Michael Slater's Masterclass vs. South Africa 2nd Test at Sydney in 1993-94.

Michael Slater's Masterclass vs. South Africa 2nd Test at Sydney in 1993-94. A combative and wholehearted cricketer, Michael Slater has played many vital innings for Australia as an opening batsman with his adventurous brand of strokeplay. In 1993-94, the South African team was returning from the sporting wilderness and playing Australia at the SCG. In a cracking test match, South Africa beat Australia by a narrow margin of 5 runs and took the lead 1-0 in the three-match series. In this famous Test match, Michael Slater scored a brilliant 92 off 262 balls, including 5 fours. Allan Donald finally bowled him just short of his third test century.

Throughout his career, Slater was susceptible to the "nervous nineties": of the 23 times he reached a score of 90 in a Test inning, he was dismissed nine times before reaching 100. Michael Slater played 74 Test matches and 42 one-day internationals for Australia. He was a part of the Australian squad that finished as runners-up at the 1996 Cricket World Cup. A specialist right-handed batter as well as a very occasional right-arm medium-pace bowler, Slater represented the New South Wales Blues in Australian domestic cricket and played English county cricket with Derbyshire. Fanie De Villiers was declared player of the match for 4 for 80 and 6 for 43. His performance was against a strong team, away from home, and while defending a very low target. The match umpires were Bill Sheahan, and Steve Randell, as Tv umpire Ian Thomas and match referee Jackie Hendricks. This was test match # 1243.

Simon O'Donnell, a multi-talented cricketer

Simon O'Donnell, a multi-talented athlete, forsook a promising career in Australian Rules football in favor of cricket. He subsequently became an indispensable all-rounder for the Australian one-day team and was a member of the squad when it made a resurgent mark with an unexpected victory at the World Cup in 1987. O'Donnell is chiefly recalled for a series of explosive innings in the middle-lower order.

During the one-day side's tour of New Zealand in 1990, O'Donnell enjoyed a career-best performance, taking 5 for 13 against New Zealand at Christchurch in the Rothmans Cup and scoring 20 runs off 19 balls with the aid of 2 fours. Despite this superlative all-rounder performance, he was not named man of the match; instead, Dean Jones received the honor for scoring 107 runs off 143 balls. Australia won the match by a resounding 150 runs.

O'Donnell was elected international cricketer of the year in 1990–91. He recovered from injury to rejoin the Australian one-day team in the 1988–89 season and played 43 more limited-over matches until December 10, 1991, claiming 56 wickets and producing 5 match-winning 50-plus scores, including the fastest half-century in One Day Internationals (18 balls vs. Sri Lanka in Sharjah, 1990). O'Donnell maintained a highly impressive batting strike rate of 80.96 runs per 100 balls in ODIs, nearly double his scoring rate in Tests.

Between 1984 and 1993, O'Donnell played for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield as an all-rounder, scoring a century in his first match. He played 6 Test matches in 1985, 5 on the Ashes tour of England and one at home, but he was more successful in the shorter form of the game due to his low bowling strike rate in five and four-day cricket. He was viewed as a limited-overs specialist with clever medium-paced bowling and explosive lower-order hitting. He participated in 87 ODIs from 1985 to 1992, scoring 1242 runs and taking 108 wickets in his career. He played a significant role in Australia's victory in the 1987 World Cup Final, taking a large number of wickets and ending the tournament as Australia's most economical bowler. Shortly after, however, he began to experience severe pain and was diagnosed with cancer. O'Donnell made a strong recovery and returned to one-day international cricket from 1988-89.

His clean, powerful drives straight off the wicket and through mid-on were particularly effective. However, O'Donnell's intelligent fast-medium bowling often proved to be more pivotal in Australia's one-day fortunes. Since he retired from cricket, O'Donnell has joined the Nine Network's commentary team and is the regular host of The Cricket Show, which airs during the lunch breaks of Tests in Australia.

Warwick Armstrong bowled two consecutive overs in the same innings in a Test match

This day, 1921, at Old Trafford, Warwick Armstrong bowled two consecutive overs in the same innings in a Test match for the first time since it was outlawed, in 1890. The rain had reduced the Test to a two-day match. England batted, and Lionel Tennyson declared at 5.50 with the score on 341/4.

But as the umpires and batsmen left, Australian wicketkeeper Sammy Carter informed his captain Armstrong that as per Law 55, Tennyson was not allowed to declare within the last 100 minutes of a day in a two-day match. So the Australians stayed put (I am more or less certain Armstrong enjoyed this) as everyone had to return.

