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Home , Anshuman Gaekwad, Curtly Ambrose, George Lohmann, Godfrey Evans, Jim Burke (cricketer), Jim Laker

Notion Press

Old No. 38, New No. 6 McNichols Road, Chetpet - 600 031

First Published by Notion Press 2017 Copyright © Anindya Dutta 2017 All Rights Reserved.

ISBN 978-1-947988-84-2

This book has been published with all reasonable efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. No part of this book shall be used, reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

The Author of this book is solely responsible and liable for its content including but not limited to the views, representations, descriptions, statements, information, opinions and references [“Content”]. The Content of this book shall not constitute or be construed or deemed to reflect the opinion or expression of the Publisher or Editor. Neither the Publisher nor Editor endorse or approve the Content of this book or guarantee the reliability, accuracy or completeness of the Content published herein and do not make any representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose. The Publisher and Editor shall not be liable whatsoever for any errors, omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause or claims for loss or damages of any kind, including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage arising out of use, inability to use, or about the reliability, accuracy or sufficiency of the information contained in this book. Contents

Foreword ix Acknowledgements xiii Introduction xvii

1. The Game Changing Spells that came out of the blue 1 2. Dream Debut Spells 61 3. One Day in the Sun – The Best ODI Spells 105 4. Amazing Spells from Forgotten Cricketing Lands 145 5. Four Overs to Glory – The Best T20 Spells 175 6. Magnificent Spells, Heart-breaking Losses 201 7. Best Spells from Cricketers Who Never Got to Play for Their Country 241 8. Remarkable Farewell Spells 271

The Last Word 315

The Game Changing Spells that came out of the blue

“The fielders who took the catches, the bowlers who put pressure from the other end and the batsmen who scored the runs without which it would not have been possible to have come this far.” – (on taking his 500th )

Images (clockwise from top left corner): , , Johnny Briggs, and SPELL-BINDING SPELLS

The 140 years since the first Test Match was played on 15th March 1877 have witnessed some truly devastating spells that changed the course of matches, and indeed, in some instances, the fortunes of playing nations. While there have been many stupendous bowling performances in a single or indeed a single match, it is the Spells that take one’s breath away without any warning of things to come, which remain entrenched in cricketing folklore. Let’s take a look at some of the most memorable spells in history, ranked in order of the number of taken conceding the least runs. For this reason, in this chapter, as in the rest of the book, we move seamlessly between different periods in the 140 years of the sport to witness these spells.

February 7th 1999, – v There was a time in the early days of Test cricket, when the biggest rivalry not only in cricket, but in sport, was . As the game has grown in stature and spread its wings, two more bilateral contests have emerged to rival this. One is the India-Australia contest for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The other is somewhat more emotional in its staging, between two nations that were once one. We start our Spell-binding Spell journey, perhaps appropriately, with one of the gladiatorial contests that define a meeting between India and Pakistan on a cricket field. To make it even more symbolic, the battle ground is Delhi, the capital of both Undivided and Independent India. It is the winter of 1998–99 and Pakistan visits India for the first time in 12-years for a three Test series that would eventually turn into a two Test contest, with the ICC deciding that the third Test would be a part of the inaugural Asian Test Championships.

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In a thrilling first Test that lives up to the hype, Pakistan beats India by 12-runs at Chennai. It is one of the most evenly contested Test matches in history. Pakistan scores 238 in the first innings with top scoring with 60 and Anil Kumble takes 6 wickets. India responds with 254 with a top score of 54 from , and Saqlain Mushtaq takes 5 wickets. In the second innings, Pakistan responds with 286 on the back of a 141 runs innings from opening the innings in his first Test in India. takes 6 wickets. India responds with 258. At 254 for 6, and 17-runs to get for a famous win, , in significant pain due to a bad back, in his eagerness to finish the innings, attempts to go for a third successive four and gets out to Saqlain. takes the catch and the Pakistani team goes berserk. The Indian then spectacularly unravels, and the last four wickets add only 4 runs before the innings folds up. Saqlain again takes 5 wickets. First blood in this gladiatorial contest goes to Wasim Akram’s Pakistan. So when the teams meet at the Ferozshah Kotla, there is everything to play for. A draw will mean that Pakistan will get their second successive series win, having won the last Test of the 1987 series at after the first four were drawn. For India, it is a must win situation, not only for pride, but also because they know the first Test could have gone either way. They had let a win away at the end and lost their best chance till date to win a Test against Pakistan for the first time in 20-years. Azharuddin wins the and decides to bat first. Sadagoppan Ramesh and VVS Laxman opening the innings take the score to 88 before Laxman on 35 is by Wasim Akram. It is a beautiful in-swinging that finds the gap between Laxman’s bat and pad. Ramesh scores 60 and Azharuddin

