Cricket 360

Absolute uncertainty prevails over what to term Ajantha Mendis . The mystery bowler from Sri Lanka, who before beginning his cricketing career was an Army gunner and was the latest spin sensation in international cricket this year.

Two of his deliveries during India’s Test series in Sri Lanka remain etched in my mind. One that spun a mile and got rid of Guatam Gambhir and one that skid across and scuttled past the defense of VVS Laxman. Was it true? Were we finally seeing a bowler who had the capability to bowl six different balls every over?

As he bowled a blend of off breaks, leg breaks, googlies, top spinners, doosra’s and the carrom ball, experts picked each other’s brains to unravel the Mendis mystery . Even the best players of spin required a second opportunity against him. The first was too big a mystery to fathom. Before you knew it, he got you!

Many experts compared, even equated him with the likes of Jack Iverson and John Gleeson after he set a Lankan record by picking 18 wickets in his first two Tests against India. Only four bowlers in the history of Test cricket have had a better record.

These bowlers are India’s Narendra Hirwani (24), England’s Alec Bedser (22), Australia’s Bob Massie (21) and England’s Syd Barnes (19). Of these, only England’s Alec Bedser went on to become a pillar of English cricket and finished with 236 wickets from 51 Tests.

These are some of the Cricket Trivia’s which I would Like Share With the Visitors:

·         Geoff Boycott faced the first ball in one-day cricket  played between England and Australia at MCG, 1971. Graham McKenzie was the bowler.

·         Madan Lal, who played 67 ODIs with the highest score of 53 not out, made a total of 401 runs in his ODI career.

·         Apart from playing cricket, Sandeep Patil acted in a Hindi film, authored the book “Sandy Storms” and edited a Marathi magazine “Ekach Shatkar”.

·         Pravin Amre and Vinod Kambli, who played for Mumbai and India, also played for the Boland province in South Africa.

·         Scotland signed Rahul Dravid as their overseas player when they made their debut in the Norwich Union League in 2003.

·         The late Vinoo Mankad batted at all eleven positions in the Indian team.

·         India played its first one-day international match against England at Headingley in 1974, under the captaincy of Ajit Wadekar.

·         Marvan Atapattu of Sri Lanka, who later went on to captain the side, scored 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0 in his first six Test innings.

·         Hollywood actor Russel Crowe is a cousin of former New Zealand skipper Martin Crowe.

·         Former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed is the youngest player to take a ODI hat-trick. He achieved the feat against India at the age of 19 in 1991.

·         Current selection committee chief Krishnamachari Srikkanth holds the dubious record of scoring the most number of ducks in World Cups.

·         England waited in Colombo for nine days before arriving in India for their tour in 1984 due to the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

·         Hemulal Yadav of Tripura is the only cricketer to have been given Timed Out in first-class cricket.

·         It is believed that the England’s tour of Australia in 1876-77 was organised to replace a cancelled tour by author Charles Dickens.

·         S Sreesanth is the only bowler from Kerala to have taken a hat-trick in Ranji Trophy.

·         VVS Laxman hit 44 boundaries in his knock of 281 against Australia in the Kolkata Test at the Eden Gardens in 2001.

·         Only one Indian test cricketer - Rusi Surti - played Sheffield Shield cricket  in Australia. He played for Queensland.

·         On the day of the ‘83 World Cup final a spectator asked Sir Garfield Sobers for an autograph. He denied it saying that day was India’s day.

·         Sachin Tendulkar was the first player in international cricket to be given out by the third umpire.

·         B Chandrashekhar is the only cricketer to have scored fewer runs in his test career than the number of wickets he took - 242 wickets and 177 runs.

·         M.L. Jaisimha and Ravi Shastri have both batted on all five days of a Test Match.

·         The only bowler to have got the great Aussie Sir Donald Bradman out hit wicket was India’s Lala Amarnath.

·         Southpaw Vinod Kambli, who scored two consecutive double hundreds in Test cricket, hit the first Ranji Trophy ball he faced for a six.

·         Indian spinner Maninder Singh was the last man to be dismissed in the famous tied Test against Australia in Chennai in 1986.

Australia was the most successful cricket team till the beginning of the calendar year 2008. Their downfall started from the second week onwards after the Sydney test against India. Twenty-three players were used in Tests by Australia in 2008, in a combination of evolution, confusion, injuries and poor form. By the end of the year seven of the 25 contracted players were out with various ailments. They were forced to accept their first home series defeat in 16 years, and the team was unrecognizable, in performance, from the previous versions of their game. In December it really was the worst of times as South Africa chased 414 for a demoralizing result in Perth and then turned the MCG match in a fashion familiar for Australian teams, but not their opponents.  This year was their worst year after 1985 after Alan Border took over the reigns. The Australian Captain was the most scrutinized person. Though he had an excellent year with bat, his captaincy was questioned and scrutinized because of his sloppy attitude. The other problem was the over-rate bungle which he had to face in the later part of 2008 because of his under-performing bowlers. They have to definitely reconfigure their strategy with their present team which doesn’t have the lights of Shane Warne, McGrath, etc. They will definitely bounce back, because they are not a team who can be easily over-ridden.

The Hot News in the England Cricket Camp is the Rift between Kevin Pietersen and their coach Peter Moores over the decision not to recall former captain Michael Vaughan for the forthcoming tour of the West Indies, which begins in just under three weeks’ time. This Rift has come as a jolt for the English Cricket Team which has just recently suffered a double blow in the hands of India losing both Test and One Day International Series when the toured India in December 2008. Just at the time they had to concentrate on their next tour to West Indies, this rift has gained momentum. According to the reports, Kevin Pietersen wanted Vaughan alongside him in the Caribbean but selectors opted instead for Ian Bell and Owais Shah. Reports are suggesting that Pietersen is prepared to step down on this issue, which the ECB doesn’t want. Pietersen felt that the experience of Michael Vaughan would help the below par English Team in the series against West Indies, but Vaughan has not shown any kind form off late in the domestic competitions. There is probably not enough time for serious changes to be made before the tour of the West Indies, since they are leaving on 21 January. Any rift would have to be dealt with sooner rather than later.