GOOGLIES & CHINAMEN
An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 132
December 2013
Out and About with the Professor
The University of Manchester has one of the finest libraries in the country, indeed, according to them, in the world. The library was donated to the university by the widow of a local magnate, John Rylands, and Mrs R not only gave the books but also organised the construction of a splendid neo-gothic edifice on Deansgate to house all the books. Walking through the John Rylands’ library is a bit like strolling around a church or a monastery; stained glass windows give (minimal) light to the various reading rooms which, even with the new-fangled electricity, remain pretty gloomy. The upshot is, of course, that very few students go anywhere near the place, preferring new glass and concrete buildings full of “work stations” on the main campus. Which leaves the splendid old pile open and available to visitors.
The Rylands’ Library has a number of treasures including a fragment of the St John’s Gospel said to be the oldest surviving part of the New Testament. It looks, to be frank, just like a scrappy bit of paper, and the intelligence that it was bought “in an Egyptian market” in the early twentieth century might raise an eyebrow or two on the face of a skeptic. But it seems to have been authenticated…enough at least for Manchester University to make a big to-do of it all. There are also first editions of a number of important works of economics together with handwritten corrections in some which most certainly add veracity.
However, having completed my Biblical and professional studies, my eye was drawn to their earliest Wisden. In common, I imagine, with very many Googlies readers, I own a Wisden or two. To be exact, I have 67. But the oldest is 1946. I have seen earlier editions, of course, but I have never actually had a very early one in my hands. I wonder what the oldest is among the Googlies readership? The Rylands’ Library has an 1870 edition, i.e., the seventh in the series began in 1864. It looks, at first glance, very different to the contemporary editions – much slimmer (of course) with faded buff covers and no pictures – but the contents are not that dissimilar with the scorecards from the previous season’s first class games and little commentaries on each. The close attention of the rare books librarian prevented me from studying much in the way of detail although the name of W G Grace appears on many pages, 1869 being one of his great years. It is also the year, so I understand, when he featured in the then record breaking stand of 553 for the Gentlemen of the South and also scored 100 before lunch on the first day of a first-class match – the first player to do so. Lots of the match reports are of top teams playing “against the odds”, i.e., an 11 playing against twenty or twenty-two of “Lord Sheffield’s Men” (or somesuch) for a prize. Often a very considerable prize, say, of 1,000 guineas. What proportion of this the players received I have no idea but it did make me think of the “Twenty/20 for $20 million” offered by the very unlovely “Sir” Allen Stanford a few years’ ago. (For comparison, a clerk might earn in the region of £50 per year in mid nineteenth century England…so it was worth winning). These matches generated a good deal of side betting and thus, I guess, some temptation at a little match-fixing…so not too much change there either.
I was wondering how much an 1870 Wisden might be worth and so had a look on a couple of web-sites. £3,500 was one price I saw but there was also a copy of the very first edition for sale, an 1864 original priced at £19,000. I mentioned this to my wife when she was asking about potential Christmas presents but she suggest that I might more realistically prepare myself for the receipt of the usual pair of socks. But wouldn’t it be nice to own a very first edition of the great work?
The St John’s “fragment”, by the way, apparently says (in ancient Greek, obviously): “everyone who is of the truth hears of me my voice”. I was thinking that would be an entirely fitting maxim for Googlies James, of which you are the faithful and truthful oracle.
Sofa Cricket
India v West Indies 1st test, Eden Gardens, Kolkata 6 November 2013
Only Samuels reached 50 in the West Indies first innings and their total of 234 never looked enough. However, when Dhoni was dismissed India had slumped to 156 for 6 and West Indies were well in the match. One day opener Rhohit Sharma batting at six was then joined by the best number eight in world cricket, R.Ashwin. These two added 280 before Sharma fell for 177 whilst Ashwin went on to reach 124. India reached 453 and Shillingford took 6 for 167 from a mere 55 overs. In their second innings the West Indians were bowled out for 168 with no one reaching fifty. They thus lost a match by an innings which they could have controlled.
India v West Indies 2nd test, Mumbai, 14 November 2013
This test followed almost exactly the course of the first. The West Indies once again won the toss and batted. They made only 182 and once again no one made 50. The left arm spinner, Ojha , took 5 for 40. There was much ballyhoo about this being Tendulkar’s final test match but I don’t think he will be missed form this current Indian batting line up. At present India have a wealth of batting talent. In the one day formats India scored freely but at test level Vijay and Pujara come back into the side to bat in the top three. They then have the in form Kohli and Sharma in the middle order. On this occasion Pujara made 113, Kohli 59 and Sharma 111 not out. This took India to 495 and an even bigger lead than at Kolkata. Ashwin and Ojha then skittled the west Indians for 187 and secured another innings victory.
India v West Indies 1st ODI at Kochi, 21 November 2013
The West Indies batted first and once again did so poorly. They managed just 211 with only Bravo making 50. In reply Dhawan went early but Sharma and Kohli added 133 before Sharma fell for 72. Kohli went on to reach 86 in an easy victory for India by six wickets with fifteen overs to spare.
India v West Indies 2nd ODI at Visakhapatnam, 24 November 2013
On this occasion the West Indies put the Indians in to bat and they responded with 288 of which Kohli made 99 and Dhoni was 51 not out. When skipper Bravo holed out at 185 for 5 the West Indians appeared to have shot their bolt but Darren Sammy played one of those innings which appear to defy any technical logic. He made 63 not out from 44 balls and saw his side home with three balls remaining.
