A look back at the Boxing Day test between Australia and Pakistan, a brief comment on the Lamichhane case (some may find this distressing), a mention of the Panto at the Corn Exchange and a photo gallery.
Early yesterday morning the the Boxing Day test match between Australia and Pakistan ended a day ahead of schedule. The main part of this post looks back at that match. There is then a second section that some readers may find distressing, covering a piece of news that should not be overlooked. I end with my usual photo gallery.
A HARD FOUGHT BATTLE
I posted about developments earlier in this match here. Pakistan ended up 61 behind on first innings. They began the Australian second innings breathing fire, reducing their hosts to 16-4 at one point. They had a chance to make it 46-5, but it went to ground as more than one other did in the course of the match. The reprieved batter, Mitchell Marsh, went on to top score with 96 and Australia had 316 to defend in the end. The biggest ever successful chase at The G is 332, by England in 1928-9 in the match that won them that Ashes series, while Pakistan have a horrible record down under – last time they won a test match anywhere in Australia the side was captained by Imran Khan.
However, Pakistan did not surrender meekly, as their subcontinental neighbours had at Centurion in the other Boxing Day test (India 245, South Africa 406, India 131 – South Africa won by an innings and 30 runs), they had a real go at the target.
The got to within 100 of the target with the sixth wicket pairing of Mohammad Rizwan and Agha Salman together and going nicely. Cummins appealed for a catch behind against Rizwan, given not out on the field, with the TMS commentary team also certain that it wasn’t out and Rizwan indicating that it had hit his forearm on the way through. Australia sent it upstairs, and after about five minutes of using every piece of technology available to him the third umpire Richard Illingworth found what he believed was evidence to overturn the decision and instructed Michael Gough, the on field umpire, to do so. My belief is that having studied replays for that long there is no way the evidence Illingworth had could have been convincing enough to warrant an overturn.
The controversial breakthrough thus achieved, Australia did not take long to do the rest of the job, Pakistan being all out for 237 to lose by 79 runs. Pat Cummins in addition to captaining his side took five wickets in each Pakistan innings (5-48 and 5-49 respectively), and there was thus only one candidate for Player of the Match. Nevertheless, for me, the circumstances of Rizwan’s dismissal in the final innings means that this victory by Australia is somewhat tainted. A full scorecard can be seen here.
THE LAMICHHANE CASE
Yesterday it was announced that the a Nepalese jury had found Sandeep Lamichhane, the Nepali leg spinner, guilty of raping a minor, an offence that under Nepali law carries a possible 12 year jail term. In my view the ICC, as cricket’s world governing body, have a duty to respond to this news: Lamichhane should forthwith be banned outright from ever having anything more to do with organized cricket – no playing, no umpiring, no commentary gigs, no coaching (especially this latter given what he has been found guilty of) etc.
THE CHRISTMAS PANTO
This year’s Christmas Panto at the Corn Exchange, King’s Lynn was Dick Whittington, and on Thursday night the West Norfolk Autism Group had block booked seats. The fact that we were buying in bulk got us a substantial discount on the regular price, and members were only asked to pay £5 per ticket by us. It was an excellent production, well worth the minor inconvenience of the timing (a scheduled 5:30PM start, which meant all I had time to do at home between work and the performance was get changed out of my work clothes, and supper had to wait until I got home again at the end of the evening).
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
The Corn Exchange Advertising in the foyer of the Corn Exchange.
A look at the first two days play between Australia and Pakistan at the MCG and a splendid photo gallery.
The Boxing Day test match between Australia and Pakistan at Melbourne has now seen two days play, albeit one of them disrupted by the weather, and is beginning to take shape.
THE AUSTRALIAN INNINGS
Pakistan won the toss and elected to put Australia in to bat. A truncated opening day ended with the hosts 187-3 after a “curate’s egg” bowling and fielding effort by Pakistan. At 226-4 Australia still looked very well placed, but then Pakistan fought their way back into things, and Australia eventually tallied a mere 318, respectable after being sent in but by no means formidable. Marnus Labuschagne with 63 had the only half century off the bat in the innings, but Pakistan may well come to regret the fact that they allowed Extras to tally a half century as well (52, including 15 wides). Debutant Aamer Jamal claimed three wickets, while Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mir Hamza and Hasan Ali each had two, and Agha Salman, brought on to bowl the last over before lunch on day one, was gifted the wicket of David Warner.
THE PAKISTAN RESPONSE TO DATE
Pakistan began well, and at 124-1 it looked like things were going their way, but then came a passage of play that completely changed things. Pat Cummins removed Abdullah Shafique for 62, hanging on to a hard return chance. Then he widened the breach by bowling new batter Babar Azam for 1. Lyon got Shan Masood for 54, Hazlewood produced a beauty to get through the defences of Saud Shakeel for 9, and Pakistan were 151-5 and in a lot of trouble. Cummins claimed a third scalp of the innings when he got one to take the edge of Salman’s bat to make it 170-6. However Jamal defended stoutly, while wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, who had performed better behind the stumps than 20 byes and 15 leg byes might suggest, batted well. When the cut off time arrived Pakistan were 194-6, with Rizwan 29*. Much rests on him on day three – it will largely by his further contribution or lack of it that decides whether Australia will have a really commanding lead or not. At the moment Australia are in the box seat, but many worse positions than the one Pakistan are currently in have seen sides emerge victorious.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Yesterday morning was bright and sunny, and I got out for a long walk while the weather was pleasant. I was well rewarded, including sightings of an egret and a couple of cormorants among other things…
An egret in the mud on the west side of the Great Ouse, opposite Hardings Pits (features in six pictures)Cormorants at one of their most regular perching spots (10 pictures)
An account of how I made the best of being alone for Christmas and ,enjoyed my day. Lots of photographs.
My parents, sister and nephew are all off in far flung parts of the world, and my aunt is also away for Christmas. This meant that my own Christmas would be what I made of it . The rest of this post is my own account of yesterday.
