Cricket Quotient — 10

The only great player in the Aussie team is Ricky Ponting. Putting a gun to his head only shows Team Australia’s desperation. Big players perform on big occasions. Well, more often than not. And the Test series against India, starting from the Boxing Day at the MCG, is big. He may be going through a lean patch but players of his stature (with 12,656 Test runs, he’s the third-highest run-getter) need to be handled with care rather than a whip. A player of such pedigree is differently wired. A boot camp may be desirable but not a threat for a great player is inherently motivated, especially ahead of a big challenge. Considering those embarrassing batting collapses in Cape Town and Hobart, in quick succession, Australia need the experience of Ponting and Micheal Hussey for the series. Equally importantly, the two players need to be treated with respect.

With Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma bowling gingerly against CA Chairman’s XI, captain MS Dhoni should be prepared for all eventuality if he intends to win the series and not return with a drawn tie (I'm not considering defeat here). Wonder why Irfan Pathan hasn’t been sent as a cover for he has that crucial experience of bowling on Australian pitches.

Folks, hiyas my weekly quiz. Hopefully, at the time of next week’s quiz, we get to see Zak and Sharma firing on all cylinders…

#1 — Ironically, a few months after the Bodyline series in 1932-33, the England team were subjected to a similar bodyline attack in a Test series. Who were they playing against and who were the bowlers who had resorted to the controversial mode of bowling attack?

#2 — On only one occasion, two pairs of siblings played in the same Test for India. Who were the players and when was the Test played?

#3 — When was a Test match first televised and where was it played?

#4 — Six sixes in a 6-ball over is considered to be a holy grail in cricket. Gary Sobers, Ravi Shastri, Herschelle Gibbs and Yuvraj Singh have done it in the past. However, on one occasion, a batsman had hit 9 consecutive sixes, including 6 in one over. In fact, he went on to score 11 sixes in 12 balls. Name the batsman.

#5 — It’s a Test record no other team would like to emulate. Six batsmen of a side were dismissed for a duck. Which team managed this dubious record?      

Answers to the last week’s quiz…

#1 — Conrad Hunte

#2 — George Headley led the West Indies team against England at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados in Jan. ’48.

#3 — Robert James Crisp (right-arm fast bowler) of South Africa.

#4 — South African allrounder Mike Procter for Gloucestershire; vs Essex in ’72, vs Leicestershire in ’79.

#5 — Sarfaraz Nawaz took 9 for 86 at the MCG on 15^th Mar. ’79. Australia, with seven wickets in hand, needed 99 to win. Nawaz took 7 wickets for 1 run in the last 33 balls of his final spell. In a gripping finish, Pakistan won by 71 runs.