Second week of October

6 OCTOBER

In 1930 the incomparable Richie Benaud was born. Famous today as simply the best commentator in the business, in his time, he was a dashing batsman, brilliant fielder, ingenious leg-spinner and peerless captain. ('Captaincy is 90 per cent luck and 10 percent talent. But don't try it without the 10 percent' – Richie Benaud.) He lost only four of 28 Tests as captain and Australia won every series when he was in charge. A highly respected journalist, his achievements off the cricket field rival those on it. This is possibly the reason why a young boy once asked Benaud if he had ever played cricket for Australia. MC Hammer's song 'Marvellous' carried imitations of Benaud who uses the world to describe just about everything. Cricket Australia has named its annual Spirit of Cricket Awards after him.

Also born on this day were: 

George Brown (1887-1964), English all-rounder who made over 25,000 runs and took over 600 wickets in first-class cricket for Hampshire; 

Morris Nichols (1900-61), English all-rounder who did the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets eight times for Essex between 1929 and 1939; 

Anthony William 'Tony' Grieg (1946-), English all-rounder and captain who played a leading role in the setting-up of World Series Cricket, and is now a successful TV commentator; 

Murray Bennett (1956-), Australian slow left-armer who with Bob Holland bowled Australia to victory at Sydney in 1984-85, against the West Indies in Clive Lloyd's last Test (Bennett was also a pioneer of the shades that are commonplace in cricket today); 

Reon King (1975-), West Indian pace bowler.

In 1992 Australian leg-spinner William 'Bill' O'Reilly, died in Sydney, aged 86. His career spanned 18 seasons and no less an authority than Sir Donald Bradman rated him as the finest bowler that he had ever witnessed. O'Reilly took a total of 774 first-class wickets at the incredible average of 16.6 No less spectacularly, 144 of these scalps came his way in his 27 Tests at the rate of 22.6 runs apiece. After retirement he was a successful cricket columnist and was cricket correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald until 1988. In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the sport, O'Reilly was posthumously chosen as one of the inaugural members of the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. He was also selected in the Australian Cricket Board's official Test Team of the 20th Century.

7 OCTOBER

Born on this day were: 

Henry Melville Taberer (1870-1932), South African all-rounder who was captain in his only Test against Australia at Johannesburg in 1902-03; 

Charles 'Jack' Russell (1887-1961), English batsman who in his last Test at Durban in 1922-23 became the first Englishman to make two hundreds in a Test (A tree was planted to mark the feat); 

Graham Yallop (1952-), Australian batsman and captain who captained Australia to their heaviest Ashes defeat in 1978-79; 

Zaheer Khan (1978-), Indian left-arm pace bowler who is one of India's strike bowlers; 

Sajeewa de Silva (1979-), Sri Lankan left-arm pace bowler.

In 1964 an unlikely turnaround gave Australia their third consecutive Test victory at Madras. India had taken a first-innings lead of 65, but after Australia set them 333 to win, the home side fell apart. They were 0 for 2 and then 24 for 4, and despite a defiant 94 from Hanumant Singh, Australia won by 139 runs. Graham McKenzie, who returned match figures of 10 for 91, was the hero for the Australians.

In 1979, at Kanpur, Geoff Dymock became the third bowler and the first Australian to dismiss all 11 batsmen in a Test when he bowled Dilip Doshi. But his heroic performance – his match figures of 12 for 168 were his career best – could not stop India winning by 153 runs. Australia needed 279 to win but collapsed dismally, with Kapil Dev and Shivalal Yadav taking four wickets each.

8 OCTOBER

Born on this day were: 

Robert Neil Harvey (1928-), Australian left-handed batsman who remains his country’s youngest centurion – he was 19 years and 121 days old – when he scored 153 against India at Melbourne in 1947-48 (He hit a remarkable six centuries before he was 22 and he went on to become a Test selector, and was awarded the MBE for his services to cricket. Another left-hander, England’s Neil Harvey Fairbrother was named after him); 

Vanburn Holder (1945-), West Indian fast-medium bowler who is now an umpire in England; 

Sameer Dighe (1968-), Indian batsman and wicket-keeper.