PLANNING THE DAY
I decided that I would spend the hours of daylight away from my computer, and that I would have my fancy Christmas Day meal (a home cooked variation on the steak & chips theme) in the evening. I selected some Christmas music to play through the day, and planned to do some walking during the daylight hours. My parents had arranged that I would have a package to open on the day.
THE MORNING
I went out for my first walk just before 9AM, which took in both the ponds near where I live, the Kettlewell Lane tree/ river area, The Walks, the Peace Garden/ Greyfriars tower, the town centre, St Nicholas’ Chapel, Bawsey Drain and back along Columbia Way. I then played the first of my chosen Christmas Music CDs. When this CD finished I headed off for my second walk, which again included both ponds, but this time I took the footpath from the second pond that leads to Loke Road just before the junction with Gaywood Road, crossed Loke Road, headed onto Gaywood Road for a short stretch before crossing it and heading down Tennyson Avenue. Just before the railway crossing I took the footpath that heads towards Lynnsport and followed to the point at which it meets the Gaywood River path, which I walked along until I reached a path off it towards the Discovery Centre and thence back home.
THE AFTERNOON/ EARLY EVENING
I had lunch while a second CD played. When the second CD finished I went out for a third walk, taking in the first pond, a route through to the footpath alongside Bawsey Drain and followed that footpath until Columbia Way, at which point spots of rain warned me that I needed to take the direct route home, along Columbia Way, rather than extend the walk further as I had been considering. I then played the rest of the Christmas music I had picked out, returning to the computer briefly in the early evening.
COOKING SUPPER
I put the oven on at about 7PM, set to approximately 175 Celsius, taking care to turn the extractor fan on and open a kitchen window. I oiled a baking tray next. Then I cut a large potato into slices of approximately equal thickness, thick enough that when cooked they would still obviously be potato and thin enough that they would have a bit of crunch. I placed this slices on the oiled baking tray, sprinkled some salt over them, and then added a little more oil. I put them into the oven to cook. Then I got to work on the brussels sprouts, preparing a dozen for cooking, placing them in a saucepan and boiling a kettle full of water to cook them in. Once they were on and cooking I turned the potato slices over. I tenderised the steak, got some oil in small frying pan heating up (to colour on the outside while still being red in the middle the steak has to go in to oil that is already hot), and at the appropriate moment I put the steak into cook, flash-frying it for a minute on each side at high heat. I then plated it up, before draining the sprouts, pouring a drink and then getting the potatoes out. This is what my variation on a steak & chips theme looked like on the plate:
For the record it tasted splendid.
For afters I had a small jar of Kalamata olives.
THE END OF THE DAY
I was mindful of the fact that the Boxing Day test match at Melbourne between Australia and Pakistan, which Test Match Special were covering, got underway at 11:30PM UK time (Melbourne is 11 hours ahead of us). I thus timed my heading to bed so that I could have that commentary playing while I was in bed. I enjoyed the day, and my Christmas meal worked well.
A look back at the events that have unfolded in Mumbai over the last few days, a historic win for India Women in a test match over Australia women. Also a photo gallery.
Four days ago a test match between the Indian and Australian Women’s teams got underway in the city of Mumbai. I was only able to follow developments through cricinfo and some of my twitter and mastodon followers, so this post will be a bit sketchy, but you will see why I could not ignore it. India Women had never beaten Australia Women in a test match going into the game, but they had just won a test against England Women in Mumbai…
THE AUSTRALIAN FIRST INNINGS
The first hint that not all was going to the way of Australia came in the first innings of the match, when they managed only 219, with Pooja Vastrakar taking four wickets, Sneh Rana three and Deepti Sharma two. Vastrakar’s effort was especially significant – both because day one often sets the tone and because seamers should do well early in matches.
THE INDIAN FIRST INNINGS
India started impressively with the bat, with Smriti Mandhana, Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues all making runs, and looked set for a massive lead when they passed 250 with only three wickets down. They then suffered a mid-innings collapse and at273-7 it looked like an opportunity to bury the match had been squandered. However, for the all their positions at numbers eight and nine in the order both Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar are competent batters, with Sharma being a genuine all rounder in any format save T20, where her relatively slow scoring rate counts against her. This pair reasserted India’s dominance, batting all the way through the final session of the second day and taking India’s lead past 150. India ultimately topped 400, finishing with 406 for a lead of 187. Sharma had the top score of the match with 78, and Vastrakar had set a new record for an Indian number nine in a test match with 47.
THE AUSTRALIAN SECOND INNINGS
Australia, as one would expect of such a strong and determined side fought hard in their second innings, but never really threatened to take the initiative away from India. Perry, McGrath, Healy and Sutherland all provided stiff resistance, but by the close of third day Australia were five down and only 46 to the the good. Had their lower order been able to conjure another 100 on the final day Indian nerves might have been jangling, but in the end they only managed a further 28, to give themselves just 74 to defend. Sneh Rana claimed four wickets with her off spin, and two other spinners, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and Rajeshwari Gayakwad claimed two scalps a piece, while Vastrakar added another wicket to four first innings scalps. Tahlia McGrath had battled her way to 73.
THE INDIAN CHASE
Shafali Verma was out cheaply to make it 4-1, but Richa Ghosh offered Smriti Mandhana good support, and by the time she was out only a further 20 were needed for victory. Rodrigues joined Mandhana and this pair were still together when India completed an impressive win, Mnadhana 38*, Rodrigues 12*. Sneh Rana’s seven wicket match haul earned her the Player of the Match award, though both Vastrakar (five wickets across the two innings and a vital 47) and Sharma (the highest individual score of the match and two wickets) must have been close, especially the former. All credit to India for winning this one – Australia were unbeaten in the format since 2014 going into this match. A full scorecard can be seen here.
A look at how the Big Bash League is panning out and a photo gallery.
The Big Bash League is well underway. This edition of the tournament features only 10 group matches per side rather than 14 and also sensibly only allows the top four sides to qualify for the knockout stages as opposed to the ludicrously overgenerous situation previously whereby fifth was good enough.
