Specials – The Greatest Ashes Tests, Part 2

Continuing from Part 1, we move on to the twentieth century and look back at three more Ashes thrillers that arrested the attention of cricket lovers: 4th Test, Old Trafford 1902 Holders Australia retained the Ashes with a thrilling victory at Old Trafford. Victor Trumper carved a brilliant hundred before lunch on the […]

Specials – The Greatest Ashes Tests, Part 1

It is next to impossible to whittle down a rich abundance of great Ashes Test matches to a few number. But after a bit of deliberation and taking into account the closeness of and the context surrounding a contest, eight matches were finalised. In this first of a three-part series featuring some of […]

Specials – Unsung Ashes heroes, Part 2

Continuing from Part 1, we look at four more memorable Ashes performances from unsung cricketers in this second and concluding post:- Albert Trott All-rounder Trott was one of the rare few to have played for both Australia and England. His entire Test career consisted of five Tests – three for Australia in the […]

Specials – Unsung Ashes heroes, Part 1

Over the years, the Ashes battles have introduced to us men who were destined to make a great impact on the game. From Frederick Spofforth to Glenn McGrath, legions of legends have displayed their artistry on the canvas that is an Ashes series. There can hardly be a bigger occasion for either an […]

Famous Test Matches – England v Australia, The Oval, 1997

In this post, we go back to the sixth and final Test of the 1997 Ashes series. Despite England showing early promise with a resounding win in the opening Test at Edgbaston, Australia came back in familiar fashion to win three of the next four Tests to retain the urn and win their fifth […]

Famous Test Matches – England v Australia, The Oval, 1953

With the Ashes around the corner, let us go down the years to 1953, the year of probably England’s most significant Ashes victory. England were going through an Ashes drought of nearly 20 years, having last won the urn in the Bodyline series of 1932-33. Moreover, in the three post-war Ashes series of […]

SPECIALS – Ireland’s finest ODI wins

If there is one Associate nation today that reminds us time and again of its capability of being a full member, it is Ireland. After years of second-class treatment to cricket, shunned for being an English sport, the Irishmen finally made their international debut in 2006, and have quickly risen to become, by far, […]

SPECIALS – Tribute to Dicky Rutnagur

The veteran Indian sports journalist Dicky Rutnagur passed away at the age of 82 in London on Thursday night. He was ailing for a long time, having bravely battled cancer for many years. Rutnagur was a highly respected and admired personality in cricket journalism, who made his name through newspaper reporting in India […]

SPECIALS – Parsis, pioneers of cricket in India, Part 2

In Part 1 of this Specials post we looked at how one-sided the Parsis’ first tour of England was, and understandably so. The world’s first great cricketing icon W.G Grace, who played against them while representing the MCC at Lord’s, later said in his autobiography – ‘During this season, a team of Parsi cricketers paid us […]

SPECIALS – Parsis, pioneers of cricket in India, Part 1

A few days ago, the former Indian wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer celebrated his 75th birthday. Engineer incidentally was the last Parsi cricketer to play for India, his 14-year old international career having ended in 1975. Since then, almost four decades have gone without a single Parsi playing international cricket for India, and looking at the […]