3 SPELL-BINDING SPELLS contributes 67, before India is dismissed for 252. Saqlain again takes 5 wickets on a pitch where the ball is keeping low. Pakistan’s innings starts disastrously. falls to a beautiful first ball out-swinger from Venkatesh Prasad that finds the edge of his bat and then ’s gloves. Pakistan is 1 for 1. Afridi and Ijaz Ahmed take the score to 54 before both fall at that score. scores 31 before Pakistan is all out for 172. Kumble takes 4 wickets and pitches in with 3. Kumble says later: “The pitch was a bit two-paced and we knew that if we could keep them quiet we would be able to get them out.” India takes a crucial first innings lead of 80 runs. India’s second innings does not start well, with Laxman bowled through his gate in a virtual action replay of the first innings by Wasim Akram. India’s score is 15. But first and then Tendulkar play a supporting role, while Ramesh in his second Test match, is playing the innings of his life at the other end. Ramesh finally gets out at 96, hitting a ball back to Mushtaq Ahmed with his score at 96. He will have to wait a bit longer for his maiden . Sourav Ganguly then steadies the innings with a score of 62 , and in the company of first Kumble and then , guides India to a score of 339. Srinath scores a gritty 49, and tells an interviewer, years later: “I held myself responsible when we lost the Chennai Test by 15 runs. So this time I wanted to bat for longer and managed to combine well with Ganguly that set up a good target.” With 2 days to go in the Test, Pakistan is left to score 420 to win the Test. It is a challenging task, but something that has been done before. The Test, and the series, is set for an exciting finish.

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Pakistan starts confidently, and none of the Indian bowlers are able to make an impression. With the wicket expected to turn more, Azharuddin takes off Venkatesh Prasad from the Football Stand End and brings on Anil Kumble. But in the 6 overs that he bowls before lunch, Kumble fails to trouble the batsmen. At lunch, with Pakistan at 101 for no loss, the Indians are despairing that they might actually lose the Test. Coach decides a pep talk to the team is in order. He then takes Azhar aside. “I had a chat with Azhar. I told him the only person at that juncture who would go through Pakistan on the Kotla pitch was Anil. So we had to take chances with him by making sure he did not get tired. Azhar handled Anil tremendously well and needs to be given credit,” recounts Gaekwad. After lunch, with the Pakistan score still at 101, in what would turn out to be an inspired decision, Azhar switches Kumble to the Pavilion End. Afridi tries to drive a ball outside the off stump that holds its line, takes a faint edge and carries to Mongia. Afridi holds his ground, but is finally forced to walk off. Kumble says later: “Who walks? Nobody walks. It was a big nick. That wicket started everything and I knew it wouldn’t be easy for the rest of the batsmen.” Kumble has the breakthrough. Ijaz Ahmed, facing Kumble, gets a ball that thuds into his boots on the full toss at speed. Inzamam avoids becoming a hat-trick victim, but two balls and a beautiful cover drive later, plays with the same “lazy elegance” that had marked his four on the previous ball, but in this instance, only manages to play a Kumble ball that does not spin at all, on to the stumps. Two balls later, Yousuf Youhana gets trapped in front of the middle stump. Pakistan is 115 for 4. But it is Saeed Anwar that India

5 SPELL-BINDING SPELLS wants to see the back of, a man who has often tormented them, and would continue to do so in the future. While Anwar continues to defend doggedly at one end, Kumble gets a leg break to turn and bounce, and Moin Khan can only guide it into the slip area where Ganguly takes a lovely tumbling catch inches off the ground. And then Kumble bowls another similar delivery, but this time to the dangerous Saeed Anwar, who helplessly watches the ball spoon up off his bat to Laxman at forward short leg. Pakistan has slumped to 128 for 6 and Kumble has 6 for 15 in 44 balls. “That was the moment when I thought all ten could be mine,” he says later. Kumble is dog tired by this time, having bowled continuously between lunch and tea. The tea reinvigorates him, and he comes out all charged up to go at the last dangerous pair – Saleem Malik, who is carrying an injury, and Wasim Akram. The pair has already put on 58 runs, when Kumble decides to bowl one of his faster balls at Malik. He pitches it short, Malik expects it to bounce, but the ball just skids through fast and takes out his middle stump. Mushtaq Ahmed cannot handle the bounce and turn a few balls later and Dravid at gulley takes the catch off his gloves. Saqlain gets a Kumble special thudding into his pads in front of middle and departs next ball. Kumble has taken 9 wickets and Srinath is bowling from the other end. Urban legend has a conversation taking place between the and the bowler, but Srinath says later: “Nobody had to come and tell me to not take that remaining wicket. Anil had been bowling well and he was on the verge of a record and it was just a unanimous decision. I had to bowl about two to three overs from the other end before Anil got Wasim.” Akram is aware that Kumble wants to give him a single and get on strike, and refuses to take a single. It is a

