1982
The Dirty Dozen
As England kick off their series in South Africa, we look back to a tour that drew the fury of the wider world
1859
Icebergs, snowstorms and 'the fair sex'
When 12 English professionals set out on the first major overseas tour of all
1991
Barnett's bowl-out blues
When Derbyshire's bowlers found it all but impossible to hit a set of unguarded stumps
 |
Luck and a helicopter
The 1976 John Player League went down to the wire... and left the BBC relying on guesswork to avoid backing a losing horse... more
Saved by the detour
It was New Zealand's second Test series in Sri Lanka. The first match was dull as ditch water. Then things hotted up... more
The gathering storm
In 1939 the entire summer was overshadowed by the escalating crisis in Europe... more
Duty calls
As losses mounted at the start of World War One, cricket continued to rumble on until the public outcry grew too loud... more
So nearly Botham's annus horribilis
It was Botham's Summer but before that, it very nearly ended in tears... more
The crowd without the silver lining
It had rained, the conditions were not suitable, but these spectators wanted their monies' worth and just wouldn't go home... more
When the boot was on the other foot
A decade ago it was Ricky Ponting in the firing line, in circumstances similar to the ones Andrew Symonds finds himself in these days... more
I do declare
Few incidents have been as cynical as Somerset's declaration after one over of their Benson & Hedges Cup one-dayer against Worcestershire... more
Australia's old new ball
When a captain decided to open the innings with an old ball and two spinners... more
An unsavoury farce
As plans emerge of an unauthorised cricket tournament planned to be staged in New York in October, we look back on a private venture that was stillborn... more
Cricket's original sin
Match-fixing has blighted the game in recent years, but things are no worse now than in an era widely regarded as being far more chivalrous ... more
WG Grace's chilly farewell
An early-season game at The Oval in freezing cold over a century ago marked the exit of one of cricket's great early legends ... more
Cricket's first centurion
The man who entered the record books for scoring the game's first recorded hundred... more
Dropped over a drink
When a telephone call to a hotel front desk resulted in an unceremonious exit for Subhash Gupte and Kripal Singh... more
When women took over Lord's
When a bastion of male chauvinism was taken over by the women... more
Calling time on eternity
How the Durban game 70 years ago sounded the death knell for timeless Tests... more
When 10 days were not enough
A first-hand account of the famous timeless Test in Durban 70 years ago ... more
Australia's no pay, no play tour
The final hurrah of the old South African regime was a series riven by discontent and ended in humiliation for Australia ... more
Clothes maketh the men
The time when the ground, the umpires and the players were ready... but they had nothing to wear... more
Sabina farce
Following the abandonment of the first day's play in Antigua owing to a sandy and dangerous pitch, we look back 11 years to the scene of another curtailed Caribbean Test, the first of the1997-98 West Indies-England series... more
Cricket's craziest confusion
Cricket history is littered with daft run-outs, but none quite as bizarre as the one at The Oval 87 years ago... more
Anything Goes for Gower
When a press conference got all too much for the England captain... more
Hanif betters Bradman
When the Little Master went past The Don's record for the highest first-class score... more
Cricket's winter wonderland
When the bitter winter enabled England's cricketers to enjoy a short alternative season... more
'The prat without a hat'
When Chris Lewis went down with what journalist Simon Barnes described as "the most idiotic cricket injury of all time"... more
Beyond the call of duty
When Sutcliffe and Blair set Boxing Day aglow with their courage, in "a story every New Zealand boy should learn at his mother's knee" ... more
The show must go on
Two assassinations left England's tour of India in 1984-85 in serious doubt... more
A single-wicket scandal
The pre-Victorian era was not one where gentlemanly conduct prevailed... more
Gandhi's Gleneagles stand-off
When England's tour of India was in danger of being cancelled, and a massive rift between white and black countries seemed on the cards... more
One drink too many
When two nights out on the town cost Bill Edrich three years of his Test career... more
Blowers on the brink
When Henry Blofeld almost played Test cricket for England... more
The shop assistant who took all ten
When Gubby Allen ran through Lancashire at Lord's in one of the most devastating bowling performances of all time... more
