Here’s the whopping price of Virat Kohli’s wallet

Virat Kohli is not only the best batsman in modern day cricket but also one of the richest cricketers in the world. He is an inspiring role model for the Indian youth and they follow everything that Kohli does. Kohli has shown that he is stylish and knows what suits him off the field. He

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Kevin Pietersen thanks Bollywood actress Shraddha Kapoor for her support in conserving rare wild animals

Kevin Pietersen has been very active in supporting the cause of the wildlife conservation in the recent times. The former England skipper has been posting updates about the same on the social media. He is actively participating in activities of conserving rare wild animals and therefore, wants to work for the conservation of the wild

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Nidahas Trophy 2018: Schedule, Squads, Telecast And Live Streaming

After enjoying success in the limited-overs series in South Africa, Team India’s next assignment is the Nidahas Trophy 2018. The tournament will be a T20I tri-series which will be hosted by Sri Lanka. The third team in the tournament is of Bangladesh. The series is all set to start on March 6 and will conclude

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Mohammad Kaif reveals his all-time India ODI XI

Mohammed Kaif is considered to be one of the greatest fielder ever who changed the way Indians fielded along with Yuvraj Singh. Kaif played 125 ODIs and 13 Tests for India in his six-year-long international career. Kaif burst on to the scene during his under-19 days when he led the Indian team to victory in

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IPL 2018: There’s a battle between two players for wicket-keeper role in Preity Zinta’s Kings XI Punjab

Bollywood actress Preity Zinta was one of the most active team owners in the Indian Premier League (IPL) player’s auction held in January. She was trying to snap up each and every best player going around in the T20 format and finally picked a squad of 21 players for the 11th edition of the IPL.

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The reason why MS Dhoni doesn’t sport Indian flag on his helmet will make you respect him more

Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni is well known for his patriotism. His decision to not travel to India when his daughter was born to concentrate on the ODI World Cup in 2015 is still remembered fondly by the fans. The 36-year old had made a name for himself for his selfless and ‘country above all’

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Sridevi no more: Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma pay tributes to the Bollywood actress

People in India woke up to the sorry news of actress Sridevi’s untimely death on Sunday with the Indian cinema veteran passing away after suffering a cardiac arrest in Dubai, where she had gone to attend her nephew Mohit Marwah’s wedding. Sridevi was one of the leading actresses of her time having debuted back in

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Rohit Sharma’s Instagram post proves how much he missed his wife Ritika during the limited overs series in South Africa

Team India’s tour of South Africa came to an end with Men in Blue winning the T20I series 2-1 after defeating the Proteas in the third and final game in Capetown on Saturday. Rohit Sharma led the India team in that match and after winning it, he joined the list of captains who have won

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IPL 2018: Virender Sehwag reveals why Kings XI Punjab chose Ravichandran Ashwin for captaincy over Yuvraj Singh

Preity Zinta co-owned franchise ended all the wait and announced the name of their skipper for the eleventh edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). And it’s none other than India’s off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Punjab based franchise took it to the social-networking site, Facebook to announce their skipper and posted a video in which team’s director

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Twitter Reactions: Ravichandran Ashwin named as captain of Preity Zinta’s Kings XI Punjab for IPL 2018

India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was named the captain of the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The 31-year-old off-spinner was picked by KXIP co-owner Preity Zinta for Rs. 7.60 crores during the player’s auction held in January. Aswhin was a part of the Rising Pune Supergiant in

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Vanitha VR hails Suresh Raina for stupendous comeback in International cricket

The road back to the Indian team wasn’t easy for Suresh Raina. But the left-handed batsman did make the most of his comeback in International cricket as he showed a lot of intent to help India win the T20I series against South Africa in Cape Town on Saturday. Raina put on an all-round display in

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Kings XI Punjab announce their new captain for IPL 2018

Preity Zinta’s co-owned Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) have named their captain for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The KXIP franchise made the announcement on Monday through a Facebook live with team director and mentor Virender Sehwag spilling the beans. Ravichandran Ashwin will lead Kings XI Punjab in the eleventh season of

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Internet sensation Priya Prakash Varrier expresses her delight after meeting Sachin Tendulkar

Malayalam actress Priya Prakash Varrier has taken the internet by storm with just her wink. The Oru Adaar Love film’s actress has become a viral sensation and every day her fan-following is only increasing. But while the internet is chasing her fandom, the actress had her own fan moment when she met the ‘God of

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Suresh Raina confident of making ODI comeback soon

Indian batsman Suresh Raina took a while getting back into the national team. He made his way back to the Indian T20I side after a break of over 12 months but has quickly gone on to show that he can be a valued member of the squad. With scores of 15, 31 and 43 and

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Cricket fraternity condoles the demise of veteran actress Sridevi

The sudden demise of Sridevi has left India in deep shock and the cricket fraternity, too, has been mourning the death of the veteran actress who died in Dubai after suffering a massive heart attack on late Saturday night. Sridevi was born as Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan on 13 August 1963 and started her career

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Team India’s squad for Nidahas Trophy announced

Virat Kohli along with senior most player MS Dhoni was prominent among the players who have been rested for the T20 tri-series (Nidahas Trophy) in Sri Lanka, starting March 6. Rohit Sharma will lead a second-string team comprising of the leading performers in the domestic (Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 and IPL) circuit. Shikhar Dhawan will

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Priyanka Chaudhary posts a heart-winning message for husband Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina has returned to the Indian team with a lot of positive intent. He timed the ball really well in the first match at Johannesburg. At Centurion, he played a lovely little cameo after Rohit Sharma‘s early dismissal. In the final T20I against South Africa, Rohit got out cheaply – yet again leg before

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Twitter reactions: India wins a thriller to seal T20I series over South Africa

India clinched the three-match T20I series against South Africa by registering a thrilling 7-run victory in the third T20 international at Newlands, Cape Town on Saturday. In the series decider, the Men in Blue entered into the field without the services of their regular skipper Virat Kohli. The Indian captain had to miss the game

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Twitter trolls Rohit Sharma after yet another failure on South African tour

India’s opening batsman Rohit Sharma suffered yet another failure to put an end to his forgetful tour of South Africa. After holding the reputation of being Kagiso Rabada’s bunny during the Tests and ODIs, Rohit turned out to be rookie Junior Dala’s bunny in the T20Is. Barring the century at Port Elizabeth in the ODI

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IPL 2018: Steven Smith appointed as Rajasthan Royals captain

Rajasthan Royals (RR) have appointed Steven Smith as their captain for Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018. Smith led the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) in the IPL last year and the side finished runners-up. The Australian skipper was appointed the RR skipper in middle of the 2015 season, the last time the Royals participated in

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Suresh Raina on Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, T20I comeback and 2019 ICC World Cup

Indian left-handed batsman Suresh Raina wants to use the opportunity of T20I series against South Africa to regain his place in ODIs ahead of the 2019 World Cup. Raina has returned to the Indian side after one year and has looked to bat aggressively in both the T20 games against the Proteas. With a long

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Here’s what MS Dhoni said to Manish Pandey in the last over of the Centurion T20I

MS Dhoni was not very happy with his batting partner Manish Pandey when the latter failed to look back at the former Indian skipper after completing a quick single during their 98-run stand against South Africa in the 2nd T20I in Centurion. On the first ball of the last over, Pandey got a single on

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IPL 2018: Here is the complete schedule for Kings XI Punjab

The 11th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) will start on Saturday, April 7, 2018. The opening match of the tournament will be played between defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Wankhede Stadium. In the upcoming season of IPL, 48 matches will begin at 8:00 PM IST while 12

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The Style Was The Man

There are times when the world seems to have gone mad. I have heard some ludicrous news stories in recent months, but there is nothing like the continuing saga of Brexit to keep observers amazed at the propensity of people who really should know better to single-mindedly try their best to maintain a straight line course to self-destruction for us all.

In fact so disturbing do I find this that, undemonstrative man that I usually am, I spent part of an evening recently pontificating on the subject. It was a most convivial get together, one of the attendees being the only man I keep in touch with from my student days. Neither of us are very good at maintaining contact with old friends, but I don’t ever remember us disagreeing about anything, well nothing important anyway, and in the days before the internet allowed me to reach out to other troubled souls he was the only other cricket tragic I knew.

Ironically enough my old friend was wearing a ‘Proud to be a Remoaner’ tee shirt, so it probably came as a surprise to those sat with us when he suddenly looked me in the eye and announced that I was a hypocrite. The breadth of his grin and the depth of our friendship was such that I knew immediately what he was referring to. One of the many things we have in common is our admiration for David Gower. The year of Gower’s international debut was our A Level year. I missed the century he scored in his second ODI, an Economics exam sadly taking up my time. I was sat in front of the television a few days later however when he made his first Test appearance. Naturally I was spending a good deal of time revising, but kept an eye on the television and made sure I was taking a break from my cramming when, with England comfortably placed at 101-2 in response to 164, Gower walked out to face his first delivery.