In 1987 the fourth World Cup got under way at Hyderabad (Pakistan). It marked a number of firsts: first joint hosting, neutral umpiring in all the matches, 50 overs a side and a provision of strict penalties for discouraging time-wasting tactics. In the first match co-hosts Pakistan began with a victory over Sri Lanka. Javed Miandad’s 103 took him past 4,000 ODI runs, while his captain Imran Khan took his 100th ODI wicket. Sri Lanka fell 15 runs short of Pakistan’s 267 for 6.

In 1995 Pearson Surita, journalist and sports commentator died in Calcutta, aged 82. Surita was born of Spanish parents and was a pioneer in radio commentary in cricket along with Berry Sarbadhikary in the late 1940s and then with ‘Vizzy’, Devraj Puri and Anant Setalvad. He had the distincation of giving running commentary in three sports: cricket, soccer and tennis. He also gave running commentary on the Republic Day Parade in India.

In 1997 Ali Naqvi (115) and Azhar Mahmood (128 not out) became the first pair of debutantes to score centuries in the same innings of a Test, in the first Test against South Africa at Rawalpindi. Azhar added 151 for the last wicket with Mushtaq Ahmed, equaling the Test record set by Brian Hasting and Richard Collinge for New Zealand against Pakistan at Auckland in 1972-73. At tea, Queen Elizabeth 2 and the Duke of Edinburg taking part in Pakistan’s 50th anniversary celebrations met the two teams. The match ended in a draw.

9 OCTOBER

Born on this day were: 

Geoff Cook (1951-), English batsman who made almost 25,000 first-class runs for Northants and formed a famous opening partnership with Wayne Larkins, but aggregated only 203 in seven Tests; and Mahendra Nagamootoo (1975-), West Indian leg-spinner.

In 1960 Pakistan Railways beat Jammu & Kashmir by ten wickets at Srinagar. After declaring at 236 for no loss in the first innings they won by scoring 16 for no loss in their second innings to become only the third team to win a first-class match without losing a wicket (the other two being Lancashire and Karachi ‘A’).

Two hat-tricks on debut on this day: 
In 1976 in the first Test between Pakistan and New Zealand at Lahore, Peter Petherick, who was making his Test debut at the age of 34, took a hat-trick when he dismissed Javed Miandad (himself a debutante who made a glorious 163 on his first day in Test cricket), Wasim Raja and Intikhab Alam with successive deliveries. He was only the second person to do so on debut, after Maurice Allom of England in 1929-30. 

In 1994 Damien Fleming achieved a similar feat on debut in the second Test at Rawalpindi when he nailed Aamer malik, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Salim Malik off consecutive deliveries.

In 1987 Australia beat India by one run at Madras – the narrowest victory in World Cup history. Australia had made 270 for 6 and India replied with 269 in 49.5 overs. One of Dean Jones’s shots was signaled as a four, but when the Australians later asked to allow it to be a six, Kapil Dev consented, a sporting act which ultimately proved decisive. Hanif Mohammad was the match referee. India had lost to Australia by the same margin in the 1992 World Cup as well. On the same day England beat West Indies at Gujranwala by two wickets with three balls to spare in their first match of the World Cup.

In 1999 Brian Lara scored 117 off only 62 balls in the Millennium Cup match against Bangladesh at Dhaka. His century came up in 45 balls, the second fastest in ODI history, and after 15 overs West Indies were 160 for 1. Khaled Mahmud’s first two overs went for 40. West Indies’ total of 314 for 6 saw them through to a 109-run victory.

In 2002 Carl Hooper played in his 100th Test when he appeared for the West Indies against India in the first Test in Mumbai. He became the first player to play in more than 100 Tests and ODIs, score 5,000 Test runs and to take 100 wickets and 100 catches in both forms of the game. It was not the happiest of Tests though. West Indies lost by an innings and 112 runs.

