Great Cricket Stories Yarns and Quotes

England V Australia
Manchester 1930
4th Test

AU 345
EG 8/251

This was a rain affected Test Match
This is what happened in the Australian Innings
Bradman C Duleepsinhji B Pebbles 14
Grimmett C Sutcliffe B Pebbles 50


This is what Clarrie had to say :
" Even Don used to take my advice at times- about how to play googly bowlers.
Remember how he failed in the Manchester Test of 1930
He got out groping forward to a Ian Pebbles wrong un
They had a stack of fieldsmen close in on the leg side waiting for the catch
He was caught there for 14
He came to me about it and I told him he should play back to Pebbles wrong un
He did so next time and got about 280
He took some notice of me, I think, because I got 50 in that Manchester Test ! "

Clarrie would have enjoyed that


England v Australia
The Oval 1930
5th Test

This was the next Test match played , The Don and Scarl Grimmett were to take on Ian Pebbles once again

EG 405
AU 695
EG 251

Ian Pebbles took 6/204 [71] in that mammoth Australian innings, his best haul of wickets at that stage of his career
The Don C Duckworth B Larwood 232
Grimmett LBW Pebbles 6 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Advice heeded indeed , The Don made a double ton !
And perhaps the Don should then have given Clarrie advice, use the bat not the pad !

Heres what Clarrie Grimmett once said about bowling at great batsmen

" If I had the option of bowling against Bradman or Stan McCabe I would choose Bradman every time
I would choose Bradman to bowl against in preference to Charles Macartney and Wally Hammond too
Technically Macartney, Hammond and McCabe were magnificent batsmen
It was Dons greater concentration and determination that compensated for his technical deficiencies
Don massacred bowling that was less of a good length, be he did not play really good length, consistently good length, spin bowling well
I would rate Charlie Macartney , Stan McCabe, Patsy Hendren, George Headley, of the West Indies, Dudley Nourse and Herby Taylor as finer players than Don in a purely technical sense."

These comments were made in 1969
There were a couple of major historical things that happened in 1969
Man landed on the Moon
I played my first game of cricket

Who for, Scrappy?

Adelaide & Suburban Association?

redandblack wrote:Who for, Scrappy?

Adelaide & Suburban Association?

My Primary School team played one game of competitive cricket in the 1960s
We were comprehensively thrashed
I made 4 , my only scoring shot a glorious late cut between keeper and 1st slip !
One member of the team played Sheffield Shield Cricket
One member of that team played District cricket

Legh Winser , often publicised as Cyril Legh Winser
Played 5 games of cricket for SA
A wicket keeper
These were the last 2 games he played for SA

Victoria v South Australia
MCG
November 1920

VI 310
SA 246
VI 724
SA 403

It was a game that the Armstrong Sunk the South Aussies
Warwick Armstrong had a match to remember
157 not out [165]
245 [320]
Averaged 401 in this match
The Vics were 5/210 and 7/375 of the eventual 724

New South Wales V South Australia
SCG
December 1920

NS 820
SA 191 + 0/6

Day 3 + 5 were washed out
It would be safe to say the rain cost the New South Welshmen an outright victory

Spare a thought for Legh Winser
After keeping to the Victorians 724 , he then had to keep to the New South Welshmens 802
1526 runs in his last 2 innings as the keeper !
He didnt play another game for South Australia , what a way to end a career !


New South Wales v South Australia
SCG
December 1913

Legh Winsers debut for SA

SA 281
NS 307
SA 290
NS 245

SA win by 18 runs , the last 2 wickets fell for 1 run
This was Leghs debut match for SA
Legh kept to 2 of the all time great Australian batsmen
Victor Trumper made 20 +18
Charlie Macartney 117 + 54 top scoring both digs
That man Macartney made the 117 in 107 balls with 20 fours !

Why pick out a keeper with a modest batting average of 8 in 9 innings ?

