All posts by csb10.top

Norman Mitchell-Innes, England’s oldest surviving Test cricketer, died on December 28 aged 92. He was the last England cricketer who played a Test before the Second World War, and his death leaves the 89-year-old Ken Cranston as the oldest living England cricketer.Mitchell-Innes, who was universally known as Mandy, played his one and only Test against South Africa in 1935, as an Oxford undergraduate.He made his debut for Somerset while still a schoolboy at Sedburgh and was a prolific run gatherer for his university. Between 1934 and 1937 he scored a record 3319 runs at an average of 47.41 and it was during this run of remarkable form that he caught the eye of the England selectors.Against the touring South Africans in 1935, he struck a brilliant 168 for his university in front of Plum Warner and was subsequently chosen for the Trent Bridge Test. He made only 5, but was retained for the second Test at Lord’s. However a bout of hay fever forced him to withdraw. “I might be sneezing just as a catch came in the slips,” he wrote to Warner. He joined up with the Oxford side at The Oval and scored another remarkable hundred against Surrey. He never got another chance to play for England.In 1935-36 he toured Australia and New Zealand with the MCC, struggling with the bat, and the following summer he captained Oxford, enjoying the best of his four Varsity matches scoring 43 and 84 at the top of the order, although it was in a losing cause. He also captained the university golf team.In 1936 he had a good summer with Somerset, but his career effectively ended when he joined the Sudan Political Service on leaving Oxford in 1937. He did play a few games when on annual leave, and when Somerset were desperate for players after the war he made another 24 appearances, captaining them four times. He failed, however, to show more than glimpses of his pre-war form.In all, he played 132 first-class matches, scoring 6944 runs – with 13 centuries – at an average of 31.42. He also took 82 wickets at 34.79 apiece. A precocious talent, he once scored 302 not out in a house match for Sedburgh during a single afternoon, causing The Sedberghian to report: “Such cricketers rarely come this way.”He retired from the political service in 1954, returning to the north of England to become company secretary of a brewery.

The 2008 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture will be delivered by Desmond Tutu.A recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, Tutu will become the eighth Cowdrey Lecturer when he speaks at Lord’s on Tuesday June 10, the second South African to be invited to speak at the event and the first lecturer to be drawn from outside the circle of international cricket.The MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture was inaugurated in 2001 in memory of the late Lord Cowdrey of Tonbridge, a former president of MCC, who, together with another former president, Ted Dexter, was instrumental in the Spirit of Cricket being included as the Preamble to the 2000 Code of the Laws of Cricket.Tutu rose to prominence in the 1980s with his vigorous anti-apartheid activism in South Africa. As the chairman of the General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches (SACC), Tutu led a formidable crusade for justice and racial conciliation in South Africa. His tireless work was recognised in 1984, when he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Then, following a short stint as the Bishop of Johannesburg, Tutu was elected the first black Archbishop of Cape Town in 1986, an office he held until his retirement in 1996 (he now serves as Archbishop Emeritus). In 1996, he was appointed by Nelson Mandela to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the body set up to probe gross human rights violations during apartheid. Following the presentation of the Commission’s report in October 1998, Dr Tutu has served as a visiting professor at several overseas universities and has been awarded over 50 honorary degrees from academic institutions around the world. He has published several books and collections of sermons and is widely known as a cricketing enthusiast.”Tutu is revered around the world as a moral voice and someone who speaks with gravitas on a range of issues,” Keith Bradshaw, the MCC’s secretary, said. “He’s an inspirational man who has spent a lifetime speaking out for truth and justice and I am sure that his views on the game – and the Spirit of Cricket in particular – will be hugely interesting to cricket followers around the world.”Over 500 invited guests and Members of MCC, together with many eminent figures from the cricket world, will gather in the Nursery Pavilion at Lord’s to hear the lecture.

Sourav Ganguly, who pulled his right hamstring while fielding in the first one-dayer against Australia in Bangalore, has been rested for the second game in Kochi as a precautionary measure.The team management has informed that the injury is not serious, and that Ganguly should be available for the remainder of the series. Ganguly went off the field in the 27th over of the first ODI at Bangalore.”An MRI scan was performed on Sourav’s right hamstring this morning and it has determined no injury to the region,” Niranjan Shah, the secretary of the BCCI, said in a statement.”Based on the findings, a vigorous rehab approach will be commencing immediately. On the report of team physio John Gloster and other analysis, the team management feels that Sourav will progress quickly and hence it was decided to rest him for a game.”Ganguly was confident of regaining his fitness for the third game. “Thankfully, it’s a strain and not a tear… I should be available for the third match,” he told the Kolkata-based . The team’s cricket manager, Lalchand Rajput, also echoed his views: “It’s not a tear, but Sourav has to rest … one can’t take a chance.”Meanwhile offspinner Harbhajan Singh admitted to the same newspaper that he was recovering from a stiff neck. “I can now turn my head to the left… I’m much better and should be available for Tuesday’s match.”The second one-dayer gets underway on October 2 while the third, at Hyderabad, is scheduled for October 5.

