The Shorter Wisden 2013

by John Wisden

  LANCASHIRE v YORKSHIRE, AT LIVERPOOL, JULY 10, 11, 12 [1913] The occasion of the King’s visit to Liverpool was seized upon to arrange an additional match between Lancashire and Yorkshire. A very interesting contest ended in favour of Lancashire by three wickets, but, of course, the game did not count in the County Championship. The outstanding feature of the match was the bowling of Dean who, taking 17 wickets, accomplished a feat which has only been performed on seven other occasions in modern cricket.

  STAFFORDSHIRE IN 1913 As usual Barnes was the outstanding player of the Staffordshire eleven, his doings against some of the second-class county teams being of such a wonderful nature that Staffordshire generally had an easy task when he was in form. He took 65 wickets for just over six runs apiece, and finished up second in the batting figures with an average of over 40 runs an innings.

  Compiled by Christopher Lane

  FIFTY YEARS AGO

  from Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 1964

  CRICKET BOOKS by John Arlott 1963 has been marked by the publication of a cricket book so outstanding as to compel any reviewer to check his adjectives several times before he describes it and, since he is likely to be dealing in superlatives, to measure them carefully to avoid over-praise – which this book does not need. It is Beyond A Boundary, by C. L. R. James (Hutchinson: 25s.) and, in the opinion of this reviewer, it is the finest book written about the game of cricket.

  NOTES BY THE EDITOR [Norman Preston] Wisden itself made an indelible contribution to the summer by the appearance on April 19 [1963] of the 100th edition. The newspapers, television and sound radio were lavish in their praise and they treated it as a national event. I don’t think I am giving away any secrets when I say that even the publisher was surprised by the public demand for the Almanack. It ran into three impressions by the printers before everyone was satisfied. Naturally, Wisden, which specialises in cricket facts and records, established its own record of sales. The firm of John Wisden and Co. Ltd. commemorated the event by launching The Wisden Trophy, with the approval of MCC and the West Indies Cricket Board of Control, to be played for perpetually between England and West Indies in the same way as England and Australia contest the Ashes. West Indies have become the first holders of the trophy, which is being kept permanently in the Imperial Cricket Museum at Lord’s.

  NOTES BY THE EDITOR [Norman Preston] Bowlers in England last summer had their first experience of operating with the front foot as the marker for a legitimate delivery. The experiment was confined to county and university cricket and not to the Tests as West Indies did not wish to conform until they had had more practice at it in their own islands. Although some bowlers expressed themselves forcibly as being against it most of them soon became accustomed to the new condition and at the end of the season MCC considered the experiment designed to prevent unfair drag quite successful.

  NOTES BY THE EDITOR [Norman Preston] [1963 was] notable for the successful introduction of the Knock-Out Competition, which in future will be called The Gillette Cup. For years there was talk of introducing such a tournament, but the diehards always had their way because of the obstacles of solving a drawn tie and particularly in finding gaps in the Championship programme and suitable grounds. Happily the modern generation decided to take the bold step, but I doubt if anyone anticipated that the final at Lord’s in September would attract, as it did, a full house of 23,000 – the first all-ticket cricket match with a sell-out before the first ball was bowled.

  CRICKETER OF THE YEAR, D. B. CLOSE Because he was senior professional with the club, and the job was his by right, Yorkshire in 1963 offered the captaincy to their all-rounder Brian Close... who hitherto had never quite accomplished what was expected of him. It was a trial appointment. Nobody quite knew how it would work out. The result was astonishing. Almost overnight it seemed that Brian Close matured. He showed a knowledge of his own team and the play of opponents which immediately stamped him as a thinker and tactician. His field placings were as intelligent and antagonistic as any seen in the county for 25 years and, like Brian Sellers before him, if a fieldsman was required in a suicide position the captain himself was first for the job... Determination and purpose came into his own cricket. He regained his place in the England team and won national approval for the unflinching way he played the West Indies fast bowlers, Hall and Griffith. To his own great delight he saw Yorkshire, in their centenary year, to their 28th outright Championship success.