Then Armstrong, who had bowled the last over before the break, bowled the next one as well. Warwick Windridge Armstrong was an Australian cricketer who played 50 Test matches between 1902 and 1921. An all-rounder, he captained Australia in ten Test matches between 1920 and 1921, and was undefeated, winning eight Tests and drawing two.

Bill O’Reilly’s - One of Best Leg Spinner Australia Ever Produce

Bill O’Reilly’s Test career was quite short. Because the circumstances conspired against his early recognition as a major talent and the Second World War effectively cut him off from international cricket at the age of only 32. But he nevertheless made an unforgettable impact.

William Joseph O’Reilly was born December 20, 1905, in the mining town of White Cliffs, New South Wales. He made his first-class debut in 1927-28 but could not show his class by taking only seven wickets. Although, by profession, he was a teacher, could not play cricket in the next four seasons. In 1931, he got a chance to play cricket again, and his satisfactory performance opens the doors to the Test level. He made Test debut against South Africa at Adelaide and took 2 for 74 and 2 for 81.

Don Bradman, who played against him in state cricket and alongside him in most of his Test matches said O’Reilly was the best bowler he ever faced and the best bowler he ever saw. Wally Hammond, who opposed him in all 19 of the Tests he played against England, said O’Reilly made the ball jump off the pitch better than any other slow bowler, he had met.

O’Reilly’s height was a key factor in his success. A tall 6ft 2Inch, he was a spin bowler and approached the wicket with a bounding run. He possessed the build and temperament of a fast bowler. His ultra-aggressive manner taking aback opponents and teammates alike and earning him the nickname of ‘Tiger’.

Every ball he bowled was charged with hostility and he had an appeal that could make batsmen jump out of their skin. ‘Hitting Bill O’Reilly for four was like disturbing a hive of bees,’ Bradman said. O’Reilly’s sheer unorthodoxy was one of the reasons why some people were slow to believe in him.

He gripped the ball in an unusual fashion and rejected the received wisdom that a leg-spinner should bowl to an array of close catchers on the leg side, preferring to target the stumps. In his way, he challenged perceptions about leg-spin bowling every bit as much as Shane Warne did later.

When O’Reilly died in 1992, Wisden among others hailed him as the greatest spin bowler the game had produced. As it happened, that was the year that Warne, who must be considered his greatest rival for that title, made his debut for Australia against India.

Although they did not oppose each other often in first-class cricket – they played together for New South Wales before Bradman moved to South Australia – O’Reilly dismissed Bradman six times and also, on one famous occasion during a testimonial match in Sydney in which Bradman had been due to bat at number 3 but O’Reilly was bowling a devastating spell prompted him to drop himself three places down the order (Bradman went on to score a double century).

Bill O’Reilly also had an excellent record against Hammond, England’s leading batsmen, whom he dismissed seven times for scores of 26 or fewer. Test cricket was a batsman’s game in the 1930s. Therefore, timeless matches in Australia, featherbed pitches there and often in England to. And it is in this context that bowling records must be assessed.

Considering the one off Test he played for Australia straight after the Second World War, O’Reilly’s figures of 144 wickets in 27 Tests at 22.59 bear comparison with anyone else’s during this period. Only Clarrie Grimmett, his leg-spinning ally in the Australia team and Maurice Tate of England took more wickets, both at higher averages.

However, Hedley Verity, England’s left-arm spinner, also took 144 wickets but again at a higher average. In Ashes Tests, only Grimmett, with 106 wickets to O’Reilly’s 102, took more wickets and he bowled many more overs and averaged 32.44 whereas O’Reilly’s figure was 25.36, remarkably low considering the conditions.

O’Reilly could bowl well on any sort of pitch. It has always been reckoned that the English climate and English surfaces don’t favor leg-spinners. But O’Reilly (and Warne) blew sizeable holes in that argument. O’Reilly was superb in England on his two tours, taking more than 100 wickets both times at around 17 runs apiece.

while in the Tests he captured 28 wickets in 1934 and 22 in 1938 (when only four matches were played due to rain washing out the game in Manchester). He was the leading wicket-taker on either side on both occasions and played a starring role in two of the three matches Australia won.

In the first Test at Trent Bridge in 1934, he bowled his side to victory with only ten minutes left on the clock on the final day with figures of seven for 54; at Headingley in 1938. He took 10 for 122 in the match. His victims including Hammond in both innings, the second time for a first-ball duck courtesy of a googly.