The bowler was Liaquat Ali. Because my memory of the delivery is so vivid Liaquat’s name is also imprinted on my mind, although looking him up tells me this was the penultimate appearance of a five Test career in which he took just six wickets at almost 60 with his left arm fast medium. That is certainly an ordinary record, although my memory is of a decent bowler. In any event he came in to bowl to the debutant and made the mistake of trying a short one. Gower pulled the ball to the boundary in the nonchalant way he was to do so frequently over the next decade and a half. It was an absolute classic, elegant yet also indolent, and made to look so very, very easy. Over the years Gower was to try my patience on many occasions, but whatever he did I never found myself able to lose faith in him. After just one delivery of his Test career Gower had earned a permanent ‘Get Out Of Jail Free’ card as far as I was concerned. In years to come he would certainly irritate a few, most notably future Chairman of Selectors Peter May, but for me, my University mate and many others he was always forgiven. Heck I’d probably even give his opinions house room if he advocated a Hard Brexit rather than a change of bowling at the Pavilion End.

In fairness to Gower it was some time before he needed to consider playing his card. It was his tenth Test before he made a single digit score in Tests, and 1980 before he first split opinion. His first winter overseas was in Australia in 1978/79, but World Series Cricket had claimed the top Australian players and Mike Brearley’s side were not unduly troubled. A year later and the dispute settled England hurried back out to Australia again to play a three Test series against the full strength of their hosts.

The 4-1 victory of 1978/79 turned into a 3-0 reverse and Gower was out cheaply in five of his six innings. Had it not been for a fine unbeaten 98 in the second innings at Sydney he would have had nothing at all to show for the series. As it was, just to prove there are times when you can’t please anyone, he picked up some criticism for leaving last man Bob Willis exposed to Dennis Lillee, thereby costing himself a century. From there Gower contributed little to the Jubilee Test in India, but in light of Ian Botham’s one man show Gower fans were not too worried about that.

Back in England in 1980 the West Indies were in town. Ian Botham was England’s new skipper and it was the first time the two sides had met since Tony Greig’s ill-advised statement in 1976 that he intended to make the men from the Caribbean grovel. There was to be a return series the following winter as well, so the novice skipper had his work cut out.

Brian Brain turned 40 in 1980. He was a journeyman medium fast bowler then with Gloucestershire and previously with Worcestershire. He became a better bowler as he aged, but I certainly don’t recall him ever being talked of as an England player. In any event he published a diary of his 1980 summer. Pre-season he wrote of the England side in the winter just gone; they’re getting paid extremely well for not playing professionally. David Gower, in particular, makes my blood boil. I can name thirty other English players who wouldn’t have sold their wickets as cheaply as Gower did in the winter.

The selectors clearly didn’t agree with Brain, although it seems likely they had some sympathy with his views. Gower was retained for the two ODIs and the first Test. He contributed just 12 to each of the ODIs and 20 and 1 to the Test. Perhaps as significantly with West Indies needing 13 to win with three wickets to fall Andy Roberts hit the ball skywards. It was one of those horrible swirling catches that all cricketers dread. Gower was a wonderful fielder, magnificent in the covers until shoulder damage robbed him of the powerful flat throw that so often took batsmen by surprise. But he dropped this one, and West Indies went on to win, and after that it was Gower who was dropped.

By the end of the summer Gower had scored a couple of centuries for Leicestershire, his first for the county since 1977, so he had clearly taken on board at least some of what was said to him. His recall for the centenary Test at the end of the summer produced further evidence of a growing maturity. Unlike the Australian version three years previously this was a disappointing game, but Gower scored 45 and 35. In the second innings, with England briefly in danger of defeat, he dug in with Geoffrey Boycott for ninety five minutes, and was actually outscored by the Yorkshireman.

Sufficient credit with the selectors having been gathered Gower took his place on the winter’s tour of the Caribbean. He was as upset as everyone else in the England party when Kenny Barrington died during the third Test. For Gower’s batting it was a case of consolidation initially. He didn’t fail once, but at the same time didn’t get past 54 in the first four Tests, only three of which actually started – the Georgetown Test was called off as the Guyanese government would not allow Robin Jackman into the country. In the last Test however, with England at one point in grave danger of defeat, what The Cricketer described as ‘the new Gower’ batted for almost eight hours for an unbeaten 154 to see them safely to a draw. Wisden put it rather well; if he was still out to the loose or casual stroke, he now seldom succumbed to the wildly irrational one.

In 1981 Gower never threatened to take the limelight from Botham, but made a solid contribution to England’s famous victory. After that he set out on 13 consecutive Tests against sub-continental sides and in many ways was at his most frustrating. There were as many as seven occasions when he got past fifty, and three more times when he passed forty, but no century. Would the elevation to Bob Willis’ vice-captain for the 1982/83 Ashes help? It probably did as he at last made another century and then two more at home against New Zealand.

The big transformation seemed to come the following winter, although as ever there was precious little television coverage and it seemed improbable for some time. First of all England lost a series in New Zealand, and Gower found no form at all. It was no better in Pakistan, as England lost the first Test and then their captain. Gower’s first Test in charge was in Faisalabad. He made 152 to make sure his team couldn’t lose and then in the next Test an unbeaten 173 in another draw. His captaincy, as relaxed as his batting, attracted praise as well and suddenly it looked like the secret to managing him had been found.

Was Gower a good captain? The answer seems to be both yes and no. He was of course a fine player, and understood the game well. He also thought about the game and, importantly, wanted to be captain. But as to his ability to do the job there are almost as many opinions out there as runs that he scored. One thing that he certainly lacked was a team of quality players under him, and it is self-evident that a high class team will, to a certain extent, lead itself. As Gower said to the baying press pack as his side went 4-0 down against the 1984 West Indies; What do you want me to do? What can I do? We’re trying but they are just better than us.

It must have been the case that Gower could forge a good team spirit as the eventual 5-0 drubbing by Clive Lloyd’s men notwithstanding the side he took to India in 1984/85, despite missing Graham Gooch, John Emburey and Peter Willey (all banned as a result of their part in a rebel tour to South Africa in 1980) and Ian Botham (resting) won 2-1 despite losing the first Test. The following summer an Australian side under the first version of Allan Border was beaten 3-1. Such were Gower’s spirits after the final Test at the Oval that he speculated with the press that England’s next opponents, the West Indies in their own backyard, would be quaking in their boots.

It wasn’t quite the same as declaring an intention to make the men from the Caribbean grovel, but the effect was much the same. The following winter saw a second successive 5-0 defeat. Botham was there, but not in any sort of form, as was Gooch, but he seemed distracted by the issues his South African connections were creating. As for Gower he had recently lost his mother and had troubles at home so it was a credit to his professionalism that he managed to top the England batting averages with 370 runs at 37.00. Unsurprisingly given that he faced more of the bowling than anyone else he counted himself as one of those who was shell shocked long before the end.

There were, inevitably, some calling for Gower’s removal on his return. The then Chairman of Selectors, Peter May, did of course speak to Gower, but their conversation did nothing to assist. May chose to give Gower a dressing down and the recipient was less than impressed, feeling May had done no more than regurgitated the views of the tabloid press rather than actually say anything constructive.

Predictably Gower did not pander to May and once the 1986 ODI series against India and the first Test at Lord’s had been lost he was sacked. May received some merited criticism for the way that was done. Gower was, as captain, giving a post match interview after the Test to the BBC at the very moment May was in the dressing room giving his job to Mike Gatting.

Back in the ranks Gower could not prevent defeats by 2-0 to India and 1-0 to New Zealand, but as the summer wore on he warmed up and his contributions culminated in a fine century in the final Test of the New Zealand series. He also made a steady contribution to the unexpected victory against Australia in 1986/87.

No doubt Gower thought he was well out of the captaincy when things turned sour again in 1987, a home series being lost to Pakistan for the first time. After that the ‘Shakoor Rana Incident’ in Pakistan followed swiftly by the ‘Bar Maid Incident’ during the first Test of the next instalment of England’s travails against West Indies put an end to Gatting’s captaincy. After that John Emburey, Chris Cowdrey and finally Gooch all took a sip from the poisoned chalice.

In the winter of 1988/89 Gooch was due to take England to India, but his South African connections were unacceptable to the hosts so the tour did not proceed. May decided to retire in the December and a full time supremo was appointed. Ted Dexter was the man given the unenviable task of leading England out of the doldrums. ‘Lord Ted’ wasn’t impressed by Gooch, who he famously described as having all the charisma of a wet fish.