In 2003 Rahul Dravid made 222 in the first Test against New Zealand at Ahmedabad. He became the second player after Gundappa Vishwanath (in 1982) to fall victim to the double-Nelson. On the same day Sourav Ganguly became the first ever player in Test history to be penalized for running on the danger area of the pitch when umpire Rudi Koertzen after warning him docked him two runs. He was on 75 then and went on to make an undefeated 100.

10 OCTOBER

In 1866 Dr. M(ehallasha) E(dulji) Parvi, arguably the first great cricketer from India, was born. He played for the Parsees for 28 years (24 years as captain) and was a member of the second Parsees team which tourned England in 1888. He was a medium fast right-hand bowler and a reliable batsman. He played as an amateur for Middlesex in 1895 becoming only the second Indian after ranji to play county cricket. He also authored a book called Parsi Cricket in 1901.

Also born on this day were: 

Henry Bulter ‘Harry’ Cave (1922-89), New Zealand bowler and captain (He was the best of an extended family of cricketers known as ‘The Caveman’, and he captained New Zealand in nine of his 19 Tests); 

Clairmonte Depeiaza (1927-95), West Indian batsman who was part of the highest seventh-wicket (347) partnership in Test history with Denis Atkinson, at Bridgetown in 1954-55 (Their partnership was a first-class record too, until Pankaj Dharmani and Bhupinder Singh Jr. added 460 for Punjab against Delhi in 1994-95); 

Harold Pinter (1930-), British dramatist who is a keen cricket fan; and Lance Cairns (1949-), New Zealand all-rounder (and father of Chris) who took 10 for 144 at Headingley in 1983, to lead New Zealand to their first Test victory in England. (In 1979-80 he flogged his only first-class century ODI fifty off only 21 balls at Melbourne.)

In 1982, the P&O steamship SS Bokhara carrying the Hong Kong cricket back from an inter-port match against Shanghai, sank in a typhoon off Taiwan with the loss of 125 lives. Only twp members of the 13-man team survived the disaster. The first inter-port match between Hong Kong and Shanghai was played in 1886, 15 years after the founding of the Hong Kong Cricket Club.

In 1938 Martin Bladen, the 7th Lord Hawke, died in Edinburgh, aged 78. Lord Hawke was a dominant figure in Yorkshire cricket for over 50 years, and most influential member of the cricketing establishment. He captained the Yorkshire side for 28 years, and was associated with the MCC for 50 years as a member of the Committee, treasurer and president. He scored 13 first-class centuries and had a career average of around 20. He took teams to India, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Canada, US, West Indies, New Zealand and Argentina and did much to popularize the game in many parts of the world. He introduced winter pay for the professional cricketer but believed in the divine right of the amateur captain. (‘Pray heaven no professional may ever captain England’.)

In 1987 Zimbabwe’s Dave Houghton hammered a brilliant 142 (137 balls with 13 fours and 6 sixes) as his side fell an agonizing four runs short of their target of 243 in a World Cup match against New Zealand at Hyderabad. He lost ten pounds in the oppressive heat and by the end with cramps taking full toll he could hardly walk. It was Zimbabwe’s first ODI hundred.

In 2003 Australian Matthew Hayden made 380 in the first Test against Zimbabwe at Perth to register Test cricket’s highest score at the time. He beat Lara’s 375 by five runs doing it in 622 minutes and 437 balls with the help of 38 fours and 11 sixes. The 218 runs scored off hits to the boundary are the second highest after John Edrich’s 238 out of 310 in 1965 for England against New Zealand at Leeds. Australia reached a mammoth 735 for 6 declared and Zimbabwe lost by an innings and 175 runs. It was a reign destined to lost only six months: Lara hit Test cricket’s first quadruple century (400 not out) against England at Antigua in April 2004 to become the only player to regain the record for Test cricket’s highest individual score.