  WEST INDIES IN ENGLAND, 1963 No more popular side has ever toured the old country and with so many thousands of the coloured population from the Caribbean having emigrated to the big cities of Great Britain the cricketers received plenty of support from their own people... By their sparkling batting, bowling and fielding they caused the whole nation to follow the progress of the Tests... Worrell’s shrewd appraisement of the strength and weakness of the opposition, and his ice-cool control in all types of situation inspired his men and compelled them to give of their best including their last ounce of energy. No wonder they emulated the deeds of the 1950 side and carried off the rubber by the same margin – three victories to one... Sobers was the strong man of the party... in almost every game he played he contributed some outstanding performance. He left his imprint on every field he played... as the outstanding performer and all-rounder in present-day cricket... By the success in the Tests, Frank Worrell was the first captain to receive The Wisden Trophy and he flew home with his men to a tumultuous welcome in Kingston, Jamaica.

  ENGLAND v WEST INDIES, SECOND TEST MATCH, AT LORD’S, JUNE 20, 21, 22, 24, 25 [1963] One of the most dramatic Test matches ever to be played in England attracted large crowds and aroused tremendous interest throughout the country. All through the cricket had been keen and thrilling, but the climax was remarkable, Cowdrey having to go in with a broken bone in his arm... When the final over arrived any one of four results could have occurred – a win for England, victory for West Indies, a tie or a draw. The match was drawn with England six runs short of success and West Indies needing one more wicket... When Hall began his last dramatic over eight were needed. Singles came off the second and third balls, but Shackleton was run out off the fourth when Worrell raced from short leg with the ball and beat the batsman to the bowler’s end. That meant Cowdrey had to come in with two balls left and six wanted. He did not have to face a ball, Allen playing out the last two. If he had to shape up, Cowdrey intended to turn round and bat left-handed to protect his left arm... Those who saw it, and the millions who followed the game’s progress over television and radio, were kept in a constant state of excitement. It was a game to remember.

  MCC v WEST INDIES, AT LORD’S, MAY 18, 20, 21 [1963] West Indies won by 93 runs with half an hour to spare... Hunte, acting-captain because of injury to Worrell, did not enforce the follow-on although 186 ahead. When he declared, MCC needed 266 in four and a quarter hours... Substitutes were required for Worrell, Allan and Gibbs. Gibbs was prevented from bowling for a time when he returned to the field and Hunte wanted to put him on immediately. The umpires considered this came under “fair and unfair play”, as he came “warm” from the pavilion and all the other players were “cold”. When he bowled half an hour later he soon finished the innings.

  from Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 1965

  AUSTRALIA v SOUTH AFRICA, FIRST TEST MATCH, AT BRISBANE, DECEMBER 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 [1963] The match was made memorable by the no-balling of Meckiff for throwing and his subsequent retirement from first-class cricket... [In a] dramatic over... [he] was no-balled by Egar on his second, third, fifth and ninth deliveries. That was his only over. Egar was booed and Meckiff was carried shoulder high by a section of the crowd at the close... No play was possible on Monday and on the fourth day extra police were sent to the ground because of fears that the umpires, selectors and Benaud might be molested because of the Meckiff incident.

  COMMONWEALTH XI IN PAKISTAN, 1963 The Commonwealth team, under the managership of A. R. Gover, made a highly successful tour of Pakistan during Novem
ber and December. Not surprisingly the side, packed with well-known international cricketers, had considerable spectator appeal. Altogether over half a million people watched the six matches of the tour – 400,000 at the three first-class representative games... T. W. Graveney hit 500 runs in the three major matches for an average of 100 and the West Indies Test players R. B. Kanhai and B. F. Butcher also entertained the huge crowds.

  Compiled by Christopher Lane

  OBITUARIES

  The obituaries section includes those who died, or whose deaths were notified, in 2012, unless otherwise stated. Deaths in 2013 – including Christopher Martin-Jenkins, who died on January 1 – will feature in next year’s Almanack.

