Do you KNOW ? (Stranges about cricket)

Syd Gregory was the son of Ned Gregory and nephew of Dave Gregory who both played for Australia in the very first cricket Test match against England in 1877.      
     
The first left-handed batsman to score a Test century was Joe Darling of Australia in 1897-98.      
     
Hasnumant Singh fielded as a substitute for both India and England in the second Test of the 1961-62 series held at Green Park, Kanpur.      
     
Sourav Ganguly has not scored a hundred at Eden Gardens in ODIs till date.      
     
Australia lost the 1938 Oval Test match to England by the whopping innings and 579 runs. It happened under Don Bradmans captaincy at the Oval, but the legend did not bat in either innings after being injured while bowling in the record home side total of 903 for 7 declared.      
     
Adam Gilchrist's 111 at Bangalore on Wednesday was his first one-day international hundred against India.      
     
Until the 1983 World Cup India had only one World Cup win under their belts - and that was against the (very) lowly East African side. They beat champions and favourites the West Indies in their first game - and eventually won the tournament.      
     
Prior to the 1979 tournament Kerry Packer and his 'circus' had torn cricket apart. A 'peace' agreement was signed shortly before the World Cup but England and Australia chose not to field their Packer players, whereas other teams were all at full strength.      
     
At the 1975 World Cup Australia's Gary Gilmour, who only played five ODI's in his entire career, took six for 14 off 12 overs, including six maidens in the semi-final against England. Not surprisingly, the game became known as 'Gilmour's match'      
     
Because of extremely hot weather, drinks intervals were allowed every two overs in the Australia vs. New Zealand match at Melbourne in January 1988.

Graeme Wood was forced to retire with a broken finger during the Australia vs. West Indies match in February 1985, but suitably bandaged he returned to the crease later and with Simon O’ Donnell made a record stand for the 9th wicket.      
     
The game between Australia and Pakistan at Sydney arranged for December 8, 1981 had to be postponed due to a power workers strike.      
     
England lost their last seven wickets for 10 runs against India at Gwalior on March 4, 1993.      
     
Ramiz Raja was dropped three times in his 90’s on the way to scoring 116* for Pakistan vs. Sri Lanka in February 1990.      
     
Ramiz Raja was caught off a no-ball, but, failing to hear the umpire’s call, left his crease to return to the pavilion. He was then given out ‘ run out’ by the square leg umpire. Pakistan vs. England at Perth in January 1987.      
     
India refused to continue the match against Pakistan when Sarfaraz Nawaz bowled four successive bumpers and the umpire took no action. The game was at Sahiwal in 1978/79.      
     
Moin Khan hit the final three balls of the innings for six the bowler Ian Bishop of West Indies, conceded 27 in the over- at Sharjah October 1995.      
     
When the New Zealand vs. Pakistan Test scheduled for Dunedin in February 1989 was cancelled due to rain, an ODI match was organized for the fourth day of the Test. The pitch was almost unplayable and Richard Hadlee picked up 5 wickets.      
     
The match between New Zealand and India at Auckland on February 14, 1981 was the first in New Zealand in which colored clothing, white balls and black sightscreens were employed.      
     
During the India vs. New Zealand at Nagpur on November 26, 1995, a wall collapsed killing 12 people and injuring dozens more.      

The first ODI in which ‘wides’ and ‘no balls’ were added to the bowlers’ analysis was India vs. Pakistan at Jaipur on October 2, 1983.      
     
Larry Gomes suffered a broken nose and the loss of two teeth while batting for West Indies vs. Sri Lanka at Melbourne in February 1985.      
     
Geoff Boycott confused both scorers and umpires when he took strike at the wrong end, following a drinks interval, England vs. Australia at Sydney December 1979.      
     
In the West Indies vs. England match at Scarborough, a throw from the boundary by Michael Holding hit one set of stumps and went on to hit the other set. The batsmen were out of their creases but the umpire was too confused to give either ‘out’.      
     
P A de Silva refused to leave the field when given out “obstructed field” in the Sri-Lanka vs. New-Zealand match at Wellington in 1977. Under pressure the umpire was persuaded to reverse his decision.      
     
Australia’s Allan Border played in more Test innings than any other batsman (265).      
     
The first batsman to share in 50 century partnerships in Tests was India’s Sunil Gavaskar.      
     
The oldest Test Captain was WG Grace, aged 50 years 320 days in 1899.      
     
The first brothers to play Test cricket were Charlie (1877) and Alec (1879) Bannerman of Australia.      
     
The first left hander to score a century on his test debut was John Mills of New Zealand in 1930.      

The first player to score 100 runs and take 10 wickets in the same Test was Australia’s Alan Davidson in 1960.      
     