When there really was nothing in the pitch, he could contain better than almost anyone. At the Oval in 1938, when Len Hutton made his 364 in an England total of 903 for seven, O’Reilly still managed to wheel down 85 overs for only 178 runs. O’Reilly took more than 20 wickets in each of the five full series he played, four against England, one against South Africa.

His part in the 1932–33 Ashes series has largely been forgotten because of the controversy over England’s Bodyline tactics and the fact England won 4–1, but O’Reilly’s the contribution was immense. He took ten wickets in the one game Australia won and got through an enormous amount of work, bowling 383.4 overs in the five matches while conceding fewer than 1.90 runs per over.

It was a warning of what was to come. O’Reilly bowled with a lot of variety. His leg-break was a big weapon – Bradman said it was hard to imagine anyone could bowl a nastier one. But he also possessed top-spinners and googlies, plus a vicious faster ball. England’s Maurice Leyland said the first over he received from O’Reilly – which was in the days of eight-ball overs in Australia – contained eight different deliveries.

O’Reilly grew up in rural New South Wales. He moved to Sydney at the age of 18 to follow his father into teaching and there began a remarkable career in grade cricket. That would see him take almost 1,000 wickets at an average of 9.44. He failed a state trial when he was 20.

However, he played three games for the state in 1927–28, when he turned 22. Unfortunately teaching then took him away from the city again for three years – during which he developed his googly. He did not establish himself in the NSW side until 1931–32 after taking five wickets. Also, including that of Australia captain Bill Woodfull, in his second match of the season.

Within weeks, he was playing for Australia and bowling 81.4 overs on his first appearance. During that match, he failed to appeal for lbw and the umpire later informed him that had he appealed he would have given the batsman out. O’Reilly made sure he didn’t make that mistake again.

Bill O’Reilly putting up the consistent performance, but unfortunately, he missed eight years cricket due to the second world war, otherwise, his records would have been more impressive. After that, he played only one game against New Zealand in 1946, which turned to be his final appearance in Test Cricket for Australia. He took 5 for 14 and 3 for 19 in that game at Wellington.

In all First-Class cricket, he had 774 wickets in just 135 matches at an average of a mere 16.60 with the best of 9 for 38, including 63 times five wickets haul, and 17 times ten wickets in a match. These stats clearly show, how was he called greatest leg-spin bowler in Australian history along with Shane Warne.  

After retirement, he was considered a respectable writer and broadcaster. He served as a columnist in Sydney Morning Herald until 1988 when his health detreated. He was a keen broadcaster to serve his services until his death in 1992 at the age of 87.

Keith Miller, Australia 1946-1956

If the sole criterion of genuine all-rounder were glamour, Keith Miller might have come out number one. He did the things that make cricket most interesting to the masses and bowled fast. His ability to hit the ball huge distances held stunning reflex catches. To add the charm, he also possessing Hollywood looks and an unquenchable sense of fun.

Keith Miller was born on November 28, 1919, at Sunshine Melbourne Victoria. He was called “Golden Boy of Cricket” and being nicked name “Nugget”. Having survived Second World War service as a fighter pilot of (Royal Australian Air Force), a media personality and a raconteur. He wasn’t prepared to take anything too seriously. That only served to imbue his cricket with even more zest.

Alan Davidson, a fine all-rounder in his own right and among a generation of Australian players who idolized Miller. He rated him along with Garry Sobers as the best all-rounder who ever lived. He is certainly Australia’s best. He was a powerful striker batsman and varying his bowling speed to the mystified batsman.

Keith Ross Miller could turn a match with an impromptu passage of star-sprinkled play. Such as when he bowled out South Australia for 27 having arrived late at the ground as the players were taking the field. He took seven for 12. The bare statistics of the game, though, meant little to him. And scarcely did justice to his natural talents, but his figures were nevertheless hugely impressive.

Keith Miller was a successful member of Australian Rules Footballer, played 50 games for St Kilda, scoring eight goals in one game against North Melbourne in 1941. His father was a local cricketer and advise their children to play with the classical techniques with solid defense.  

Keith Miller was the second all-rounder after Wilfred Rhodes to complete the Test double of 2,000 runs and 100 wickets. A rare feat so much harder to do in those days when there was less Test cricket available to the player. Also, the difference between his batting average (36.97) and bowling average (22.97) was significantly in credit, to an extent matched only by Garry Sobers, Jacques Kallis and Imran Khan.

