I often come across gobbledygook like "Spirit of Cricket" or "Gentleman's Game" or "That's Not Cricket".

These comments often remind me of what Archie McLaren did to Charlie McLeod (in photo).

And that happened on this day, 1897-98, at Sydney.
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India and West Indies met for the first time on Australian soil on this day, 1991, at Perth.

And they produced one of the greatest ODIs of all time.

In those days the WACA pitch used to produce incredible pace and bounce (it still does, but not as much).
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So West Indies picked Marshall, Patterson, Ambrose, and Cummins.

India went in with Kapil, Prabhakar, Srinath, and debutant Subroto Banerjee.

Richardson opted to field, and Srikkanth was out caught in the fifth over.

Now Manjrekar joined Shastri.
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Both had scored hundreds on West Indian soil three seasons ago.

But while they did not throw it away, runs did not come either.

Manjrekar did not look particularly pleased when he was given out caught behind off Cummins. 35/2. 18th over.

Then Tendulkar was caught mid off.
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Then Shastri flicked Cummins for the first over of the match.

Ambrose had Azhar caught behind, but Shastri stepped out to drive Hooper straight for four.

I described the two fours because these were the only ones in the 284-ball Indian innings.
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Then one Brian Lara took a flying catch off a Shastri edge.

His 33 had taken Shastri 110 balls. It would remain the highest score of the match.

Kapil holed out to mid wicket, but Amre and Prabhakar added a crucial 23 for the seventh wicket.
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The Boxing Day Test match is two days away, so I suppose it is better to tell the tale of the greatest Boxing Day cricket the world has ever seen.

That happened in 1953, at Ellis Park, Johannesburg (the photograph is from another match).

Warning:
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I often get carried away even while reading this, let alone writing. There may be overdose of emotions.

First, as usual, some context.

Despite playing Test cricket for over two decades, New Zealand were yet to win their first Test match.
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Jack Cheetham, on the other hand, was turning South African cricket around.

They had drawn the 2-2 in Australia and had won 1-0 in New Zealand.

And they won the first Test of this series, at Durban, by an innings.
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The South African attack already consisted of swing bowler David Ironside, the untiring Anton Murray, Hugh Tayfield.

Arguably the greatest South African spinner, Tayfield still holds the record for the most consecutive dot balls in a Test (Bapu Nadkarni does not hold this).
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And in Durban, they had drafted in Neil Adcock.

Standing at six foot six and gifted with long arms, Adcock could make the ball take off even from a good length.

And he was quick.

The first South African to take 100 Test wickets, he would finish with a bowling average of 21.
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On this day, 1950, a bizarre Test match on a ridiculous pitch got over at The Gabba.

The match lasted only 129.2 eight-ball overs (172.2 six-ball overs), and involved two of the most extraordinary declarations, on 68 and 32.

Here is what happened.
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Hassett won the all-important toss.

Australia were 66/1 at lunch. 166/6 at tea, and bowled out for 228 just before stumps.

Nothing spectacular so far.

To provide stability to the frail middle-order, England had decided to push Hutton – their best batsman – down the order.
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Simpson walked out with Washbrook and appealed for bad light before a ball were bowled. It was accepted.

It rained that night. And then for the next day and the rest day.

And for part of Day 3.

Then, against all expectations, play started at 1 PM.

But first, some context.
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We know that pitches used to remain uncovered back in the 1950s and play began when rain stopped.

So the matches were played on sticky wickets.

Every footmark, every spot where the ball pitched, left an imprint.

These dried in the sun. A drying wicket could be dangerous.
+

And The Gabba had probably the worst of these "gluepots".

The roller tried its best, but not enough.

The first over, from Lindwall, was eventless.

Johnston bowled from the other end. By now the sun was already out.
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Raqibul Hasan Sr (also spelled Roqibul, Raquibul, Roquibul) was born on this day, 1953.

He was the first international captain of a representative Bangladesh side.