Lions, camels and clowns at The Oval
When London hosted one of cricket's most unusual matches... more
All out for 12
A look back to when Oxford University were bowled out for 12 - still the lowest first-class score on record... more
Australians get stoned
A look back at the tempestuous end to a wretched Australia tour of Pakistan... more
The raining champions
On the last day of what has, until the last fortnight, been a wretchedly wet domestic season, we look back to a year when the weather robbed Hampshire of the Championship... more
Ending the six-year drought
As Surrey sink into Division Two without a win to their name, we look back to when Northamptonshire ended a four-year run without a victory... more
The D'Oliveira Affair
A timeline of events which led to the cancellation of the 1968-69 England tour of South Africa... more
You've come a long way
On their first tour of England, the Indian women adjusted to the culture shock, washed their own clothes, and fought their own battles ... more
God's own blob
The story of the most famous duck in the game... more
The ignorant Olympians
When cricket made an appearance on the greatest sporting stage of them all... more
Waking up the neighbours
Three years after they became a Test nation, Sri Lanka notched up their first win - against the big brothers from across the strait... more
The strange case of the missing opponents
A look back to Glamorgan's 1969 Championship-winning season and a curious game where their opponents left early... more
Springing a surprise
When England's selectors pulled a 37-year-old googly bowler out of the hat for the Ashes... more
From club to country in one week
Desperate times call for desperate measures... but so desperate as to call up a bowler who only made his first-class debut 24 hours earlier to open the attack in a Test?... more
Shaking hands with a despot
When Michael Atherton met Robert Mugabe... more
Crash, bang and Pandora's box is opened
The day Twenty20 was unleashed on the world... more
Seaside shuffle
When beach resorts hit upon a novel way of keeping holiday crowds up to date with the latest news from that summer's Ashes Tests... more
Riot ... what riot?
The Kingston Test in 1968 is best remembered for the ill-advised use of tear gas by the police to control the crowd. Geoff Smith, the Jamaican Broadcasting Corporation scorer at the game, looks back... more
When the Master felt the pressure
As Mark Ramprakash hovers on 99 first-class hundreds, every Championship match he plays in is watched by more than usual contingent of reporters and photographers ... but that was nothing compared to what Jack Hobbs faced in 1925 ... more
Getting shirty about substitutes
The subject of substitute fielders has attracted considerable comment and the ICC is set to clamp down on their use. It was an issue that was high on the agenda twenty-seven years ago... more
Cricket dips its toe in the one-day game
The story of the world's first major limited-overs competition... more
The last great single-wicket contest
When Alfred Mynn and Nicholas Felix went head-to-head... more
The circus comes to town
The first day of Kerry Packer's brave new world... more
Blowing up a blind man and his dog
When suffragettes burned down a cricket pavilion... more
The coup that wasn't
West Indies had gone a decade without losing a Test at home. Then along came Imran Khan and Co.... more
Hammond's Test triple
When Wally Hammond blitzed a remarkable triple hundred... more
'I honestly thought I had killed him'
When Ewen Chatfield's life was saved by the quick action of the England physio... more
More sinned against than sinner
When Phil Tufnell was for once on the receiving end... more
A costly tackle
In a week where Andrew Symonds hit the headlines for shoulder-barging a streaker we look back at the Perth Test in November 1982, when a similar move almost cost a player his career... more
Rocking the cradle
As the teams battle it out for the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia, we go back 20 years to the time a bunch of kids vied for the first championship of the kind ... more
Nine innings ... no runs
Seymour Clark had a county career of five matches, during which he kept wicket brilliantly ... and never once got off the mark... more
When touring cost a fortune
England women's second tour of Australia and New Zealand was another triumph - once it got underway that was... more
A triumph of concentration
We turn the clock back 50 years, to one of Test cricket's most remarkable rearguards... more
'We won't have niggers in this hotel'
When Learie Constantine was refused a room in a London hotel ... because of his colour... more
No smoking, drinking, gambling ... or men
Over 70 years ago England undertook the first women's tour of Australia and New Zealand ... more
Safety first?