South Africa v Pakistan 1st ODI at Cape Town, 24 November, 2013
Pakistan made just 218 from their 50 overs and were indebted to their debutante, Anwar Ali, who made 43 not out. South Africa have not had a settled side of late and various odd names keep appearing in their line ups but none have made a lasting mark. Miller who looked so good for Yorkshire in 2012 is being persevered with but he is yet to show international form. Up the order Levy and the amusingly named de Kock have been tried. In this match Kallis returned to add weight (sic) to a much better looking Protean line up. However, despite his 50 the South Africans could only muster 195.
South Africa v Pakistan 2nd ODI at Port Elizabeth, 27 November, 2013
In a match reduced to 45 overs Pakistan made 262 largely thanks to 102 from Shehzad. South Africa’s apparently full strength batting line up fell 1 run short of the target despite 98 from Amla and 74 from de Villiers
South Africa v Pakistan 3rd ODI at Centurion, 30 November, 2013
Pakistan were put in to bat and made a real hash of it managing only 179 and being bowled out without using up their full allocation of overs. It could have been a whole lot worse but for 79 not out from their captain Misbah. The South Africans at last recorded a victory as de Villiers saw them home with 48 not out. The innings saw the ceding of no byes and three victims for keeper Akmal. This puzzling footnote is explained by the man not being Kamran but his brother Umar who had donned the gloves for this series.
India v West Indies 3rd ODI at Kanpur, 27 November 2013
Having been put in the West Indies made 263 which never looked like being enough and so it proved as Dhawan made 119 from 95 balls and India cantered home with four overs to spare.
Match Report
The Great Jack Morgan recalls a match from 2002
Angus Fraser was the appointed captain of Middlesex at the start of the 2002 season, but he departed after only two Championship matches to become the cricket correspondent of the Independent, so Andrew Strauss took over, with Owais Shah as his deputy. In the absence of those three, however, it was Sven Koenig, an Italian passport holder from Durban, who won the toss in the Second Division Championship match at the former racecourse at Derby on September 11. Koenig surprisingly chose to bat first on an extremely green wicket, which was to earn Derbyshire an 8 point penalty. The pitch looked certain to assist the seamers, so it was no great surprise when Robin Weston and Ben Hutton were back in the pavilion with only 10 on the board. However, Ed Joyce helped Koenig to add 62 for the third wicket and Paul Weekes did even better and 104 were added before Koenig fell for 72 off 187 balls with 8 fours. Jamie Dalrymple (33) provided useful support for Weekes in a stand of 71 for the fifth wicket, but when Weekes, in his benefit season, finally departed for an extremely valuable 88 from 177 balls with 15 fours, the innings subsided from 247 for 4 to 292 all out largely because of the efforts of left arm seamer Kevin Dean (6 for 59).
It was difficult to gauge how good a score this was, but it was soon looking good as Derbys quickly fell (as Middlesex had done) to 10 for 2. However, Chris Bassano, from Port Elizabeth, but with an English mother, was joined by Dom Hewson from Cheltenham and 71 were added for the third wicket before Hewson fell for 36. Bassano went on to 49 (off 83 balls with 7 fours), but after that there was precious little resistance and it was only the British passport holder and future Middlesex player Syed Mohammad Ali's 21* (from no 9) that lifted the total as high as 137. The hero of the Middlesex bowling effort was the excellent quick bowler Ashley Noffke from Nambour, Queensland, who bowled brilliantly to take 8 for 24 (including 7 for 6 in 35 balls) off 15 top class overs.
Middlesex did not enforce the follow on, but batted rather dismally in their second innings and slumped to 54 for 5 before Weekes (33) was joined by keeper Dave Alleyne in a partnership of 50 for the sixth wicket. Alleyne (49* off 73 balls with 7 fours) got little support from the tail and it was entirely due to him that the total reached an extremely moderate 150 all out. Dean (4 for 66 and 10 for 125 in the match) again bowled well, but this time Jason Kerr, from Bolton, outshone him with 4 for 32. Graeme Welch, from Durham, also deserved credit for his 2 for 26 and 4 for 78 in the match.
It was a poor effort by Middlesex, but it still set Derbyshire a rather daunting 306 to win a low scoring match on a track that was still quite green and when Andrew Gait, from Bulawayo (British passport) fell for his second duck of the match, 23 wickets had fallen on day 2. However, Aussie ODI batsman (and another Italian passport holder) Mike Di Venuto, from Hobart, and Bassano put together an impressive stand of 124 for the second wicket and Middlesex were struggling. It was England's Phil Tufnell who came to the rescue with the wickets of both Bassano (for 44 from 86 balls with 7 fours) and Di Venuto (for 71 from 100 balls with 11 fours and a six) and wickets began to tumble again. Welch and Kerr put on 53 for the seventh wicket, but Noffke (4 for 84 and 12 for 108 in the match) helped Tufnell (5 for 35 from 23 tantalising overs) demolish the rest of the innings for 232 and Middlesex had won by 73 runs with well over a day to spare.
