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Tuesday, 9 August 2011

No central contracts for Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal,Shoaib Malik

By Cricket Addiction ,



Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal do not figure in the latest list of PCB central contracts. Younis Khan, who was banned for disciplinary reasons following a winless tour of Australia in 2009-10 and was out of last year's list, has been awarded a Category A contract this time along with current captain Misbah-ul-Haq, allrounder Mohammad Hafeez, spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman, and fast bowler Umar Gul - the only player retained in the top category from last year's list.


Afridi had retired "conditionally" from international cricket following his removal as captain after the tour of West Indies, while Kamran, who also was in Category A last year, has been ignored since the World Cup. Afridi was involved in a legal battle with the Pakistan board after he hinted at differences between him and coach Waqar Younis during the West Indies tour; these were confirmed by Waqar and team manager Intikhab Alam in their tour report. Afridi has said he will not go back on his decision as long as the present PCB regime remains in power.
Middle-order batsman Umar Akmal and opener Imran Farhat were retained in Category B. Also included in that grade werere Abdul Razzaq, demoted from grade A last year, middle-order batsmen Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali, who have been impressive finds for Pakistan in the last couple of years. Left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz, who took a five-for against India in the World Cup semi-final, also featured in grade B.
As expected, there was no place for Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt , the three cricketers banned for their involvement in the spot-fixing controversy, while Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Yousuf and Danish Kaneria, who were not picked for the World Cup, have been ignored. Malik and Kaneria are yet to be cleared by the PCB's integrity committee. Kaneria has not played for the national team since August 2010, after the PCB tightened its anti-corruption programme following the spot-fixing controversy and Kaneria's own entanglement in a corruption case in Essex. Kaneria was cleared by a police enquiry in Essex, but is yet to be cleared by the PCB; he has petitioned against his continued non-clearance.
"As long as Malik and Kaneria are not cleared by the PCB integrity committee, a meeting of which is scheduled for August 15, they will not be considered for the contracts," Intikhab, also the PCB's director, said at a press conference in Lahore.
In Category C were seamer Tanvir Ahmed, who picked up six wickets on Test debut against South Africa, wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal, and the trio who have been picked in the squad for the tour of Zimbabwe - Yasir Shah, Sohail Khan and Rameez Raja. Aizaz Cheema, who has also been picked, was placed in the stipend category.
The contracts are for a duration of six months - July 1 to December 31 this year.

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Sunday, 7 August 2011

Shoaib Malik set to return to Pakistan team

By Cricket Addiction ,





Former captain Shoaib Malik is all set to make a comeback into the national team for the upcoming Zimbabwe tour once he is cleared by the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) integrity committee on August 15.
According to sources, PCB’s integrity committee is satisfied with Malik’s reply on the 90,000 pounds lying in one of his bank accounts.
“Things are finally looking up for him (Malik). There are indications that the board is satisfied with the reply he has sent to them regarding the mystery surrounding the amount in one of his bank accounts,” a close aide said.
“The indications are that the integrity committee of the board, that has called him on August 15 for a hearing, will clear him and he will be available for the Zimbabwe tour,” the aide added.
Anticipating that the former captain would be cleared by the integrity committee, the national selectors have already named Malik among the reserves for the Zimbabwe tour, which begins in last week of this month.
Malik, who has not played international cricket since last August, will play for PIA in the Moin Khan Ramazan night tournament that begins on Saturday in Karachi but will join the star-studded National Bank side after the event.
Iqbal Qasim, who heads the NBP sports division, confirmed that Malik had joined the bank in a senior position.
Insiders also say that Malik stands a very strong chance of regaining the national team captaincy by next year as PCB chairman Ijaz Butt and national selectors believe he is an automatic choice forODI and T20 cricket.
“He has been out of the team only because of the issue with the integrity committee, not because of any cricketing reasons,” one source said.
“He appears to be a good choice to replace Misbah-ul-Haq when the right time comes,” the source added.