At the crease there were certainly similarities between Gower and Dexter, both crowd pleasing batsmen who, on their day, could make batting look the easiest occupation in the world. In addition if not exactly similar their personalities were certainly more in tune with each other than those of Dexter and Gooch. In the circumstances it was not such a surprise as it might have been when Gower was offered the England captaincy for the 1989 home Ashes series.

What was perhaps a little more unexpected was the extent to which, given his previous experience, Gower grabbed the opportunity with both hands. So delighted was he that in the first County Championship match of the summer he hammered the Glamorgan attack to the tune of 228. It was to remain the highest score of his career.

Border version one had been in the traditional mould of Australian captains. He was a tough competitor on the field but a congenial enough character after the close. Version two was very different, aggressive and uncompromising at all times. According to Gower his former friendly rival uttered just four words to him all summer, heads, tails, we’ll and bat. And bat is exactly what Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh did, remorselessly for hour after hour, and the records of the other Australian batsmen were none too shabby either. It was the same with ball. Geoff Lawson and Terry Alderman were outstanding, and the rest merely decent.

Having been hit by an opposition much superior to expectations Gower’s mood was not improved when he learned that he had not actually been the selectors’ first choice for the captaincy. In fact the selectors wanted Gatting, but a veto by the old Test and County Cricket Board had put the kybosh on that one, previous transgressions not having yet been forgiven. It didn’t help that that news was broken to Gower by Emburey of all people, as the fourth Test at Old Trafford slipped away, nor that it came out in the context of an announcement that Gatting had agreed to take another rebel side to South Africa.

Along the way of the disastrous summer of 1989 there had been another less than successful relationship as Gower had struggled to work with the new England coach, Mickey Stewart. The former Surrey and England opener had qualities of his own, but overall was rather more in synch with the discipline and work ethic of a Gooch. It seems both Stewart and Gower tried hard to work together successfully, but the team’s results showed the relationship was not working. It was no surprise to anyone when Gower was sacked nor, given prevailing attitudes in the corridors of power, that Gooch was given the job of working with Stewart for the 1989/90 trip to the West Indies.

What was rather less predictable was Gower’s omission from the touring party. He was 32, so not yet a veteran, had as good a record as anyone in the Caribbean and despite the disastrous results of 1989 only Robin Smith of England’s batsmen had scored more runs. Less controversially England’s former talisman, Botham, was also left out, although there were still many of us who clung to the belief, never realised, that there was still a last hoorah to come from him.

Given that the West Indies series, had it not been for some cynical time wasting by the hosts, would have been drawn it is difficult to criticize the selectors. Gower had plenty of cause reason to feel aggrieved at not being chosen, but he seems not to have been too unhappy. He took the chance of a winter off to have surgery on his troublesome shoulder, and to join Hampshire for the 1990 summer.

By the time England actually got to the Caribbean in February Gower was in fact with them, sat in the press box. With his personal and cricketing lives looking up, and his shoulder on the mend there was certainly no ill-feeling and a demonstration of goodwill was shown on both sides at the end of the tour when Gower joined his former teammates as cover in an injury crisis. He might have played in the final Test, but a failure in his single First Class outing convinced all that he was not quite ready for that.

The first part of the 1990 summer saw Richard Hadlee dismiss Gower cheaply twice in ODIs, a format which had not excited him for some years, and he failed to make the Test side. He was back against India however, a series remembered for Gooch’s monumental 333. In the first two Tests Gower made four decent starts without going beyond 40 as England took a 1-0 lead. In the third Test England followed on 266 behind but in a disciplined unbeaten 157 over four and half hours Gower made sure there was no danger of defeat, and at the same time booked his place on the 1990/91 Ashes trip.

There were some England supporters who took the view that the 1989 Ashes were an aberration, and that normal service would quickly be resumed. We soon learnt the error of our ways. Australia won the first Test by ten wickets, though Gower, with 61 and 27, top scored in both England’s sorry innings. The margin in the second Test was eight wickets. With exactly 100 in the first innings Gower top scored again, so his legion of admirers forgave him his dismissal for a duck in the second knock.

In the third Test England avoided defeat, and did so comfortably. In their first innings Gower was the star again, scoring 128. In the second innings, going in first with Gooch because of an injury to Mike Atherton, he contributed 36 to a stand of 84. Despite that the relationship with Gooch the martinet was already unraveling and came to a head shortly afterwards with the disciplining of Gower and John Morris for their infamous trip in a Gypsy Moth biplane. Both men received the maximum fines permissible under their contracts and were told they were fortunate not to have been sent home. Whether that reaction was over the top is a matter of opinion, although it certainly seems it to this writer, but the effect on Gower was that his form immediately deserted him. In his own words; it was frightening to go from such sublimely good touch to more or less forgetting how to bat.

There was no place for Gower in the 1991 Tests against West Indies, although he was back in 1992 against Pakistan. He looked dead set for a century in his comeback Test, before one of those frustrating wafts outside off stump cost him his wicket. The last Test of the series at the Oval was the last of Gower’s career, although no one saw that coming. He was dismissed by Waqar Younis in his last Test innings. He played and missed a few times and was then bowled by a great bowler in his finest series. It was not the right way for a great champion to bow out.

Gooch had assured Gower he would be selected for the 1992/93 tour of India that winter. In the event however he wasn’t, and learnt of his omission from the press prior to Gooch telephoning him. Gower was furious and understandably so. He still went to India, but in a very different role, sat behind a microphone in the Sky TV commentary box.

1993 brought another one-sided Ashes contest and Gooch’s resignation. Gower had thought that he may still have something to offer the selectors and, largely thanks to three centuries in his final six matches, he had a decent season for Hampshire averaging 42. Sadly howeverthe late burst was not enough to convince new England captain Michael Atherton that he needed Gower’s old head in the West Indies in early 1994 and, not without some indecisiveness along the way Gower decided to call it a day, and at 35 the most stylish batsmen of his generation gave up playing the game in favour of talking about it. Since then Gower has spent many an hour in my living room as a Sky commentator and, latterly, its face of Test cricket. He might not be quite as highly rated with the microphone as some, but his views are always worth listening to, and the memories of the way he batted are never very far away.

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Twitterati went crazy after watching MS Dhoni’s angry avatar in Centurion

In a rare incident, former Indian skipper MS Dhoni who is known for his cool and composed attitude lost his composure during the second T20I between South Africa and India in Centurion on Wednesday. Dhoni wasn’t too happy with his partner Manish Pandey though the two put on an unbeaten partnership of 98 for the

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Cheteshwar Pujara blessed with a baby girl

India’s Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara and his wife Pooja Pabari were blessed with a baby girl on Friday. Pujara shared the good news with his fans and followers on Twitter. The 29-year-old shared a picture of him holding the newborn with his wife. “Welcome lil one. Excited and super happy for the new roles in

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Manish Pandey’s comment on MS Dhoni leaves journalists in splits

During the second T20I against South Africa, for the first time in the limited overs series, Team India found themselves in a proper mess as the top four batsmen were back in the pavilion with just under half the innings to go. With the scoreboard reflecting 92 runs on the board at the end of

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Twitter Reactions: Mandey Pandey, MS Dhoni’s blitz takes India to 188 in the 2nd T20I against South Africa

Riding on a late 98-run fifth-wicket partnership between Manish Pandey (79 off 48 balls) and former skipper MS Dhoni (52 off 28 balls), India reached 188/4 against South Africa in the second T20I. It was again a story of inconsistent and poor bowling from the Proteas as they allowed India to get to their eventual

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Twitterati trolled Hardik Pandya for his performance after the all-rounder posted a stylish picture

Hardik Pandya has been in a miserable form with the bat on India’s current tour of South Africa. After his brave knock of 93 in the first Test against the Proteas, fans once again started to hail him as the next Kapil Dev. However, since then the graph of Pandya’s performance has only gone down

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VIDEO: Jeet Raval smashes the ball straight on Andrew Ellis’ head; the ball went for six

A bizarre incident took place during a one-day match between Auckland and Canterbury at the Colin Maiden Park, Auckland on Wednesday. Auckland’s left-handed batsman Jeet Raval nearly killed Canterbury bowler Andrew Ellis with his full-bloodied strike. Raval stepped out against the medium pacer and struck a meaty blow back at him. The bowler, recovering from

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Suresh Raina reveals how his wife Priyanka motivated him during tough times

The career of India veteran Suresh Raina was not turning out as expected in the last couple of years. The southpaw recently returned to the Indian team for the ongoing three-match T20 International series against South Africa. Raina, who was an integral part of India’s limited-overs side not very long ago, fell down the pecking