HOBART HURRICANES v MELBOURNE RENEGADES
There was radio commentary on this match today for UK listeners. Renegades batted first and helped by a rare example of a reasonably well timed Power Surge (overs 16 and 17, making it a kick starter into the death overs rather than actually being part of the death overs, still an over or so later than I would like but the best timed one in any of the radio commentaries I have listened to so far) which they capitalized on, taking the two overs for a total of 34 runs, tallied an eminently respectable looking 185-5 from their 20 overs.
Unfortunately for them they bowled like drains, which in combination with some excellent Hurricanes batting, especially from Matthew Wade and Macallister Wright, saw the hosts home by six wickets with an over to spare.
HOW THE TABLE IS LOOKING
Three sides, Brisbane Heat, Sydney Sixers and Perth Scorchers, are looking very likely to progress. Another three, Adelaide Strikers, Sydney Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes would appear to be fighting for the fourth qualification slot, while the two Melbourne sides, as happened in the women’s version of this tournament, look like propping up the table.
POWER SURGE THOUGHTS
In the BBL the initial Power Play lasts for four overs rather than the usual six and the batting side then has a two over Power Surge which they have to take in the second half of their innings (this is to stop sides lazily using it for overs 5 and 6 and thereby having a standard Power Play). My feeling based on the games I have listened to so far this season is that most sides are very overcautious about taking the Power Surge which means it often happens later than it should. Personally the latest I would countenance those overs being taken is for overs 16 and 17 as happened today, but I would want to go earlier if possible. In one of the other games I listened to the side batting first had two well set batters together at the end of 12th over and still together at the end of the 13th, but they refused to take these golden opportunities to use the Power Surge, and lost a wicket in the 14th. They ended up using the Power Surge in the 18th and 19th overs of their innings, which I regard as plumb crazy. It depends on exact situations but I would always want to go fairly early. If the openers happened still to be together at the end of the 10th over I would seriously consider taking the Power Surge for overs 11 and 12 as a launch pad for the second half of the innings. The other time I might go that early as if a number of wickets have fallen and I want to use the surge while I still have two front line batters to capitalize on it. I would say that in intermediate situations between the two I have outlined above I would look at overs 13-14, overs 14-15, overs 15-16 and at the very outside overs 16-17 and would never allow the surge to unused going into the death overs.
An all time XI of players whose given names begin with W, a very detailed honourable mentions section and a photo gallery.
Today I present an all time XI of players whose given names begin with W and a detailed honourable mentions section, as well as my usual photo gallery.
THE XI IN BATTING ORDER
William Morris ‘Bill’ Lawry (Australia, left handed opening batter). He averaged 47 with the bat in test cricket.
William Harold ‘Bill’ Ponsford (Australia, right handed opening batter). Until Brian Lara came along only one player had achieved two first class scores in excess of 400, Ponsford, with 429 against Tasmania in 1922 and 437 against Queensland in 1927. In December of 1927 he became the only player ever to score 1,000 first class runs in a calendar month outside of England, with a sequence of 1,146 runs in five innings. His test record was not quite so outstanding, but even at that level he averaged 48, which included centuries in each of his first two test matches and centuries in each of his last two.
*WG Grace (England, right handed batter, right arm bowler of various styles, captain). Cricket’s first superstar, and in his best decade, the 1870s, he averaged 49 with the bat at a time when the best of the rest were just about managing 25. Only one other person in cricket history ever sustained being twice as prolific as the best of the rest over a long period – Bradman.
Wally Hammond (England, right handed batter, right arm medium-fast bowler). He scored 7,249 runs at 58.45, including 905 at 113.125 in the 1928-9 Ashes.
+William Lloyd ‘Billy’ Murdoch (Australia, right handed batter, wicket keeper). Australia’s best batter in the earliest years of test cricket, and a fine enough keeper that FR Spofforth missed the first ever test match because he initially didn’t believe that any keeper other than Murdoch could handle his bowling.
Warwick Armstrong (Australia, right handed batter, leg spinner). A fine all round cricketer whose feats included scoring over 2,000 runs and taking over 100 wickets in first class matches on the 1905 tour of England. 16 years later he almost captained an undefeated side, the only loss they sustained on the tour coming at the hands of ‘an England XI’ assembled by AC MacLaren.
Willie ‘Billy’ Bates (England, right handed batter, off spinner). The first England bowler ever to take a test hat trick, part of a match performance in which he scored a 50 and took seven wickets in each Australian innings.
Wasim Akram (Pakistan, left arm fast bowler, left handed batter). One of the greatest ever.
William Joseph ‘Bill’ O’Reilly (Australia, leg spinner, left handed batter). Only one batter among those he came up against in the course of his career could truly claim to have his measure: Don Bradman.
William Arras ‘Bill’ Johnston (Australia, left arm fast medium bowler, left arm orthodox spinner, left handed batter). The third essential member of Australia’s immediate post WWII bowling attack after Lindwall and Miller, as well as being two types of bowler in one he was possessed of great stamina – it was not unknown for him to go straight from spinning the old ball to swinging the new one. Three times he was Australia’s leading wicket taker in Ashes series. In England in 1953, with the active connivance of some his team mates, who got themselves out in some of the later matches to help engineer the outcome, he became only the second player to average 100+ for an English first class season (17 innings, 16 not outs, 102 runs, average 102.00) after Bradman in 1938 (the Don achieved his average of 115.66 for that season without any such shenanigans going on).
Waqar Younis (Pakistan, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). A superb practitioner, and one who regularly shared the new ball with Wasim Akram.
This side has a powerful batting line up, and a wealth of bowling options. The only regular type of bowling that is not featured is left arm wrist spin. The front five of Younis, Akram, Johnston, O’Reilly and Bates are formidable in their own right, and in the unlikely event that they prove insufficient there are Armstrong, Grace and Hammond as back up options.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
I start this section with a paragraph devoted to my most notable omission…
WILFRED RHODES
One of the most extraordinary performers in the history of cricket, with a remarkable five-phase playing career – specialist left arm spinner, all rounder, specialist batter, all rounder, specialist left arm spinner. The trouble is that brilliant as he was as an all rounder at county level his England career was almost exclusively spent either as specialist bowler (early and late periods) or as a specialist batter (in the run up to WWI). His batting would not warrant selection as a specialist and if I pick him as a specialist bowler I would have to leave out Johnston, who offers me two bowling options in one and had an outstanding test record.