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Friday, 5 August 2011

Shoaib Akhtar to take part in Singapore event

By Cricket Addiction ,




LAHORE -  Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar will be seen in action during an invitational T20 event in Singapore. Pakistan opener Imran Farhat and some other Pakistani players left Wednesday night to take part in the event that will also feature leading players from other countries.
"I don't know much of the details but yes Shoaib Akhtar is playing as is Shane Warne," Farhat reported to have said. Farhat said that having been out of touch with the game for a while, he looks to event as warm up for the domestic season. Shoaib, who announced his retirement during the World Cup after a reported tiff with the team management over disciplinary issues, had pulled out of the Sri Lankan Premier League before it was watered down.
The fast bowler had said in June that he wanted to focus more on his business and less on cricket that is why he had pulled out of the Sri Lankan Premier League. The enigmatic player has always remained a big draw despite the controversies that have surrounded his career. The invitational event is being organized at the Singapore cricket club.

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Friday, 5 August 2011

Pakistan's off-spinner Saeed Ajmal spins Royals to victory

By Cricket Addiction ,




Worcestershire climbed off the bottom of the Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A as Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal bowled them to a 23-run victory over Derbyshire under the County Ground floodlights.

Ajmal took 4-24 in seven overs as Derbyshire lost their last five wickets in 19 balls chasing the Royals' 197-8 in a game reduced to 36 overs a side by rain.

Vikram Solanki made 84 from 77 balls - his best one-day score of the season - but Wes Durston pegged Worcestershire back with 3-7 in two overs.

The Royals lost five wickets in 23 balls and the Falcons were well placed with Martin Guptill scoring 64 from 72 balls but, despite a run-a-ball 45 from Wayne Madsen, they had no answer to Ajmal and were bowled out for 174.

Worcestershire had also started well, with Solanki and skipper Daryl Mitchell (41) adding 78 in 11 overs, but they were unable to build on that platform and lost wickets trying to clear the ropes.

The Royals should easily have passed 200 but good catching in the deep allowed Durston to prey on over-ambition in the closing overs.
Imperious drives

Derbyshire lost Chesney Hughes to a well-judged catch by a back-pedalling Ajmal in the third over but Guptill unleashed some imperious drives to put the Falcons on course.

The New Zealander drove Jack Shantry over long-on for six and with Durston easing the ball around, Derbyshire reached the halfway point needing 106 with nine wickets in hand.

But Durston drove Moeen Ali to deep mid-wicket and Guptill made his first and last mistake when he chipped the all-rounder into the hands of long-on.

The asking rate was starting to climb and although Madsen drove Solanki over long-on for six in an over which cost 13, the pressure was starting to tell on the Falcons.

Smith was bowled trying to run Mitchell to third man and Ross Whiteley edged a slash at Ajmal, who then had Clare caught at deep mid-wicket for a duck.

Derbyshire's fading hopes were snuffed out when they lost three wickets in the 34th over including Madsen, who was run out trying to steal a single to short third man.

Ajmal then yorked Tony Palladino to claim his fourth wicket and the game ended when Mark Turner was run out by a direct hit to give the Royals only their second victory in the competition with nine balls to spare.

Source:skysports

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Thursday, 4 August 2011

Yasir Shah vows to fill Afridi’s boots

By Cricket Addiction ,





“I will try my level best to perform well on the Zimbabwe tour and will use all my skills to justify my selection,” he said while addressing a function arranged in his honour here on Tuesday.
Yasir, who boasts an impressive record of 148 wickets in 46 first-class matches, said while there will be lot of pressure in the absence of seasoned spinners Danish Kaneria and Shahid Afridi, he will try and rise to the occasion during the Zimbabwe series and shoulder the burden in the spin department.
“They [Afridi and Kaneria] are fantastic bowlers and their absence will be felt. But I will put in my best effort to dent the opposition on the tour,” said a confident looking Yasir.
Yasir, born to a farmer in May 1986 at Gohati (Swabi) started playing domestic cricket in 2003 and soon graduated to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa team. He went from strength to strength from then on, representing Abbottabad Rhinos and the Pakistan Customs teams. He is currently playing for the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in domestic cricket.
Besides that, Yasir has also represented Pakistan in the Under-15, U-17, U-19 and U-21 outfits.
Aamir Nawab Khan, president of the Abbottabad Regional Cricket Association and member of the PCB’s Governing Board, on Tuesday lauded Yasir’s selection in the Pakistan team and said the spinner thoroughly deserved the berth.
Aamir, who is also the president of Swabi District Cricket Association, said Yasir had a great chance to display his skills in international cricket because he had worked very hard on his game during the past few years.
“Yasir can make the most of his selection in the absence of Afridi and Kaneria,” said Aamir.
He added that with the selection of many youngsters in the 16-member squad for Zimbabwe it was evident that the PCB was encouraging newcomers to come forward and showcase their talent at top level.
Yasir becomes only the second player to represent Swabi in the national team after young pacer Junaid Khan who was part of Pakistan’s World Cup squad in February this year.
Junaid also played ODIs and Tests on the recent West Indies tour.

