Fifth Week of October

27 OCTOBER

Born on this day were: 

P.G. ‘Nana’ Joshi 91926-87), Indian wicket-keeper during the 1950s; 

Dattaji Krishnarao Gaekwad (1928-), Indian opening batsman and captain in the 1959 tour of England who is the father of Anshuman Gaekwad (He was later also manager and coach of the Indian team); 

Chris Tavare (1954-), English opening batsman who was famous for his slow scoring; 

Mark Taylor (1964-), Australian opening batsman and captain who succeeded Allan Border as captain (He played in 103 Tests, scored 7,525 Test runs and took 157 catches mostly at first slip); 

Kumar Sangakkara (1977-), Sri Lankan wicket-keeper and attacking batsman ; 

Irfan Pathan (1984-), Indian allrounder.

In 1963 Bob Simpson scored a mighty 359 for New South Wales against Queensland at Brisbane. It remained the highest post-war score in Australia for 40 years. It was not enough for victory though: 1,301 runs were scored in the match for the loss of only 21 wickets. Simpson made 247 not out in his next innings, against Western Australia at Sydney.

In 1987 Vijay Merchant (Test average 47.72, first-class average 71.64) died, aged 76, in Bombay. His flawless technique figure of 98.35 in the Ranji Trophy. Although Merchant was the name under which he courted fame, it was not his real name (which was Vijay Madhavji Thakersey) but his family occupation, which his principal at school had appended. Merchant was renowed for his late cut which according to one critic, ‘he played so late that sometimes he seemed to snatch the ball from the wicket-keeper’s clutches.’

In 1997 South Africa pulled off a sensational victory in the third Test against Pakistan at Faisalabad to take the series 1-0. It was a remarkable match. On the first day South Africa were 98 for 7 before a century from Gary Kirsten and 81 from Pat Symcox got them to 239. Pakistan needed only 147 to win the match and the series but Shaun Pollock took four top-order wickets in seven deliveries as Pakistan succumbed for only 92.

In 2000 Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan created what was at the time a world record by claiming 7 for 30 against India in the Coca-Cola tournament at Sharjah. (His performance was bettered by his teammate Chaminda Vaas who took 8 for 19 in a ODI against Zimbabwe in December 2001.) Marvan Atappattu and Mahela Jayawardene both made centuries in a total of 294 for 5 and then, with India at 99 for 2, Murali took seven wickets for 23 runs in 50 balls.

28 OCTOBER

Born on this day were: 

Cyril Christiani (1913-37), West Indian batsman who played in four Tests before tragically dying of malaria, aged only 24; 

Douglas Sang Hue (1931-), West Indian Test umpire of Chinese descent who stood in 31 Test matches between 1961-62 and 1980-81; 

Peter Cantrell (1962-), Australian born Dutchman opening bat, who played for Netherlands in the 1996 World Cup.

In 1938 Vijay Merchant became the first to reach 1,000 runs in the Ranji Trophy during his innings of 143 not out for Bombay against baroda at Baroda.

In 1985 Sri Lanka lost the second Test against Pakistan at Sialkot by eight wickets. Ravi Ratnayeke took 8 for 83 in Pakistan’s first innings, the best figures by a Sri Lankan bowler at the time, proved decisive as Sri Lanka were dismissed for 157 and 200. Pakistan knocked off the 99 needed for victory with a day and a half to spare.

In 1994 another ODI hundred from Sachin Tendulkar led India to a seven-wicket win over New Zealand at Baroda. Ken Rutherford’s first ODI ton, in his 103rd match, had helped the Kiwis to an imposing 269 for 4, but Tendulkar and Manoj Prabhakar replied with a first-wicket partnership of 144, and India eased home with 11 balls to spare.

In 1996 Goa upset Karnataka by an innings and 81 runs at Panjim Gymkhana, Panaji to win their first Ranji Trophy game ever.

29 OCTOBER

In 1877 the great Wilfred Rhodes was born in North Moor, Kirkheaton, Yorkshire. Arguably England’s best-ever all-rounder, he was a fine strokemaker and a slow left-armer who started his Test career at No.11 and ended up opening the batting. Rhodes was the oldest man to play Test cricket (at 52 years 165 days in West Indies in 1929-30) and the only man to have a Test career spanning over 30 years (1899-1930 (He took a record 4,187 first-class wickets, at a cost of only 16.71 apiece. He lost his eyesight in later life, and died in Dorset in 1973. He is one of three players (Australia’s Syd Gregory and India’s Vinoo Mankad are the others) who have batted in all positions from 1 to 11.

Also born on this day were: 

David Allen (1935-), English off-spinner who played 39 Tests for England in the 1960s; 

Anura Tennekoon (1946-), Sri Lankan batsman and captain; 

Greg Blewett (1971-), Australian batsman who averaged 34 from his 46 Tests; 

Matthew Hayden (1971-), Australian batsman who made 549 runs – an Australian record for a three-match series – on his tour of Indian in 2001 and whose 380 against Zimbabwe in October 2003 was for six months Test cricket’s highest individual score (In 2003 he also became the first Test player to score 1,000 Test runs in three consecutive calender years); 

Michael Vaughan (1974-), English batsman and captain who has the distinction of being the first ever player to appear on the cover of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.