And his heroics in 1971 on a cricket field, in the face of fire, have been matched by almost no one.
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Let me provide the backdrop first. This was 1970-71. Threats of Civil War loomed over East Pakistan.

Yahya Khan was making a last-ditch attempt to have control on East Pakistan, and cricket was going to be his tool.

An International XI was touring Pakistan.
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Their second match was scheduled at Dacca.

In the 1970 Pakistan General Elections, Awami League had won 160 seats out of 300, but were still not allowed to form the Government.

And now Raqibul was roped in, probably as the ruling party's poster boy.
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A year ago, they had named him twelfth man in the final Test against New Zealand.

Like his teammates, he was given a Gray-Nicolls bat that bore the symbol of the Pakistan People's Party.

There was no way Raqibul, staunch supporter of the Awami League, would agree to that.
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He sneaked out of Hotel Purbani that night to meet his friend Sheikh Kamal.

They decided that the PPP symbol would be covered with a sticker with the message Joy Bangla (viva Bengal).

The Mukti Bahini used the slogan during the Bangladesh Liberation War later that year.
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I suppose a lot of us are still upset, so let me share something amusing.

This concerns this book, one that I had been unaware of until I came across a report by Andrew Lang in The Times.

In a piece in 1922, EV Lucas hailed the author as the Indian Nyren.
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.@sumitganguly14 got a scan of the cover for me from an acquaintance in Lucknow.

I shall share some snippets here.

I shall share more if and when I ever get the entire book.

But first, a word or two on cricket books in India.
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Calcutta Cricket Club Scores 1844-54, the first known book of scores outside the British Isles, was published in 1854.

In 1867 a Hindi coaching book was published in Agra. It was translated in Urdu in 1868.

In 1889, a Marathi coaching book was published in Baroda.
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JM Framjee Patel's famous Stray Thoughts on Indian Cricket was published in 1905.

In between all this, this book came out in 1891. As you can see, it has a long name.

I shall refer to this as Cricket Guide.

Here are the promised excerpts, mostly taken from Lang's piece.
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I am trying to add some comments. I also have some questions. See whether you can answer them.

Excerpt 1:
"Even those who are very good and noble turn so rash and inconsiderate at certain moments that their brains lose the balance and begin to take fallacious fancies."
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India and West Indies met for the first time on Australian soil on this day, 1991, at Perth.

And they produced one of the greatest ODIs of all time.

In those days the WACA pitch used to produce incredible pace and bounce (it still does, but not as much).
+

So West Indies picked Marshall, Patterson, Ambrose, and Cummins.

India went in with Kapil, Prabhakar, Srinath, and debutant Subroto Banerjee.

Richardson opted to field, and Srikkanth was out caught in the fifth over.

Now Manjrekar joined Shastri.
+

Both had scored hundreds on West Indian soil three seasons ago.

But while they did not throw it away, runs did not come either.

Manjrekar did not look particularly pleased when he was given out caught behind off Cummins. 35/2. 18th over.

Then Tendulkar was caught mid off.
+

Then Shastri flicked Cummins for the first over of the match.

Ambrose had Azhar caught behind, but Shastri stepped out to drive Hooper straight for four.

I described the two fours because these were the only ones in the 284-ball Indian innings.
+

Then one Brian Lara took a flying catch off a Shastri edge.

His 33 had taken Shastri 110 balls. It would remain the highest score of the match.

Kapil holed out to mid wicket, but Amre and Prabhakar added a crucial 23 for the seventh wicket.
+

Highlights of what happened after 36/9 - a thread.

#AUSvIND

Boxing Day Test - we lose Virat, Ajinkya takes over captaincy, with a forgettable loss still lurking. We carry a record of not winning at the 'G while chasing. Aussie win the toss & elect to bat, meaning we'd have to bat fourth.

#AUSvIND

With Shami gone due to injury, Bumrah leads from the front making sure the Aussies bundle out within 200 with the other bowlers chipping in at regular intervals. Ashwin picking Smith for a blob is the most special part of it all.