The first bowler to take 10 wickets in a Test innings was Jim Laker in 1956.      
     
The first bowler to take 5 wickets in a Test innings was Australia’s Billy Midwinter in 1877.      
     
Wilfred Rhodes had the longest ever Test career : 30 years 315 days from 1899 to 1930.      
     
The highest score by a player in his last Test as captain was Ian Chappell’s 192 against England in 1975.      
     
The first batsman to twice score a hundred in each innings of a Test was England’s Herbert Sutcliffe in 1925 and 1929.      
     
The first century in Test cricket was scored by Charlie Bannerman of Australia in 1877.      
     
Mark Waugh was run out 4 times in five innings in One day International matches in 1992.      
     
25,000 spectators turned up to watch England play its first ODI match at Chandigarh. Unfortunately a violent thunderstorm flooded the ground. In order to placate the crowd a 15 overs game was staged in unplayable conditions.      
     
Two spectators were killed and several injured when a stand collapsed during the India v England game at Nagpur in January 1985.

There were no less than six ducks- plus one not out batsman, in the Pakistani innings v West Indies, at Cape Town in 1993.      
     
Mike gatting had his nose broken by a ball from Malcolm Marshall while batting v West Indies at Kingston in 1986. The ball unfortunately dropped from his nose on to the wicket.      
     
Steve Waugh made 87 consecutive ODI appearances for Australia, and was then dropped, only to be replaced by his twin brother Mark Waugh.      
     
No less than five batsmen were run out during the New Zealand innings v Sri Lanka at Sharjah in March 1988- only eight wickets fell in all.      
     
Paul Strang is the only Zimbabwean batsmen to score 100 runs and take 5 wickets in an innings of a test match      
     
Only four test series have ended 0-0 with all five matches being drawn. India was involved in three of them, including two in a row against Pakistan.      
     
India were all out for 54 in October 2000, their lowest ever total in One Day Internationals against Sri Lanka.      
     
Lata Mangeshkar has a permanent gallery reserved for her at the Lord's Stadium from where she enjoys watching her favourite game- Cricket.      
     
Greg Chappell was Australia's finest fieldsman- and cricket's record books prove it. His tally of 61 catches in 35 Tests is unmatched in Anglo-Australian Tests. So, too, are his seven in one Test (at Perth during the 1974-75 season). Chappell's four in an innings in the same match equals the best by any player of either side. And his 14 victims in that series is bettered only by Jack Gregory's 15 half-a-century before.      
     
David Gower's bowling figures in the Second Test versus New Zealand at Trent Bridge , 1986, were unusual : 0-0-4-0 . How could it be ? Gower delivered one ball, but it was called a no-ball because the umpire ruled Gower's arm was suspiciously bent. The batsman Martin Crowe hit it for four . They were the winning runs , so Gower didn't have to bowl again.

In the 1985 Edgbaston Test against Australia Australian Ian Botham came to bat with Engalnd 4/572. He hit the first ball he recieved from fast bowler Craig McDermott down the ground for six - one of 80 sixes he hit that summer, and a record. The previous best was by another Somerset player , Arthur Wellard, 66 in 1935.      
     
The super-cricketer Don Bradman twice scored a century and a duck in a Test against England - 0 (dismissed first ball) and 103 not out at Melbourne during the 1932-33 season and 138 and 0 at Trent Bri dge , Nottingham , in 1948.      
     
Tony Greig captained England in the Centenary Test at the MCG in March, 1977. Australia won by 45 runs, exactly the same margin as in the very first test 100 years ago . But the Test was also memorable for a brief passage of play when debutant batsman David Hookes , in one over, hit Greig's fastish off-spin for five consecutive boundaries.      
     
The great Viv Richards played serious soccer - and appeared for the Antigua National Team in no less than the qualifying rounds of the World Cup !      
     
Allan Border is the only Test Cricketer in the world to have scored 150 or more in both innings of a test match. He posted 150 not out and 153 against Pakistan at Lahore in 1980.      
     
When they retired , Western Australian pair Rod Marsh and Dennis Lillee both held the record for the most dismissals in Test cricket. Wicketkeeper Marsh accounted for 355 opposition batsmen ( 342 catches and 13 stumpings ) . Fast Bowler Lillee snared 355 wickets too. Some 95 of the dismissals were caught Marsh Bowled Lillee.      
     
Charlie MacCartney is the only recognised Australian Test cricket batsman to finish his Ashes career against England without being out for a duck ( in 42 innings ). Only Englishman John Edrich with no ducks in his 57 test innings against Australia has a better record.      
     