Ex-Middx 2s batsman Steve Selwood (son of Tim) played in the match for Derbys and although he managed double figures in each innings, he could not get past 14. Middlesex 17 points, Derbys 3 (or minus 5 following the penalty) and this clinched promotion for Middlesex before the final round of matches in which Middlesex were not competing, but Essex were able to overtake Middlesex, who finished as runners up.
Middlesex batted extremely well in the 2002 season as a glance at the Championship averages confirms: Abdul Razzaq, who shared overseas duties with Noffke, was top of the averages (60.66) mainly due to an exceptional 203* at Cardiff; Joyce scored the most runs: 1166 at 53; Koenig (1110 at 42.69) and Shah (1019 at 48.52) also passed 1,000 runs; David Nash averaged 49.38, Weekes 49.27 and Strauss 44.77. The bowling was not quite so convincing, but Noffke took 45 wickets at 25.06, Razzaq 26 at 29.11, Tufnell 45 at 30.88 and Simon Cook 39 at 31.87. Nash collected 35 victims behind the wicket, Weekes held 22 catches and Hutton an excellent 19 in only 9 matches.
And then another from 1993
Alan Wells won the toss for Sussex and decided to bat first in the Championship match against Middlesex at Lord's starting on 27 May 1993. Things did not go well for the visitors however and at lunch they had descended to 84 for 7. England's Bill Athey from Middlesbrough made 30 and Franklyn Stephenson from Barbados almost single handedly managed to lift the total up to a meagre 161 with easily the best knock of the Sussex innings, but despite his fluent 60, Sussex were all out by tea time. Neil Williams was the hero with some lively pace bowling in friendly conditions and he finished with 6 for 61, while Norman Cowans and John Emburey shared the other four wickets equally between them.
The weather was deteriorating and only 10 overs of the Middlesex reply were possible on day 1. Next day, however, the Test Match batsmen Desmond Haynes (73) and skipper Mike Gatting (70) showed the Sussex batsmen how it should be done and put together an outstanding partnership of 115 for the second wicket. Although something of a collapse followed this stand and Middlesex found themselves on 194 for 5, another fine partnership developed between keeper Keith Brown (66) and Emburey (62*). This pair put on 107 for the sixth wicket to put the home team well in charge, but although Embers tried his best to eke out as many runs as possible with the tail-enders, many of us were slightly disappointed with a total of 339 all out. Credit goes to England leg-spinner Ian Salisbury for an excellent 4 for 104 in 47 surprisingly tight overs.
When Sussex batted again, those who thought that a lead of 178 could and should have been more seemed to have had a point while Athey (55) and another England Test batsman, left hander David Smith (31), were putting together a solid partnership of 71 for the second wicket. However, when the England spin twins Emburey and Phil Tufnell got into the groove, the visitors collapsed rather pathetically from 78 for 1 to 143 all out in 83 overs and Middx had won by an innings and 35 runs. Middlesex's brilliant spinners returned the superb figures of 37-17-46-4 (Emburey) and 29-12-47-5 (Tufnell), taking advantage of conditions that were increasingly favouring the spin bowlers. The last 9 wickets fell for 65 runs in 48 overs and there was only 45 minutes play on day 4, which was a shame for a Bank Holiday Monday.
Middlesex took 23 points to keep up their challenge for the Championship, while Sussex managed only 2 points. Middlesex went on to win the Championship by the convincing margin of 36 points, losing only one match all season and winning 11, two more than any other county. However, we are still awaiting another Championship title twenty years later. The Middlesex batting had considerable depth in '93, though nobody managed a thousand runs in Championship matches; the leading batsmen were: Gatting with 981 runs at 65.4, Emburey 638 at 49.07, vice captain John Carr 848 at 47.11, Brown 714 at 42, Haynes 793 at 39.65 and Mark Ramprakash 813 at 38.71. Cowans topped the bowling averages with 15 wickets at 13.46, Emburey took 68 at 18.39, Tufnell 59 at 20.5, Angus Fraser 50 at 24.38 and Williams 39 at 28.12. Cowans's fitness had been increasingly unreliable, however, and he was released after 14 seasons and joined Hampshire. Brown picked up 43 victims behind the sticks, while Carr held a terrific 39 catches, Emburey 18 and Ramprakash 15.
Stephens Matters
Eric Stephens sent me the following
On Saturday October 19th there was the dedication of a headstone to Bobby Peel, one of the greatest of Yorkshire (and England) bowlers. Since his death in August 1941, his grave has been unmarked. Then by co-incidence within days in 2011 two great-grandchildren of Bobby Peel (Robin Barron from Wakefield and Andrew Clarke now living in Lancashire) made enquires about his career from the County Archives Committee. They were put in touch with each other and met for lunch in Brighouse. There it was decided that the great man should be suitably honoured. Robin traced the grave plot in Bruntcliffe Cemetery, Morley and after much paperwork permission was granted to erect a headstone. The Yorkshire County Cricket Club expressed a wish to be involved and granted permission to use the Club Rose on the headstone. The ceremony was conducted by Rev. Max Wigley, Chaplain of YCCC, after which the only surviving grandchild of Bobby, now 91, laid the first floral tribute.
The County Club was represented by Robin Smith, Vice-Chairman, the Club Chaplain, members of the Members’ Committee, members of the Archives Committee and the Past Players Association. Afterwards all the attendees were invited to lunch at ‘The Commercial’, Churwell, 2 miles away, where Bobby was landlord for many years. There tributes were paid to Bobby by family and by Robin Smith on behalf of the County Club who laid to rest finally the infamous ‘Bramall Lane’ incident.