#AUSvIND

At 64/3 & in the danger of conceding a lead yet again and under immense pressure, captain Rahane chips in with a 💯 which is at par with his Lord's knock & with Jaddu's contribution lower down, India manage a lead of 131.

#AUSvIND

Siraj, the son of an auto rickshawman, having lost his father before the series & not being able to attend the funeral, plays his debut Test, tears up during the national anthem. He was the highest wicket taker for India in the 2nd innings wrapping up Aussies for 200.

#AUSvIND

🔥The Forgotten Warriors: EP 10🔥
D Martyn: @damienmartyn.
Nov 1, 2003. Ind vs Aus. Mumbai - TVS Cup.
Aus 55-2 (6 Overs)
Many things had happened in the space of the 1st six overs in Wankhade. India dismissed @HaydosTweets for a golden duck, thanks to @ImZaheer and then..1⃣

got rid of dangerous looking @gilly381 who blistered to 41 off just 30 balls with the help of @harbhajan_singh. The red soil of wankhede was already showing its colour with the pitch already turning and bouncing. The match was on cliffhanger and in came the protagonist...2⃣

of today's show @damienmartyn and within no time he showed why he was batting at one of the most toughest position in ODIs (the no.4) for an Australian team that had so many special batters. So what was special about @damienmartyn and esp this innings i.e. in discussion?3⃣

So let me create the match experience with words here or to say let me try putting the scenarios for you all:
----
Scenario 1:
@harbhajan_singh was getting grip and bounce. Ind responded with a slip, silly point and forward shortleg..4⃣

Aus were looking to consolidate as they scored only 10 runs in the next 24 balls. Bhajji bowls one short and Martyn waits, then rolls his hand over the bowl and cuts it through point. Boundary.

Scenario 2:
@imAagarkar bowls one that beats @damienmartyn's outside edge..5⃣

Thread:
Cricket loving PM Robert Menzies kept a photograph of a perfect Miller square drive on his office desk. Ian Wooldridge called Miller “the golden boy” of cricket, leading to the nickname “Nugget”. Cardus referred to him as Australian in excelsis.

born #onthisday 1919

Miller ended with 2958 runs at 36.97 and 170 wickets at 22.97 from 55 Tests. The figures put him at the top of the list of all-rounders when he retired, and has been matched by only the likes of Garry Sobers, Imran Khan and Jacques Kallis since then.

With Ray Lindwall, he formed one of the scariest new ball partnerships. And he is one of the very few in history to bat high in the order while also bowling with the new ball.
West Indian captain John Goddard exclaimed, “Give us Keith Miller and we’ll beat the world.”

And all that was done with charisma and a sense of devilry, his stylish hair casually flicked back as he started to run in to bowl.

“Outstanding as he was at cricket, the game was for him only a part of living life as a man might do,” wrote John Arlott. During Ashes Tests, Denis Compton and he used to paint the town red.

On this day, 1950, a bizarre Test match on a ridiculous pitch got over at The Gabba.

The match lasted only 129.2 eight-ball overs (172.2 six-ball overs), and involved two of the most extraordinary declarations, on 68 and 32.

Here is what happened.
+

Hassett won the all-important toss.

Australia were 66/1 at lunch. 166/6 at tea, and bowled out for 228 just before stumps.

Nothing spectacular so far.

To provide stability to the frail middle-order, England had decided to push Hutton – their best batsman – down the order.
+

Simpson walked out with Washbrook and appealed for bad light before a ball were bowled. It was accepted.

It rained that night. And then for the next day and the rest day.

And for part of Day 3.

Then, against all expectations, play started at 1 PM.

But first, some context.
+

We know that pitches used to remain uncovered back in the 1950s and play began when rain stopped.

So the matches were played on sticky wickets.

Every footmark, every spot where the ball pitched, left an imprint.

These dried in the sun. A drying wicket could be dangerous.
+

And The Gabba had probably the worst of these "gluepots".

The roller tried its best, but not enough.

The first over, from Lindwall, was eventless.

Johnston bowled from the other end. By now the sun was already out.
+