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Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Shakib Al Hasan are No. 1 in the ICC rankings

India captain Virat Kohli has retained his No. 1 spot in the ICC ODI batsmen rankings, while fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has become the top-ranked ODI bowler, as per the latest reshuffling of the rankings. Also India, following their 5-1 series win over South Africa, has become the No. 1 team in the ICC ODI

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Revised schedule of Nidahas Trophy 2018

The start of the tri-nation Nidahas Trophy 2018 has been brought forward by two days and the event will now get underway on March 6 instead of March 8 as planned earlier. India and Sri Lanka will play the opening game, with Bangladesh being the third participant in the tournament. The Nidahas Trophy 2018 has

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Jeffrey Stollmeyer

A third generation Trinidadian, from English and German stock, Jeff Stollmeyer was born in 1921. He was fortunate in that his father was a man of considerable wealth, derived from the cocoa plantations that he established on the island. To offset that Stollmeyer was unfortunate in that the timing of a crash in the world market for cocoa almost bankrupted his father in the early years of the Great Depression, thus preventing him having the same opportunity as his older siblings to go and study at overseas universities. The senior Stollmeyer was however a resourceful man, and in the fullness of time he rebuilt his businesses with great success, so whilst Jeffrey might have missed out on a university education he was able, during the 1940s and early 1950s, to devote as much time to cricket as he wished. He was an accomplished batsman and, occasionally, a useful leg spinner.

There was an early First Class bow for Stollmeyer, who was just 17 when he was selected to join a Trinidadian tour party to Guyana (then British Guiana) in 1938. A year or so previously there had been some ill-feeling between the countries over umpiring concerns and the tour was made as a gesture of goodwill. There were two matches and Stollmeyer played in the first. He opened the batting and on an excellent wicket opened his First Class account with a century. His performances between then and the selection of the West Indies party that toured England in 1939 were unspectacular, but the debut century was not forgotten and at 18 Stollmeyer found himself on the boat to England chosen, in the words of historian Christopher Nicole; entirely upon the strength of his obvious ability, for he had not as yet played any great innings. His older brother, Victor, was also a member of the party.

It probably wasn’t expected that Stollmeyer would make the Test side, but he had a sound start in England culminating in a century on his first appearance at Lord’s. The Middlesex side was a young one and described by Wisden as being at less than full strength, although there are plenty of now familiar names on the team sheet. Almost to a man however the county’s senior amateurs were missing, so there was no Gubby Allen, Walter Robins, Ian Peebles or Frank Mann playing. The wicket must have been good as well, as Stollmeyer’s 117 was only the third best score for the visitors, as they scored 665.

There was more good fortune for Stollmeyer in the run up to the first Test. He wasn’t selected for a difficult match at Derby in which Victor scored 1 and 0. He came back for the next three however and caught the eye with a pair of half centuries against a representative Minor Counties side, two more against Leicestershire (who finished last in the Championship that summer) and on the eve of the Test he scored exactly 100 against Lincolnshire, who ended the season fourth from bottom of the Minors’ Championship.

So whilst Stollmeyer may not have been tested he had scored runs and, Victor struggling to shake off tonsillitis, the younger sibling got the nod for Lord’s. In the only one of the three Tests to produce a result West Indies, despite twin hundreds from their talisman George Headley, lost by eight wickets. Of the other batsmen only Stollmeyer, who scored 59 in the first innings, emerged with any credit. It is worth quoting Wisden at length, if only to demonstrate that the innings was one of quality and not good fortune;

Possessing a beautiful style, Stollmeyer rarely missed an opportunity to score on the leg side. His most profitable stroke, a forcing shot off his legs, he used to great advantage when dealing with the in swingers of Copson, who aimed repeatedly at the middle and leg stumps. Stollmeyer also drove and cut smartly, though there were only three boundaries in his 59.

The second Test at Old Trafford was spoiled by rain and neither side distinguished themselves with the bat. Only Joe Hardstaff for England and, inevitably, Headley passed fifty in the drawn encounter. Stollmeyer scored 5 and 10. Finally at the Oval, the last Test to be played for almost seven years, West Indies took a first innings lead and comfortably achieved the draw. There were half centuries for Stollmeyer, Headley and Learie Constantine and in a famous partnership brother Victor, fit at last, scored 94 in his only Test innings and Kenneth ‘Bam Bam’ Weekes made 137.

Although war had not been declared it was, by the end of the Oval Test, inevitable and the rest of the tour was cancelled. Via a stay with family in the US Stollmeyer made his way back to Trinidad where, through the war, the First Class game continued and a new group of star players emerged who were just coming into their own when an England side led by Gubby Allen arrived for four Tests in the early months of 1948. Along with the emergence of men like Everton Weekes, Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott Stollmeyer had matured, scoring runs consistently, and on one occasion recording a triple century, 324 against British Guiana. On the England side Allen was 46 and no longer a regular player.  He had an understrength side too, the selectors leaving Len Hutton, Denis Compton, Bill Edrich and Alec Bedser at home. Even with Hutton arriving late on, called out as cover when injury struck, the Englishmen were no match for their hosts.

The West Indies Board did not make it easy for their side, naming three different captains for the four Tests, Headley for the first and last and Stollmeyer and John Goddard in the second and third. The first Test was drawn, West Indies not pushing hard enough to press home a significant advantage. Stollmeyer scored 78 and 31 but then tore a hamstring in the field and missed the next two matches and with that the opportunity to captain his country.

In the second Test, remembered for the innings of 112 that gives Andy Ganteaume an average higher even than Donald Bradman, West Indies again got their timing wrong and did not have sufficient time to clinch a win they richly deserved. They got it right in the next two however, winning by seven wickets and ten wickets. Stollmeyer was back for the fourth, and with 30 and an unbeaten 25 played a supporting role.

The following year brought the first Test series between India and West Indies. A full strength West Indies side spent five months away from the Caribbean visiting India, Pakistan and, as Sri Lanka then was, Ceylon. Two powerful batting sides were never going to produce too many results, but the sole Test out of the five played that was not drawn was won by West Indies. The foundation for the victory was laid by Stollmeyer and Allan Rae whose opening partnership was 239. Stollmeyer went on to 160. It was to remain his highest Test score. Conditions for the tourists tended towards the primitive, and Stollmeyer did not always enjoy the conditions he encountered. He missed the third Test with chicken pox, and although he played in the first he was greatly troubled by dental problems. There were however two other half centuries, and he averaged 64.57 in the Tests despite his troubles.

There was a return to England for Stollmeyer in 1950 when, against all expectations and after losing the first Test, West Indies came back to win the next three convincingly to take the series. The bowling of Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine is what is remembered but all the West Indians contributed. Stollmeyer was a model of consistency at the top of the order recording scores of 43 and 78 at Old Trafford, 20 and 30 at Lord’s, 46 and 52* at Trent Bridge and 36 at the Oval. He never did manage a century against England, but the two innings at Old Trafford (in a losing cause) were made on a pitch that was described by the veteran English writer EW ‘Jim” Swanton almost forty years later as almost the most deplorable Test pitch I ever saw.

After the West Indies success in England a visit to Australia was quickly arranged for 1951/52. England had been badly mauled by Australia in the Ashes series that followed their defeat by West Indies, so the contest was billed as the game’s World Championship. In the event the series was a disappointment. Australia won 4-1 and whilst the visitors might easily have won the first and fourth Tests the reality was that the scoreline was a fair reflection of Australia’s dominance.

The main problem the West Indies faced was the pace of Ray Lindwall and Keith Miller. Given the success of Ramadhin and Valentine in England it was inevitable that the wickets prepared by the Australians would not be tailor made for spin and so it was. Stollmeyer saw it coming and was disappointed that the tourists included only two pace bowlers in their side, and Prior Jones and John Trim were so ineffective they were selected for just one Test each. So whilst Lindsay Hassett had one of the all time great fast bowling pairs at his disposal, backed up by Bill Johnston, all Goddard had to retaliate with was a battery of medium pacers.

It was not a good series for Stollmeyer but, averaging 32.80, he was still third in the West Indies batting list for the series. Like his teammates he succumbed too often to pace, the Australian commentator AG ‘Johnny’ Moyes commenting that he found the rising ball too tempting and fell to it. Redemption of a kind came in the second innings of the final Test when, in Goddard’s absence, Stollmeyer scored 104 out of 216. Moyes described it as a regal innings of charm, culture and finish. Perhaps the captaincy caused him to put away the riskier shots.

