 26 in a partnership of 44, and Ken Rutherford, who made 21 in a partnership of 34. The other batsman in the New Zealand middle order disappointed but such was the explosive nature of the opening batsman it did not matter. Jones ended on 67 not out.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1956 New Zealand beat West Indies to claim their first ever Test victory.

New Zealand began the day at 61-2 and 171 runs ahead of the West Indies. They clearly planned to attack as can be seen by the number of batsmen lost in the morning session.

Overnight batsman Tony MacGibbon was out early doors for a further 5 runs. Don Taylor and John Reid then put on 25 together to draw New Zealand close to their team century. When Taylor became Denis Atkinson's second wicket of the game it precipitated a collapse whereby New Zealand went from 91-4 to 109-7 - a further two of these wickets belonging to Atkinson.

Sammy Guillen held up the inevitable collapse with a frustrating 41 but the tail had little to offer with batsmen 8 though 11 only getting single figures. New Zealand were all out for 157 - a lead of 267. Atkinson would have been pleased with his innings figures of 7-53.

To say that West Indies chase was disastrous is slightly underselling the matter. They trundled along until they were 16-1 whereby they lost three batsmen for the gain of no run. Things did not get much better. Garry Sobers and Alphonso Roberts were dismissed for 1 and 0 respectively and West Indies were 22-6.

Everton Weekes and Alfie Binns managed to put the brakes on the slide with scores of 31 and 20 but when the former was dismissed by Jack Alabaster it set about another collapse. Binns and Sonny Ramadhin followed for the gain of no further run. West Indies went from 68-7 to 68-9.

Soon enough West Indies were all out for 77. Harry Cave was the best bowler for New Zealand with figures of 4-21.

New Zealand had waited twenty seven years and twenty two Tests to claim their first win.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1996 West Indies crumble to hand Australia progression in the World Cup.

The game seemed to be over after ten overs. Australia were 15-4. The top four batsman were fired out for a cumulative 4 runs by Curtly Ambrose and Ian Bishop. Stuart Law and Michael Bevan managed to put the show back on the road with a yield of 138 in 32 overs. The tail, held together by 31 from 36 balls from Ian Healy, pushed Australia to a smidge over 207.

West Indies glided seamlessly to 165-2 with 43 runs needed from the last nine overs. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was headed for a century and was alongside Richie Richardson with whom he put on 72. Chanderpaul, beset by cramp, was caught by Damien Fleming off the bowling of Glenn McGrath for 80. This set in motion a catastrophic collapse.

Roger Harper (averaging 16 at a strike rate of 73) and Otis Gibson (averaging 15 at a strike rate of 103) were promoted up the order to get quick runs...and got one run between them. Jimmy Adams and Keith Arthurton then followed for 2 and 0 and the West Indies were 187-7.

More wickets tumbled but miraculously Richardson survived alongside Ambrose into the last over, wherein West Indies needed ten. The first ball was struck for four but Ambrose was run out off a single off the next ball. Last man Courtney Walsh was out for a golden duck and West Indies had thrown the game away.

On a bowler friendly day Shane Warne's 4-36 were the best figures.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1892 cricket hit the high courts as the case of Rowney v Wood is heard.

We think of the rise of women's cricket as a modern endeavour but Agnes Rowney captained a team of female Cricketers who went on a tour of the commonwealth. Halfway though this tour, the team ran out of funds and, it was alleged, Mr Wood stepped in and took over the tour, promising to play the salaries of the players. This never materialised. Mr Wood denied the allegation but the jury found against him.

The judge found him liable for costs amounting to eleven pounds - a sum that Mr Wood could not muster. The court said that he could pay in monthly instalments of eight shillings.

[The Professor]

On this day in 2016 a massive effort by Chris Gayle sees West Indies beat England in Super 10 Group.