Subsequent research by this writer has revealed that no urination took place on the Bramall Lane field, but following a good ‘session’ the report that Peel was ‘pissed at the wicket’ got reported as ‘pissed on the wicket’! Certainly Lord Hawke escorted Peel from the field and he never played county cricket again (although he was 40 at the time). In later years Lord Hawke and Bobby Peel remained on amicable terms and Bobby for some years helped George Hirst with coaching at Headingley.
Bobby Peel’s figures are worth recalling:
20 Tests taking 101 wickets at 16.98, with 5 wickets in an innings 5 times
436 First Class Matches taking 1775 wickets at 16.20, with 5 wickets in an innings 123 times and 10 in a match 33 times. He also scored over 12000 runs with 7 hundreds including one double hundred.
A memorable day for a memorable Yorkshireman.
King Cricket Matters
I suspect many readers will applaud the following
Dandy Dan writes:
The day started well. I got married.
Once that was out of the way, the serious matters of the day came into view. I’ve been to a fair few weddings over the years and in most, I’ve found there to be a ‘lull’ at some point. Eager for this not to affect my own wedding, I asked The So Called Will to borrow a Kwik-Cricket set from his school and to organise a game.
The rules were established. Each batsman had one over to score as many runs as possible. Five runs would be deducted for each loss of wicket. Being the Groom, I went first.
Things started well. Will was bowling to me in a repetition of school holidays circa 1987-1995. A loose, short one outside off stump allowed me to execute a glorious back foot cut over Price’s head for four.
The next ball was flicked off my hips for an agreed two. A drive through mid-on brought four. Will was not enjoying this trip down memory lane. He focused on line and length. The right thing to do, but against a batsman in this sort of form, pointless. He was dispatched for a disputed six over his head.
Another cut brought a further four with a solid block ending the over. The block was slightly exaggerated just to prove the point that I could do it. 20 runs off the over. I was pleased with that.
Will and I swapped places. I opened with some off spin. This immediately brought turn and bounce. First two balls went straight through the gate but narrowly missed the stumps. The third brought an LBW appeal. Will insisted it was going down leg-side. Knowing there was no way he could now overtake my score (and in the interests of keeping the spirit of the day friendly) I agreed. Not wanting to show off, I finished the over with some medium-fast.
Others came and tried to better my score, but fittingly no one managed to. My new cousin Kieran (age eight) enjoyed fetching the ball for the ‘grown-ups’. This was the first time I’ve ever found a use for a child at a wedding.
My Australian friend Kai (who had come all the way from Sydney for the event) did a pretty good job at being an Australian cricketer. He was rubbish. Mark J adopted the unusual fielding technique of biting on the plastic pint glass so he had two hands free for a catch. By doing this he had impressively kept both priorities at the top of his agenda.
Tanya got involved by first bravely adopting a position at silly mid-off and then later picking up the bat to face some of Gareth’s slow-medium. Ben showed disappointing form with the ball it has to be said. Didn’t see Price’s innings alas, but I know he didn’t score as many as me. My best man Rob was reasonably destructive with the plastic, although at one point he did hit my nephew’s girlfriend with a wild pull. The ball fired straight into the side of her rib-cage. She didn’t flinch. Good girl.
Inevitably, rain stopped play. However, we had to get on and have a first dance anyway so it all worked out well in the end.
Overson Matters
Chris Overson kindly sent me a copy of his new book “Jack Robertson and Syd Brown - More than Just a Warm-up Act”. It is published by ACS Publications as part of their series Lives in Cricket. If you would like to secure a copy in time for Christmas you should contact Chris direct: [email protected]
Grass Matters
David Thompson sent me the following view of Basin Reserve, Wellington at the start of the first game of the season, 27th October v Otago.
What we want Matters
There is a growing groundswell of opinion that The Great Jack Morgan should treat us to more of his Strange Elevens. Are you in this camp?
Do any of the ridiculous developments in the modern game irritate the shit out of you? Let me know if they do and we might reintroduce “Irritating Trends”.
Commercial Self Plug Matters
If you are stuck for Christmas gift ideas you can go to the shop on my website where I will be only too pleased to help you out with handmade books, journals, bags and aprons. You can go straight to the shop if you copy and paste the following into your browser:
http://www.jamessharpart.com/shop.html
www.googliesandchinamen.com
I will be working on the googlies website in January and am planning to upload a lot of stats that have been developed by Bill Hart and Alan Cox. If you have any material, particularly photographs, that you would like to see added please email them to me.
West Matters
I received the following from Kelvin West
It seems I have been very remiss since my move to Greece, but having left Andrew to take over my old team I have, over the last couple of years, been entrusted with the recruitment and management of a new ladies team. With no transfer window here the signing of new players becomes a year round exercise. (And I do mean EXERCISE). Following a tip off (sic) I recently went to Albania, to sign Zdenka, pictured here training in her home built Gym. Needless to say she accepted my offer to join and has worn me out trying to get her to the right fitness level.
However, since making her debut as a striker she has scored on so many occasions I have almost lost count but for every one I give her an added bonus!