There was a century for Stollmeyer as West Indies visited New Zealand and had an altogether more comfortable experience after the bruising one with Australia. For the following year India visited the Caribbean and Stollmeyer was captain for the entire series. Neither side had much in the way of fast bowlers, but there were some excellent spinners playing, Ramadhin and Valentine for the home side, and ‘Fergie’ Gupte, Vinoo Mankad and Ghulam Abbas for the visitors. The one match that reached a conclusion was won by West Indies so they took the series.

It was a successful start to his reign as captain for Stollmeyer, who also did well with the bat, averaging 59.00. The best position the Indians had was in the third Test, when an unbeaten 104 from Stollmeyer frustrated their ambitions. The series reinforced for the new captain the strange habits of selectors. For the fourth Test in British Guiana they replaced all-rounder Gerry Gomez with Roy Miller, and included in the lower middle order a defensive minded opening batsman, Leslie Wight. Neither played Test cricket again and at the end of the series Stollmeyer did manage to negotiate with the Board a change in the way sides were chosen.

A year on and a sterner challenge awaited Stollmeyer when Len Hutton, who had led England to victory over Australia less than a year previously, brought his England side to the Caribbean. The indignities of 1950 had finally brought home to England that West Indies could not be underestimated and a full strength party toured.

At the beginning of the trip Hutton instructed his men not to mix socially with their opponents, believing that was not the way to secure victory. Perhaps that policy backfired but whatever the reason the West Indies were 2-0 in front with three to play. In touching distance of victory Stollmeyer let the lead slip and England were able to win the third and fifth Tests to square the series. Whatever mistakes he may have made early on Hutton led from the front with two innings that were amongst the finest ever played in the Caribbean. For Stollmeyer he had a disappointing series with the bat, averaging just 28.44. He was also later critical of his own role in packing the West Indies side with batting in the third Test, and although the scorecard suggests it would not have been crucial, he felt the match was lost when he himself spilled a straightforward chance offered to him at mid off by Johnny Wardle in England’s first innings.

In 1955 Australia visited the Caribbean for the first time. They had just suffered a 3-1 reverse at home against Hutton’s England so Stollmeyer and his side must have been confident. Events proved however that rather than lick their wounds it was the Australians who rose to the occasion and despite Clyde Walcott scoring as many as five centuries Australia won 3-0.

There was a bad start to the series for Stollmeyer on two fronts. Firstly he lost his vice-captain, Frank Worrell, when the Board decided to replace him with the young and relatively experienced, but white skinned Denis Atkinson. It was then necessary for Atkinson to take the reins rather sooner than he expected when on the eve of the first Test Stollmeyer broke a finger whilst trying to catch a high ball that was heading for a group of spectators. The Test was lost by nine wickets. Stollmeyer was back for the second, drawn Test to which he contributed innings of 14 and 42 before in the third, which turned out to be his last, he again made two starts, scoring 16 and 17, in an eight wicket defeat. During the Australians comfortable run chase he managed to tread on the ball whilst attempting to field a ball destined for the boundary and fell heavily on his right shoulder. The resultant ligament damage kept him out of the last two Tests.

The West Indies took an experimental side to New Zealand in 1955/56 that played four Test matches. Stollmeyer never intended to go and Atkinson was skipper and the 1950 captain, Goddard, had gone as player/manager. Never having done so before Stollmeyer hoped to lead a West Indies side overseas before he retired, and had expected to be appointed for the 1957 trip to England. He was therefore more than a little surprised when told the job had gone to Goddard and, no doubt at least partially motivated by the perceived slight, immediately announced his retirement from First Class cricket. Hindsight shows he dodged a bullet with that one, a powerful looking West Indies side failing to gel and losing three of the five Tests and coming out on the wrong side of draws in the other two.

Thanks to the success of his father’s agricultural holdings Stollmeyer had, throughout his adult life, been able to concentrate on his cricket and devote as much time and energy to it as he needed. He had naturally helped out in the family business, and indeed begun his own, dealing in sporting goods and making use of the many connections he made during his cricket career.

In 1962 Trinidad and Tobago was granted independence. The new nation’s constitution was modelled on that of the UK with an elected legislature combining with an unelected secondary chamber. In 1966 Stollmeyer was invited to be a senator in the unelected house, a post which he held for ten years. The economic policies of the new nation were not geared towards making a success of commercial agriculture and, seeing the way the wind was blowing, the family business was eventually disposed of in the early 1970s. Another facet of Government policy was to ensure that where suitably qualified Trinidadians were available that they must be employed in preference to foreigners.

Having had his own forays into the business world already this particularly policy was of great help to Stollmeyer who found himself invited onto the Boards of a number of companies. Broadcasting and insurance as well as agriculture were amongst the industries in which he found himself and he was particularly proud to accept the Presidency of the Trinidad arm of Barclays, the bank that had stood by his father in the dark years of the early 1930s.

If his commercial activities suggested he led a busy and fulfilled life Stollmeyer still had plenty of time for cricket. He was at various times a selector and member of the Board, and in 1966 he managed the side that toured England. It was a welcome break from his business activities, made that much easier by the quality of the cricket played and the ease with which England were swept aside.

Administration was not always easy however as Stollmeyer found in his dealings with the legend that was Sobers. When the decision had to be made as to who should replace Frank Worrell as skipper after 1963 Stollmeyer had supported Sobers and had worked alongside him on that 1966 tour. There were however clashes later. In particular Sobers was critical of Stollmeyer for, effectively, not permitting him to take a break from cricket by missing the 1966/67 tour of India. In turn Stollmeyer was unimpressed by the controversial declaration in the Trinidad Test of 1967/68 when Sobers set England what appeared and proved to be a none too taxing target which cost the series.

A further showdown between Stollmeyer and Sobers came in 1973. Australia were visiting the Caribbean and Sobers was recovering from a cartilage operation. Sobers declared himself fit for the second Test. The selectors didn’t think he looked fit and asked him to play for Barbados against the tourists on the eve of the Test. Sobers clearly thought that after his years of exceptional and loyal service that his own judgment on the issue of his own fitness should not be questioned. Sobers refused to play in the Barbados game, and the selectors refused to pick him for the Tests. The irresistible force had met the immoveable object. West Indies lost the series 2-0.

In 1974 Stollmeyer became the seventh President of the West Indies Board. He had to grapple with the South African problem and was involved in the framing of the Gleneagles Agreement. He was also involved on his Board’s behalf in relation to the decision made in 1977 to ban from official cricket all the players who had signed for World Series Cricket. In fact West Indies were opposed to the ban, public opinion in the Caribbean largely being in favour of the players being able to obtain greater rewards from the game, but Stollmeyer was persuaded to vote in favour of the ban so the ICC could be seen to be unanimous. He was absolutely furious, and rightly so, when following the successful attack on the ban in the English courts the ICC insisted on the West Indies Board stumping up their full share of the costs of the litigation.

There was a tragic end to a life well lived in 1989. Stollmeyer died on 10 September, although his life was effectively taken from him five weeks earlier. On 6 August a number of intruders at his home near Port of Spain mugged a security guard and, utilising his uniform, gained entry. As well as his wife Stollmeyer’s son and daughter-in-law were also at home. Jeff was struck with the butt of a firearm. That caused a brain injury, five shots left other damage, including a broken femur and a spinal cord injury.

Sara Stollmeyer was hit by three bullets and in time recovered. There was no way back for Jeff though. He was taken to a medical centre in Florida where, with his family around him, he hovered between life and death before finally succumbing to his injuries. He was only 68.