At the halfway point thinks were looking peachy for England. They had only lost Jason Roy and were on course for a score of 180+. Alex Hales and Joe Root out on 56 and seemed to be ticking along nicely. The West Indian bowlers seemed to have mastery of the slower balls which saw off some of the English batsmen's best efforts. The most effective of these slow balls was delivered by Andre Russell and dismissed Joe Root for a 48 that looked like it may have swelled.

Ben Stokes' dismissal proved equally as frustrating. He seemed to be gearing up for one of his punchier innings when he was caught lbw by Dwayne Bravo for a 15 ball 8.

From there England followed the same pattern of getting batsmen set but losing them before they could consolidate. Eventually they reached 182-6 - about par.

It was Gayle and Gayle alone that lead his side to victory. England's bowlers have looked ropey all competition but this was especially the case today where Gayle seemingly zoned in on the weakness of every single bowler and dispatched them with ease. Stokes seemed to struggle with conditions from his first over which produced boundaries for Gayle. The relatively inexperienced Reece Topley was treated with equal disregard. In his stand of exactly 100, Gayle got a record breaking amount of sixes -11.

The other West Indian batsmen paled in comparison. Marlon Samuels kick started the effort with 37 off 27 but Denesh Ramdin and Dwayne Bravo disappointed with scores of 12 and 2. Russell helped see Gayle and West Indies over the line.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1887 an unusual end of tour match starts with great promise.

Rather than do a combined Australia game, as was usual at that time, it was decided to field a Smokers XI vs a Non-Smokers XI that mixed English and Australian Cricketers. This caught the public imagination and three cigar companies put up prizes for the highest batsmen, bowler and combined score on the Smokers team. Nothing was offered to the Non-Smokers.

The Smokers lost the toss and the Non-Smokers decided to bat. The fielding team, led out by captain Harry Boyle, walked on smoking cigars which they stubbed out on the turf. The Non-Smokers set about accruing runs for their team on a wicket that suited the willow.

William Bruce was the first man out but had piled on 131 runs and his team were on 196. He had found the boundary a huge 17 times. England's Billy Bates put on a disappointing 4 but was followed to the crease by fellow Englishman Billy Gunn. Gunn accompanied opener Arthur Shrewsbury to the close.

Stumps were drawn with the Non-Smokers on 422-2. Shrewsbury had 183 and Gunn was on 104 on a day where three centuries had been registered.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1887 the Non-Smokers' Arthur Shrewsbury and Billy Gunn build up a formidable third wicket partnership against the Smokers.

As the day progressed and the two English players piled on the runs, the cigar companies sponsoring the competition must have wondered if this was false advertising. The pair batted through two sessions and when they were displaced the team had gone from 204-2 to 524-4. A staggeringly high total was on the cards. Shrewsbury was out for 236 and a Gunn for 150.

The later order Non-Smokers showed they had some fight to them too. 102 runs came from the 8th wicket partnership between England's Harry Musgrove and Australia's Jack Worrall. Neither managed to last through until stumps though, with Worrall caught by Johnny Briggs off his own bowling for 46 in the dying overs of the day.

The day ended with the Non-Smokers on 792-8 with William Cooper on 40 and Mordecai Sherwin on 1.

[The Professor]

On this day in 1887 more runs to be found by the Smokers as they play catch up on the Non-Smokers.

The Non-Smokers' first innings was closed early in the morning session of Day Three as the last two wickets were lost for the gain of just 19 runs. The Non-Smokers were all out for 803. This was the first score over 800 in First Class cricket - quite the novelty in this novelty match.

After spending two days in the field you may have thought that the smokers might have been out of puff but, on this wicket, they continued the fine form of the batsmen in this match.

The first wicket of Maurice Read was removed by William Cooper, caught behind on 30. The second wicket partnership of Joey Palmer and Johnny Briggs took up the bulk of the rest of the day as they put on 160 between them to take the score from 44-1 to 204-2. Neither batsmen managed to see their side through to the close of play as Palmer went for 113 and Briggs for 86. Wilf Flowers and George Lohmann saw the Smokers through to stumps with the former on 48 and the latter on 16.