In 1900 HRH Prince Christian Victor (HRH Prince Victor Albert Ludwig Ernest Anton Christian of Schleswig-Holstein in full), batsman and wicket-keeper who played for I- Zingari was killed in the Boer War, aged 33. He is the only member of royalty to play first-class cricket.

In 1983 Sunil Gavaskar scored his 29th century (121) to equal Don Bradman in the second Test against the West Indies at Delhi. It was the fastest of his 34 centuries coming in only 94 balls. When on 104 he passed another milestone; he became the third batsman after Sobers and Boycott to score 8,000 Test runs.

The first 199 in Test history! 

In 1984 Mudassar Nazar fell at the final hurdle when he was caught behind off Shivlal Yadav in the second Test between Pakistan and India at Faisalabad. It was catching: Mohammad Azharuddin, Matthew Elliott, Sanath Jayasuriya, Steve Waugh and Andy Flower have all since made 199 in a Test – but of the six, only Elliott (at Headingley in 1997) has been on the winning side. This one ended in a draw: Mudassar added 250 for the second wicket with Qasim Omar, who made 210 in 685 minutes, the longest Test innings in Pakistan.

In 1986 Pakistan dismissed West Indies for 53 in the second innings of the first Test at Faisalabad. This was their lowest ever Test score until Australia skittled them for 51 in Trinidad in 1998-99, and still the lowest in a Test in Pakistan. They plumbed new depths when they were dismissed for 47 in the first Test against England in Jamaica in March 2004. Imran Khan took 4 for 30 and Abdul Qadir 6 for 16. Pakistan won by 186 runs. It was one of only eight defeats (in 82 matches) suffered by West Indies in the 1980s.

In 2000 India was dismissed for 54 runs – the lowest ever Indian score – against Sri Lanka at the Coca-Cola tournament in Sharjah. The margin of 245 runs was India’s largest margin of defeat and also the record for all ODIs at the time. India’s previous lowest was 63 against Australia. Sanath Jayasuriya slammed 189 off 161 balls with 21 fours and four sixes. Chaminda Vaas took 5 for 14 and Muttiah Muralitharan 3 for 6.

30 OCTOBER

Born on this day were: 

John Adams (1735-1826), American president (1797-1801) who stated in the US Congress in the 1780s that if leaders of cricket clubs could be called ‘presidents’, there was no reason why the leader of the new nation could not be called the same (The first cricket clubs in the USA were established in the 1700s, not long after they made their first appearance in England. Cricket which was originally played by officers of the British Army with local landed gentry soon became a major recreation of American gentlemen of leisure and several Founding Fathers of the United States were known to be avid cricketers); 

Courtney Walsh (1962-), pre-eminent West Indian pace bowler who became the first bowler in cricket history to take more than 500 Test wivckets (He was given the nickname ‘Duracell’ because he seemed to go on forever); 

Mike Veletta (1963-), Australian opening batsman who played eight Tests for Australia.

In 1955 Imtiaz Ahmed’s marathon innings of 209 (in 680 minutes) in the second Test against New Zealand at Lahore made him the first wicket-keeper to score a Test double century. It was also the first double century by a Pakistani and he added a Pakistan-record 308 for the seventh wicket with Waqar Hassan, who made 189. Pakistan eventually won by four wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.

In 1976 Majid Khan hammered a century off only 74 balls on the first day of the third Test between Pakistan and New Zealand at Karachi. He equaled the fourth fastest in Test history in terms of balls faced and became only the fourth man to make a hundred before lunch on the first day of a Test, and the first non-Australian, after Victor Trumper, Charles Macartney and Don Bradman.

In 1994 West Indies beat India by 46 runs in the Wills World Series match at Kanpur. India’s sixth-wicket pair of Manoj Prabhakar and Nayan Mongia came together with 63 needed off 54 balls but surprisingly they did not bother going for the runs. They made only 16 from nine overs, and though Prabhakar completed an unbeaten century, he and Mongia were dropped for the rest of the tournament. Raman Subba Row, the match referee, docked India two points (it was suspected that they wanted to meet West Indies and not New Zealand in the final) but ICC annulled that decision. India did go on to play West Indies in the final, and beat them by 72 runs.

In 1996 Pakistan’s Hasan Raza aged 14 years 233 days became the youngest player to play in a ODI when he played for Pakistan against Zimbabwe at Quetta. In the same match Wasim Akram became the first bowler to take 300 wickets in ODIs.

31 OCTOBER

Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu (1895-1967), pre-eminent Indian batsman, who was India’s first Test captain and first cricketing hero was born on this day in 1895. He played first-class cricket in six decades, from 1916 to 1963 till the age of 68. It is said that the great Ranji once remarked to C.K.’s father ‘Why doesn’t he hit the ball?’ on seeing C.K. bat as a boring school boy plodder. C.K. Took Ranji for his word. He was known as a dashing, daring and confident batsman with a penchant for big sixes.