  ABEYNAIKE, RANIL GEMUNU, who died on February 21, aged 57, was a true all-rounder – player, coach, groundsman and commentator. A handy batsman and a slow left-armer with a rather jerky action, he took six wickets for the Sri Lanka Board President’s XI against a strong Pakistan touring team in January 1976, and played against Tony Greig’s 1976-77 MCC side, before several seasons with Bedfordshire. In 1982-83 – the year after Sri Lanka’s inaugural Tests – he scored 171 for the Sinhalese Sports Club against the Police, sharing a big opening stand with Arjuna Ranatunga. Abeynaike made another hundred a fortnight later, but never cracked the Test side. He later became groundsman and general manager at Colombo’s SSC, although he was better known as a TV commentator. “He talked a lot of common sense about the game,” said Ian Chappell. “And he did the best pitch reports I’ve heard.”

  AKBAR, SAEED SHAHID, died on November 28, aged 54. Shahid Akbar was a youthful prodigy who never fulfilled the promise which prompted 1970s contemporaries to imagine him opening India’s batting with Sunil Gavaskar. A wristy left-hander and superb fielder, he played 31 first-class matches, mostly for Hyderabad, with a best of 97 (run out) against Tamil Nadu at Madras in 1977-78.

  ALAGANAN, R. BALU, who died on October 11, aged 87, captained Madras (now Tamil Nadu) to their inaugural Ranji Trophy title in 1954-55. In the final, against Holkar at Indore, Alaganan made 56 not out from No. 9 in the second innings, adding 77 for the last wicket with M. K. Murugesh; Madras won by 46 runs. Alaganan surprised some by retiring after that triumph, which came in only his sixth first-class match and at the age of 30. He turned instead to administration – he was the state association’s vice-president for 25 years from 1961, and assistant manager on some Indian tours – and commentary, becoming a popular voice on All India Radio.

  ALEXANDER, LEONARD JAMES, who died on July 22, aged 90, kept wicket for Tasmania in nine matches between 1946-47 and 1951-52. In the last of them, at the MCG, he allowed no byes in Victoria’s innings of 647.

  ALI, ASHRAF RAJA, died of a suspected heart attack on October 21, aged 36. Raja Ali was a member of the Railways team who won two Ranji Trophies. A big-hitting left-hander who started his career with Madhya Pradesh, Ali averaged almost 40 in first-class cricket, with nine centuries, three of them (including his highest, 148 against his former MP team-mates) during Railways’ first title season in 2001-02. He also made 80 in the successful 2004-05 final against Punjab. “I used to call him Sankat Mochan [crisis man],” said the former Indian leg-spinner Narendra Hirwani. “I still wonder how he kept his cool under pressure.” Ali played some one-day games for Central Zone, whose players wore black armbands during the Duleep Trophy final in Chennai which coincided with news of his death.

  ALIMUDDIN, who died on July 12, was an early star of Pakistan cricket, winning 25 Test caps between 1954 and 1962. Well-built and attacking by nature, he scored an unbeaten 103 against India at Karachi in 1954-55, when his partnership of 155 with his captain Abdul Hafeez Kardar came at almost a run a minute – an unheard-of rate in the usually sepulchral matches between the two countries at that time. He made 109 against England in 1961-62, also at Karachi, after a period out of favour, and scored 12 other centuries in a long career that stretched to 1967-68, after which he had a brief spell as national coach. “He was not just a stylish player but a very decent human being,” said Hanif Mohammad, a frequent opening partner. “He was very good company, and entertained us through his songs.” If Alimuddin’s published date of birth (December 15, 1930) is correct, he was 81 when he died – but that would mean he made his first-class debut in a Ranji Trophy semi-final in India in February 1943 at the age of 12, which players from the time discount. It seems likely he was five or six years older: Nasim-ul-Ghani, a Test team-mate, suggested he was nearer 90. Alim eventually settled in London, where he worked for Pakistan International Airlines – the uncertainty about his age caused problems with his pension; it was restored after Pakistan’s president intervened.

  ANANDAPPA, IGNATIUS, who died on July 4, aged 73, was a club off-spinner who later turned to umpiring. He stood in three Tests – the first, against Australia in Colombo in August 1992, was also Muttiah Muralitharan’s debut – and seven one-day internationals in Sri Lanka in the 1990s.