When a bomb blast outside a team hotel was not enough to cause the cancellation of a tour... more
Bulb breaks on nights in whites
The players agreed on two things about day-night matches during the Sheffield Shield's part-time new look between 1994-95 and 1998-99: it was a great concept but the balls weren't good enough under lights... more
International man of mastery rocks the Gabba
Richard Hadlee's dominance in the 1985-86 series win over Australia... more
The cruellest hoax
Cricketers are renowned for practical jokes and winding up colleagues, but in August 1933 Essex's Peter Smith was the victim of something that bordered on cruel... more
Underarm but not underhand
When a wicketkeeper came on to bowl - in his pads - and took 4 for 8 ... and all in an Ashes Test... more
The oldest international contest of them all
And no, it isn't England v Australia... more
First love
India's series win over an England side that included Geoff Boycott, John Edrich, Dennis Amiss, John Snow, Peter Lever, Ray Illingworth, Derek Underwood and Alan Knott... more
A better batsman than Bradman?
A player who many thought was a better batsman than the greatest of them all... more
Ranji and racism
When KS Ranjitsinhji's selection for England was blocked by the MCC... more
The cradle of cricket
Hambledon's name conjures up an image of rustic locals playing the game in front of the Bat and Ball pub. The reality is quite different... more
The Oval, drugs and rock'n'roll
When the Who and the Faces headlined a rock festival at The Oval... more
Pop goes the Oval
Surrey's idea in 1971 to raise much-needed income by staging a rock concert... more
Sobers' six of the best
When Garry Sobers entered the record books as the first man to hit every ball in an over for maximum ... more
When the Don met the Babe
Donald Bradman's visit to USA and Canada in 1932 ... more
Trueman's magical debut
When Fred Trueman was called up by England to play in the first Test against India in front of his home crowd His reaction to his call-up was unconventional. rueman was sure that he was being wound up, and on being informed of his selection replied, "Bugg... more
Boycott's Headingley heaven
In Yorkshire in August 1977 news of Elvis Presley's death and England regaining the Ashes paled into insignificance as Geoff Boycott scored his hundredth hundred ... more
The first one-day final
We are used to the razzmatazz of the one-day game - coloured clothing, white balls, run-rates of six or more an over - but that has as much in common with the original final back in 1963 as a village friendly does to a Twenty20 international nowadays ... more
Snow and Sunny's argy bargy
Cricket history is littered with no-nonsense characters, and two of the most single-minded ones came into contact when England met India at Lord's in 1971... more
Tale of the tail
Chandu Sarwate and Shute Banerjee's record-breaking last-wicket stand at The Oval in 1946... more
A right royal Indian mess
A maharajah, a firebrand allrounder, a furore. The controversy that overshadowed India's 1936 tour of England... more
India's tour from hell
India's wretched series against England in 1974, a Test whitewash, internal rows, a slighted high commissioner, and an opener in court... more
Kapital devastation and Beefy plunder
In the summer of '82 the world's best allrounders went head to head... more
When Irish eyes were smiling
When West Indies were bowled out by Ireland for 25 in 90 minutes... more
A far from straightforward delivery
Martin Williamson looks at the background to India's Test debut... more
Beating up your neighbour
Martin Williamson on the first Test between neighbours Australia and New Zealand ... it was to be almost 28 years before they met again... more
Botham's first hurrah
In June 1974 an unknown 18-year-old from Somerset hit the headlines for the first time. Over the next 20 years he was rarely out of them... more
Brearley's brilliant declaration
Martin Williamson on an outstanding piece of captaincy from Mike Brearley... more
Lord's under threat
Martin Williamson on when Lord's was almost bought so that a railway line could be built on it... more
Who's grovelling now?
When Tony Greig overstepped the line on the eve of England's series against West Indies... more
The birth of ball-by-ball commentary
Martin Williamson on the first ball-by-ball broadcast in England, at Leyton in May 1927... more
The first West Indians
WLA Coleman uncovers the story of the first tour of England made by a West Indian side... more
Standing up for their principles
Martin Williamson speaks to Henry Olonga about the black armband protest at the 2003 World Cup... more
The boy who knew no boundaries
The highest innings - Part Five - AEJ Collins
Simon Wilde concludes his series with the 1899 record which stands to this day... more
The inexhaustible AE Stoddart
The highest innings - Part Four- Andrew Stoddart
Simon Wilde continues charting the progress of the highest score in cricket ... this week, AE Stoddart... more
When Carrick flogged the Park
The highest innings - Part Three - JS Carrick
Simon Wilde continues charting the progress of the highest score in cricket ... this week, JS Carrick... more
Flogging the students
The highest innings - Part Two - William Roe
Simon Wilde continues charting the progress of the highest score in cricket ... this week, William Roe... more
Breaking the 400 barrier
The highest innings - Part One - EFS Tylecote
Simon Wilde looks back at the first man to score more than 400 in an innings... more
Ruling an impossible target
The 1992 World Cup saw the introduction of a new rain rule which, by the end of the tournament, created enough trouble to be discarded forever... more
The wrong trousers
The 2003 World Cup was hardly cricket's finest hour ... but perhaps the most embarrassing incident for the hosts came at an otherwise forgettable match between India and Netherlands at Paarl in the first week... more
Gavaskar's one-day bore
The inaugural World Cup came in 1975, and the first match in that competition produced one of the most controversial one-day innings of all time... more
Lara's lackadaisical demise
Martin Williamson looks back at when Brian Lara's lacklustre approach to his innings against Kenya set the tone for one of West Indies' most humiliating defeats... more
If it ain't fixed ...