Also born on this day were: 

William ‘Dodger’ Whysall (1887-1930), English batsman who played four Tests for England and made over 20,000 first-class runs for Nottinghamshire and shared in 40 century opening stands with George Gunn; 

Ramnath Parkar (1946-99), Indian batsman who played in two Tests.

In 1976 at 19 years 141 days, Javed Miandad became the youngest player to make a Test double century. He cracked 206 in only his third Test – he had already made 163 in his first – as Pakistan piled up 565 for 9 in their first innings – a record for any Test in Karachi. In the same match Imran Khan after bowling three bouncers at Richard Hadlee became the first person to be banned from bowling in a Test for intimidatory bowling by umpire Shuja-ud-din. The match ended in a draw and in all 1,585 runs were scored for the loss of 31 wickets, a record for Tests in the subcontinent.

In 1982 playing for Pakistan International Airways against Karachi, Zaheer Abbas scored two centuries in a first-class match for a record eighth time. In 1985 this was his last day in Test cricket – against Sri Lanka at Sialkot. He ended with 5,062 runs at an average of 44.79 in 78 Tests.

In 1984 the second ODI between Pakistan and India at Sialkot was abandoned as news came through of the assassination of the Indian Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi. The remainder of the tour – another ODI and a Test – was cancelled.

In 1987 Indian cricketer Chetan Sharma became the first ever bowler to take a hat-trick at the World Cup when he dismissed three successive New Zealand batsmen at Nagpur. Chetan Sharma bowled Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith and Ewen Chatfield with the last three balls of his sixth over as India hammered New Zealand by nine wickets. Krish Srikkanth smashed 75 off 58 balls but the surprise package was at the other end, where Sunil Gavaskar matched him stroke for stroke, thrashing his only ODI hundred (103 not out) in 108 appearances, off just 85 balls.

In 1990 Pakistan beat New Zealand by 65 runs at Faisalabad to seal a 3-0 clean sweep for Pakistan. It was largely Waqar Younis’ match. He edded 5 for 54 to his first-innings 7 for 76 to announce his arrival on the big stage in style.

1 NOVEMBER

Born on this day were: 

Montague Parker ‘Monty’ Bowden (1865-92), Surrey wicket-keeper who at 23 years 144 days was England’s youngest Test captain – against South Africa at Cape Town in 1888-89; 

Sarobindu Nath ‘Shute’ Banerjee (1919-80), Indian bowler who played only one Test, against West Indies at Bombay in 1948-49, but is famous for adding 249 for the tenth wicket (the highest in England) with Chandu Sarwate playing for the 1946 Indian tourists against Surrey (Both made hundreds (Banrerjee 121, Sarwate 124 not out), the only instance of Nos. 10 and 11 both doing so in the same first-class innings); 

Akram Khan (1968-), Bangladeshi batsman; 

Sherwin Campbell (1970-), West Indian opening batsman; 

Vangipuruppu Venkat Sai Laxman (1974-), outstanding Indian batsman who once held the record for the highest Test innings (281) by an Indian.

In 1989 Pakistan won the Nehru Cup by four wickets after a thrilling victory over West Indies in the final at Calcutta. Needing three off two balls Wasim Akram swung Richard’s first delivery for six to finish things off in style.

In 1998 South Africa beat West Indies by four wickets (and three overs to spare) in the final of the Wills International Cup at Dhaka.

In 2000 the Indian government published the CBI report on match-fixing. Alec Stewart was one of the 14 players named.

2 NOVEMBER

Born on this day were: 

Victor Trumper (1877-1915), Australia’s best batsman before Don Bradman who averaged 39 from 48 Tests on pitches which were much poorer than those found today (He was very popular and when he died of Bright’s Disease at the age of 37, there were huge crowds at his Sydney funeral); 

Franz Copeland Murray ‘Gerry’ Alexander (1928-), West Indian batsman and wicket-keeper who played 25 Tests for West Indies (18 as captain) between 1957 and 1961. (He was a Cambridge blue and also played football for the England amateur team.)

In 1935 H.B. ‘Jock’ Cameron, South African wicket-keeper and captain died, of enteric fever, aged only 30. He once hit the great Hedley Verity for 30 runs in one over prompting Arthur Wood, Yorkshire’s wicket-keeper to remark, ‘Go on Hedley, you have him in two minds. He doesn’t know whether to hit you for fou or six.’

In 1990 Salim Malik took 5 for 35 in the first ODI against New Zealand at Lahore. Three of the five were stumped by Salim Yousuf, the first time this happened in a ODI.

In 1997 South Africa beat Pakistan by nine runs in the Wills Golden Jubilee tournament at Lahore. Pakistan were 0 for 3 and 9 for 4 at one stage, but Inzamam-ul-Haq cracked 85 in a fifth-wicket partnership of 133 with Moin Khan. Azhar Mahmood then hammered an unbeaten 59 off 43 balls, but it was not quite enough to pull off a glorious victory.