  ATHAR ZAIDI, SYED HUSSAIN, who died on November 30, aged 66, was a stocky umpire from Lahore who stood in eight Tests and ten one-day internationals between 1984 and 2002. Aleem Dar, now on the ICC’s elite panel, credited Athar with persuading him to take on the job: “He taught me all the basic principles needed to become a good professional umpire.”

  BEAUMONT, RICHARD, collapsed on the field on August 4, shortly after taking five wickets for Pedmore against Astwood Bank in the Worcestershire County League. He was airlifted to hospital, but pronounced dead shortly after arrival. He was 33. “There was no sign of what was to happen,” said Astwood Bank’s captain Steve Adshead, the former Gloucestershire wicketkeeper. “He had been bowling really well.”

  BHAGALIA, SALIM, who died in November, aged 90, was one of the best fast bowlers to emerge from South Africa’s Indian community in the 1940s, although he was denied the chance of first-class cricket by his government’s policies. A left-armer with a fiery temper, Bhagalia spearheaded Transvaal’s successful bid for the national non-white competition in 1951. A knee injury finally forced him to retire at 59.

  BHIKANE, KISHOR PRAKASH, was killed while returning from a club game on March 4, when his motorcycle – which he had been awarded as the best bowler of the Maharashtra Premier League Twenty20 tournament in 2011 – collided with a truck near Latur, on the road between Pune and Mumbai. Bhikane, 24, was a medium-pacer who had played three first-class and several limited-overs matches for Maharashtra.

  BLAKE, Rev. Canon PETER DOUGLAS STUART, who died on December 11, 2011, aged 84, showed enormous promise as a stylish batsman and an imaginative, enthusiastic captain at Eton in 1945. Three years later, he became the first post-war player to be capped by Sussex. “I think they saw him as future captaincy material,” said Hubert Doggart, a contemporary at Hove. But Blake’s priorities were to change: he served in the army in Germany immediately after the war, and listened to evidence in the trials of Nazi war criminals from the Ravensbruck concentration camp. He decided his future lay in the church and, after reading theology at Oxford, was ordained in 1955, later becoming rector of Mufulira in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). He had a notable career in Africa, working with young people and supervising the building of two churches. At Eton, where he was also a successful boxer, Blake had carried the batting in his final year, scoring nearly 800 runs, including five centuries, although Wisden noted that the club sides among the opposition were not as strong as usual. He played for Sussex between 1946 and 1951, and Oxford University from 1950 to 1952 (captaining them in his final year), scoring 2,067 runs at 22 in 58 matches, including three hundreds and a career-best 130 against Worcestershire in the Parks in 1952.

  BRIDGE, DEREK JAMES WILSON, who died on March 13, was a pillar of Dorset cricket, playing for the county for 20 years from 1949, as captain from 1954 to 1966. He later served as their secretary and president, and was also president of the Minor Counties Cricket Association from 1997 to 2002. An off-spinner, Bridge dismissed Cyril Washbrook with the first ball he bowled for Dorset, and in all took 429 wicket
s for them, in addition to scoring 3,705 runs: he took eight for 35 against Oxfordshire in 1962. Bridge was an Oxford Blue – but for rugby, rather than cricket: he was an England triallist and represented the Barbarians. He did play one first-class match for Oxford University, and three for Northamptonshire, in 1947. He later became a schoolmaster, and ran the cricket at Sherborne for 21 years.

  BURGIN, ERIC, who died on November 16, aged 88, was a medium-pacer from Sheffield who played a dozen matches for Yorkshire, nine of them in 1952, when they finished second in the Championship to Surrey – despite Burgin’s six for 43 in a nine-wicket victory over the eventual champions at Headingley. Shortly before that, in the Roses match at Old Trafford, Burgin had opened the bowling with Fred Trueman – whom he had coached at Sheffield United CC – and took five for 20 with what Wisden called “accurate inswingers”, as Lancashire were skittled for 65. Trueman, who cut down his pace when he saw how his partner was bowling, ended up with five for 26. But Burgin was already 28, and other, faster, bowlers moved ahead of him the following season, when he made only one Championship appearance – although he did have the satisfaction of dismissing Australia’s openers, Arthur Morris and Graeme Hole, at Bradford. Burgin was also a useful footballer, a centre-half, who captained York City. He later served on Yorkshire’s general committee.