At Sydney in 1932 English cricketer Herbert Sutcliffe was on 43 when he played a ball from Australia's Bill O'Reilly onto the stumps. But the ball failed to dislodge the bails and he was nto out . It was an expensive miss-Sutcliffe went on to score 194.      
     
In 97 Test innings Richie Benaud was never run out.      
     
During his first class career Don Bradman opened the innings only 9 times - with an average of 104.50 !!!! The new ball is a fearsome thing indeed !

David Gower twice scored 1000 runs in a Calendar year ; in 1982 (1061 at 46.13) and 1986(1059 at 44.12).      
     
The fastest first-class century by an Australian cricketer was one by South Australian David Hookes who , on October 25, 1982, hit his ton in 43 minutes off 35 balls.      
     
Neil Hawke , best known as a test cricket all-rounder, was an all-rounder in every sense of the word . He is the only man to represent both South Australia and Western Australia in cricket and Australian Rules football. He also played cricket for Tasmania.      
     
Zimbabwe was the only team that England lost to en route to the 1992 World Cup final.      
     
Mohammed Azharuddin was the first Indian to take 100 catches in one-day internationals.      
     
Keith Arthurton of the West Indies have as many as 12 one-day international ducks.      
     
Leg-spinner Abdul Qadir used to sell vegetables in Lahore market before he made his Test debut for Pakistan.      
     
Alok Kapali took the first hat-trick in Test cricket for Bangladesh against Pakistan.      
     
Conrad Hunte and Garry Sobers put on a record Test partnership worth 446 in 1958.      
     
Well-known English umpire 'Dicky' Bird was dehydrated to such an extend by the hot conditions in Sharjah during the October, 1988 ODI between Pakistan and the West Indies that he had to retire from the centre of the field to the cooler confines of the umpires' room.

When Hanif Mohammad and Sadiq Mohammad opened the innings for Pakistan in 1969 against New Zealand it was only the second instance in Test history that a pair of brothers had launched the innings after E M and W G Grace had done it for England in 1880.      
     
A team, organised privately and called International Cavaliers, toured Kenya, the Greek island of Corfu and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1962-63 and apart from West Indians Wes Hall and Chester Watson there were Indians Chandu Borde and Abbas Ali Baig in it.      
     
Former England skipper Mike Smith was a Double Blue (Cricket and Rugby) at the Oxford University.      
     
Former Australian captain and Channel 9 TV expert Richie Benaud reportedly played a major role in framing the controversial playing conditions of the 1992 World Cup which robbed South Africa of a place in the final when playing against England in the semi-final at Sydney.      
     
India's Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar added 344 runs without being separated against the West Indies in the 1978-79 Test series between the two countries.      
     
England's Allan Lamb scored a century in each of three successive Tests against the West Indies in 1984. He made 110 at Lord's, 100 at Leeds and 100 not out at Manchester, but ended on the losing side in all these three ties.      
     
Rohan Babulal Kanhai struck a double century both against India and Pakistan on the West Indies tour of the sub-continent in 1958-59.      
     
At the end of his Test career former New Zealand captain John Reid held his country's record for most appearances, matches as captain, runs, centuries and wickets.      
     
The late GS Ramchand started his Test career with zeroes in both innings.      
     
Former England captain David Gower's mother once worked for UK's defensive security intelligence agency MI5.

Burly Australian batsman David Boon, scorer of over 7400 Test runs which included 21 hundreds, from 107 matches hit just one six in his Test career.      
     
Australian great Greg Chappell scored a ton in his first Test innings, making 108 against England in 1970-71, and in his late Test innings, scoring 182 against Pakistan in 1983-84.      
     
Sir Garfield Sobers averaged more than 99.0 per innings with the bat in Tests that he played in India.      
     
The Bombay Presidency match between Europeans and Parsees, held in August 1891-92 at the Bombay Gymkhana ground, was the first-ever first class fixture played on Indian soil. In this tie each over consisted of only five balls.      
     
New Zealand opener Mark Richardson started off as a bowler. When he discovered that his bowling was not enough to get him a permanent Test place, he became an opening batsman and a good one as well.      
     
Inzamam ul-Haq has been run out as many as 35 times in his one-day international career. He has been stumped 11 times as well in ODIs.      
     
The first Indian bowler to dismiss John Wright in India was Yograj Singh - father of Yuvraj Singh.      
     
Rahul Dravid has scored four hundreds in eight Tests that he has played against New Zealand.      
     
Matthew Hayden scored just 25 runs in his first four Test innings.      
     
Percy McDonnell of Australia was the first batsman in Test history to score a century in each of two consecutive Test innings. The feat was performed in 1884 against England.