Legh Winser was also a star golf player
He won the Australian Amateur Golf Title in 1921
He won the South Australia Amateur golf titles on 9 occasions

In the 1970s he made history , the oldest golf player at the time to hit a hole in one
Legh was a ripe old 90 and about a week of being 91 with that hole in one

Legh Winser
Born 27/11/1884 Staffordshire England
Played Minor County Cricket in England
Was told to migrate to Australia because of the warmer weather when he was aged in his mid twenties
I can only assume he was advised to come to Australia seeking warmer weather , for health reasons
It ends up being good advice
Legh Winzer passed away in Barwon Heads Queensland 20/12/1983

Legh Winser died aged 99
I believe this most probably means that Legh Winser has lived longer than any other player who has represented South Australia

Middlesex v Sussex
May 1936
Lords Cricket Ground

SUS 185
MID 9/162

At 5/48 the task of obtaining a first innings lead looked a difficult assignment
A player listed to bat at 10 at the start of the innings , came in to bat at eleven
The player being Dennis Compton , who had turned 18 years old just prior to this match
Here is how Dennis describes his first dig in County Cricket

* We needed 20 for a first innings lead when I went to the wicket.
By the time I was out for 14, Gubby Allen and I shared a last wicket stand of 36
Gubby was furious when umpire Bill Reeves adjudged me LBW to Parks
Looking the Umpire straight between the eyes, he said
"You old cheat, Bill. That boy wasent LBW."
To his astonishment , the umpire agreed:
" Quite right Mr Allen. That boy will be all right, but I was dying for a pee."*

So there you have it Dennis Compton pissed off on debut !
MID made 198 and led by 13 runs , that being the result in a rain affected game in England
Compton made 1004 runs in his debut season at an average of 34.62
And what a magnificent career he finished with

Dennis Compton
Tests
5807 runs
50.06 average

First Class
38942 runs
51.85 average

Dennis Comptons grandson Neil Compton recently made a Test century against New Zealand
Believe it or not Neil was born in South Africa , and is playing for England !

The Poms seem to get half their side from South Africa.
Maybe South Africa should be playing in County Cricket to make selection easier for England.

I can imagine this interview these days

When South African domestic cricketers retire, and are asked what their greatest regret was , they might answer
" Never playing Test Cricket for England."

Here are some South African born cricketers who have played Test cricket for England
Ive put them in a batting order of sorts

Chris Smith
Andrew Strauss
Johnathon Trott
Robin Smith
Alan Lamb
Kevin Pietersen
Basil D'Oliveira
Tony Grieg
Matt Prior
Ian Grieg

Thats 10 players
Some very good batsman in that lot , including the keeper Matt Prior
Its odd that I could not find a specialist SA born bowler that's migrated to play for England

Ian Grieg is the brother of Tony Greig

There are other South Africans who have played limited overs cricket for England as well

Graham Hick is a Zimbabwean who played for England as well
Hick was a sensational First Class batsman , but was most disappointing at Test level
Considering the hype, he might just be one the most under performed Test Cricketers Ive seen

Was Neal Radford, who played a few tests for England in the mid 80s as a quick but ultimately unsuccessful bowler a South African?

Neil Radford
Was born in Zambia but was schooled in South Africa and made his first class debut for Transvaal
Therefore, must be considered as being South African
I guess that means we now have a SA bowler that played for England


Rhodesia has produced a few cricketers for South Africa over the years as well
The 2 that come to mind are :
Colin Bland
Mike Proctor

And all we got was Kepler Wessels for a while and then he went back there to play test cricket for Sth Africa.

I can't remember if and how many tests he played for Australia. I thought he came during the WSC period.

Be interesting to see his Aus v SA stats if he did play for both countries.

South Africa exited Test cricket from 1970
They resumed playing in 1992

Kepler Wessels played against Australia in 1993-1994
He was 36 years old by then
He will 56 years old on the day the next proposed Australian Election is to be held 14/9/2013

His scores against Australia were
63 not out
3 C + B Warne
18 B Warne

He averages 42 against Australia
No Australian fast bowler representing Australia has dismissed him in Test Matches !

His last Test match against Australia was that famous SCG Test

SA 169
Kirsten 67
Warne 7/56

AU 292
Slater 92
De Villiers 4/80
Donald 4/83

SA 239
Rhodes 76 not out
Warne 5/72

Australia needed 117 to win
A simple enough task, made more difficult because of a last wicket 36 run partnership between Jonty Rhodes and white lightning Alan Donald in their 2nd dig

Australia made a mess of this chase
I recall watching the drama in a electronics shop at Arndale Shopping Centre
I could not believe Australia could lose the unmuffable game

AU 8/110
Still needing a meagre 7 runs to win
Damien Martyn played an ordinary shot to be dismissed for 6 made in almost 2 hours of batting
Craig McDermott was doing well with Martyn and was on 29 not out when Marto was out
Glen ooh ahh Mcgrath was last in , made a single, before he was caught and bowled by Fannie De villiers for 1
McDermott finished not out on 29

AU 111
lost by 5 runs
Devilliers 6/43

Fannie made a famous statement after the win
"South Africans are never beaten ."