I will keep you posted re further results
Googlies and Chinamen
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James Sharp
Broad Lee House
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Tel & fax: 01298 70237
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An Occasional Cricketing Journal
Edition 132
December 2013
Out and About with the Professor
The University of Manchester has one of the finest libraries in the country, indeed, according to them, in the world. The library was donated to the university by the widow of a local magnate, John Rylands, and Mrs R not only gave the books but also organised the construction of a splendid neo-gothic edifice on Deansgate to house all the books. Walking through the John Rylands’ library is a bit like strolling around a church or a monastery; stained glass windows give (minimal) light to the various reading rooms which, even with the new-fangled electricity, remain pretty gloomy. The upshot is, of course, that very few students go anywhere near the place, preferring new glass and concrete buildings full of “work stations” on the main campus. Which leaves the splendid old pile open and available to visitors.
The Rylands’ Library has a number of treasures including a fragment of the St John’s Gospel said to be the oldest surviving part of the New Testament. It looks, to be frank, just like a scrappy bit of paper, and the intelligence that it was bought “in an Egyptian market” in the early twentieth century might raise an eyebrow or two on the face of a skeptic. But it seems to have been authenticated…enough at least for Manchester University to make a big to-do of it all. There are also first editions of a number of important works of economics together with handwritten corrections in some which most certainly add veracity.
However, having completed my Biblical and professional studies, my eye was drawn to their earliest Wisden. In common, I imagine, with very many Googlies readers, I own a Wisden or two. To be exact, I have 67. But the oldest is 1946. I have seen earlier editions, of course, but I have never actually had a very early one in my hands. I wonder what the oldest is among the Googlies readership? The Rylands’ Library has an 1870 edition, i.e., the seventh in the series began in 1864. It looks, at first glance, very different to the contemporary editions – much slimmer (of course) with faded buff covers and no pictures – but the contents are not that dissimilar with the scorecards from the previous season’s first class games and little commentaries on each. The close attention of the rare books librarian prevented me from studying much in the way of detail although the name of W G Grace appears on many pages, 1869 being one of his great years. It is also the year, so I understand, when he featured in the then record breaking stand of 553 for the Gentlemen of the South and also scored 100 before lunch on the first day of a first-class match – the first player to do so. Lots of the match reports are of top teams playing “against the odds”, i.e., an 11 playing against twenty or twenty-two of “Lord Sheffield’s Men” (or somesuch) for a prize. Often a very considerable prize, say, of 1,000 guineas. What proportion of this the players received I have no idea but it did make me think of the “Twenty/20 for $20 million” offered by the very unlovely “Sir” Allen Stanford a few years’ ago. (For comparison, a clerk might earn in the region of £50 per year in mid nineteenth century England…so it was worth winning). These matches generated a good deal of side betting and thus, I guess, some temptation at a little match-fixing…so not too much change there either.
I was wondering how much an 1870 Wisden might be worth and so had a look on a couple of web-sites. £3,500 was one price I saw but there was also a copy of the very first edition for sale, an 1864 original priced at £19,000. I mentioned this to my wife when she was asking about potential Christmas presents but she suggest that I might more realistically prepare myself for the receipt of the usual pair of socks. But wouldn’t it be nice to own a very first edition of the great work?
The St John’s “fragment”, by the way, apparently says (in ancient Greek, obviously): “everyone who is of the truth hears of me my voice”. I was thinking that would be an entirely fitting maxim for Googlies James, of which you are the faithful and truthful oracle.
Sofa Cricket
India v West Indies 1st test, Eden Gardens, Kolkata 6 November 2013
Only Samuels reached 50 in the West Indies first innings and their total of 234 never looked enough. However, when Dhoni was dismissed India had slumped to 156 for 6 and West Indies were well in the match. One day opener Rhohit Sharma batting at six was then joined by the best number eight in world cricket, R.Ashwin. These two added 280 before Sharma fell for 177 whilst Ashwin went on to reach 124. India reached 453 and Shillingford took 6 for 167 from a mere 55 overs. In their second innings the West Indians were bowled out for 168 with no one reaching fifty. They thus lost a match by an innings which they could have controlled.
India v West Indies 2nd test, Mumbai, 14 November 2013
This test followed almost exactly the course of the first. The West Indies once again won the toss and batted. They made only 182 and once again no one made 50. The left arm spinner, Ojha , took 5 for 40. There was much ballyhoo about this being Tendulkar’s final test match but I don’t think he will be missed form this current Indian batting line up. At present India have a wealth of batting talent. In the one day formats India scored freely but at test level Vijay and Pujara come back into the side to bat in the top three. They then have the in form Kohli and Sharma in the middle order. On this occasion Pujara made 113, Kohli 59 and Sharma 111 not out. This took India to 495 and an even bigger lead than at Kolkata. Ashwin and Ojha then skittled the west Indians for 187 and secured another innings victory.
India v West Indies 1st ODI at Kochi, 21 November 2013
The West Indies batted first and once again did so poorly. They managed just 211 with only Bravo making 50. In reply Dhawan went early but Sharma and Kohli added 133 before Sharma fell for 72. Kohli went on to reach 86 in an easy victory for India by six wickets with fifteen overs to spare.