OTHER HONOURABLE MENTIONS
The opening slots were rich in potential candidates. Lawry’s only rival for the left handed openers slot was Warren Bardsley, the first batter ever to score twin centuries in a test match and possessor of a fine overall test record, as well as being Australia’s leading scorer of first class centuries until Bradman came along, more than half of those tons having come in England.
Ponsford was rivalled for the right handers opening slot by two other Williams who were generally known as Bill, WA Brown and WM Woodfull. Woodfull in particular is unlucky to miss out, while Brown also had a fine record.
I regard WG Grace as an essential pick and my reckoning is that he could handle first drop, though he did prefer to open. Two regular number threes who thus miss out are William Gunn, the Gunn of Gunn & Moore, whose test record did not live up to his superb first class record and William Scotton, also of Nottinghamshire, whose ability to bat for long periods of time came at the expense of run scoring. William John ‘Bill’ Edrich was another who might have had this slot, averaging 40 in test cricket in spite of losing six prime years to WWII. WG ‘Billy’ Quaife had a splendid record for Warwickshire but his seven tests were disappointing. Wajahatullah Wasti of Pakistan once scored twin tons in a test match but did little else at that level. William Yardley has a place in the record books – in 1870 he became the first player ever to score a century in the Varsity Match.
Among the all rounders I could not accommodate were Wasim Raja, WE ‘Bill’ Alley, Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva, Wilf Flowers and William ‘Billy’ Barnes.
My decision to entrust the gloves to Murdoch meant that three very accomplished keepers, Wriddhiman Saha of India, Wasim Bari of Pakistan, and Arthur Theodore Wallace ‘Wally’ Grout of Australia missed out.
WH ‘Bill’ Lockwood was a fine bowling all rounder, and possibly the pioneer of the slower ball, but not a serious rival to Akram for the number eight slot. A number of Williams, all known as Bill, were fine quick bowlers: Whitty, Voce, Bowes, Copson, Andrews and Bestwick among them. Two Williams known by their full first names, Lillywhite and Mycroft, were both great bowlers kept out by the immense strength in depth available for this squad. Wes Hall and Wayne Daniel were two of the many superb quicks to come from the coral island of Barbados, and both can be considered unlucky to miss out. Walter Mead, a bowler of mixed spin for Essex who claimed a 17 wicket match haul against the 1893 Australians and had a magnificent first class record was the biggest miss in the spin bowling department.
In a few years time there may be a second WG in the line up – WG Jacks of England, an attacking batter and a capable off spinner who is in the process of establishing himself in international cricket.
An all time XIU of players whose given names begin with V, some honourable mentions and a photo gallery.
Today I present an all time XI of players whose given names begin with V, plus some honourable mentions, including two players given whole paragraphs to themselves. I also have a photo gallery which includes pictures taken while travelling to and from Cambridge today. I am not going to publish an XI of players whose given names begin with U because such an XI owes more to cricinfo than it does to me, and is also far from great.
THE XI IN BATTING ORDER
Victor Trumper (Australia, right handed opening batter, occasional medium pacer). A great player and according to all available reports a great human being as well. His finest hours came on the 1902 tour of England, in an exceptionally wet season on uncovered pitches. In first class matches on that tour he scored 2,570 runs including 11 centuries. The highlight of this procession round England came in the fourth test match of the series at Old Trafford, when with England on a mission to ‘keep Victor quiet before lunch’ he proceeded to become the first player ever to reach a test ton on the first morning of the match.
Vijay Merchant (India, right handed opening batter). Only ten test matches, spread over 18 years for him, in which he recorded a career batting average of 47. In all first class cricket he averaged 71.22, a figure which places him second only to Bradman among those who played enough matches to qualify (another Australian, Norman Calloway, played a solitary a first class match, scoring 207 in his only innings at that level, before going off to fight in WWI, where he was killed in action).
Viv Richards (West Indies, right handed batter, occasional off spinner). One of the greatest of all time.
Virat Kohli (India, right handed batter). Across formats the best batter of the current era.
Vijay Hazare (India, right handed batter, right arm medium pacer). At a time when few Indians had great test records he averaged 47 with the bat at that level. In first class cricket he once scored 309 in a total of 387 all out, the lowest FC innings total to include a triple century.
Vyell Walker (England, right handed batter, right arm slow bowler). One of only two players to have scored a century and taken all ten wickets an in innings of the same first class match, WG Grace being the other.
Vallance Jupp (England, right handed batter, off spinner). Achieved the double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in first class matches in each of eight successive English seasons in the 1920s. In all he scored 23,296 first class runs at 29.41 and took 1,658 first class wickets at 23.01.
+Victoria Lind (New Zealand, wicket keeper, right handed batter). Finding a wicket keeper for this XI was difficult, and I have selected someone who did not actually have the gloves when I saw her in action (she was playing as a specialist batter, with Katey Martin keeping wicket), but who was a recognized keeper.
Vanburn Holder (West Indies, right arm fast medium bowler, right handed batter). Was part of the first WI pace quartet in 1976.
Vernon Philander (South Africa, right arm fast medium bowler, right handed batter). In test cricket he claimed 224 wickets at 22.32 a piece, enough to underwrite his claim for a place in this XI.
Vince van der Bijl (South Africa, right arm fast medium bowler, right handed batter). His entire career happened while South Africa were banned from the international arena, but 767 FC wickets at 16.54, taken at a rate of fractionally below five per match and the universally high opinion of all who encountered him are good enough for me.