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Wednesday, 3 August 2011

Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh will miss the rest of the series against England

By Cricket Addiction ,



Batsman Yuvraj Singh and bowler Harbhajan Singh will miss the rest of India’s Test cricket series against England with injuries.
Yuvraj has a fractured left index finger and will be out about four weeks, while Harbhajan’s strained abdominal muscle will sideline him three weeks, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said in a statement on its website.
They will be replaced by batsman Virat Kohli and spinner Pragyan Ojha, the BCCI said.
India has lost the first two games in the four-Test series, which resumes Aug. 10 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The final Test is Aug. 18-22 at the Oval in London.
Fast-bowler Zaheer Khan and opener Gautam Gambhir both missed the last Test with injuries and their status for the third game isn’t yet known. Opening batsman Virender Sehwag, who hasn’t played since having shoulder surgery in May, will join the team in England today.
England can replace India as No. 1 in the International Cricket Council rankings with another victory or by drawing the final two matches. The teams will also play one Twenty20 match and five one-day international games following the Test series.

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Tuesday, 2 August 2011

Afridi: I was reduced to zero after World Cup heroics

By Cricket Addiction ,




Speaking to the media at the launch of his new business venture ‘Fashion Valley’ the seasoned all-rounder stated that he was reduced to a ‘zero’ only a few days after being hailed as a national hero following the spirited performance of the team in the World Cup.
Afridi, who announced his retirement from international cricket in controversial circumstances after his abrupt removal from captaincy by the PCB at the end of the West Indies tour, was replaced at the helm by Misbah-ul-Haq for the ODI series against Ireland. Besides that, Afridi was also fined Rs4.5 million by the Board’s disciplinary committee which had earlier canceled his NOC for participation in the English T20 competition where he was to represent Hampshire.
The flamboyant big-hitter on Monday expressed dismay at PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt’s attitude during the entire retirement controversy and said it was unbecoming of a chairman and had caused him great distress.
Afridi reiterated his stance of not playing under the present regime of the cricket board. “I cannot play with people who conspired against me and worked against the team, they have their personal interests paramount to them and they are only damaging the team.”
He added that he had his heart in representing his country and did not want to let down millions of fans who reposed their confidence in him time and again.
“I have always maintained that playing for Pakistan is my priority, I would always prefer representing my country over any offer from anywhere in the world,” said an emotionally charged Afridi.
He thanked his fans and said that he had earned the respect of the nation due to his forthright attitude and passion for the game.
Afridi, who captained the team to ODI series win over the West Indies, dispelled the notion that his behaviour had cost the team the last two matches of the series.
“I did not take part in the selection meeting on the eve of the last two matches. The team was selected by coach Waqar Younis and Intikhab Alam and I had no input in the selection of the playing eleven.”
Afridi insisted that the national selection committee needed to be consistent in its policies of inducting new players in the team but should refrain from over-experimenting. “A pool of players need to be groomed for the years to come to raise a solid playing XI for Pakistan,” he said.

