ByVishwajeet Jaiswal, SportsCafe Editor
The 3rd of March is known in cricket history for major records, a tragic incident and the birth and death of great players. The famous and final Timeless Test between England and South Africa began in Durban on this day. It is also remembered as a dark day in cricket because the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked by terrorists in Lahore in 2009. This date is the birthday of Pakistan's great Inzamam-ul-Haq and the death anniversary of former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe. On the World Cup stage, South Africa scored 411 runs against Ireland in 2015, defeated the Netherlands by 231 runs in 2011 and New Zealand beat Zimbabwe in 1992 on this day.
The longest Test match in cricket history began on this day in 1939 in Durban between England and South Africa. It was called the “Timeless Test” because there was no time limit. The match was to continue until one team won or the game ended in a tie. There was no draw due to time. The fifth Test of the series was played under this rule. It was expected to finish in five days, but rain and pitch repairs delayed the match.
South Africa set England a target of 696 runs. England replied with 654 for 5 in the fourth innings, which is still the highest fourth-innings score in first-class cricket. The match lasted 12 days, with play on 9 days, but no result was possible. The game was finally stopped and declared a draw because England had to leave to catch their boat home. This became the last Timeless Test in cricket history and the format was ended due to scheduling problems.
Inzamam-ul-Haq was born on this day in 1970 in Multan, Pakistan. He is also known as ‘Inzi’ and the ‘Sultan of Multan’. He is regarded as one of Pakistan’s greatest middle-order batsmen. He is the only Pakistani batsman to score 20,000 runs in international cricket. He scored 8,830 runs in 120 Test matches at an average of 49.60 and 11,739 runs in 378 ODI matches. He is Pakistan’s highest run-scorer in ODI cricket. His unbeaten 60 runs off 37 balls against New Zealand in the 1992 World Cup semifinal is still considered one of the best World Cup innings and gave him major recognition.
Inzi also captained Pakistan from 2003 to 2007. His highest Test score was 329 runs against New Zealand in Lahore in 2001-02. He was known for having extra time to play fast bowling and Imran Khan described him as one of the best players of pace bowling in the world. After retiring from international cricket in 2007, he worked as the head coach of Afghanistan and later as the chief selector of the Pakistan team. He was awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan in 2015 for his contribution to cricket.
New Zealand played against Zimbabwe on this day in 1992 at McLean Park in Napier during the World Cup. The match was heavily affected by rain and the number of overs was reduced. Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to bowl first. New Zealand lost their first wicket at 9 runs, but captain Martin Crowe and Andrew Jones built a strong partnership. They added 129 runs in about an hour on a wet ground. Crowe scored an unbeaten 74 off 43 balls and Jones made 57 runs. New Zealand finished with 162 for 3 in 20 overs. Zimbabwe was given a revised target of 154 runs in 18 overs because of rain.
Zimbabwe could not manage the chase against tight bowling from New Zealand. Opener Andy Flower scored 30 runs off 28 balls. Gavin Larsen and Chris Harris took 3 wickets each and Danny Morrison took 1 wicket. Zimbabwe ended on 105 for 7 in 18 overs. New Zealand won the match comfortably. Martin Crowe was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten 74. This win was New Zealand’s fourth victory in a row in the tournament.
A terrorist attack took place near Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on this day in 2009 when the Sri Lankan national cricket team bus was on its way to play the second Test match against Pakistan. Near Liberty Square, 12 armed attackers opened fire on the bus using AK-47 rifles, rocket launchers and hand grenades. In this attack, 6 Pakistani police officers and 2 civilians lost their lives. The minivan carrying the umpires and match referee was also attacked. The driver of that van was killed and reserve umpire Ahsan Raza was seriously injured.
Several Sri Lankan players were injured, including captain Mahela Jayawardene, vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis and Thilan Samaraweera. During the attack, the team bus driver, Meher Mohammad Khalil, showed bravery and did not stop the bus despite heavy gunfire and damaged tires. He drove the bus about 500 meters to the stadium and saved the players. The players were later airlifted from the ground and the tour was canceled. After this incident, Pakistan lost its co-hosting rights for the 2011 World Cup and no Test cricket was played in Pakistan for nearly 10 years due to security concerns.
South Africa played against the Netherlands in the 16th Group B match of the ICC World Cup 2011 at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. South Africa batted first and scored 351 runs for 5 wickets in 50 overs. Hashim Amla scored 113 runs off 130 balls with 8 fours. AB de Villiers made 134 runs off 98 balls with 13 fours and 4 sixes. JP Duminy added 40 runs off 15 balls at the end. For the Netherlands, Ryan ten Doeschate took 3 wickets for 72 runs in 10 overs.
The Netherlands could not chase 352 runs and were all out for 120 runs in 34.5 overs. Wesley Barresi scored 44 runs off 66 balls with 5 fours. Bas Zuiderent made 15 runs and Tom de Grooth scored 12 runs. Imran Tahir took 3 wickets for 19 runs in 6.5 overs. Jacques Kallis took 2 wickets for 19 runs and Robin Peterson took 2 wickets for 22 runs. South Africa won the match by 231 runs.
South Africa played against Ireland on 3 March 2015 in a Pool B match of the ICC World Cup in Canberra. South Africa batted first and scored 411 runs for 4 wickets in 50 overs. Hashim Amla scored 159 runs and became the fastest batsman to reach 20 ODI centuries in just 108 matches. He added 247 runs for the second wicket with Faf du Plessis, who scored 109 runs. After they were out, Rilee Rossouw scored an unbeaten 61 runs off 30 balls and David Miller made 46 runs off 23 balls. They added 110 runs in the last 8.3 overs. South Africa became the first team to score more than 400 runs in two consecutive ODIs.
Ireland had a poor start while chasing 412 runs. Kyle Abbott and Dale Steyn reduced them to 48 for 5 in the first 11 overs. Andrew Balbirnie scored 58 runs and added 81 runs for the sixth wicket with Kevin O’Brien, which helped Ireland avoid a bigger defeat. Ireland were all out for 210 runs in 45 overs. Kyle Abbott took 4 wickets for 21 runs and Morne Morkel took 3 wickets for 34 runs. South Africa won the match by 201 runs, which was Ireland’s first loss in the tournament. Amla had been dropped on 10 runs by Ed Joyce earlier in the innings.
Martin Crowe, former New Zealand captain and one of the country’s greatest batsmen, passed away in Auckland at the age of 53. He was first diagnosed with lymphoma in October 2012. He was declared cancer-free in 2013, but the disease returned in 2014. Doctors then said his chances of living more than 12 months were less than 5 percent. Despite this, he wished to watch the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
He attended the 2015 World Cup final between Australia and New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which became his last public appearance. He passed away on 3 March 2016 due to complications related to cancer. His funeral was held at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Auckland. The cricket world paid tribute to him. Wasim Akram called him the best batsman he had ever bowled to and he is remembered as one of the most elegant batsmen in cricket history.
Comments
Leave a comment0 Comments