Miller’s fast-bowling partnership with Ray Lindwall ranks among the game’s most iconic. They were the scourge of England’s batsmen in the immediate postwar period. On their credit, 34 wickets between them in 1947–48, another 40 in 1948 and 32 in 1950–51. Therefore, all three series emphatically won by Australia. Although England then won the next three series, the two of them remained potent weapons.

England legendary batsman Denis Compton said, their bowling at Lord’s in 1953 was the fastest he faced. They were said to be still very quick when Australia toured the Caribbean in 1955. Miller had left England in 1953 with predictions that he was finished as a fast bowler ringing in his ears. But he enjoyed his biggest haul of 21 wickets.

Further, when he returned for his final tour of England in 1956. The series of few other highlights for the Australians as Jim Laker made fools of them, no one more so than Miller himself (he was out to Laker six times). Keith Miller was 37 on the final tour of England, he and Lindwall pulled a sensational victory at Lord’s in the 2^nd Test match. Miller took the responsibility in the absence of Pat Crawford, burden the bowling attack send 34.1 overs in the first inning and 36 overs in the second inning. And he took five wickets in both innings to give a great victory to Australia.

Moreover, the fielding sides were entitled to a new ball much earlier in those days. Amazingly, after just 55 overs in 1948 – which only played into the hands of this formidable pairing. They induced just as much trepidation in other sides, especially Miller. Who stood more upright in his action than Ray Lindwall and could make the ball lift alarmingly?

Keith Miller was not averse to making liberal use of the short ball and attracted plenty of criticism as a result. He was once roundly booed by the Nottingham crowd for subjecting Len Hutton to one such barrage.  The following day knocked Denis Compton, a kindred spirit and good friend, back on to his stumps to end a fighting inning of 184. However, he possessed charm enough to ensure that the hostility did not last.

His bowling, in any case, was not unrelentingly hostile. He would vary the searing pace with an assortment of leg-breaks, off-breaks or googlies. Which broke the boredom and often caught out an unwitting batsman. Miller was a substantial batsman, good enough to play most of his Test innings at number 3, 4 or 5, higher than most genuine all-rounders would be capable of doing.

He scored four of his seven hundred against West Indies, who were an emergent force in the early The 1950s.  And whose tour of Australia in 1951–52 was given world championship billing. Miller significantly contributed 362 runs and 20 wickets to that series. Therefore, he comes up with great success in the 1955 series by scoring 439 runs and 20 wickets in the Caribbean. Perhaps his finest innings was the century he scored at Lord’s in 1953. That created the opportunity for an Australian win so famously thwarted by Willie Watson and Trevor Bailey on the last day.

England ultimately won that series. But English satisfaction in the discovery of a fast bowler of their own in Fred Trueman was tempered by the mauling Trueman received at Miller’s hands in the final match of the tour. Keith Miller scoring 262 in a day. Miller, who loved to gamble on the horses and life in general. He was not inclined to take the safe course and in political terms, this might have cost him, dear.

He was never made Australia captain even though he successfully led New South Wales, was a natural leader of men. and was the most obvious to take over from Lindsay Hassett in 1953. For this, Don Bradman was widely held to be responsible, and Miller certainly didn’t share ‘The Don’s’ ruthlessly unsentimental approach to playing the game.

Don Bradman was reportedly unimpressed by Miller’s decision to give his wicket away from the first ball during the Australian massacre of Essex’s bowling at Southend in 1948, when they racked up 721 in a day. Shortly after the tour, Miller bowled bouncers at the great man during Bradman’s testimonial match. Bradman was also reckoned to have used his influence as an Australian board member to expedite Miller’s omission from a tour of South Africa. Hence, an injury to another player meant that in the end Miller did go (fully justifying his presence with 246 runs and 17 wickets in the Tests).

All this only added to the impression of Miller as a cricketing rebel. The shiniest of loose cannons. Miller made a mark in state cricket before the outbreak of war – he scored 181 for Victoria against Tasmania on debut at the age of 18 at Melbourne in 1937-38. But was effectively denied a start to his cricketing career proper until the age of 25.

He kept his cricket going between sorties during the war though and was perhaps the outstanding star of the Australian Services side. That entertained crowds in England and India in 1945. In one match at Lord’s, he hit a six on to the top tier of the pavilion. The brand of cricket he played in the ‘Victory Tests’ against England was the brand he stuck to, and it won him the hearts of millions.

Overall, Keith Miller played 55 Tests for Australia and scored 2,958 runs at an average of 36.97, with seven hundred, 13 fifties with the best of 147 and 38 catches. He was a fine acrobatic slip fielder. Miller scored three centuries against England and four against powerful West Indies side. In the bowling department, he took 170 wickets at 22.97, with a career-best 7 for 60 among his seven five wickets hauls and one time 10 wickets in a match.

