Cricket Quotient — 7

When you can hear a pin drop before the last ball of a Test match, it must be special. The Wankhede Test was. Ravichandran Ashwin grabbed the match and made it his very own — nine wickets and a century (103) in his third Test. Pragyan Ojha, with his 6 for 47, proved the Delhi Test was no fluke and he is not here to merely contain batsmen. And if that was not enough, the last-ball draw made the Mumbai Test truly extraordinary.

If India’s tail had a reputation in the past, the Cuttack ODI proved, once again, it too has spine. Two rookie fast bowlers, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron, who haven’t even featured in 11 ODIs put together, got the required 11 runs to make sure India reached the finish line in a nerve-wracking end-game. And the man, Rohit Sharma, who envisioned the impossible with a fluent 72 after India were floundering at 59 for 5, showed he’s been quietly adding discipline and composure to his batting.

Last week, I came across a few fascinating cricketing anecdotes. Here’s my weekly five-for based on what I had read.

#1 — He epitomized grace and dignity not only in his strokes and swing (both ways) but also in his life beyond the boundary. Despite being barred from playing at the highest level in his own country, destiny transported him from Cape Town to Central Lancashire league and later Worcestershire. He, finally, played for England in 1966 and was their allrounder-in-chief until ’72. In ’69, he was awarded OBE. Name the player.

#2 — He led England to a series victory against Australia in 1905, heading batting average with 70.28 and bowling with 15.46. Later, he went on to become the Governor of Bengal (India) and even survived an assassination attempt. Name the cricketer.

#3 — West Indian fast bowler Charlie Griffith gained notoriety, when he almost killed Indian captain Nari Contractor with his bouncer in the 1961-62 series side-game in Barbados. In 1975, another fast bowler felled debutant medium-pacer Ewen Chatfield with a bouncer and nearly killed him in the Auckland Test. Who was the fast bowler?

#4 — Ever wondered who was the first Australian cricketer to be knighted. Take a guess.

#5 — Regarded as one of the finest batsmen of all time, he literally put the fear of God among bowlers. However, he had turbulent two years before he even played international cricket. He was banned for two years from first-class cricket for refusing to walk after being given out. Who is this cricket icon?

Answers to the last week’s quiz…

#1 — It was Col. CK Nayudu, India’s first Test captain, who was hit on the solar plexus. He went on to score 81, which was his highest Test score and it came in two and half hours.

#2 — Yuvraj of Patiala Yadavenadrasingh, who played one Test against England at Madras in 1933-34, was India's ambassador to Holland from 1971 until his death in 1974. His father, Maharaja of Patiala Sir Bhupendrasingh had donated the Ranji Trophy in 1934, in the name of the famous cricketer, who had died a year earlier.

#3 — Jasubhai Patel flattened Richie Benaud’s team at Kanpur, picking 14 for 124 (9 for 69 & 5 for 55) with his off-spin. Patel’s 9 for 69 was India’s best bowling figure till Anil Kumble eclipsed it with 10 for 74 against Pakistan at Ferozshah Kotla, New Delhi, in 1999.

#4 — Patrick Cummins of Australia is the youngest Test debutant to take a five-for. He took 6 for 79 in the Johannesburg Test in Nov,’11.

#5 — Mickey Arthur is Australia’s first foreign coach.