6 ANINDYA DUTTA cat and mouse game which cannot last forever, and eventually Akram falls to a simple leg break and Laxman completes the honours at short leg, giving Kumble his 10th wicket of the innings. In an unbroken spell after lunch, Kumble has taken a stunning 10 wickets for 47 runs in 20.3 overs. Kumble is carried back to the pavilion on the shoulders of his teammates. “My first reaction is that we have won. No one dreams of taking ten wickets in an innings, because you can’t. The pitch was of variable bounce, and cutting and pulling was not easy. All I had to do was pitch in the right area, mix up my pace and spin, and trap the batsmen. The first wicket was the hardest to get…the openers were cruising.,” he reminiscences later.

About the Man – Anil Kumble

Born October 17th 1970 in Bangalore, India, Anil Kumble is India’s most successful bowler of all time. Following in the footsteps of India’s tradition of great spinners like Bedi, Chandra, Prasanna and , Kumble brought a completely modern outlook to spin. Kumble was not a great spinner of the . But his variations, and ability to pick wickets on the flattest tracks, earned him great respect, wherever he played. In a long international career spanning 18-years, he played 271 ODI and 132 Tests picking up a total of 956 wickets. His best performance in Tests was the 10 for 74 he achieved in the match we have just witnessed. After retirement, Kumble captained and then coached the IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore and was also the coach of the Indian Cricket Team.

July 26th 1956, Old Trafford – v Australia

Forty three years before Anil Kumble stunned the Pakistanis in Delhi with his magnificent 10-wicket haul, an Englishman

7 SPELL-BINDING SPELLS had meted out something equally unpalatable to his Australian counterparts. The diminutive bowler who ran amuck among the Aussies, was described by his contemporaries, as a sensitive, thoughtful, quiet, philosophical man. But once you put a red cherry in the hands of Jim Laker, his demeanour changed and his fingers weaved magic. It is the summer of 1956, and Australia is in England to play a 5-Test series and take back the urn that had been carried across the seas by the resurgent Englishmen. England had won the Ashes both in 1953 and in 1954–55 in Australia. The first Test at is drawn, and Australia wins the second Test at Lord’s by a convincing 185 runs. The Aussie campaign is well on its way. Their joy is however short lived, as the English come roaring back at Headingley to win by an innings and 42 runs, making a real statement of intent. Equally worrying, is the success of the English spin duo of Jim Laker and Tony Locke, who establish complete dominance the Aussie batsmen, taking eighteen of the twenty wickets in the Test. The teams come to Old Trafford, all squared for the series. Australia has an uphill task ahead to win both remaining Tests, while England just needs to draw the Tests to retain the Ashes. The pressure is clearly on the Aussies. The Australians suspect that the Old Trafford pitch will be prepared to suit England’s spin duo. On top of that, rain, as usual, is expected in , during the match. Before the match, the newspapers however predict a true pitch that will favour . The Australians turn out to be right. Martin Williamson, writing in ESPN Cricinfo in 2015, says: “Australian suspicions that

8 ANINDYA DUTTA the pitch had been prepared for the England spinners were confirmed years later when Bert Flack, the Manchester groundsman, said on the day before the start he had been instructed by , the chairman of England’s selectors, to shave the pitch. “That’s stupid,” Flack replied. “The match won’t last three days. The surface is not that well-knit.” After pondering for a few minutes, Flack did as he had been ordered and immediately covered the pitch to prevent the press from seeing what he had done.” The press, as they say, have been had. takes a look at the pitch, and decides to drop from the line-up. He figures this is a pitch that Lock and Laker will thrive on. England ends the first day at 307 for 3 with Peter Richardson scoring his maiden hundred and , his opening partner, plundering the Aussie bowling to pile up 174 runs before he is dismissed. In comes Rev. , who had given up Test cricket to follow his calling from the Church, but has been persuaded to make a comeback. It is an inspired selection. Sheppard scores a patient 113 and is the second last man dismissed by the Aussies the next day. The England innings ends at 459. At the start of the Australian innings, there is no hint of what is to occur. Australia cruises to 48 without loss, when Peter May makes a decision that is to change the course of the match. He switches around the ends for Laker and Lock. Colin McDonald looks well set when he is unable to handle the spin on a Laker delivery and hands a sharp chance to Locke. watches with disbelief as Laker’s second ball to him pitches on the leg stump spins prodigiously to dislodge the bail from the off stump. It is the second afternoon and the surface is already starting to break up. As Aussie captain says later, “trapped on a stinker, the fellows were angry and the

