On this day, 1931, Don Bradman did something at Blackheath that seems unthinkable even by his standards.
He slammed a hundred in 18 minutes, inside three overs.
True, these were eight-ball overs, but Bradman faced only 22 of these.
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Blackheath had invited Bradman and Wendell Bill (colleague of Bradman's at NSW) to play for them against Lithgow.
A reasonably large crowd had gathered for the match, which was played on a malthoid pitch.
Bradman wrote: "I had never seen a pitch with a malthoid top.
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"I'm still not sure if it was laid on a bitumen base or on concrete but it was perfectly flat and very smooth … The pitch proved ideal for batting in that the ball came off it at a gentle pace and with a particularly uniform and predictable bounce."
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But then, "the batsmen had to wear rubber-soled boots or shoes" to avoid holes being created on the surface.
Bradman took guard against Bill Black, who had once dismissed Bradman.
He had made a big show of his achievement and even had the ball mounted.
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Bradman himself had no memory of the dismissal, so he asked Lithgow wicketkeeper Leo Waters.
When Walters reminded him, he simply said "I think I'll have a go."
Black's over went for 66424461 – 33.
Bradman 33(8).
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Having retained strike, Bradman now went after Horrie Baker: 64466464 – 40.
Bradman 73(16).
For some reason, Black bowled yet again.
Bill got a run, following which Black went for 661.
Bradman 86(19).
Bill faithfully returned strike again first ball.
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Now 14 were needed off three balls, and Bradman went 446.
Bradman 100(22).
He eventually got 256 (29x4, 14x6 – exactly 200 in boundaries) and Bill 66.
And yet, Blackheath got only 357, though they bowled out Lithgow for 228.
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When Blackheath Mayor Peter Sutton asked for the bat, Bradman responded "when I'm finished with it".
The bat didn't last the season. Bradman kept his promise.
Four days later Bill and Bradman fell prey to one of the greatest overs in cricket history.
But that is another story.
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Born on this day, 1917, Sudangsu 'Montu'/'Mantu' Banerjee was also one of three S Banerjees to do well on Test debut and never play another Test match.
A gifted swing bowler, Banerjee thrived in Eden Gardens, especially in the afternoon breeze. He was also, er – a philosopher.
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Banerjee played only 26 First-Class matches across 13 years, claiming 92 wickets at 23.28 – remarkable numbers by any standards.
In his only Test he took 4/120 and 1/61, and held 3 catches.
But now for the philosophical bit, my source of which is mostly the late Madhav Apte.
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Banerjee used to compare life with cricket, for both are contests between good and evil (the logic of this eludes me).
He also believed that a cricket ball is red because is it not the red cherry with which the bowler tempts the batsman, temptation the batsman turns away from?
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Few cricketers – Test cricketers, at least – has had a life as eventful, full of bizarre events, which included him playing Test cricket after his memorial was conducted.
Yes, you read that right.
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Harry, eldest of the three cricket-playing Lees of Marylebone, had managed scandalise Plum Warner by *asking for* his Middlesex cap.
Perhaps out of confusion, Warner obliged.
Fast forward to World War 1, 1915.
Lee was fighting in the Battle of Aubers Ridge.
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The 13th Battalion lost 499 of their 550 men.
Lee was presumed dead.
His parents held his memorial service.
In reality, he was lying near-unconscious for three days in no-man’s land, a bullet having fractured his left femur.
He was (to my knowledge) the first cricketer to be called The Little Master in the Indian subcontinent, or, anywhere.
He was also the first great batsman – or cricketer – to play here.
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He was called 'Jungly' here because John Glennie Greig was difficult to pronounce.
This seems to be a trend. TC Longfield became Tulsi Chand and AL Hosie Amrit Lal.
Greig was an Englishman but he was born in Mhow, and played a chunk of his matches in India.
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Greig grew up in England, but came to India with the Royal Army.
He was a superstar in the Bombay Presidency match, an annual fixture between Europeans and Parsees (this was later expanded to Triangular, then Quadrangular, then Pentangular).
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Douglas Jardine, Cricket's Iron Duke, was born on this day, 1900.
Two things sum him up.
First, he hated Australians with a passion.
And secondly, he hated losing. To him, cricket was nothing but war.
Let us go over the two points.
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Not only did Jardine hate Australia, he never bothered to hide his feelings.
Even before the Bodyline tour, when it became known that he had been named captain, his coach Rockley Wilson had mixed reaction: "We shall win the Ashes… but we may well lose a Dominion."
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When in Australia, he saw RAAF fighter planes above the newly built Sydney Harbour Bridge and quipped "I wish they were Japs and I wish they’d bomb that bridge into the harbour."
Hatred. There cannot be another word for it.
The press asked for the XI for the first tour match.
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