On This Day in Cricket - May 31

The last day of May has been a witness to a number of cricketing events for the fans as in 1984, one of the greatest one-day International innings was played by Viv Richards against England, where he made 189* runs in 170 balls. In 1946, one of the greatest and most controversial umpires of all time, Stephen Anthony Bucknor, was born today. In 2008, the Chennai Super Kings defeated the Kings XI Punjab by 9 wickets to reach the Finals of the maiden IPL season.

On This Day - May 31, 1946 - Stephen Anthony Bucknor was Born Today

Being respected as an Umpire and making some tough decisions against Sachin Tendulkar, Stephen Anthony Bucknor was born on 31st May, 1984 in Montego Bay, St James, Jamaica. Being the umpire with a unique style, Stephen Anthony Bucknor was brought in as an umpire in 130 test matches and was able to become the TV Umpire in 2 matches, while for the 128 matches, he was on the ground, making the decisions.

(Stephen Anthony Bucknor was born on 31st May, 1946)

Coming to the ODI Format, Stephen Anthony Bucknor was able to do his job in 208 matches, where he acted as a TC Umpire in 28 matches, while in the 182 matches, the decisions on the ground were given by him to the teams. With so much experience and dedication, he made the decision to retire in 2011, but in the later years of his umpiring career, the workload management, along with some poor decisions, took a toll on his career, and he eventually retired in 2009.

On This Day - May 31, 2008 - Chennai Super Kings defeats Kings XI Punjab defeats by 9 Wickets

The second semi-finals of the IPL 2008 was played on 31st May, 2008 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai between Kings XI Punjab and the Chennai Super Kings. After looking to bat first in the match, Kings XI Punjab failed to make the most out of the innings as the batting order collapsed.

(Chennai Super Kings defeated Kings XI Punjab by 9 wickets)

Shaun Marsh scored 23 runs from 17 balls while Ramesh Powar made 28 runs from 21 balls, which took the Punjab team to 112 runs with the loss of 8 wickets in their 20 overs. Chasing an easy target against the Punjab bowlers, Chennai Super Kings started well as it was Parthiv Patel who made 51 runs from 48 balls with a strike rate of 106.25 while Suresh Raina scored 55 runs from 34 balls with a strike rate of 161.76 to achieve the target in just 14.5 overs and qualify for the Finals of the tournament.

On This Day - May 31, 1984 - West Indies defeats England by 104 Runs

When this took place at Old Trafford, the fans witnessed one of the greatest ODI innings ever played. Batting first after winning the toss, the West Indies cricket team were struggling at 102 for 7 before Viv Richards completely changed the game. Richards smashed an unbeaten 189 from 170 balls with 21 fours and 5 sixes, helping West Indies reach 272 for 9 in 55 overs. Eldine Baptiste also supported him with 26 runs.

(West Indies defeated England by 104 Runs)

In reply, the England cricket team never looked comfortable against the powerful West Indies bowling attack. Allan Lamb fought hard with 75 runs, while Neil Foster scored 24, but the rest of the batting failed badly. England were bowled out for 168 in 50 overs and lost the match by 104 runs. Joel Garner took 3 wickets, while Michael Holding and Richards picked up 2 wickets each in a dominant West Indies victory.

On This Day - May 31, 2019 - West Indies defeats Pakistan by 7 Wickets

The match where West Indies crushed Pakistan by 7 wickets at Trent Bridge became one of the most one sided games of the 2019 World Cup. After choosing to bowl first, the Caribbean fast bowlers destroyed Pakistan for just 105 runs in 21.4 overs. Oshane Thomas led the attack with 4 wickets for 27 runs, while Andre Russell picked up 2 for 4 in a fiery spell. Jason Holder also took 3 wickets.

(West Indies defeated Pakistan by 7 wickets)

Only Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam managed 22 runs each for Pakistan, while Wahab Riaz added a quick 18. West Indies made the chase look very easy. Chris Gayle entertained the crowd with a powerful 50 off 34 balls that included 6 fours and 3 sixes. Nicholas Pooran stayed unbeaten on 34 from only 19 balls and finished the chase in just 13.4 overs. Mohammad Amir took all 3 wickets for Pakistan, but West Indies comfortably reached 108 for 3 with 218 balls remaining.