Martin Williamson looks back at when the English establishment was rocked by claims of match-fixing in domestic cricket... more
The feud that rumbles on
Martin Williamson looks back at the ongoing feud between Ian Botham and Ian Chappell... more
'What have you done, what have you done?'
Martin Williamson looks back at the time Ian Botham ran out Geoff Boycott ... on his vice-captain's orders... more
The first All-India side
Martin Williamson looks back at the first time an All-India side took to the field... more
Coming third in a two-horse race
In 1994-95, England's one-day fortunes hit the first of many rock-bottoms... more
Three legends bow out at the SCG
As was the case in 2007, in 1984 Australia bade farewell to three legends at the end of the Sydney Test... more
The end of a Victorian hero
In 1971 Bill Lawry became the first Australian captain to be sacked in the middle of a series ... and he paid the price for negativity and daring to challenge the authority of the Australian board... more
Once more into the breach
The story of when 41-year-old Colin Cowdrey was summoned from his armchair, flown round the world, and thrown in at the deep end against the fastest bowlers in the world... more
From hospital to hero
The story of Eddie Paynter, who climbed out of his hospital bed to play an innings which helped England regain the Ashes... more
'A fine ****ing way to start a tour'
Few tours have got off to a more controversial and acrimonious start than was the case in the first post-war Ashes series... more
'I like to see blood on the pitch'
Martin Williamson recalls the arrival of a fast bowler who boasted he liked "to see blood on the pitch"... more
The Indian world record thwarted by a sulk
Martin Williamson looks back at BB Nimbalkar's innings of 443 not out ... and a record that would have been but for a princely sulk... more
The crying game
Kim Hughes's tearful resignation at The Gabba in November 1984 is still talked about ... but what led to that moment... more
An offer too good to be true
At Centurion in January 2000 Hansie Cronje offered Nasser Hussain a target so generous that he 'couldn't believe it'. Only now do we know why ...... more
Percy's assault on the rule book
Percy Fender ... a tactical genius but one who in 1931 stretched the Laws to the limit... more
A most public humiliation
Martin Williamson on how what should have been the biggest day in Scott Boswell's life became a living nightmare... more
Eady's three-week record innings
Martin Williamson on the second highest individual innings of all time ...and one which took almost a month to complete... more
Hell hath no fury ...
Martin Williamson on a promising career cut short by the gun of a jilted lover... more
Breathtaking Bore
The 1984 Championship was not decided until the second last ball of the last over of the last game. Simon Lister interviews the key players... more
As old as the hills
The thorny subject of ball tampering has stalked the game for many years, but it is only in the last couple of decades that it has become something a wider audience has been aware of. Arguably, it has been going on since cricket's earliest days, but invas... more
The uncapped one-Test wonder
Test cricket is littered with players who have made one appearance for their country and then disappeared as quickly as they came. At the time of writing there are 377 one-Test wonders. But not included in those figures is one man who turned out for wh... more
Lighting up Stamford Bridge
When cricket, coloured kits and white balls first came to England ... at one of the country's leading football grounds... more
Zaheer's Bangalore walk-off
Martin Williamson looks back to when Zaheer Abbas nearly forfeited a Test match after leading his side off the field... more
The Tiger's triumph
Salil Benegal looks back at Bill O'Reilly's career... more
When a Maharaja cooled his heels
Sriram Veera looks back at a partnership record that stood for nearly 60 years... more
Grounds of appeal
Martin Williamson looks back to the time Jim Laker took 19 for 90 ... but it was an achievement that came close to being overshadowed by a row over the Old Trafford pitch... more
The fiery summer
The English summer of 1976 has gone down in folklore as one where water shortages and scorching temperatures left the country parched ... and it had some serious implications for cricket as well... more
How to win friends ...