Spare a thought for Craig Billy The Kid McDermott
January 1994 AU lost by 5 runs v SA and was not out
January 1993 AU lost by 1 run v WI and was 'unofficially ' not out
That was the day enough people have said that McDemott was given out caught behind off his helmet

Ironically Kepler Wessels , in his last Test innings in 1994 was dismissed by a West Indian born cricketer playing for England !
Wessels C Steve Rhodes B Devon Malcolm 28

Scrappy wrote:Kepler Wessels played against Australia in 1993-1994
He was 36 years old by then
He will 56 years old on the day the next proposed Australian Election is to be held 14/9/2013

Maybe this should be in the politics thread (God forbid) and at the risk of being reprimanded by R&B and BC, maybe Kepler could come back to Australia to be Prime Minister!

Does he have political aspirations like Imran?

In the late 1970s, Wessels was drafted by Kerry Packer to play for the Australian World Series Cricket Team. As a South African with little hope of playing Test cricket for his country, Wessels joined the "circus" to take advantage of the better pay and conditions that the WSC offered.

He arrived in Sydney at the age of 21 and was put on trial at the local Waverley club, for Packer to see first if Wessels was decent material for World Series Cricket. After scoring 123 against Penrith, newspapers started speculating about a place for Wessels in the New South Wales state side.

The media was unaware that Wessels had already signed for Packer. An innings of 137 followed against the Sydney club side and the selectors immediately named him in the state training squad. That was the signal Packer needed and he quickly called a press conference to announce that Wessels would be playing World Series Cricket instead.

Packer saw in Wessels a reliable opening batsman – something that the Australian WSC side was in serious need of.

Wessels stayed in Australia to qualify for the Australian Test side, playing for Queensland, and made his debut against England at The Gabba in Brisbane on 26 November 1982. He became the first South-African born person to play for Australia, and the 13th Australian player to score a century on debut. Wessels dominated the English bowling, with scores of 162 in the first innings and 46 in the second. He was instrumental in Australia's victory by seven wickets and was given the "Man of the Match" award. He eventually played four Tests in his debut series and scored 386 runs at an average of 48.25.

It is likely that the rebel tour to South Africa affected Wessels' concentration during the 1985 Ashes tour. Because of his South African background, Wessels was seen by many players and officials as one of the major contacts for the Rebel Tour amongst the Australian players. Wessels has steadfastly denied this accusation.

Wessels' final match for Australia was the first Test against New Zealand in Brisbane, 8–12 November 1985. Wessels was alone in resisting the devastating bowling of Richard Hadlee, scoring 70 out of Australia's first innings total of 179. He scored only 3 in the second innings, with Australia suffering its heaviest defeat against New Zealand.

Soon after the match was finished, Wessels announced his retirement, expressing his disillusionment with Australian cricket. Little did he realise that only 6 years later he would be playing Test Cricket again, this time for his home nation.

Australia v England
January 1895
Adelaide Oval
3rd Test

AU 238
Were 9/157
Trott[10] 38 not out
Callaway[11] 41

EG 124

AU 411
Were 9/347
Trott [10] 72 not out
Callaway [11] 11

EG 143

Albert Trott batting at 10 made 110 runs without being dismissed
He also took 8/43 in EG 2nd innings
Not a bad debut game !

145 runs in aggregate for the Australian last wicket partnerships
That 145 runs is more than England could muster for a total innings in the Test match[124 + 143]

Australia v England
December 1924
SCG
First Test

AU 450
Were 9/388
Oldfield[10] 39 not out
Mailey [11] 21

EG 298

AU 452
Were 9/325
Taylor [8] 108
Mailey [11] 46 not out

EG 411

Australia won by 193 runs
The last wicket Australian aggregate partnerships totaled 189 runs
England's last wicket partnerships were a total of 21 in this match

England v Australia
July 2013
First Test
Trent Bridge

EG 215

AU 280
Were 9/117
Hughes [6] 81 not out
Agar [11] 98

EG 375

AU 296
Were 9/231
Haddin [7] 71
Pattinson[11] 25 not out

England won by 14 runs
Australia's last wicket aggregates were an incredible 228 runs of 576 total runs for the match
England's aggregate last wicket partnerships was 2 runs !