In the first-class cricket, he played 226 matches, scored 14,183 runs at 48.90 with the best of 281* including 41 hundred, 63 fifties and 136 catches. He sent down 28070 balls in 326 innings, took 497 wickets at 22.30 with the best of 7 for 12, including 16 times five wickets haul and one time ten wickets in a match.

In the 1950’s West Indies captain John Goddard said, “Give us Keith Miller and we would beat the world”. Indeed, that was huge applause for him. After retirement, he was a key public figure having an affair with Princess Margaret. He was columnist and journalist for the Daily Express. He had suffered three hip operations, cancer and stroke, which has badly affected his health. His records would have been more impressive if the second world war wouldn’t damage his prime time.

Keith Ross Miller died on October 11, 2004, at Mornington Peninsula, Melbourne Victoria at the age of 84. More than 1,000 mourners gave the farewell to Australian finest all-rounder at St Paul Cathedral. Keith Miller name will live if cricket exists. The ladies of their generation loved him, even every man wanted to be like him.

His some of memorable awards were!

·         1954 – Wisden Cricketer of the Year

·         1956 – Awarded the MBE in the Year

·         1996 – Included in Australian Cricket Hall of Fame

Adam Gilchrist 1999–2008

Adam Gilchrist must be one of the most fearless cricketers of all time. It is all very well swinging the bat seemingly without a care in the world at the county or state level. It is quite another to do so when a Test match or even a one-day international hangs in the balance. But all games appeared to come the same to Gilchrist. He was naturally aggressive left-hand batsman, widely regarded greatest wicket-keeper the batsman in the history of cricket.

Adam Craig Gilchrist is born on 14 November 1971 at Bellingen in New South Wales, Australia. And he played in a very strong Australia team. Although it is true, and one that was often expected to win with something to spare. But Gilchrist played the same for every team he represented, and in all situations.

If he had an advantage, it was in not starting his Test career until a relatively late stage. He made his first-class debut in 1992 and perform consistently till 1996. Eventually, Gilchrist debut ODI in India in 1996 and then a few days short of his 28th birthday when he finally got his chance, having been kept waiting for his opportunity by Ian Healy, a fine keeper and capable enough batsman to average 27 in Tests.

He made Test debut against Pakistan at Brisbane Gabba scored 81 off 88 balls before bowled by Shoaib Akhtar and in his second retrieved a dire situation in spectacular fashion. Gilchrist had spent three years in Australia’s one-day team and already made a considerable mark as a destructive opening batsman with several hundred to his name.

He thus arrived conscious that there might be few second chances but also experienced enough to know his own game. Australia, set 369 to win against powerful Pakistan bowling attack, were apparently heading for defeat to Pakistan in Hobart when Gilchrist joined Justin Langer at 126 for five seems almost lost. Gilchrist showed a real class to smashed Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akthar, Azhar Mehmood, and Saqlain Mushtaq.

Cool as you like, the two of them all but took their side home, Justin Langer falling with five runs still needed. Gilchrist finished unbeaten on 149. Quite a few of Gilchrist’s best innings came when Australia was in difficulties rather than when they already had a big score on the board by the time, he strolled out at number 7. Adam Gilchrist said; he enjoyed it more when they were in trouble because it gave him something to work with. Not that he could not drive home good positions either.

When he went in at Johannesburg in 2002 against South Africa, when Australia wasn’t a difficulty at 293 for five and he proceeded to smash what was then the fastest Test double century on record. Gilchrist smashed 204 runs off 213 balls including 8 towering sixes and 19 rolling shots over the boundary.

Australia won the match an innings and 360 runs. Further, in the next match at Cape Town, he took South African bowling to knee scoring another hundred 138 runs off 108 balls in just 172 mins including 22 fours and 2 sixes. Australia owed its strength to many things, but Gilchrist’s presence was surely a crucial factor in their dominance around the turn of the century.

Australia won an astonishing 73 of the 96 Tests he played between 1999 and 2008 and lost only 11. One of those defeats came when Gilchrist himself, acting as stand-in captain for the injured Steve Waugh, made a rather too adventurous declaration at Headingly in 2001. In this Ashes series, Gilchrist again top of his game, scoring 340 runs at 68 including 26 dismissals and Australian won the Ashes 4-1.