To many, life doesn't get much better than being paid to play cricket inthe idyllic surroundings of the Caribbean. But cricket tours can begruelling affairs, and those in the West Indies mean almost non-stop travelling between islands. And when there are... more
Compton, Ranji and the missing rupees
Martin Williamson on the time Denis Compton was promised Rs 50 a run in the final of the Ranji Trophy ... and went on to score 249. But when it came to payment ...... more
The world's first knockout cup
Martin Williamson on the world's first serious attempt to stage a first-class knockout cup ... as long ago as 1873... more
Those two little pals of mine ...
On June 29, 1950, West Indies completed an emphatic 326-run victory over England at Lord's. It was defining moment, not only in West Indies cricket, but in the history of the Caribbean ... and it sparked the release of a famous calypso... more
What's in a name?
When S Trimnell scored 92 and 58 for Somerset against Gloucestershire, people wanted to know who he was. It turned out to be a pseudonym for a more well-known batsman making pulling a sickie from work... more
Boycott's Indian go-slow
Geoff Boycott scored 246 against India in front of his home crowd at Headingley, but was greeted by a press backlash and was subsequently dropped for selfish batting... more
The umpire who called time
Umpires are always under the spotlight and sometimes the pressure gets to them. In the case of Tom Brooks, it happened during an Ashes Test... more
The birth of a nation
On Wednesday, February 17, 1982, Sri Lanka became cricket's eighth Test-playing country when Bob Willis bowled to Bandula Warnapura... more
The record that never was
On the last day of the 1983 season, Lancashire's Steve O'Shaughnessy equalled a 63-year-old record for the fastest hundred ... but the purists were anything but impressed... more
When Sylvester Clarke bricked it
Cricket has, regrettably, many incidents of players being pelted with objects by bored or malicious spectators, but examples of the players retaliating in kind are mercifully rare... more
Lord's under attack
Martin Williamson looks back at how Lord's survived the Second World War... more
When Test cricket came to India
Jenny Thompson looks back to India's first Test against England at the Bombay Gmykhana in 1933... more
Inzamam and the Canadian aloo
Martin Williamson looks back to when Inzamam-ul-Haq decided to take the law into his own hands and set about an abusive spectator... more
A familar tale of riots and betting
At Sydney in February 1879, pitch invasions, assaults and stories of behind-the-scenes gambling led to the cancallation of what would have been cricket's fourth Test... more
Dropping the pilot ... from a great height
At the start of the 1986 season David Gower was captain of England, but he was hanging on by his fingernails... more
Swinging in the Jubilee rain
Rarely has any one-day international - or even club game - finished in such dreadful weather as the 1977 Oval match between England and Australia... more
Two-day disaster
Of all the daft innovations thrown at the County Championship, the decision to limit matches to two days in 1919 ranks as one of the worst... more
Let there be light
Martin Williamson looks back on the world's first floodlit match ... and it took place more than 50 years ago at Arsenal... more
Percival's throw
Martin Williamson looks back on the setting of one of cricket's most enduring records, that of throwing the cricket ball, way back in 1882... more
Shoulder barges and flying stumps
Martin Williamson looks back to New Zealand v West Indies in 1979-80, one of the most acrimonious series of all time... more
Harrogate's self-repairing pitch
Martin Williamson on some odd goings on at Harrogate... more
Sobers's Rhodesian misjudgment
Martin Williamson on Garry Sobers's big mistake when he played cricket in Rhodesia... more
WG Grace gets the hump
Martin Williamson on WG Grace's bitter row with Gloucestershire and his move to form London County CC... more
Indebted to James Seymour
Martin Williamson on the debt owed by England's cricketers to James Seymour, who played more than 500 times for Kent between 1900 and 1926, and was part of their great pre-war side... more
When Gower's tour took off
Martin Williamson looks back at the infamous Tiger Moth fly-by which landed David Gower and John Morris in hot water... more
The ultimate one-Test wonder
Martin Williamson looks back at Andy Ganteaume, who made a hundred on his Test debut ... and never played again... more
India's Christmas cracker
Martin Williamson looks back at a three-over farce on Christmas Day at Indore... more
The Wykehamist who stood alone
Martin Williamson looks back the highest score by a schoolboy in England... more
A Canterbury tale
Martin Williamson traces the history of one of the games most enduring pieces of art... more
A sad end to an elegant career
"The good years started as the result of a brawl. They ended with another fight"... more
Fury in Faisalabad
Martin Williamson looks back at what was probably the most acrimonious Test of all time... more
A farewell to a cricket ground
Bramall Lane, Sheffield, for over a century the heart of Yorkshire cricket, stages its last county match this month... more
A wholly inadequate cover-up