9 SPELL-BINDING SPELLS batting blew up.” Lock gets caught the first ball after tea, and both the openers are now gone. And then begins the ‘Jim Laker Show’ which is to continue for the rest of the Test match. misreads a straight ball for an off break and is trapped in front. Ken Mackay tries “pad play” which doesn’t work so well, as the ball takes the edge of his bat and flies to Alan Oakman at short leg. Oakman at 6’6,” has hands that can reach a lot farther than most fielders at that position. comes in, and in his normal style reminds Oakman about the risks that standing close to the bat pose to his future parenthood. For all the bluster, however, he perishes in exactly the same manner as Mackay. Oakman has the last laugh. is victim to a peculiar idiosyncrasy of Jim Laker. Laker would never bowl without a fielder in a position that was very unusual for top level cricket of the time, between the mid wicket and the long on boundaries. This position was called the ‘Cow Corner,’ a term that had originated at Dulwich College where there was the corner of a field containing livestock on that edge of the playing area. In trying to hit his way out of trouble, Benaud holds out to , who, long relieved of his bowling duties, had been despatched to the ‘Cow Corner.’ Laker then wraps up the tail, stumping Ron Archer with his effortless ‘bail flick’ down the leg side, and and Ian Johnson are bowled all ends up. Australia, from 48 without loss, is all out for 84. In his last nine overs, Jim Laker has taken 9 wickets for 16 runs, with the last 7 wickets coming one every 3 balls. A demoralised Australia follows on, and in the second innings, Colin McDonald shows tremendous application to

10 ANINDYA DUTTA score 89 from 337 minutes that he spends at the crease against unplayable from both ends, on a wicket which is getting progressively worse due to constant rain and drying. Despite the interruptions, Laker never loses his focus, nor his line and length. He starts by dismissing Neil Harvey for his second in two hours. He then runs through the England innings, despite the continual disruptions, and when Australia is finally dismissed for 205, he has become the first man in First-Class and Test cricket to take 19 wickets in a match, by picking up all 10 wickets in the second innings. 61-years later, Jim Laker’s 19 wickets still remains the best match bowling performance ever seen. As importantly for our list of Spell-binding spells, his first innings spell of nine overs that yielded 9 wickets for 16 runs, remains the second best bowling spell of all time.

A Remarkable Coincidence

As Laker takes his 10th wicket in the second innings, cheering wildly in the stands is a little boy, Richard Stokes who is watching his first Test match in the company of his father. Over the next 43-years, Stokes does not get to watch another Test match at a cricket ground. Then in 1999, Stokes, now a successful businessman, buys a ticket on his off day in New Delhi to watch a day’s Test cricket at the Ferozeshah Kotla after partaking an early lunch. As he settles down on his seat, Anil Kumble takes his first wicket of the day in the Pakistan second innings. By the time a stunned Stokes leaves the Kotla that evening, he has become the only man to be present at both grounds, on two sides of the world, 43-years apart, to witness the only two instances of a bowler taking all ten wickets in an innings.

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About the Man – Jim Laker

Born February 9th 1922 in , , James Charles Laker was an elegant off bowler who was in no small measure responsible for the dominance of the Surrey side that won 7 consecutive County Championships between 1952 and 1958. He started his career as a batsman for Yorkshire just before World War 2. In 1943, however, word began to come back from North Africa, about an off spinner that said: “You can hear the ball buzz as he lets it go.” With his 19 for 90 in the match that we just witnessed, which would forever be described as “Laker’s Match,” he became the only bowler to have taken more than 17 wickets in a first-class match. Laker in 1959, and later became a successful commentator with the BBC. He passed away in 1986 at the age of 64 and his ashes were scattered at , appropriately enough at the “Cow Corner” where, regardless of his captain’s wishes, or the state of the pitch, he would always have a fielder stationed throughout his spell.

March 4, 1896. – England v

For the next stunning spell, we need to travel back 60 years and across the seas to South Africa, to look at the performance of the greatest bowler of his day. In a reflection of how good he was, it suffices to point out that George Lohmann’s and both stand unmatched 121-years later, among all bowlers who have taken more than 15 wickets in Test cricket. England travels to South Africa to play a 3-Test series, each being a 3-day match, as was the norm those days. The other peculiarity of the match, again a reflection of the times, is that we have 5-ball overs instead of the 6 we are accustomed to seeing today. Finally, the match is played on a matting wicket, which is normal in South Africa at the time.

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