In 2007 Mark Boucher becomes first wicketkeeper to make 400 dismissals in Tests. South Africa goes on to win their first series in Pakistan.

11 OCTOBER

Born on this day were: 

Anthony de Mello (1900-61), pre-eminent Indian cricket administrator who was a pioneer in the formation of the BCCI, DDCA, building of the Brabourne Stadium and the initiation the World Table Tennis Championship in Bombay and the holding of the first Asian games in 1951); 

Keith Bouce (1943-96), West Indian fast bowler and exciting lower-order batsman who played 21 Tests and was the first man to score 1,000 runs and take 100 wickets in limited-overs matches in England (He died on his 53rd birthday in 1996); 

Sanjay Bangar (1972-), Indian all-rounder.

In 1902 this was the first day of the inaugural Test between South Africa and Australia at Johannesburg. The match began almost as soon as the Australians arrived and was played at an altitude of nearly 6,000 ft. It took the Aussies a while to acclimatize and they followed on before Clem Hill slammed a century (142) before lunch on the final day to save the match. H.M. Taberer, emulating C. Aubrey Smith of England, captained the home team in his only Test appearance.

In 1956 Australia were bowled out for 80 in the one-off Test, against Pakistan at Karachi, which was also the first between the two sides. Fazal Mahmood took 6 for 34 and Pakistan were 15 for 2 at close of play – only 95 runs were scored in the whole day for the loss of 12 wickets – the lowest in Test history. Pakistan won the match, thanks mainly to a superlative performance from Fazal Mahmood who returned match figures of 70-28-114-13 on a matting pitch. Australia were skittled for 80 and 187.

In 1988 Pakistan played out a tense draw against Australia at Lahore to score a 1-0 series win against Australia. The match was notable for Javed Miandad becoming the first Pakistani to reach 7,000 runs, and for being the only Test in which Steve Waugh opened the bowling in both innings.

In 1996 Indian wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia his only Test century against Australia at Delhi. Mongia was sent as opener and he batted over eight hours for his 152. Australia lost the Test by seven wickets.

12 OCTOBER

Born on this day were: 

Frederick ‘Nutty’ Martin (1861-1921), English left-arm medium pacer whose 12 for 102 on debut against Australia at The Oval in 1890 were the best figures by a debutante until Bob Massie destroyed England with 16 for 137 in 1972; 

Vijay Merchant (1911-87), India’s first great batsman who finished his career with a first class batting average of 71.64 second only to the great Sir Donald Bradman’s 95.14 (He averaged 98.75 in the Ranji Trophy and his masterful displays in 1936 incited C.B. Fry to exclaim: ‘Let us paint him white and take him with us to Australia as an opener.’ He was later an administrator and writer, devoting the latter part of his life to the service of the disabled); and Ashok Mankad (1964-2008), Indian batsman who played in 22 Tests and is the eldest son of the great Vinoo. (He was the non-striker when Sunil Gavaskar got his first run in Test cricket and was a commentator when he crossed the historic 10,000 run mark.)

In 1936 B.J.T. Bosanquet, the man credited with inventing the googly, died in Surrey one day before his 59th birthday. He played in seven Tests for England and the Googly is also known as ‘Bosie’ in his honour.

In 1952 Hanif Mohammad completed twin hundreds (121 and 109 not out) against North Zone (India) in a tour match during the 1952-53 series at Amritsar. These were his first-class tons.

In 2002 Pakistan crashed to a humiliating two-day defeat against Australia. In their first innings they were bowled out for only 59, with Shane Warne taking 4 for 11 in 11 overs. In their second innings they managed only 53, their lowest ever Test total. Warne was again the destroyer, with 4 for 13. Only three Pakistanis reached double figures in the entire match, and their match total of 112 is the fourth lowest in Test history.

In 2007 Inzamam-ul-Haq confirms his retirement from Test cricket, finishing three runs short of Javed Miandad’s record runs aggregate for Pakistan.