India v West Indies 2nd ODI at Visakhapatnam, 24 November 2013
On this occasion the West Indies put the Indians in to bat and they responded with 288 of which Kohli made 99 and Dhoni was 51 not out. When skipper Bravo holed out at 185 for 5 the West Indians appeared to have shot their bolt but Darren Sammy played one of those innings which appear to defy any technical logic. He made 63 not out from 44 balls and saw his side home with three balls remaining.
South Africa v Pakistan 1st ODI at Cape Town, 24 November, 2013
Pakistan made just 218 from their 50 overs and were indebted to their debutante, Anwar Ali, who made 43 not out. South Africa have not had a settled side of late and various odd names keep appearing in their line ups but none have made a lasting mark. Miller who looked so good for Yorkshire in 2012 is being persevered with but he is yet to show international form. Up the order Levy and the amusingly named de Kock have been tried. In this match Kallis returned to add weight (sic) to a much better looking Protean line up. However, despite his 50 the South Africans could only muster 195.
South Africa v Pakistan 2nd ODI at Port Elizabeth, 27 November, 2013
In a match reduced to 45 overs Pakistan made 262 largely thanks to 102 from Shehzad. South Africa’s apparently full strength batting line up fell 1 run short of the target despite 98 from Amla and 74 from de Villiers
South Africa v Pakistan 3rd ODI at Centurion, 30 November, 2013
Pakistan were put in to bat and made a real hash of it managing only 179 and being bowled out without using up their full allocation of overs. It could have been a whole lot worse but for 79 not out from their captain Misbah. The South Africans at last recorded a victory as de Villiers saw them home with 48 not out. The innings saw the ceding of no byes and three victims for keeper Akmal. This puzzling footnote is explained by the man not being Kamran but his brother Umar who had donned the gloves for this series.
India v West Indies 3rd ODI at Kanpur, 27 November 2013
Having been put in the West Indies made 263 which never looked like being enough and so it proved as Dhawan made 119 from 95 balls and India cantered home with four overs to spare.
Match Report
The Great Jack Morgan recalls a match from 2002
Angus Fraser was the appointed captain of Middlesex at the start of the 2002 season, but he departed after only two Championship matches to become the cricket correspondent of the Independent, so Andrew Strauss took over, with Owais Shah as his deputy. In the absence of those three, however, it was Sven Koenig, an Italian passport holder from Durban, who won the toss in the Second Division Championship match at the former racecourse at Derby on September 11. Koenig surprisingly chose to bat first on an extremely green wicket, which was to earn Derbyshire an 8 point penalty. The pitch looked certain to assist the seamers, so it was no great surprise when Robin Weston and Ben Hutton were back in the pavilion with only 10 on the board. However, Ed Joyce helped Koenig to add 62 for the third wicket and Paul Weekes did even better and 104 were added before Koenig fell for 72 off 187 balls with 8 fours. Jamie Dalrymple (33) provided useful support for Weekes in a stand of 71 for the fifth wicket, but when Weekes, in his benefit season, finally departed for an extremely valuable 88 from 177 balls with 15 fours, the innings subsided from 247 for 4 to 292 all out largely because of the efforts of left arm seamer Kevin Dean (6 for 59).
It was difficult to gauge how good a score this was, but it was soon looking good as Derbys quickly fell (as Middlesex had done) to 10 for 2. However, Chris Bassano, from Port Elizabeth, but with an English mother, was joined by Dom Hewson from Cheltenham and 71 were added for the third wicket before Hewson fell for 36. Bassano went on to 49 (off 83 balls with 7 fours), but after that there was precious little resistance and it was only the British passport holder and future Middlesex player Syed Mohammad Ali's 21* (from no 9) that lifted the total as high as 137. The hero of the Middlesex bowling effort was the excellent quick bowler Ashley Noffke from Nambour, Queensland, who bowled brilliantly to take 8 for 24 (including 7 for 6 in 35 balls) off 15 top class overs.
Middlesex did not enforce the follow on, but batted rather dismally in their second innings and slumped to 54 for 5 before Weekes (33) was joined by keeper Dave Alleyne in a partnership of 50 for the sixth wicket. Alleyne (49* off 73 balls with 7 fours) got little support from the tail and it was entirely due to him that the total reached an extremely moderate 150 all out. Dean (4 for 66 and 10 for 125 in the match) again bowled well, but this time Jason Kerr, from Bolton, outshone him with 4 for 32. Graeme Welch, from Durham, also deserved credit for his 2 for 26 and 4 for 78 in the match.
It was a poor effort by Middlesex, but it still set Derbyshire a rather daunting 306 to win a low scoring match on a track that was still quite green and when Andrew Gait, from Bulawayo (British passport) fell for his second duck of the match, 23 wickets had fallen on day 2. However, Aussie ODI batsman (and another Italian passport holder) Mike Di Venuto, from Hobart, and Bassano put together an impressive stand of 124 for the second wicket and Middlesex were struggling. It was England's Phil Tufnell who came to the rescue with the wickets of both Bassano (for 44 from 86 balls with 7 fours) and Di Venuto (for 71 from 100 balls with 11 fours and a six) and wickets began to tumble again. Welch and Kerr put on 53 for the seventh wicket, but Noffke (4 for 84 and 12 for 108 in the match) helped Tufnell (5 for 35 from 23 tantalising overs) demolish the rest of the innings for 232 and Middlesex had won by 73 runs with well over a day to spare.