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MS Dhoni breaks Kumar Sangakkara’s T20 world record in the 1st T20I against South Africa

The former Indian skipper MS Dhoni might be in the twilight of his career, but the genius wicketkeeper broke yet another world record during the first T20I between South Africa and India at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday. With Reeza Hendricks’ catch, Dhoni has now taken 134 catches in 275 T20 matches –

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Twitter erupts as team India wins the first T20 match against South Africa, Shikhar & Bhuvneshwar shine

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Suresh Raina could be the answer to India’s middle order struggles

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Anushka Sharma lauds husband Virat Kohli for his record 35th ODI century

Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma, who is also the wife of Indian skipper Virat Kohli, shared Instagram stories where she was seen lauding her husband every time he hit a century in the recently concluded bilateral ODI series between South Africa and India. Virat hit three centuries in the ODI series against the Proteas, leading his

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Chennai Super Kings responds to Lungi Ngidi’s tweet featuring Priya Prakash Varrier

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Team India shares their joy with fans after winning the ODI series against South Africa

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Batting Genius Virat Kohli Leaves Pakistan Women Cricketers Awestruck

Indian batting genius Virat Kohli seems to be a man on a mission – a mission to decimate every bowling attack in the world. On Friday, the 29-year-old Delhi lad was again in a destructive mood and the South African bowlers had no answers as they were carted around by Kohli at will. The Indian

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Virat Kohli breaks AB de Villiers and Rohit Sharma’s ODI records

India captain Virat Kohli broke yet another record when he became the fastest batsman to score 9500 runs in One Day Internationals (ODI), surpassing the Proteas star AB De Villiers. Kohli achieved the stellar feat during his 129-run knock in the sixth and final ODI against South Africa at Centurion on Friday (16 February). He

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Twitter went berserk as unstoppable Virat Kohli leads India to 5-1 series win over South Africa

Virat Kohli slammed his 35th century as India crushed South Africa by eight wickets in the 6th ODI at Centurion to clinch the six-match series 5-1. This is the first ever bilateral series win for India on the South African soil. After put in to bat, South Africa was bowled out for a meagre 204

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Twitter erupts as Virat Kohli smashes record 35th ODI century

Virat Kohli scored yet another century as India beat South Africa by 8 wickets in the sixth ODI against South Africa on Friday. Apart from his century, Kohli grabbed another record to his name by becoming the highest run-getter in a bilateral series surpassing his teammate Rohit Sharma who achieved the feat in 2013-14 against

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IPL 2018: Meet the player who is in contention to lead the Kolkata Knight Riders

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Suresh Raina opens about his preferred batting position in the Indian team

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Suresh Raina set for T20Is in South Africa, Mohammad Amir and Suresh Raina sends their good wishes

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Rohit Sharma woos wife Ritika Sajdeh with a special gift on Valentine’s Day

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Sakshi Dhoni’s lovely gesture for MS Dhoni on Valentine’s Day is winning the internet

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Steve Smith set to tie knot with long-time girlfriend Dani Willis

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Explosive batsman of Preity Zinta’s Kings XI Punjab to miss the IPL opener

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IPL 2018: Full Schedule, Match Timings & Venues

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Twitter erupts as Team India wins their first bilateral ODI series in South Africa

Team India led by Virat Kohli clinched the ongoing six-match ODI series against South Africa by registering a thumping 73-run victory in the fifth ODI at St George’s Park, Port Elizabeth on Tuesday. Earlier, South Africa stand-in Proteas skipper Aiden Markram won the toss and elected to bowl. At first, India’s opening duo of Rohit

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South Africa announces squad for T20I series against India

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Twitter shows mixed reactions as Rohit Sharma scores century after 2 run-outs

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Shane Warne to mentor Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2018

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World Sports Magazine Review – April 1950 Cricket

Following the earlier pieces on the sports magazine World Sports, which can be found here , here and here, part four features extracts from a single magazine published in April 1950.

This particular edition was significant as it included a celebration of the 61st birthday of Neville Cardus, written by the great man himself. The piece included a photo of Cardus bowling in 1938, when aged 50 but looking somewhat older. Cardus relates that he was transformed from being an association football fan in 1899 (“soccer” being apparently a term confined to the upper classes at that time) to being a die-hard cricket fan by the following summer, but that he couldn’t remember what specifically had caused such a transformation to take place, although he had initially begun watching cricket to poke fun at the ‘la-di-da’ types who played such a soft game. In the process of this reminiscence, he introduced this reader to a word with which I was not previously familiar, i.e. ‘contumely”, as in ‘as we lay on the grass we shouted contumely at the players’, which means (for those like me who weren’t previously aware) insolent or insulting language – no doubt CW’s own Neville Cardus already knew that.

Cardus grew up watching cricket while firmly entrenched in its Golden Age and the impact of that period clearly shaped his future writing career, as he introduced a romance to cricket writing which was previously absent. He describes in detail a match which took place one Whit Monday between Lancashire and Kent, when the visitor’s opener Cuthbert ‘Pinky’ Burnup, who incidentally was capped for England at football, rescued Kent from 13/3 to 401/6 by scoring exactly 200 not out – in Cardus’ opinion, ‘this day could be quoted as a kind of graph of the temperature of first-class cricket of the Golden Age’.

CB Fry acheived a feat in 1901 which has since been equalled, by Don Bradman and Mike Procter, but never broken, that of six consecutive First-Class hundreds. By 1950, however, Cardus had this to say: ‘We have waxed fat on records now; the currency has depreciated. We have lost the blessings and grace of innocence.’ He goes on: ‘I have no use for those who live in the past’ while reprising one of his more evocative comparisons, which he usually applied to Bradman, of the aeroplane and swallow to illustrate the difference between ‘the mechanical and the vital.’

Cardus had more to say about the state of cricket in 1950 as compared to that enjoyed during the Golden Age: ‘County captains should order any batsman to get out if he is not scoring quickly enough, and goes protectively into a shell because he is approaching yet another “century”.’ Interesting use of quotations there. As a shining example of the type of batsman he favoured, he holds up Ranji: ‘an innings by him was a tribute from the Orient to the glory of the Victorian sunset and the dawn that came up like thunder, too soon to blaze down, with the Edwardian succession'; I honestly can’t imagine any other cricket writer coming up with such a description, or being allowed to get away with writing it for that matter.

As far as his opinion of the best ever, Cardus rates Hobbs as the best all-round batsman he’d ever seen, Trumper the most gallant, the aforementioned Ranji the most magical, Macartney the most impertinent, JT Tyldesley the most brilliant on a sticky wicket and at his best a stroke player in a thousand, Woolley the ‘most lordly in effortless power’, Spooner the most courteous, Leyland the most obstinate, Compton the most likeable, George Gunn the most original, Hammond the most magnificent, Maclaren the most majestic, while it is no doubt Cardus’ romantic view which instructs his estimation of Bradman as the most ‘ruthlessly reliable’.

Of the men at the other end of the pitch, his favourite among the fast men were McDonald, Larwood and Walter Brearley, while he finds praise also for SF Barnes, Tate, O’Reilly, Grimmett, Blythe, Rhodes, Trumble, and Noble…’ after all, as the photo above confirms, he was ‘in my way, a bowler myself!”

As enjoyable as the birthday piece was, the second piece by Cardus in the same publication is decidedly more eye-opening to modern readers. Entitled ‘No Ashes, but Plenty of Fire”, this piece features his preview of the upcoming West Indies tour of England. It is prefaced by a great photo of a youthful looking Frank Worrell, as well as Everton Weekes and Robert Christiani, all of whom had made their debuts when the England team had toured the Caribbean a couple of years earlier.

Cardus performs a service to his readers by introducing them to a number of early West Indian cricketers, including George Challenor, CA Olivierre and Lebrun Constantine, father of Learie. However in so doing, he employs one or two phrases which are somewhat jarring to the modern reader. While it is perhaps harsh to judge those of a bygone age against our relatively recently accepted, but hopefully more enlightened standards of inclusion, nonetheless there are some eye-opening sentiments expressed in this piece, such as ‘large smiles redolent of water melons’ and, in describing the friendliness of Derek Sealy (at least I assume that is who ‘J Sealey’ refers to), making a reference to ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’. I realise I may be displaying a little too much sensitivity, however Cardus also warns against the ‘Old Adam” breaking out which, for those of you unfamiliar with the phrase, is referring to humans in their unredeemed state. Finally, a precursor of Tony Grieg 25 years later, though perhaps not quite as forthright, can be found in Cardus’ summing up of the lack of readiness of the 1928 visit of the West Indies cricket team to England, noting they were too ‘naive in its endeavour and changes of mood…a sudden blow of bad luck! – the outlook darkened at once.’ Different times indeed.

Cardus does however offer Headley as possibly being the greatest batsman of all time, ahead even of Bradman, whilst also crediting him with toughening the fibre of West Indies cricket – ‘Headley lent a contemporary and cosmopolitan sophistication to the sound foundations laid down almost single-handedly by Challenor.’

As many readers will know, it was during the 1950 tour that Sonny Ramadhin and Alfred Valentine (referred to in his article as ‘A Ramadhin and V Valentine’) laid waste to the cream of England’s batting; it is possible that the latter was confusing Vincent Valentine, who played a couple of Tests before the war, but as our resident cricket tragic Martin points out, Ramadhin was never endowed with a Christian name and was dubbed ‘Sonny’, though he was also apparently assigned the initials ‘KT’ by an over-officious customs official prior to an Atlantic crossing. It may have been the sight of Valentine which suggested the comment ‘It is another sign of the greater introspection that is coming to West Indies cricket, as it is drawn into the circle of a world “civilisation”, that their players are taking to spectacles.’

Nonetheless Cardus signs off with ‘Every lover of cricket will rejoice to see the West Indies holding their own with our best’ – well, they certainly managed that.