In at least 3 times in Ashes cricketing history , Australia has had last wicket partnerships of over 50 in both innings
Australia has never lost a Test in non 3rd umpire referral matches...

Am I missing something, Scrappy?

Can you explain your last sentence a bit more?

Australia are leading 2-1 in games where they have scored over 50 runs for last wicket partnerships in both innings

In 1895 and 1924 there were no 3rd umpires, Australia won
In 2013 there was 3rd umpire and Australia lost

But you make your own luck
It was England who took a great part in the Industrial Revolution
They have been rewarded centuries after !

When we think of last wicket partnerships we dont have to go to far back

South Australia v Western Australia
March 2013
Adelaide Oval
Sheffield Shield

SA 248

WA 235
Were 9/166
Hussey [5] 99 not out
Hogan 31

SA 193

WA 9/211
Were 9/143
Agar [8] 22 not out
Hogan [11] 47 not out

That unbroken WA 78 run 2nd innings last wicket partnership cost SA a SS finals spot

WA made 9/446 in match aggregate
The last wicket stands aggregated 137 [and could have been more but WA passed SA to win]

And the smiling agarssin Ashton Charlie Agar played his role in winning this match for WA

Terry Jenner and Dougie Walters became good mates after rooming together in the West Indies in 1973. They would spend many an hour sitting around playing cards, having a fag and taking the p!ss out of each other.

They were at it again in 1975 during the Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval after a day where they had batted well together against the Poms.

Over a beer, Dougie was telling TJ what he was going to do to his bowling next time they played in a Sheffield Shield match.

"If you're game to bowl a wrongun' at me, I'll put it straight over the mid-wicket fence" said Dougie.

TJ was quick with a comeback: "I won't be worrying about the wronguns Dougie with your crooked defensive bat. In fact that's why you never made it to Vietnam. You couldn't keep your rifle straight shouldering arms. It was always on a 45 degree angle like your bat."

A Keith Stackpole yarn

* One vivid situation developed for me during Australia's 1956 tour of England
As an enthusiastic 16 year old I endeavoured to try and listen to every ball bowled during the series ....
The 4th test at Old Trafford was crucial as the series was level at one Test apiece
England, much to my horror ,amassed an impressive total of 459
At lunch on the 2nd day, Australia was none down with Colin McDonald and Jim Burke still there
I dozed off to sleep and awoke to hear John Arlott announce that the same 2 batsmen were coming out to resume their innings
I glanced at the clock on the bedside table, noticed that a couple of hours had passed and felt good because, surely, Australia must be around 100 without loss
Arlott, with his deep, gruff voice, suddenly announced that the Aussies were about to start their 2nd innings
The great off spinner Jim Laker had ripped the Australian innings apart, taking 9 for 37 and I slept through it !
The next evening I didn't doze off, and heard him get all 10 wickets, making it 19 for the match.*

England V Australia
Old Trafford
4th Test
July 1956

EG 459
Sheppard 113
Richardson 104
Johnson 4/151

AU 84
Mcdonald 32
Laker 9/37 [16.4]
Lock 1/37 [14]

AU 205
Mcdonald 89
Laker 10/53 [51.2]
Lock 0/69[56]

England won by an innings and 170 runs
AU were 0/48 in the first dig , Stacky would have fallen a sleep during this partnership , and then AU lost 10/36

I've included Tony Locks bowling figures to make a point of sorts
Laker 19/90
Lock 1/106
The point being that I have read articles stating this Old Trafford pitch was doctored to suit the spinners
Certainly looking at Lakers figures, there is a definite argument
But left hand finger spinner Tony Lock, who later captained Western Australia , conceded 106 runs for his one and only wicket.


Test careers

Jim Laker
193 wkts @21.24

Tony Lock
174 wkts@ 25.58

As can be seen with their career stats Tony Lock ends up with an exceptional Test career average for a spinner
So what do make of this Old Trafford pitch surface ?