Ex-Middx 2s batsman Steve Selwood (son of Tim) played in the match for Derbys and although he managed double figures in each innings, he could not get past 14. Middlesex 17 points, Derbys 3 (or minus 5 following the penalty) and this clinched promotion for Middlesex before the final round of matches in which Middlesex were not competing, but Essex were able to overtake Middlesex, who finished as runners up.
Middlesex batted extremely well in the 2002 season as a glance at the Championship averages confirms: Abdul Razzaq, who shared overseas duties with Noffke, was top of the averages (60.66) mainly due to an exceptional 203* at Cardiff; Joyce scored the most runs: 1166 at 53; Koenig (1110 at 42.69) and Shah (1019 at 48.52) also passed 1,000 runs; David Nash averaged 49.38, Weekes 49.27 and Strauss 44.77. The bowling was not quite so convincing, but Noffke took 45 wickets at 25.06, Razzaq 26 at 29.11, Tufnell 45 at 30.88 and Simon Cook 39 at 31.87. Nash collected 35 victims behind the wicket, Weekes held 22 catches and Hutton an excellent 19 in only 9 matches.
And then another from 1993
Alan Wells won the toss for Sussex and decided to bat first in the Championship match against Middlesex at Lord's starting on 27 May 1993. Things did not go well for the visitors however and at lunch they had descended to 84 for 7. England's Bill Athey from Middlesbrough made 30 and Franklyn Stephenson from Barbados almost single handedly managed to lift the total up to a meagre 161 with easily the best knock of the Sussex innings, but despite his fluent 60, Sussex were all out by tea time. Neil Williams was the hero with some lively pace bowling in friendly conditions and he finished with 6 for 61, while Norman Cowans and John Emburey shared the other four wickets equally between them.
The weather was deteriorating and only 10 overs of the Middlesex reply were possible on day 1. Next day, however, the Test Match batsmen Desmond Haynes (73) and skipper Mike Gatting (70) showed the Sussex batsmen how it should be done and put together an outstanding partnership of 115 for the second wicket. Although something of a collapse followed this stand and Middlesex found themselves on 194 for 5, another fine partnership developed between keeper Keith Brown (66) and Emburey (62*). This pair put on 107 for the sixth wicket to put the home team well in charge, but although Embers tried his best to eke out as many runs as possible with the tail-enders, many of us were slightly disappointed with a total of 339 all out. Credit goes to England leg-spinner Ian Salisbury for an excellent 4 for 104 in 47 surprisingly tight overs.
When Sussex batted again, those who thought that a lead of 178 could and should have been more seemed to have had a point while Athey (55) and another England Test batsman, left hander David Smith (31), were putting together a solid partnership of 71 for the second wicket. However, when the England spin twins Emburey and Phil Tufnell got into the groove, the visitors collapsed rather pathetically from 78 for 1 to 143 all out in 83 overs and Middx had won by an innings and 35 runs. Middlesex's brilliant spinners returned the superb figures of 37-17-46-4 (Emburey) and 29-12-47-5 (Tufnell), taking advantage of conditions that were increasingly favouring the spin bowlers. The last 9 wickets fell for 65 runs in 48 overs and there was only 45 minutes play on day 4, which was a shame for a Bank Holiday Monday.
Middlesex took 23 points to keep up their challenge for the Championship, while Sussex managed only 2 points. Middlesex went on to win the Championship by the convincing margin of 36 points, losing only one match all season and winning 11, two more than any other county. However, we are still awaiting another Championship title twenty years later. The Middlesex batting had considerable depth in '93, though nobody managed a thousand runs in Championship matches; the leading batsmen were: Gatting with 981 runs at 65.4, Emburey 638 at 49.07, vice captain John Carr 848 at 47.11, Brown 714 at 42, Haynes 793 at 39.65 and Mark Ramprakash 813 at 38.71. Cowans topped the bowling averages with 15 wickets at 13.46, Emburey took 68 at 18.39, Tufnell 59 at 20.5, Angus Fraser 50 at 24.38 and Williams 39 at 28.12. Cowans's fitness had been increasingly unreliable, however, and he was released after 14 seasons and joined Hampshire. Brown picked up 43 victims behind the sticks, while Carr held a terrific 39 catches, Emburey 18 and Ramprakash 15.
Stephens Matters
Eric Stephens sent me the following
On Saturday October 19th there was the dedication of a headstone to Bobby Peel, one of the greatest of Yorkshire (and England) bowlers. Since his death in August 1941, his grave has been unmarked. Then by co-incidence within days in 2011 two great-grandchildren of Bobby Peel (Robin Barron from Wakefield and Andrew Clarke now living in Lancashire) made enquires about his career from the County Archives Committee. They were put in touch with each other and met for lunch in Brighouse. There it was decided that the great man should be suitably honoured. Robin traced the grave plot in Bruntcliffe Cemetery, Morley and after much paperwork permission was granted to erect a headstone. The Yorkshire County Cricket Club expressed a wish to be involved and granted permission to use the Club Rose on the headstone. The ceremony was conducted by Rev. Max Wigley, Chaplain of YCCC, after which the only surviving grandchild of Bobby, now 91, laid the first floral tribute.