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Twitter finds similarities between Heinrich Klaasen and Martin Guptill

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Here’s why Rohit Sharma has struggled in South Africa, reveals Kepler Wessels

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Twitter reactions: Shikhar Dhawan scores his 13th ODI century

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WATCH: Shubman Gill’s message for all KKR fans

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Anil Kapoor, Harbhajan Singh and others congratulate MS Dhoni on completing 400 ODI dismissals

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Kings XI Punjab announce new title sponsor for IPL 2018

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The tweet from Zainab Abbas about Virat Kohli unites India-Pakistan fans

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IPL 2018: Preity Zinta co-owned Kings XI Punjab to appoint new captain soon

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Twitter reactions: Virat Kohli & Co. thrash South Africa by 124 runs to take unassailable 3-0 lead in the ODI series

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Danielle Wyatt tweets after Virat Kohli’s majestic ton; Twitterati comes up with hilarious responses

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Twitter hails Virat Kohli for scoring record century in 3rd ODI against South Africa

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Twitteratis brutally trolls Rohit Sharma for getting out on zero in Capetown ODI

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Zed

I suppose it must have been half term, but I really can’t recall quite why I was at home with nothing to do on my eleventh birthday. When I got up it had promised to be a good day. I had only just begun to take an interest in Test cricket and was looking forward to watching England take on Pakistan at Edgbaston in the first Test of the summer. I took a great interest in the art of wrist spin back then, so I was a fan of Pakistani cricket. In Mushtaq Mohammad and Intikhab Alam the visitors had two of these strange beasts, both of whom played county cricket.

A day that started full of optimism quickly turned to despair however. Around 11 am, in good time for the 11.30 start, I switched on the television. The set wasn’t ours. It was rented from Radio Rentals, then a famous High Street name in the UK. It was several years before my father bought a set. In those days they were pricey and unreliable, particularly colour sets, which had only just started to become widely available. Not unusually after I switched on the set flickered into life slowly before conking out. I howled with anguish.

It was lunchtime before the man from Radio Rentals arrived. He stayed about twenty minutes. I jabbered away at him explaining all about the match I wanted to see. He put up with it with good humour. I remember to this day his telling me that he came from Karachi and that he had once shaken Hanif Mohammad’s hand. That shut me up.

The television duly repaired I settled down to watch the afternoon’s play. I had to do a double take when the batsmen came out because the batsman who walked out to the middle with Mushtaq could easily have been our engineer. The resemblance was uncanny. Even my mother agreed. I had never heard of Zaheer Abbas before, but it couldn’t be my man, as he wouldn’t have had enough time to do the drive.

As Pakistan were batting I was slightly torn to start with. My Lancashire heroes Peter Lever and Ken Shuttleworth were part of an England pace attack that was completed by another favourite, the decidedly rapid Derbyshire man Alan Ward. Sadly for him Shutt went wicketless, and the game proved to be the last of his five caps.

For once though I didn’t mind seeing England being put to the sword. The two Pakistanis batted beautifully and ended the day on 270-1. Zaheer had calmly stroked his way to 159. To me the fact that the wicket was a featherbed meant nothing. My understanding of the minutiae of the game had yet to develop, and all I could see was as stylish a batsman as I had seen in my short life. He went serenely on the next day as well, so much so that at one point I thought he might make a triple century. In the end however he was fourth out at 456 for 274, sweeping at England skipper Ray Illingworth and catching a top edge.

The dismissal was an error of judgment, no more no less. Some batsmen might, after more than nine hours at the crease, have complained of tiredness. Not Zaheer though. He admitted that he was beginning to think in terms of Sobers’ then record 365 and had not felt tired. Throughout his career Zaheer made a habit of going big. He never did get past 274 again, but there were three more Test double centuries and four other innings of more than 150.

No Asian batsman is ever likely to approach Zaheer’s career total of almost 35,000 runs. He averaged more than fifty as well. The only batsman from the sub continent to record a century of centuries in the First Class game he ended up with 108, almost one in three of them exceeded 150. Like Geoffrey Boycott before him he managed his one hundredth in a Test, at home against India in 1982. Perhaps unsurprisingly he converted it into a double. In all First Class cricket Zaheer scored a century in each innings more often than anyone else, eight times. Four of those included a double. It was a feat he never achieved in a Test, although he really should have done. In the first Test against India at Faisalabad in 1978 Zaheer made 176. In good batting conditions the draw was already inevitable and, on 96, another Zaheer century was surely going to follow. Perhaps it was over confidence, but he mishit a drive that he aimed over mid on to give Sunil Gavaskar the only Test wicket he ever took.

Like most successful cricketers Zaheer fell in love with the game as a child. More unusually his family were not cricket people, and had hoped he might qualify as doctor. In deference to his parents’ wishes Zaheer did go to University and graduated in history. He played little cricket whilst at University but, once it became clear that playing cricket was what he wanted to do, his parents supported him. There was a low key First Class debut at 18 in 1966, but little after that until in 1969 the powerful Pakistan International Airlines side invited him to join a tour of Ireland. He was the most successful batsman on the trip, and found himself catapulted into the Test side for the first Test against New Zealand at Karachi. So little known was he at this stage that Wisden manages to misspell his name, which appears as ‘Zahir’ in the 1971 edition. The game was drawn, and with innings of 12 and 27 from number five Zaheer by no means let himself down, but it was not enough to keep him in the side for the rest of the series.

Despite his disappointments Zaheer continued to score heavily in domestic cricket and did enough to gain selection for the 1971 party that toured England. Even then he was not expected to figure in the Test side, but was fortunate to get a place in the match for the traditional tour opener at Worcester when the established Saeed Ahmed pulled out. A century in the first innings pit him in pole position for the Test side and his great innings at Edgbaston. He was comfortably Pakistan’s leading batsman on the tour. In 1972 not only did Wisden spell his name right but he was named as one of the Five Cricketers of the Year. Alex Bannister wrote within weeks he was accepted as a world-class batsman of classical style, with a rich variety of strokes, including a perfect cover drive, and of an imperturbable temperament.

Such was the excitement caused by Zaheer in 1971 that he started to become known as ‘The Asian Bradman’. Few have the same appetite as ‘The Don’ for making tall scores, but there was never any real comparison. Zaheer was a gifted strokemaker and wonderful entertainment when he was on song, but as anyone who followed his career knows he was something of a flat track bully.

In the 1970s there weren’t as many Tests played as there are now. Pakistan did not play agains until 1972/73, and then they played three series and nine Tests in little more than three months. There were three matches in Australia followed by three in New Zealand and then three at home against England. Zaheer was poor. He managed 51 and 25 on a Melbourne wicket that Wisden described as sedated, but otherwise did not pass fifty. In New Zealand he had just 35 runs to show for his five innings. Against England he missed the first Test, and didn’t get past 24 when recalled for the next two.

In the meantime, and hardly surprisingly after his display in 1971, there were plenty of counties interested in securing  Zaheer’s services for 1972. It was Gloucestershire who won the race for his signature, but if not quite a flop he certainly didn’t make much of an impact. Qualification rules meant that he had to play for the second eleven until July. He averaged just 31.17 for the seconds. There were as many as six men in front of him in the averages, two of whom were destined to never play a First Class match. It was no better when he did play in the first team as his average there was 26.23, although at least this time there were only four men ahead of him.

The following summer Zaheer upped his average, but only to 30.00, and memories of Edgbaston 1971 must have been a factor in his selection for the Pakistan side that was due to visit in the second half of the 1974 summer. In the early season appearances for which he was available he had a wretched time as his averaged slipped to 15.83. His best score was a lowly 28, and as many as ten Gloucestershire batsmen headed him in the county’s averages.

In the first two Tests against England Zaheer managed 48, 19, 1 and 1 and might have been considered fortunate to retain his place for the Oval. History records that he came good, and scored 240. Wisden records that the pitch was so slow in pace that bowlers were reduced to impotence.

Back home in Pakistan Zaheer achieved little against the West Indian side who played two Tests in Pakistan after their visit to India, but something clicked when he got back to England in 1975. He topped the Gloucestershire averages and went on to become one of the county game’s most consistent batsmen for the rest of his career.

After another international break for Pakistan in October 1976 they entertained New Zealand, not a side with happy memories for Zaheer. As might be expected he did better at home than he had in the Shaky Isles, but only just, scoring just 60 runs in five completed innings. In one of them he contrived to be out lbw to a part time medium pacer – that one must have been absolutely plumb.