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Monday, 25 July 2011

England has won the 1st Test match at Lord's

By Cricket Addiction ,



At the interval India, the world number one side who need a world record 458 to win the first match in the four-test series, were 142 for four.
Sachin Tendulkar, who received a standing ovation in what is likely to be his final test at Lord’s, was seven not out at lunch.
Tendulkar, 38, needs one more century to reach an unprecedented 100th international hundreds. He was absent from the field for most of Sunday with a virus infection and batted one place lower than usual at number five.
James Anderson removed the adhesive Rahul Dravid (36) and the prolific Vangipurappu Laxman (56) after India had resumed their second innings on 80 for one. Graeme Swann captured the other wicket to fall, dismissing Gautam Gambhir lbw for 22.
Dravid, who batted for 5-1/2 hours in his unbeaten 103 in India’s first innings, was caught behind by Matt Prior on Monday pushing at a delivery which moved away from the right-hander.
He had been dropped on 35 by Ian Bell off Chris Tremlett after a thick inside edge on to his pad ballooned to short-leg. Bell leaped high and got his fingers to the ball but could not hold on to a difficult chance.
Laxman edged a boundary off Anderson at catchable height between second slip and gully but was otherwise untroubled.
After resuming on 32, he reached 48 when Prior and the England slip cordon went up for what they thought was a catch behind. Captain Andrew Strauss called for a review when umpire Billy Bowden did not react but the replay showed there was a clear gap between bat and ball.
Laxman reached his 53rd test half-century with a leg glance to the boundary, his eighth four, but then played a loose shot to Anderson and was caught by Bell at mid-wicket.
Gambhir, who left the field on Sunday in some pain after he was struck on the elbow at short-leg by a sweep shot from Prior, twice leaned back to cut Swann to the boundary. He was beaten through the air pushing forward to the off-spinner and, although lbws can not be reviewed in this series, there was no dispute about the decision.
Tendulkar, who was applauded all the way as he walked to the crease, was beaten by Anderson’s first ball which snaked in between bat and pad. He turned the fifth delivery deftly to leg to get off the mark with a boundary.
Spectators started queuing from three a.m for the cash-only tickets on sale at the gates and the ground was filled to its 28,500 capacity.

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Monday, 25 July 2011

Ind vs Eng:Ind 141/4 at lunch

By Cricket Addiction ,




Set a victory target of 458, India had their backs pinned to the wall as they were reduced to 141 for four at lunch on the fifth and final day of the first cricket Test against England on Sunday.
The visitors lost three wickets for 61 runs from 26 overs of the opening session, the overnight batsmen Rahul Dravid (36), VVS Laxman (56) and left-hander Gautam Gambhir (22) being made to cool their heels in the pavilion.
Sachin Tendulkar, who apparently has recovered from a viral infection, and Suresh Raina were holding fort grimly on seven and four respectively at the break.
India are still trailing by 316 runs and 72 overs of the day, including the mandatory overs, are still to be negotiated.
Paceman James Anderson starred in the session for England, claiming both the wickets of overnight batsmen Dravid and Laxman.
Dravid was dismissed for 36 runs when, quite out of character, he fiddled with a delivery from Anderson and edged it to wicketkeeper Matt Prior at the Indian total 94 for two.

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Sunday, 24 July 2011

Ishant Sharma demolish the England's middle order

By Cricket Addiction ,





Bounding in from the Nursery end, Sharma accounted for Kevin Pietersen (1), Ian Bell (0) and Jonathan Trott (22).
Altogether four wickets fell in 32 balls for eight runs and at lunch England were 72 for five in their second innings, an overall lead of 260, with five sessions remaining.
Pietersen, England’s first innings hero with an unbeaten 202, edged a steepling delivery to Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps. The same combination accounted for Bell in the same over, nibbling fatally outside the off stump.
Openers Andrew Strauss (32) and Alastair Cook (1) also succumbed in the morning session after England had started the day well placed on five for no wicket after dismissing India for 286 on Saturday evening in reply to their 474 for eight declared.
Strauss, who has had a lean test run in the English summer so far, looked in good order, taking 10 runs off a Praveen Kumar over including consecutive leg-side boundaries.
But he lost Cook with the total on 23, caught by Dhoni off Kumar from a delivery moving just enough to catch the edge of the left-hander’s bat. It was only the second ball Cook had faced from Kumar and his first on Sunday in 43 minutes at the crease.
Trott hooked Sharma to the boundary and Strauss slashed Kumar for another four but there was still plenty in the pitch to interest the bowlers and both batsmen were forced on occasion to hurriedly adjust their shots.
Strauss, who had scored only 49 runs in his previous five test innings in the English summer, was dismissed lbw by off-spinner Harbhajan Singh trying to sweep a ball which would have hit middle stump.
Pietersen and Bell departed in a double wicket maiden from Sharma who then knocked Trott’s off stump back as the batsman went to drive.
Eoin Morgan, who failed to score in the first innings, and wicketkeeper Matt Prior were both on five at the interval.
Zaheer Khan, who left the field in England’s first innings with a hamstring strain, was still missing on Sunday morning while Sachin Tendulkar was also absent with a virus infection.