This side has a powerful top five, two genuine all rounders of different style, a keeper who could bat and three excellent specialist bowlers. The bowling attack should be able to capture 20 opposition wickets in most conditions.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
First of all…
THE VERY VERY SPECIAL ONE
Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman, universally known by his initials VVS, had a test average of only just over a run per innings less than that of Hazare, and maintained over larger number of matches. That fine career record included a thunderous 281, at the time the individual record score for an Indian in test cricket, against the mighty Aussies in 2001. However my feeling was that Hazare offered a back up bowling option as well as his batting, and was part of a less strong batting order than Laxman had the luxury of belonging to. Had Laxman been a left hander, of whom there are none in this order, he would have had the nod, but I felt Hazare had the edge and selected accordingly.
VIRENDER SEHWAG
Virender Sehwag was the first Indian ever to score a test triple century, and achieved that feat twice, but he did not do much outside Asia, and especially he did not do much against the swinging or seaming ball, whereas the attacking opener I did select, Trumper, was at his very finest on an overseas tour in conditions that would have been massively alien to a Sydneysider – one of the wettest English summers ever.
OTHER HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Vernon Ransford was the best left handed batting option available for this squad. Vic Wilson, the only other left hander worth mentioning was even further adrift, though he could be named as designated fielding substitute. With Richards and Kohli absolutely certain selections he could only have been accommodated at the expense of Hazare, and my feeling is that getting a left hander in isn’t worth sacrificing an average of ten runs per innings for. Vic Richardson, a legendary all round sportsperson and grandfather of two Aussie skippers, did not have a good enough record at test level to merit inclusion. Vikram Solanki was a good county batter, but such international success as came his way did so in limited overs cricket. Vic Jackson, an Aussie who bowled both medium pace and off spin, and played for Leicestershire as well as his native NSW was in the mix for an all rounders slot. Varun Aaron was a quicker bowler than any of three specialists I selected, but he was also much more erratic, and 18 test wickets at 52.61 hardly constitutes a strong basis for a challenge. Vinod Kambli was hugely talented, and was probably cast aside too soon by the Indian selectors, but unfortunately when up against Richards, Kohli and Hazare, with Laxman also deserving a mention a player who only gained 17 test caps, even one who averaged 54 with the bat at that level cannot be included.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
Cambridge station, as viewed from where Hills Road crosses the railway line.A giant Christmas bauble near Cambridge station.Ely Cathedral
An all time XI of players whose given names begin with T, including an honourable mentions section which pays particular attention to four specific areas, and a photo gallery.
Today I look at great players with given names beginning with the letter T. This was a particularly tough XI to select, and I will be starting the honourable mentions section with four disputed areas in this team. Incidentally I offer wholehearted congratulations to India Women on their all time record test victory over England Women. Their star was Deepti Sharma, who scored runs in both innings and was the chief destroyer with the ball as well, claiming 5-7 in the first England innings and 4-32 second time round.
THE XI IN BATTING ORDER
Tom Hayward (England, right handed opening batter, right arm medium pacer). In 1900 he passed his 1,000 FC runs for the season before the end of May, only the second ever to do so after WG Grace, all though the good Doctor scored all his runs actually in May, whereas Hayward’s tally included runs in April. 14 years later Hayward brought up the career landmark of 100 first class hundreds, again second ever to do so after WG. In 1906 he scored 3,518 first class runs in the season, a tally that stood as a record for 41 years, before Denis Compton and Bill Edrich both beat it in the same season. He also ushered on to the scene a fellow native of Cambridge named John Berry Hobbs.
Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh, left handed opening batter). An attack minded left hander to go with the more conservatively minded right hander Hayward, and one with a test average of close to 40.
*Tom Abell (England, right handed batter, right arm medium pacer, captain). I needed a captain for this side, and this was my solution.
Tom Graveney (England, right handed batter, occasional leg spinner). A stylish batter, with a test record of very considerable substance as well.
Travis Head (Australia, left handed batter, occasional off spinner). It has taken a while for him to really establish himself at the very highest level but he is now one of the best batters in the world.
Trevor Goddard (South Africa, left handed batter, left arm medium pacer). A genuine, but massively under-appreciated all rounder, I go into more detail about this slot in the next section of the post. For the moment, suffice it to note that he averaged 34 with the bat and 26 with the ball at test level.
+Tom Blundell (New Zealand, wicket keeper, right handed batter). An accomplished keeper/ batter for New Zealand, his record demands that he be included.
Tom Emmett (England, left arm fast bowler, left handed batter). By the time test cricket was a thing he was past his absolute prime, but his FC averages were the right way around, 14.84 with the bat and 13.55 with the ball, which convert using my usual metric to 22.26 with the bat and 20.23 with the ball in the modern era.
Tom Richardson (England, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). His 14 test appearances yielded 88 wickets. His achievements for Surrey were staggering as well. Between 1894 and 1897 inclusive (four English seasons and one tour of Australia), Richardson claimed 1,005 first class wickets.
Tom Goddard (England, off spinner, right handed batter). He started as a fast bowler, but following advice from Gloucestershire team mate Charlie Parker, who had noted the size of Goddard’s hands and the strength of his fingers he went away and remodelled himself as a spinner, and in that capacity he was one of the greats, ending a very long career (forced because of an attack of pleurisy) as the fifth leading first class wicket taker of all time, with 2,979 scalps at 19.84 each.
Taijul Islam (Bangladesh, left arm orthodox spinner, left handed batter). 44 test appearances have yielded him 192 wickets, sufficient to earn him his place in this XI.
This side is strong in batting, even with the 9, 10, 11 being old style tail enders, and has lots of bowling, with Emmett, Richardson, Tom Goddard, Islam and Trevor Goddard as the main attack and Hayward, Abell and Head all capable of providing support if needed.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
I will start with four particularly contentious areas, in batting order:
First, the number three slot. Technically I should have given this to Tom Latham of New Zealand, but I decided it was worth possibly sacrificing a few runs per innings to have Abell’s captaincy available.