At this stage of his career Zaheer took fast bowlers in his stride, but he cannot have been looking forward to facing Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson in December 1976. In the event he did pretty well in the three match series, averaged 57.16 and did enough to earn a contract from Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket. It wasn’t all that it seemed however. Zaheer’s two highest innings were the 85 and 101 he scored in the first Test. He was struggling against Thommo early on and made a hash of an attempted hook and popped up a catch to short mid wicket. Thommo tried to catch it himself and had a sickening collision with Alan Turner that dislocated his shoulder and ended his series. To make matters worse Lillee strained a thigh muscle, and although he soldiered on valiantly he was well below full pace.

A series in the Caribbean followed for Pakistan. The visitors lost 2-1 but should really have won the first Test as well, the last West Indies pair hanging on for more than eight overs at the end. Zaheer did not have a particularly happy tour. He missed the first two Tests because of injury. Fit again he was selected for the remaining three, but other than 80 on a slow wicket at Bourda he achieved little against Clive Lloyd’s pace pack.

It was eighteen months later that Zaheer lined up against India and almost got those twin centuries. From there he recorded an unbeaten 235 in the second Test at Lahore and for the three match series averaged 194. It is said his treatment of them hastened the retirement of the ‘Holy Trinity’. Erapelli Prasanna did not play again after Lahore and Bishen Bedi and Bhagwhat Chandrasekhar called it a day after the tour of England that followed.

Zaheer continued his form into a short series in New Zealand, which no doubt eased the painful memory of his previous visit, but from there he went into another trough having very little to show for home and way series against Australia and a six match encounter in India. Pakistan lost that series 2-0 and Zaheer averaged less than twenty and suffered the indignity of being dropped for the final Test.

A year after the defeat in India, in December 1980 the West Indians visited Pakistan. The pace attack comprised Malcolm Marshall, Sylvester Clarke, Joel Garner and Colin Croft. It was probably not quite the best combination that the West indies fielded during their years of domination, but it must surely rank as the most frightening. Clarke and Croft were terrifying at the best of times, and Garner’s height and bounce did nothing to relieve a batsman’s tension. As for Marshall he wasn’t quite the bowler he later became, but in these early days he was at his fastest, and his skiddiness a potentially lethal alternative to the steepling bounce and menace of the other three.

Zaheer missed the first Test with a shoulder injury. Imran described it as a pretext, but he was back for the next three Tests. He had a torrid time and was a struck a fearsome blow on the helmet by Clarke in the third Test. Imran wrote later that he looked thoroughly suspect against pace and was in a terrible state against Marshall and Clarke, actually backing away from the fast bowling.

Imran went on to express the view that that series against West Indies was the beginning of the end for Zaheer, although that is not quite what happened. A year later Zaheer had his best series in Australia, averaging 56, but increasingly he was effective only on his home pitches where, Dennis Lillee, for one, would complain bitterly about the virtual impossibility of getting an lbw decision against him.

The last prodigious performance of Zaheer’s career came in the six Test home series against India in 1982/83. In the first Test he got that hundredth hundred and went on to 215. He followed that up with 186 in the second Test and 168 in the third. He topped the Pakistan averages in the 3-0 victory with 130.00. It was however a weak Indian side. Only Kapil Dev offered a serious threat with the ball, his fellow bowlers and fielders all letting him down. Mudassar Nazar and Javed Miandad also averaged more than 100 for Pakistan, and Imran and Mohsin Khan each averaged over fifty as well.

By 1983 Zaheer was 36. The one honour in the game that had eluded him was the captaincy of his country. He had hoped to get the job when Javed got it, and when his reign ended had expected to be appointed in front of Imran. There can be no doubt but that the selectors made the right choice, but Zaheer was not happy about a man five years his junior getting the nod. He was quoted as saying he felt insulted and humiliated at not being asked and he described Imran as a young boy. Despite that his performances against India are testament to his professionalism in not allowing his disappointment to adversely affect his performances.

Having doubtless assumed the leadership had passed him by Imran’s shin splints opened up an unexpected vacancy for the three Test series in India in 1983/84 and this time the selectors’ choice was Zaheer.  The series was a disappointment. All three Tests were drawn and neither side ever gained the upper hand. Wisden drew a comparison betwenn Imran and his successor and adjudged Zaheer as lacking the same inspiration and initiative.

Later that season Pakistan were due in Australia for a full five Test series. Zaheer was reappointed, until the BCCP President intervened and reinstated Imran. Despite it being clear that he would not be able to bowl, and unclear whether he would be fit enough to take to the field at all, Imran accepted the job. The first thing he did on arrival was to see a Brisbane specialist for a second opinion. He was told not to play at all for two months. On hearing this news the Board instructed him to stay with the team, but appointed Zaheer as captain. As soon as his appointment was confirmed Zaheer made a statement stressing he was only a stand in, and that the team he had at his disposal was not the one that would have been picked had he been involved in the selection process. It sounded like he was getting his excuses in early.

With Imran in the stands Pakistan lost the first Test by an innings and, had the weather not saved them, the second would have gone the same way. They made a much better fist of drawing the third Test but Imran decided he had to return to the side, as a batsman only, for the last two Tests. He did well in the fourth, another draw, but achieved nothing other than aggravating his injury in the ten wicket defeat in the fifth. A big innings eluded Zaheer, who didn’t get past 61, but he battled away and, to his credit, emerged from the series with 323 runs at 40.37.

Less than two months after returning from Australia Pakistan had a third series of the season, this time at home against England. In fact they had never, up until then, beaten England in a home series nor indeed won a Test. With Javed injured as well as Imran Zaheer’s appointment was, for once, clear cut. He got the elusive victory in the first Test, thanks to Abdul Qadir, Sarfraz Nawaz and, some claim, surreptitious doctoring of the wicket by the ground staff. The second Test was a tedious draw and the final Test a rather more interesting draw. Zaheer’s captaincy was once again criticised for lacking any sort of sense of adventure. Given the history of the contest however it seems harsh to complain about his seeking to sit on a lead, and without a brave innings of 82 not out from him in the first innings of the final Test, batting with a runner because of a groin injury, Pakistan might well have surrendered that lead.

When Zaheer arrived back in Gloucestershire for the 1984 season he could justifiably claim to have had a difficult winter. He had played in as many as eleven Tests with the added burden of not only the captaincy but the stresses that came with that given Imran’s colossal presence in the background. He started off as if nothing had happened with an unbeaten 157 against Kent, but in thirteen more matches he did not pass the century mark again and was but a shadow of his former self. Physically and emotionally exhausted he was allowed to return home at the end of July. The county hoped he would return refreshed in 1985, but in the end it was a low key ending for Gloucestershire’s most prolific batsmen when he announced in the spring of 1985 that he had retired from the county game.

Whilst still captain of Pakistan Zaheer wasn’t quite ready to let his international career end as well and he led the side in October 1984 for the home series against India. For the first Test in Faisalabad he asked for and got a side with just three specialist bowlers. The city’s Mayor described the wicket as that barren and wretched piece of earth, but it took Zaheer, who scored an unbeaten 168, to show his batsmen what to do with it. The second Test was another bore draw before, called back because of the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the Indians called off the final Test.

Zaheer retained the captaincy for a home series against a New Zealand side lacking Richard Hadlee. Pakistan won 2-0, but their captain achieved little with the bat. For a return series in New Zealand Zaheer was back in the ranks, Javed having been appointed in his stead. With Hadlee back it was the New Zealanders turn to win 2-0. Zaheer did not arrive until after the first Test, and had a wretched time when he did, scoring just 24 runs in his four innings.

The end came nine months later when Sri Lanka, fresh from their first ever series victory, over India, arrived in Pakistan for a three Test series in October 1985. Zaheer certainly went out with a whimper rather than a bang. He didn’t get to the crease in the first Test and then scored just four in the second, announcing his retirement during the match. According to Wisden he pulled out of the final Test of the series whilst making it clear he was still available for ODIs. Other sources describe him as being denied a farewell Test in the final match of the series. Either way he was not selected to play for Pakistan again.It was a disappointing finale for a man who, if he had never lived up to that tag of being ‘The Asian Bradman’, had still scored more than 5,000 runs at 44.79 in 78 Tests.

After retirement Zaheer did some coaching, and wrote from time to time for an English language newspaper as well as having an interest in a construction business. An intelligent and well read man with an urbane and relaxed personality Zaheer is ideally suited to the ambassadorial role he has recently been appointed to as President of the ICC. He is not quite so adept in more pressurised roles, so let us hope the game does not have any real crises under his presidency. I am reminded of his management of the 2006 Pakistanis and the furore at the Oval when, amidst suggestions of ball tampering by the umpires skipper Inzamam refused to allow his team to resume play after an interval – Zed was conspicuous by his absence once the going got tough.

from Cricket Web http://ift.tt/2nGMaW1