The County Club was represented by Robin Smith, Vice-Chairman, the Club Chaplain, members of the Members’ Committee, members of the Archives Committee and the Past Players Association. Afterwards all the attendees were invited to lunch at ‘The Commercial’, Churwell, 2 miles away, where Bobby was landlord for many years. There tributes were paid to Bobby by family and by Robin Smith on behalf of the County Club who laid to rest finally the infamous ‘Bramall Lane’ incident.
Subsequent research by this writer has revealed that no urination took place on the Bramall Lane field, but following a good ‘session’ the report that Peel was ‘pissed at the wicket’ got reported as ‘pissed on the wicket’! Certainly Lord Hawke escorted Peel from the field and he never played county cricket again (although he was 40 at the time). In later years Lord Hawke and Bobby Peel remained on amicable terms and Bobby for some years helped George Hirst with coaching at Headingley.
Bobby Peel’s figures are worth recalling:
20 Tests taking 101 wickets at 16.98, with 5 wickets in an innings 5 times
436 First Class Matches taking 1775 wickets at 16.20, with 5 wickets in an innings 123 times and 10 in a match 33 times. He also scored over 12000 runs with 7 hundreds including one double hundred.
A memorable day for a memorable Yorkshireman.
King Cricket Matters
I suspect many readers will applaud the following
Dandy Dan writes:
The day started well. I got married.
Once that was out of the way, the serious matters of the day came into view. I’ve been to a fair few weddings over the years and in most, I’ve found there to be a ‘lull’ at some point. Eager for this not to affect my own wedding, I asked The So Called Will to borrow a Kwik-Cricket set from his school and to organise a game.
The rules were established. Each batsman had one over to score as many runs as possible. Five runs would be deducted for each loss of wicket. Being the Groom, I went first.
Things started well. Will was bowling to me in a repetition of school holidays circa 1987-1995. A loose, short one outside off stump allowed me to execute a glorious back foot cut over Price’s head for four.
The next ball was flicked off my hips for an agreed two. A drive through mid-on brought four. Will was not enjoying this trip down memory lane. He focused on line and length. The right thing to do, but against a batsman in this sort of form, pointless. He was dispatched for a disputed six over his head.
Another cut brought a further four with a solid block ending the over. The block was slightly exaggerated just to prove the point that I could do it. 20 runs off the over. I was pleased with that.
Will and I swapped places. I opened with some off spin. This immediately brought turn and bounce. First two balls went straight through the gate but narrowly missed the stumps. The third brought an LBW appeal. Will insisted it was going down leg-side. Knowing there was no way he could now overtake my score (and in the interests of keeping the spirit of the day friendly) I agreed. Not wanting to show off, I finished the over with some medium-fast.
Others came and tried to better my score, but fittingly no one managed to. My new cousin Kieran (age eight) enjoyed fetching the ball for the ‘grown-ups’. This was the first time I’ve ever found a use for a child at a wedding.
My Australian friend Kai (who had come all the way from Sydney for the event) did a pretty good job at being an Australian cricketer. He was rubbish. Mark J adopted the unusual fielding technique of biting on the plastic pint glass so he had two hands free for a catch. By doing this he had impressively kept both priorities at the top of his agenda.
Tanya got involved by first bravely adopting a position at silly mid-off and then later picking up the bat to face some of Gareth’s slow-medium. Ben showed disappointing form with the ball it has to be said. Didn’t see Price’s innings alas, but I know he didn’t score as many as me. My best man Rob was reasonably destructive with the plastic, although at one point he did hit my nephew’s girlfriend with a wild pull. The ball fired straight into the side of her rib-cage. She didn’t flinch. Good girl.
Inevitably, rain stopped play. However, we had to get on and have a first dance anyway so it all worked out well in the end.
Overson Matters
Chris Overson kindly sent me a copy of his new book “Jack Robertson and Syd Brown - More than Just a Warm-up Act”. It is published by ACS Publications as part of their series Lives in Cricket. If you would like to secure a copy in time for Christmas you should contact Chris direct: [email protected]
Grass Matters
David Thompson sent me the following view of Basin Reserve, Wellington at the start of the first game of the season, 27th October v Otago.
What we want Matters
There is a growing groundswell of opinion that The Great Jack Morgan should treat us to more of his Strange Elevens. Are you in this camp?
Do any of the ridiculous developments in the modern game irritate the shit out of you? Let me know if they do and we might reintroduce “Irritating Trends”.
Commercial Self Plug Matters
If you are stuck for Christmas gift ideas you can go to the shop on my website where I will be only too pleased to help you out with handmade books, journals, bags and aprons. You can go straight to the shop if you copy and paste the following into your browser:
http://www.jamessharpart.com/shop.html
www.googliesandchinamen.com
I will be working on the googlies website in January and am planning to upload a lot of stats that have been developed by Bill Hart and Alan Cox. If you have any material, particularly photographs, that you would like to see added please email them to me.
West Matters
I received the following from Kelvin West
It seems I have been very remiss since my move to Greece, but having left Andrew to take over my old team I have, over the last couple of years, been entrusted with the recruitment and management of a new ladies team. With no transfer window here the signing of new players becomes a year round exercise. (And I do mean EXERCISE). Following a tip off (sic) I recently went to Albania, to sign Zdenka, pictured here training in her home built Gym. Needless to say she accepted my offer to join and has worn me out trying to get her to the right fitness level.
However, since making her debut as a striker she has scored on so many occasions I have almost lost count but for every one I give her an added bonus!
I will keep you posted re further results
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