Second, the all rounder position. Many would have opted for Trevor Bailey, but Goddard actually had better records in both departments than the other Trevor. Bailey averaged 29.74 with the bat and 29.21 with the ball at test level, Trevor Goddard 34.46 with the bat and 26.22 with the ball. Goddard also had a better wicket taking rate than Bailey, claiming an average of exactly three per test whereas Bailey averaged just 2.16 per test. Thomas Odoyo of Kenya would be a contender for a limited overs side.
Third, the wicket keeper’s slot. Taslim Arif had an amazing record with the bat for Pakistan in the few tests he got selected for, but he was never first choice keeper. Tim Ambrose of England was a quality keeper and a useful batter, but not quite good enough to displace Blundell. Tom Box, an legendary keeper of the mid 19th century also merits a mention.
Fourth, the new ball pairing. I opted for a pair of outstanding practitioners he never overlapped, rather than a pair with respectable records who bowled in tandem a considerable number of times at the highest level, Trent Boult (LFM) and Tim Southee (RFM), both of New Zealand. My feeling is that Emmett and Richardson were so great as individuals that I am prepared not to pick the established pairing, but I acknowledge that there is a good case for picking the Kiwis.
Thilan Samaraweera of Sri Lanka was a fine batter on flat subcontinental pitches, but did little outside of Asia.
Two quality English seamers who missed out were Tom Cartwright and Tim Bresnan. Tom Wass of Nottinghamshire, a bowler of both fast medium and leg spin who took 1,666 first class wickets at 20 without ever getting an England call up was a challenger for the place I gave to Taijul Islam. Tymal Mills would be in the mix for a T20 side, but concerns over his back have led him to restrict himself to cricket in which he never has to bowl more than four overs at a stretch.
Tim May of Australia was a fine off spinner, but not fine enough to dislodge the fifth leading wicket taker in FC history. Tommy Mitchell of Derbyshire was a good leg spinner, who claimed three wickets at 20 each in his sole test appearance, which came during the 1932-3 Ashes in the one match for which England deemed two specialist spinners necessary.
Tom Walker of Hambledon does not have a complete enough career record to be selected, but needs mention for historic reasons – he was the first to attempt round arm bowling, and also pioneered lob bowling. Thomas Lord, a native of Thirsk, was a negligible cricketer, but the third of the three grounds he arranged for the Marylebone Cricket Club, which opened for business in 1814 is one of the most famous cricketing venues in the world.
Finally, while picking a fictional character is too much even for me to consider, Tom Spedegue of “Spedegue’s Dropper” would certainly have given the bowling extra variety.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
The dates for the next year’s Autism Acceptance just a cuppa sessions at King’s Lynn libraryLego architecture, at today’s Autism Acceptance just a cuppa (six pics)A cormorant swimming in the Gaywood River near Kettlewell Lane was an unexpected sight (features in a number of pics).A title page for my wildlife themed cigarette cards, using one of my own photos.
An all time XI of players whose given names begin with the letter S, including a detailed honourable mentions section which features some serious players. Also a photo gallery.
Today I run the rule over players whose given names begin with the letter S. My chosen XI contains players who match all the words in my title and more besides. Also, while the embarrassment of riches is not on the same scale as two days ago when I looked at given names beginning with R, there are some indubitable greats who have received no more than an honourable mention.
THE XI IN BATTING ORDER
Sunil Gavaskar (India, right handed opening batter, occasional medium pacer). He was the first to reach the career milestone of 10,000 test runs. At the time of his retirement his career tally of 34 test centuries was also an all comers record.
Saeed Anwar (Pakistan, left handed opening batter). With a defensively minded right hander locking down one of the opening berths the ideal would be to fill the remaining place with an attack minded left handed, and fortunately I have available someone who was just that and was also good enough to have a test average of 45.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies, left handed batter, occasional leg spinner). He first came to general attention when he scored a double century for West Indies U19s against England U19s, and was promptly fast tracked into the test side (unlike England’s own double centurion in that U19s series, whose achievement was ignored by England management). He went on to establish a magnificent test record in a side that was went into freefall around him.
Steve Smith (Australia, right handed batter, occasional leg spinner). Probably the second best batter ever to come out of Australia behind the mighty Don Bradman.
Sachin Tendulkar (India, right handed batter, occasional off/ leg spinner). Most test runs, most test hundreds, most test appearances, only player to have scored 100 or more centuries across international formats. Probably the biggest compliment ever paid him was by Don Bradman, who was watching television coverage of one of his innings when he thought he spotted something familiar about Tendulkar and called his wife to check, and she confirmed that there were indeed similarities in batting style between the two of them.+
Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh, left handed batter, left arm orthodox spinner, vice-captain). A genuine all rounder. Sometimes controversial, many were critical of his role when Angelo Mathews made history as the first person ever to be given Timed Out in an international match, though in truth the Bangladeshi was in the right, and Mathews’ reaction to falling victim to such an unusual dismissal was what really deserved censure.
+Sarah Taylor (England, wicket keeper, right handed batter). A superb keeper and a fine batter as well.
*Sammy Woods (Australia, England, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter, captain). Born in Sydney, but spent most of his career playing for and captaining Somerset. Somerset rarely if ever had the luxury of a settled side in his day, but his achievements as a captain were still impressive, including leading his county to victories over Yorkshire in three successive seasons when the northern county were generally ruling the roost.
Shane Warne (Australia, leg spinner, right handed batter). One of the all time greats of the game, his case for inclusion needs no further amplification.
Syd Barnes (England, right arm fast medium bowler, right handed batter). That official ‘right arm fast medium’ tells a tiny fraction of the story of Barnes’ methods. His signature weapon was a leg break delivered at fast medium pace, and 189 wickets at 16.43 each in just 27 tests (yes, an average of seven wickets per match at test level) is testament to just how good he was.
Shaheen Shah Afridi (Pakistan, left arm fast bowler, left handed batter). He is still in the fairly early stages of his career, but 105 wickets at 25.58 in 27 test matches is a very fine start at the highest level.