As an incidental when I take out from this test, Laker and Locks bowling figures and  their career averages would appear as:

Jim Laker
21.24 to 23.05

Tony Lock
25.28 to 25.20

Lets fictitously change history a bit more to show how much difference to Laker and Locks career this match made
Imagine if these bowlers reversed their bowling figures at Old Trafford
Lock to take 19/90 and Laker 1/106

Their Test careers would end up something like this

Jim Laker
21.24 to 22.95

Tony Lock
25.58 to 23.18

One thing for sure, both must have been exceptional Test standard spinners

Surrey v Australia
Kennington Oval
May 1956

AU 259
Mcdonald 89
Laker 10/88[46]
Lock 0/100 [33]

SU 347
Constable 109
Johnson 6/168[60.3]

AU 107
Mcdonald 45
Laker 2/42[25]
Lock 7/49 [31.1]

SU 0/20

This First Class game was played 2 calender months before Lakers Test at Old Trafford
I'm tipping with the success Laker and Lock had in this game might have influenced selections and pitch conditions in that Old Trafford match
At least in this match Tony Lock had some 2nd innings success.

Jim Laker thus ;
The first bowler to take 10 wickets in a first class games in a season [and perhaps the only]

Colin McDonald
Top scored in all 4 innings of this game and 4th Test

The tour
AU lose 2-1 for the Test Series
AU played 35 matches, 12 wins, 3 losses, 20 draws for the tour

Australia only lost 3 games for the tour
This was the other game they lost

England v Australia
3rd Test
Leeds
July 1956

EG 325
May 101
Lindwall 3/67

AU 143
Miller 41
Burke 41
Laker 5/58[29]
Lock 4/41[27.1]

AU 140
Harvey 69
Laker 6/55 [41.3]
Lock 3/40[40]

Laker and Lock destroy Australia in the 3rd and 4th Tests of this tour
As for doctored pitches .....

"It was a fluke."

By
Shane Warne
On the ball of the century
3/10/1993
Old Trafford , England
Mike Gatting B Warne 4


THAT ball pitched outside leg and took off stump!
It also spun a distance greater than Gattings midrift , and even more incredible feat !
It was the first ball Warne bowled in England
Warne finished with 4/54[24]+4/86[49]
Australia won by 179 runs to lead 1-0 in the series

This game when I was Living In The Seventies
Brompton v Broadview
Urrbrae
Grand Final

Brompton evolved from Albert Druids and later became Renown Park
It was my first Grand Final at the club
The club had the reputation of being Finals chokers, having finished top often and losing Finals
The club seemed to be jinxed for whatever reasons
Broadview batted first and made 150 odd
I batted about 7, and came in at about 5/70 , we were about half way there but living on a prayer , given the clubs Grand Finals records

I was a good little boy and followed the Captains instructions
Keep and end up, and dont get out

We got to about 8/110 , the luck of the Grand Finals was there again
5 or 6 batters at that stage given out LBW
Most them cursing about inside edges on to pad, missing leg etc etc

I was on about 10 , and had batted for about an hour , all in singles from memory and doing my job, all the while squaring up presenting a straight bat to eliminate any LBW chance[Shane Watson eat your heart out]
I was up against 2 left arm quicks who bowled very well called Ramo and Jonesey[This was Butch Jones who sired NW + CD footballer Mark Jones]
I got out at 9/110 odd, we were all out for 120

But I was lucky
About 6-7 batters were given out LBW
I was lucky because I was Run Out !!!!
In the end it was about 6-7 LBWs and 2 Run outs in a 30 run loss

We were peeved, felt robbed , there was a fair bit if ire directed at the Umpires , I saw an LBW that clearly missed leg when I batted, but being a young lad refrained from arguing with adults
I sportingly congratulated the opposition , and almost immediately left the ground , within minutes of the game ending

When you talk about bad luck in finals , it continued on our way home
About 8 minutes and twenty two seconds after the match finished , it poured with rain, it didnt ease up for several hours

We finished top, had we lasted almost 10 minutes longer we would have been gifted a victory , as the rules stated in the event of abandoned games the side finishing highest in the Minor Round is the winner

Yes, the club was jinxed