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Saturday, 23 July 2011

Waqar Younus on Afridi's retirement

By Cricket Addiction ,





“All retired players are missed. Similarly, Afridi will also be missed. It was the case even with me and many other renowned players like Imran Khan and Wasim Akram.
“But there are always other youngsters who can replace the retired players,” Waqar said while talking to reporters at the National Cricket Academy, where he joined the Fast Track Camp’s second phase, after missing the first one, which ended on July 18.
Afridi had announced his retirement over differences with the team management, including Waqar, manager Intikhab Alam and PCB chairman Ijaz Butt after leading the national side in the last one-day series against the West Indies.
He had also said he would not reverse his decision until the present PCB management was working.
However, Waqar, while ignoring Afridi’s retirement, had suggested to the PCB in his report of the West Indies tour to search for a young captain and groom him as ageing Misbah-ul-Haq could not remain fit for a long time.
To a question, Waqar dispelled the impression that he was working like a dictator as he could not maintain smooth relationship with various captains in the past.
He admitted that grooming a strong opening pair was still a problem and asked prominent openers to come forward to help him in this regard.
“We have been facing problems in the opening department since long and I request former opening players like Mohsin Khan, Mudassar Nazar, Aamir Sohail and Saeed Anwar to come forward to help us,” he said.
Waqar also urged former great Javed Miandad to help youngsters, particularly at the top of the order.
“I believe anyone who can help me should come forward because we have to take Pakistan cricket forward in the right direction,” he said.
Waqar endorsed the decision of chief selector Mohsin Khan by saying a good number of young players would be tested in the upcoming one-day series against low-rated Zimbabwe, which is going to be held in August this year.
He said the decision of holding the fast track camp was good and hoped players would overcome their flaws.

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Saturday, 23 July 2011

KEVIN PIETERSEN RANKS LORD’S INNINGS AS ONE OF HIS BEST

By Cricket Addiction ,


Kevin “KP” Pietersen, England’s middle-order batsman, spoke fondly of his batting performance against Indiain the first match of the npower Test series, being played at Lord’s.
KP ranks Lord’s innings as one of his best ever under demanding conditions. The right-handed batsman played an unbeaten knock of 202 runs, which included 21 fours and one massive six. Pietersen’s knock powered England to a commanding position as the hosts declared their innings at 474 for eight.
KP stated that he is delighted with this feat, especially considering the situation and the type of surface.
The middle-order batsman hoped that English bowlers would make full use of the bowling conditions and send the Men in Blue packing, as Indians are not as strong when it comes to facing swing bowling.
“It's (my innings) is something to be proud of. Having gone in to bat on such a wicket and having to face MS Dhoni (in jest) as well for half an hour. History tells us that getting result at the Lord's is quite difficult. But the wicket is aiding seam and swing and we all know swing is alien to Indian batting,” said Pietersen.
The 31-year-old cricketer acknowledged the efforts of England’s top-order batsmen and believes that it was their pains that made life easy for incoming batsmen. KP concludes that English top-order absorbed the pressure of the new ball and the early swing, thus batsmen coming in later capitalized on their start.
Pietersen said, "Credit to the first three batsmen (deserve credit) for they ate up a lot of balls. When it's seaming and swinging you try to get overs in the other bowlers. They did a great job for men like Matt Priorand Graeme Swann to take advantage of what's been created a day before.”
KP also accomplished another milestone in this innings; the right-handed batsman reached 6,000 runs in Test cricket. Pietersen claimed that he is not finished yet and is determined to get his name in the 10,000 runs club. However, the 31-year-old cricketer asserts that to get there he needs to bat the same way he did against India.
Pietersen was also relieved to silence his critics, who were pointing towards his lean patch. The batsman said that everyone goes through a rough time but one should not lose hope and work hard, as sooner or later success does follow.

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Thursday, 21 July 2011

Problems for India Zaheer Khan is Injured

By Cricket Addiction ,



England's batsmen reached 127-2 against an India side that lost key bowler Zaheer Khan to an apparent hamstring injury on a rain-affected opening day of the first test at Lord's overnight.
Khan was comfortably India's best bowler, claiming figures of 2-18 before he pulled up in the middle of the 42nd over, clutching his thigh, and then promptly left the field. His fitness will be monitored overnight.
"He showed he's probably the bowler we miss the most," India coach Duncan Fletcher said. "Probably the others lacked experience so, as it was, him going off was a big miss.
"From our point of view I think maybe we would have been happy with three wickets. I think if he had stayed there and got three or four we would have ended up having a very good day."