This side has an excellent and contrasting opening pair, a mighty engine room of Chanderpaul, S Smith and Tendulkar, a genuine all rounder, a great keeper/ batter, a bowling all rounder and three superb specialist bowlers. The bowling, with Afridi, Barnes and Woods to attend to the pace and Warne and Al Hasan to bowl spin is also superb, and it is hard to see any conditions in which this attack would struggle.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
The opening pair both had ironclad cases for inclusion. If I were picking for limited overs then I would settle for two left handed openers, with Sanath Jayasuriya replacing Gavaskar whose record in limited overs was not great, but in long form there is no contest. The trouble comes in the number four and five slots, where in addition to the two I opted for, there were two other outstanding candidates, who are very unlucky that their given names begin with this letter, which keeps them out: Steve Waugh and Stan McCabe both of Australia. Also, Saud Shakeel has had an amazing start to his test career, and may yet force his way in, but with the top five I have plus the two reserves I have already mentioned selecting someone on the basis of seven test matches, however outstandingly he has done in them would be unwarrantable. Finally for this area of the order, Stephen Fleming had a respectable rather than truly outstanding record for New Zealand, and could only have commanded a place had I been dire need of a captain, which I was not.
Shakib Al Hasan had no challengers at six, not least because with Warne inked into the side Shahid Afridi’s leg spin was unlikely to add much to the bowling attack. In a limited overs side, Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe, an off spinning all rounder, would come into the mix – with Jayasuriya opening he increases the bowling variation available. However, his long form record is not special.
There were at a push four serious challengers to my actual choice for the wicket keeping role: Steve Marsh, who was fine keeper/ batter for Kent without ever getting the England job, Steve Rhodes who did do the England job, but was not IMO in Taylor’s bracket in either department, Sadanand Viswanath, a talented Indian keeper who didn’t fully deliver on his talents and Steve Rixon, understudy to Rod Marsh on at least one Ashes tour for Australia.
In the fast bowling department two England bowlers missed out for differing reasons: Steve Harmison was devastating when it was his day, but it was rather too frequently not his day for him to be classed as a genuine great. Had Simon Jones been able to keep himself in one piece he would have been a shoo-in, but injuries ruined his career. Schofield Haigh had a magnificent record for Yorkshire for many years, but never accomplished much for England. Sarfraz Nawaz, right arm fast medium for Pakistan, merits a mention, but no way could he dislodge either Barnes or his countryman Afridi. There is an extra reason for backing Shaheen Afridi in this area, which is that Barnes’ finest Ashes series, in 1911-2, came when he shared the new ball with a left arm pacer, Frank Foster.
Three off spinners have to be mentioned, though I had no way of accommodation them in the XI: Simon Harmer, unlucky to have played as little international cricket as he has, Saqlain Mushtaq, a genuine great, but not good enough to displace Warne, and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, one of the Indian spin quartet of the 1970s. The truth is that the other three spinners in question, Bedi, Chandrasekhar and Prasanna were all a distinct cut above Venkataraghavan, who sometimes got the nod because he offered extra batting compared to the other three. The quartet only once played in the same XI, on which occasion Prasanna, the other off spinner, was the most successful of the four. However, Venkataraghavan definitely qualifies for an umpiring gig, and his on-field colleague can be Sadanand Viswanath.
PHOTOGRAPHS
I start this section with a single picture and a reminder that you can view those in the gallery the follows at a larger size by clicking on any picture that attracts your attention.
An all time XI of players whose given names begin with R, a particularly important and detailed honourable mentions section and a multi-part photo gallery.
I continue my tour of cricketing given names with a look at the letter R, skipping over Q on the grounds of insufficient candidates being available for that letter. R offers a very different kind of challenge – there are huge numbers of players with overlapping skills sets and only 11 can make the final cut. I hope that the honourable mentions section, in which offer an alternative team formation that I elected not to go with will clarify these issues.
THE XI IN BATTING ORDER
*Rohit Sharma (India, right handed opening batter, captain). A naturally aggressive batter, his test record is eminently respectable even if he is better known for his exploits in limited overs cricket. As both opener and captain he can be expected to lead from the front.
Robert Baddeley ‘Bob’ Simpson (Australia, right handed opening batter, occasional leg spinner, vice captain). Although both my chosen openers are right handers it would be harder to find a more contrasting pair in terms of approach. At Old Trafford in 1964, the same ground where Ian Johnson’s side had spectacularly come to grief eight years earlier, Australia went into the match one up in the series and needing only a draw to ensure retention of The Ashes. The groundsman at Old Trafford produced one of the flattest pitches ever seen, and Simpson ensured that Australia would keep the Ashes, quite literally off his own bat – he won the toss, chose to bat first and was only dismissed on the third morning of the match, for 311. England responded in kind, and there was barely time for the second Australian innings to begin before the umpires called time – such bowling as was required in this third innings of a scheduled four was done by Titmus and Barrington with an old ball. In addition to his impressive test batting record Simpson’s leg spin was good enough that he enjoyed some success with it even at test level, and he was an outstanding slip fielder. I have named him as vice captain as a nod to his leadership qualities.
Rahul Dravid (India, right handed batter). A test record that speaks for itself.
Ricky Ponting (Australia, right handed batter, occasional medium pacer). One place down from his usual slot as I feel he would handle the lower position better than Dravid, though if Sharma were first out I might send him in to avoid having Simpson and Dravid bat together.
Rohan Kanhai (West Indies, right handed batter). The Guyanese was rated a genius by CLR James, and almost 7,000 test runs at 47 provide some solid achievement to back up that assessment.
Ryan ten Doeschate (Netherlands, right handed batter, right arm medium fast bowler). The Dutchman established a superb record in limited overs international (his country are not a test playing nation as yet), and his record in FC cricket, mainly over the course of a long and distinguished association with Essex is eminently respectable.
Ravindra Jadeja (India, left handed batter, left arm orthodox spinner, outstanding fielder). A magnificent all round cricketer.
R Ashwin (India, off spinner, right handed batter). Over 400 test wickets, and a batting record that includes five test match centuries.
Ray Lindwall (Australia, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). One of the best fast bowlers ever seen in the game, and good enough with the bat to have scored two test centuries along the way.