When the covering at Lord's left Pakistan fuming... more
The umpire and bucket controversy
When a prank which saw a Pakistani umpire dreched with a bucket of water had far more serious consequences... more
When Packer stalked Pakistan
Ask anyone about controversial England tours to Pakistan, and 1987-88 or 1968-69 are the most likely to spring to mind. But sandwiched in between those two was a series which was, in its own way, almost as miserable as the others... more
The captain who dropped himself
We look back to when Mike Denness, England's captain on a particularly unsuccessful Ashes tour, dropped himself... more
The sublime Sobers
We look back to when Garry Sobers played what Don Bradman called 'the best innings I have ever seen in Australia'... more
When people power sunk South Africa
We look back to the year that the actions of the Australian people led to the cancellation of a cricket tour... more
'You have disgraced the annals of Hampshire cricket'
The day that Jack Newman was sent from the field by his captain... more
The hero who almost didn't play
Bob Willis, one of the heroes of Headingley 1981, wasn't even in the original squad picked for the Test ... more
'You've been asking for a punch all night'
Some selection meetings involve heated exchanges of opinion, but few end up in a 20-minute brawl... more
Jim Laker's other ten-for
We look back to 1956 and Jim Laker's ten wickets against Australia - but not the one at Old Trafford, but the one for Surrey at The Oval three months earlier... more
Vandals stopped play
The last day's play at Headingley in August 1975 promised to be a thriller ... until it was discovered the pitch had been vandalised... more
The dawn of television coverage
Television has been covering matches for almost 70 years, and the first broadcast was at Lord's in June, 1938... more
Chopping and changing
In 1921, England's selectors made a swathe of changes as Warwick Armstrong's Australians steamrollered across the country ... but the outcome was always the same... more
One fleeting moment in the sun
Although it is the fate of the substitute fielder to remain forever anonymous, Sydney Copley enjoyed his one moment of glory... more
The sending-off of an England quick
When Alan Ward was expelled by his own captain after refusing to bowl on a sleepy Monday at Chesterfield... more
The oldest fixture of them all
2005 sees the 200th anniversary of what is believed to be the oldest of all cricket fixtures still played to this day - the annual Eton v Harrow match... more
The tour that never was
England were scheduled to tour India in 1939-40 and the squad had been named ... until other events took over... more
Nottinghamshire's general strike
When Nottinghamshire were crippled by a mass walkout... more
The ultimate slogger
Big Jim Smith's onslaught at Bristol... more
Midwinter's midsummer madness
A tale of a comic kidnapping... more
Perfection from a man who was anything but
Billy Bestwick took a ten-for ... his off-field problems made that all the more remarkable... more
Dazzling draws
The story of the not-so-boring drawn series... more
The original damp squib
The triangular tournament of 1912 was years ahead of its time - that it failed was due to circumstances almost entirely beyond the control of the organisers... more
The gloves are off
The showdown between Allan Donald and Michael Atherton at Trent Bridge in 1998 was brutal and engrossing... more
Fowler's match
Cricket's history has its fair share of games linked to one person - Laker's match in 1956, Botham's in 1981... more
Almost perfection
Bits-and-pieces bowler Charles Palmer produced one of cricket's most remarkable spells - 14-12-7-8 - after coming on to allow a frontline bowler to change ends... more
When the women set the agenda
A casual after-dinner chat over a spot of sherry between two sporting stalwarts spawned the first World Cup - and it was played by women... more
The 77-run over
When people are asked what is the most number of runs to come off one over, thoughts turn immediately to Tilak Raj and Malcolm Nash who both conceded 36, to Ravi Shastri and Garry Sobers respectively... more
Beamed into exile
By their very nature, fast bowlers are an aggressive breed... more
The 77-run over
When people are asked what is the most number of runs to come off one over, thoughts turn immediately to Tilak Raj and Malcolm Nash who both conceded 36, to Ravi Shastri and Garry Sobers respectively... more
When Sunny spat the dummy
Dennis Lillee and Sunil Gavaskar are two of cricket's most successful players, and also two of the most controversial... more
'It was just one of those days'
In the Test Trial of 1950 Jim Laker, who had been rejected by Yorkshire, returned to his home of Bradford and took the remarkable figures of 8 for 2... more
It ain't over until it's over
In the days before television coverage was a given at almost everyinternational match anywhere in the world, many controversial incidentswhich would now be endlessly replayed and analysed were hardly evencommented upon... more
'A symbol of cricket's past and a reassurance of its future'
Like sport itself, the world of sporting architecture moved on in leaps and bounds in the last third of the 20th century... more
The greatest over of them all?