England 351 and 48 for 0 (Vaughan 28*, Cook 13*) trail Sri Lanka 548 for 9 dec (M Jayawardene 195, Vandort 138, P Jayawardene 79, Sidebottom 3-100, Harmison 3-111) by 149 runs
Scorecard
How they were out

It wasn’t the most attractive day of Test cricket, but Sri Lanka’s batsmen put them in a dominating position on the fourth day at Colombo with a 197-run lead over a weary England, grinding their noses into the ground. As ever, Muttiah Muralitharan looms large but England’s openers took them to a position of relative comfort, racing to 48 before bad light curtailed the day’s play.It was another torrid, wearying day for England’s bowlers who battled in intense heat to pick up 5 for 169 before Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, finally ended their misery with a declaration 30 minutes after tea. The ease with which Prasanna Jayawardene, the wicketkeeper, batted with his No.10, Dilhara Fernando, belied the consistent allround effort England’s bowlers showed – in particular Steve Harmison, who improved upon his encouraging display yesterday with a determined and disciplined performance on a lifeless pitch.It was he who gave England early hope of restricting Sri Lanka’s lead, too, removing Jehan Mubarak with a nasty lifter. Stuart Broad, England’s 6ft 7in debutant, also stuck to his task and was rewarded with his maiden Test wicket when Chaminda Vaas – no rabbit with the bat at No.8 – was too late on a pull, gloving a bouncer to Ian Bell at slip. It was just reward for Broad for what has been a daunting introduction to Test cricket.Jayawardene lacked the fluency and elegance he showed yesterday, and threw away his wicket with an ugly slog off Monty Panesar, top-edging a simple catch to Paul Collingwood at second slip. It was the first and last sign of any form of urgency from a Sri Lanka batsman who, from then on, blocked their way to the declaration, grinding England’s noses and spirits into the ground.Panesar hasn’t bowled with his magical, tantalising flight during this series but was much improved today and, after dismissing Jayawardene, bowled with greater control, trapping Lasith Malinga in front to briefly give hope to England of limiting Sri Lanka’s lead to under 100. However, with one Jayawardene dismissed, England were at the mercy of another, the wicketkeeper who was ably assisted by Dilhara Fernando. The pair put on a determined and turgid ninth-wicket stand of 98, just when England felt they had broken the back of Sri Lanka’s innings.It was grizzly cricket but hugely effective for Sri Lanka, as England’s shoulders dropped. Fernando, with a beaming smile and equally enthusiastic defensive technique, rode his luck against Kevin Pietersen, smacking a straight drive to bring up Sri Lanka’s 500 and the pair’s fifty partnership.Jayawardene might not share his captain’s elegance or range of strokes, but there was no denying his application. He rode the bounce of Harmison’s shorter deliveries and used his feet well to Panesar, flicking him through midwicket before slamming one over mid-off. His second Test fifty came from 109 balls.England didn’t enjoy much luck, however. Fernando back-cut Pietersen for four before he was rapped on the back leg, seemingly plump in front. And, off the next ball, Prior should have stumped him but the ball somehow lodged itself between his pad and leg. As tea approached, Sri Lanka’s lead went past 150, and England were on their knees.The declaration finally came when Jayawardene edged Harmison behind for 79, causing the bowler to roar his delight, justifiably, too, as he bowled with impressive energy and discipline for a man returning from injury. Nevertheless, Sri Lanka’s lead reached 197 and England had an hour of Chaminda Vaas and Muralitharan in which to survive.Impressively – particularly on a day in which the run-rate barely lifted above three per over – Cook and Vaughan were immediately into their stride, cracking 48 from 13 overs. Cook picked off two classy fours, showing impressive timing, while Vaughan continued his fine form, driving with aplomb to reach 28 by stumps.The pitch remains flat and true, and hasn’t cracked up nearly as much as England feared. But Muralitharan remains the big threat, and England have a big fight on their hands.

Scorecard