Richard Hadlee (New Zealand, right arm fast bowler, left handed batter). The best bowler of any type ever to play for New Zealand, and a handy lower order batter, though the first in this line up to have had a test career and not scored a century at that level.
+Rhianna Southby (England, wicket keeper, right handed batter). The most controversial pick of all my XI, but although there were many options for this letter I wanted to showcase one of the very best of contemporary wicket keepers. Her position in this order is less a reflection on her batting than an acknowledgement of the fact that all of my chosen bowlers were also talented in that department.
This XI is very strong in batting, keeping and spin bowling, with the seam/ pace element of the attack a little light, since the only pace/seam support for the Anzac new pall pairing of Lindwall and Hadlee would come from ten Doeschate.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
This will be a multi-faceted section and I start with…
THE WICKET KEEPER/ ALL ROUNDER CONUNDRUM
Although there is one absolutely genuine all rounder in Jadeja available for this letter, there was no one available for the number six slot. Ron Archer of Australia might have become the perfect fit for that slot had he not suffered a freak injury when Australia visited Pakistan on their way home from the 1956 Ashes. The injury occurred at Karachi, where Archer caught his studs in a piece of matting and wrenched a knee, and it ended his bowling career at the age of 23, though he played one more season for Queensland as a specialist batter. Had he not suffered that injury he might have gone to become the replacement for Keith Miller that Australia were hoping he would, in which case selecting this side would have been a lot easier. There were three potential alternatives to Southby for the wicket keeper’s slot: Robert William ‘Bob’ Taylor, who made more FC dismissals than any other wicket keeper in history, Rod Marsh, holder of the record for test career dismissals at the time of his retirement, and Rishabh Pant of India. A possible alternative to my chosen line up which addresses the seam/ pace bowling potential issue would be to pick Pant in place of ten Doeschate and Robert George Dylan ‘Bob’ Willis in place of Southby at number 11, giving an XI of *RG Sharma, RB Simpson, RS Dravid, RT Ponting, RB Kanhai, +R Pant, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, RR Lindwall, RJ Hadlee, RGD Willis.
OTHER HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Robert William ‘Bob’ Barber had his moments as a left handed attacking opener for England, including scoring 185 against Australia in an innings win in Australia, but his career record lacks the overall heft to displace Sharma. Richard Barlow who played for England in the 1880s, and remains the only person ever selected for an England men’s test team on the understanding that he was going to open both the batting and the bowling was another potential candidate, and his left arm seam bowling would have added variation to the attack, but if I apply my usual conversion method to his career averages his record adjusts to an average of 34.08 with the bat and 33.83 with the ball, not really good enough in either department. Roy Park was highly rated by some of his Australian contemporaries, including Warwick Armstrong, but his sole test innings lasted precisely one ball. Robert ‘Bobby’ Abel, the first England batter to carry his bat through a test innings, was clearly a very fine right handed opener of the more cautious type, and a case could be made for him getting Simpson’s slot.
The unluckiest middle order batters of those to miss out were a pair of West Indians with fine test records, Richie Richardson and Ramnaresh Sarwan. Neither of the individuals concerned would be out of place in the number five slot I awarded to Kanhai. Robin Smith was a fine number three for England, but he is a mere candle to the Alexandrian lighthouses of Dravid and Ponting.
Ryan Higgins, now re-ensconced at Middlesex after a few years away at Gloucestershire, has a fine county record, but he has not yet been picked for England. Rikki Clarke had a very fine FC record, but did not make the most of such chances as he got at international level. Rich Pyrah of Yorkshire was a very fine limited overs player but his record in long form cricket was no more than respectable. Rehan Ahmed, the young England leg spinning all rounder, may well force his way in in due course, but at the moment, especially with Simpson able to bowl a bit of leg spin if needed, he has to wait. Robert ‘Bob’ Relf of Sussex was a good enough county all rounder to deserve a mention. Robert ‘Bobby’ Peel of Yorkshire and England was a great left arm spin bowler who could bat, but not good enough to dislodge Jadeja. Similarly, Ray Illingworth was a fine cricketer, but no one is convincing me that he comes particularly close to challenging R Ashwin for that slot. Richie Benaud was a high quality leg spinning all rounder, and would have been captain had I been able to accommodate him in the XI. Since I cannot do that, he would be the ONLY candidate to head up the TV commentary team. Roy Kilner, with 14,000 Fc runs at 30 and 1,000 FC wickets at 18 was unlucky to be up against Jadeja for a slot. Given the galaxy of talent already covered, for all her unique status as an international captain who has turned out for The Metronomes there can be no place for the Brazilian all rounder Roberta Moretti Avery.
Rashid Khan, the Afghan leg spinner, was probably the best of the bowlers I could find no place for. Rangana Herath of Sri Lanka was a very fine left arm spinner, but like Peel and Kilner mentioned in the all rounders section suffered due to the overlap with Jadeja.
Richard Peter Borgnis as he appears in the record books (his actual full name was Richard Peter Hammond-Chambers-Borgnis) had an astonishing first class career – one match in which he scored a century and took a three-for.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz of Afghanistan would be in the mix were I picking with limited overs cricket in mind, but he is as yet unproven in long form cricket.
PHOTOGRAPHS
A multi-part photo gallery today. James and Sons had an auction this week, and I focus on two lots. Lot 304 was a Hassalblad camera in an aluminium case with a lot of extra bits and pieces and attracted considerable interest. I produced an extended gallery for it in order to deal with queries that were coming in, and the result was very pleasing – it sold for £1,000.
The second lot I focus on was number 574. This lot, a collection of cigarette/ trade cards, was knocked down to me for £10. I produced a good gallery for it…
Having taken possession of it I have been through it in much more detail than imaging for auction allows…
It was natural to start with London Buses that had been my main reason for buying the lot.The Route Master, London’s most iconic bus.These grandee cards featuring wildlife of various kinds were a welcome bonus.These cards featuring birds are splendid.More wildlife themed cards.These aeroplanes were not of particular interest to me.The ships however were.
aspiblog 