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Thursday, 21 July 2011

England 127-2 on Opening Day of First Cricket Test Against India

By Cricket Addiction ,




England is 127-2 at tea on the opening day of the first cricket Test against India at Lord’s in London.
Jonathan Trott was 58 not out and Kevin Pietersen scored 22 before rain and bad light brought an early tea break. Zaheer Khan took 2-18 for the visitors.
The match is the 2,000th in the 134 years of elite Test cricket. England can overtake India as the top team in the International Cricket Council rankings if it wins the four-match series by two Tests or more

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Thursday, 21 July 2011

Another high point for the home of cricket

By Cricket Addiction ,


As England meet India in the first Test of the four-match series here, Lord’s — the home of cricket — reaches yet another landmark that of staging the 2000th Test of the game’s history which by coincidence also happens to be the hundredth traditional five-day contest between England and India.
It was in 1932 that India played their inaugural Test here at this venue, losing the match by 158 runs. The Indian team then besides their captain C.K. Nyadu had Jahangir Khan, Mohammad Nissar and brothers Wazir Ali and Nazir Ali and a man from Karachi Hindu Gymkhana Naoomal Jeeomal who made 33 as an opener and Wazir contributed 31 and 39.
Though in the losing cause the giant fast bowler Nissar who rattled men like Leslie Ames and Douglas Jardine and Eddie Paynter by taking five wickets for 93, Jahangir was no less effective when he claimed four for 60 in the second innings.
Since then India have played 14 more Tests at Lord’s, winning only in 1986 and ten Test defeats at the prime venue does not speak much of their outing here.
What really is most interesting is the fact that their record-breaking batting genius Sachin Tendulkar is on the verge of reaching his one hundred centuries in international cricket. Would he do that in this landmark Test is the question because he averages a mere 21.28 at Lord’s and his highest score here is only 37.
Whereas Saurav Ganguly and even Ajit Agarkar have scored a century each here in Tests, run-making machines like Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid have failed. Fascinating however is the performance of ‘The Colonel’ Dilip Vengsarkar who remains the only batsman to have scored three Test hundreds at the venue. Not forgetting of course the first great Indian all-rounder Vinoo Mankad who in the 1952 Test made 72 and 184 at this venue.
Great feats and unforgettable deeds are all recorded for posterity and thousands of pages are required to describe all.
Therefore, I shall restrict myself to some of the things I watched and reported from Lord’s.
What I am proud of the fact is that I remain the only media man in the press box to have also covered the 1000th Test and at no other place than on my own home ground at the Niaz Stadium Hyderabad in 1984-85 against New Zealand where Pakistan won the Test by seven wickets. In this match, Javed Miandad scored a hundred in each innings besides a century each by John Reid and Mudassar Nazar and Abdul Qadir, Iqbal Qasim and Stephen Boock excelled with the ball with 5-108, 5-78 and 7-87 respectively. And where Jeremy Coney, the captain showed his displeasure on umpiring decisions.
Astonishing, isn’t it, that in the first 107 years of Test cricket 1000 matches were played and the next 1000 — with the 2000th Test starting today — in just nearly 27 years.
At Lord’s I made my Test debut as a full-time reporter in the 1974 England-Pakistan game, a Test which had to be abandoned as a draw after complaints by the Pakistan team manager Omar Kureishi about the wet pitch on which the match should never have been resumed after rain.
I also watched Pakistan’s first win at Lord’s under Imran Khan in 1982, a match in which Mohsin Khan made a memorable double century and Mudassar bamboozled England batting with 6-32.
Gavaskar’s 188, and century each by Graham Gooch and Mike Gatting in MCC’s bicentenary match in 1987 still remain etched.
In my mind as does a masterly 187 not out by Hanif Mohammad in 1967 which I watched as a spectator. Not forgetting other feats that of Mohammad Yousuf scoring a double century in 2006 and Australian Bob Massie’s 16 wickets in the 1972 Ashes Test.
And how can I forget the great run chase here at Lord’s by legendary Gordon Greenidge when he made a double century in quest of over 300 runs target in 1984. Nor would I ever erase the memory from my mind of Graham Gooch’s 333 against India in 1990, the only triple century in Tests at Lord’s 123 matches and Mohammad Azharuddin’s 121 in the same match.
And then of course Kapil Dev hitting four successive sixes off Eddie Hemmings to save India’s follow-on when 24 runs were needed to avoid it in the same match.
The Test at Lord’s starting on Thursday will be fifth at the venue for Sachin Tendulkar, and most probably his last.

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