Naughty 50

Sri Lanka’s Tilakratne Dilshan scored a half century off just 23 balls on Wednesday but still wasn’t able to see his team through in the T20 International match against New Zealand at R. Premadasa, Colombo.
This is the first instance in T20 International when a batsman scored 50 in less then 23 balls for the losing team. There are 8 batsmen scored half century in less then 23 balls and every time there team won the match.
However this had happened 4 times in One Day Internationals. Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya is the record holder of fastest half century in ODI, he scored 50 off just 17 balls against Pakistan at Singapore on 7th April 1996 but Sri Lanka lost that match by 43 runs.
New Zealand’s Lance Cairns (father of Chris) had hit 50 off 21 Balls against Australia, Bangladeshi Mohammad Ashraful scored his half century in 21 balls against England and Pakistan’s Abdul Razzaq did it in 23 balls with New Zealand at the receiving end. But all these efforts have gone in vain as their team lost the match.
Mohammad Ashraful holds the record of scoring fastest 50 (in terms of minutes) in Test cricket but his team had lost that encounter againstIndia at Mirpur in 2007. Ashraful completed his half century off only27 minutes in Bangladesh second innings. India won the match by an innings and 239 runs.

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Broken hat-trick : Jacob Oram and Merv Hughes

New Zealand's Jacob Oram took a hat-trick against Sri Lanka in the first Twenty20 International at the R. Premadasa stadium on Wednesday. Oram's three wickets in three balls, but in two separate overs, was missed by almost everyone.
A nail-biting finish and the helter-skelter nature of the Twenty20 game overshadowed a rare feat. Oram took a return catch off Angelo Mathews in the last ball of his third and 17th over of the innings. He was then called on to bowl the final over of the innings with Sri Lanka needing nine runs with three wickets in hand to surpass New Zealand's 141-8.
The very first ball the tall all-rounder bowled, Malinga Bandara tried to whack the Kiwi out of the ground. But he was caught in deep. Next ball was the action replay as Nuwan Kulasekara, too ballooned a catch.
This was only the second hat-trick in T20Is after Australian fast bowler Brett Lee's three in three against Bangladesh in the inaugural World Cup Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007.
This feat reminds me one of the rarest hat-trick in the history of cricket. During the home series against The West Indies in 1988-89, Australia’s Merv Hughes had 3 out of 3 in the second Test at Perth. Hughes had polished off Curtly Ambrose in the last ball of his 36th over and when he got the wicket of Patrick Patterson in the first ball of his 37th over West Indian first innings came to an end.
Two days later during the second innings of West Indies the moustache-man got out Caribbean opener Gordon Greenidge off the first ball he bowled. Thus he got three wickets in three consecutive deliveries but all in three separate overs.
Earlier in the first Test of the series West Indian great Courtney Walsh also recorded a hat-trick and it was also a ‘broken one’. Walsh dismissed Tony Dodemaide in the first innings and then in the second innings he took the wicket of Mike Veletta and Graeme Wood.

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Percy Holmes & 555

I think everybody knows about 555 cigarette but very few know how and why the company named their product a 555.
Former England batsmen Percy Holmes (and Herbert Sutcliffe) are responsible, though indirectly, for it.
In 1932, Holmes and Sutcliffe had put on 555 runs for the first wicket for Yorkshire against Essex at Leyton.
This was very famous partnership in that era and also a world record in a first class cricket. To mark the occasion one tobacco company branded its cigarette name as 555.
There are only 9 occasions when a partnership of over 500 runs has been register in the history of first class cricket.
3rd September, is the death anniversary of Percy Holmes who died on this day of 1971 at the age of 84.
Percy Holmes began his cricket career in 1913 and it lasted for two decades.
In 1932, ten days after he and Sutcliffe had made 555 together Holmes once again, and for the last time, received recognition from the English Selection Committee; he went to open with Sutcliffe at Lord'sagainst India, scoring only 6 and 11. So, altogether this superb batsman played for England on seven occasions, and in 14 innings he scored 357 runs at an average of 27.46. Coincidently Holmes last test was India’s first test.
The most amazing part of Percy Holmes’ first class career is that it lasted for 555 matches. He played 555 matches between 1913-1933 and scored 30573 runs in 810 innings @42.11 with 67 hundred and 141 half centuries.

For more detail mail at tushartrivedi10@yahoo.com

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