Many people can recall outstanding deliveries, such as Shane Warne's'ball of the century' to Mike Gatting at Old Trafford in 1993... more
The record that shouldn't have been
Cricket records are broken fairly regularly, but few in such controversial circumstances as happened at Leyton in 1932... more
Walking the walk
The thorny subject of walking has been around for years ..... more
Bodyline's final fling
One of the last outings of Bodyline came in the unlikliest settings - the Varsity match of 1933 - where Ken Farnes almost bowled Cambridge to a controversial victory... more
Festive frolics at the MCG
On Christmas Day 1928, thousands deserted their Christmas celebrations to head to the MCG as Alan Kippax and Hal Hooker broke the world record for the last-wicket stand... more
Mynn's majestic innings - and the birth of leg-guards
Alfred Mynn, one of the early giants of the game, played a famous innings at Leicester in 1836... more
Bosie, Bannerman and a boycott
For many cricketers across the world, the idea of ending their lives doing what they love - playing cricket - has a certain romantic appeal... more
Not out ... dead
For many cricketers across the world, the idea of ending their lives doing what they love - playing cricket - has a certain romantic appeal... more
'One of the most undignified incidents in Test history'
Dennis Lillee and Javed Miandad were two of cricket's most high-profile players in the 1980s... more
When the game became too much
Probably the hardest decision any professional sportsman has to make is that of when to retire... more
Mike Gatting's annus horribilis
A look at Gatting's unfortunate turn of events after the Ashes glory... more
The day The Don got a working-over
Failures with the bat by Don Bradman were not commonplace, ducks even less so... more
Storming cricket's bastion
Jenny Thompson looks back to the day in August 1976 when women were finally allowed to play at Lord's... more
The tourist who ended up in jail
Gambling addiction led to Pooley being marooned in Christchurch... more
Cobden's match
The varsity match of 1870 will always go down as one of the classic games in English cricket... more
Heavy metal at the WACA
Dennis Lillee will be remembered as one of the game's great fast bowlers... more
The dirt in the pocket affair
It seems extraordinary to recall now, given all the seismic scandals that have clawed away at the integrity of cricket over the past decade, but at the start of the 1990s, there was no issue more emotive than ball-tampering... more
A tour too far
The subject of questionable bowling actions has dogged cricket since its earliest days... more
The sad case of Geoff Griffin
The subject of questionable bowling actions has dogged cricket since its earliest days... more
A tale of two terrors
In February 1988, Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli went berserk in the semi-finals of The Harris Shield Tournament, an inter-school competition, and prolonged he bowlers' misery for no reason but their own pleasure... more
AEJ Collins: a place in history
In 1899 a 13-year-old orphan at Clifton College established a world record which stands to this day... more
Bodyline's final fling
One of the last outings of Bodyline came in the unlikeliest of settings - the Varsity match of 1933 - when Ken Farnes almost bowled Cambridge to a controversial victory... more
The birth of Test cricket
A look back to the first game in cricket's premier format... more
Access your Indian Rupee earnings from anywhere in the world.
Who is the best footballer in Europe?
Debate now on the new ESPN Soccernet Castrol Rankings Blog
FREE Cricket DVD offer at Cricshop
Cricshop.com - leading online cricket store
Rugby Union Autumn Internationals coverage
on www.scrum.com