Adam Gilchrist finished on the winning side in each of his first 15 Tests. He also played in three winning World Cup finals in 1999, 2003 and 2007. Gilchrist contributed runs on each occasion, most dazzlingly at Barbados in 2007 when in a game reduced to 38 overs aside, he rattled up 149 off 104 deliveries against Sri Lanka. Some of his knocks were just unbelievable and still in people's minds.

The record of this lean, slightly built left-hander was remarkable and leaves him towering above all other international keeper-batsmen. In Tests, he hit 17 hundred and averaged 47.60, highly impressive figures when it is borne in mind what a toll hour spent behind the stumps takes on mind and body. Most remarkable though was his strike rate of 81.95, which places him second only to Virender Sehwag.

In 2007, he was a member of the Australian team who took part first-ever T20I world cup in South Africa. In this tournament, he scored 169 runs at 33.80 as Aussies were knockdown by India in the Semis. He was also the first batsman to hit 100 sixes in Tests. Moreover, against England he scored a super-fast hundred in just 57 balls at Perth, missing Richard long time 56 balls hundred. Later, Pakistan Misbah-ul-Haq equaled in 56 balls and then broken by Brendon McCullum.

He hit 16 hundred in one-dyers, in which his strike rate of 96.94 again puts him second only to Sehwag among bona fide batsmen. In that format, he stands tenth on the six-hitting list with 149. Needless to say! that Adam Gilchrist was a big success when he joined the first wave of players recruited to the Indian Premier League in 2008.

Among Test keepers whose careers are complete, only Andy Flower, who averaged 53.70 but batted in far less explosive fashion, can approach his record. Matt Prior, Les Ames and Kumar Sangakkara is among the few to even average more than 40. It has been the fate of every international keeper since to be measured against him. Every team searches not just for a competent glove-man but a cricketer who can also bat and score regular hundreds.

Gilchrist set the mark and others strive to meet it as best they can. In fact, several keepers have done very well without quite adhering to the Gilchrist blueprint of reliable runs delivered with all-out aggression – Matt Prior for England, MS Dhoni for India, Kumar Sangakkara for Sri Lanka and Brad Haddin for Australia have all had their moments, while AB de Villiers maintained his batting form amazingly well after temporarily taking over the gloves from Mark Boucher in 2012.

But the greats do it time and time again and that is what sets Gilchrist apart. Gilchrist played his early cricket in New South Wales but with the state already having an established keeper he moved to Western Australia in his early 20s. There, like many batsmen brought up on the hard surfaces in Perth, he developed into a strong cutter and puller of fast bowling.

The one team against whom his record was iffy was India, whose spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh managed to keep him largely, if not totally, in check. A few fast bowlers, notably Andrew Flintoff bowling at his absolute best in 2005 Ashes, managed to deny him the room to free his arms by coming around the the wicket at him and firing the ball into his body, but it was a plan requiring perfect execution.

In the next Ashes series, in Australia in 2006–07, Gilchrist exacted brutal revenge, splattering the English bowling to all parts of Perth in what was then the second-fastest Test century of all time. Gilchrist also developed into a considerable keeper. He had to keep to Shane Warne a lot, so in common with a lot of keepers of the the modern era, like Ian Healy and Alec Stewart, he improved himself enormously through necessity, exposure, and hard work.

Again, he had the advantage of working for the most part with one of the most formidable bowling attacks in history, but in the main, his standards were very high. When he retired, he had a record 416 Test dismissals to his name, an impressive haul in only 96 matches. ‘Gilly’ also played the game in a good spirit and earned a reputation, very unusual in the modern game, of being a ‘walker’.

Adam Gilchrist held most dismissals by a wicket-keeper in ODI, which is being broken by Kumar Sangakkara in 2015. As an Australian captain, in the six Test matches, four was won, one lost and one draw. In 17 ODI’s 12 won, 4 lost, and one was ended without being a ball bowled. In two T201, he won one match and lost one.

Adam Gilchrist was a regular team member was rarely available for domestic matches from 1999 to 2005. Hence, he could not have enough time to play for his state. He made only seven first-class appearance for his local state. Adam Gilchrist retired from test cricket in March 2008, but he keeps on playing domestic cricket until 2013.

He appeared in six IPL seasons, three for Deccan Chargers, and three for King XI Punjab. He was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2002 and following year awarded the Australian Allan Border Medal. Gilchrist left unbelievable mark on the whole cricketing world. In 2013, he was included in the prestigious ICC Hall of Fame.

Some of Adam Gilchrist best performances in different versions are.

• Test Cricket - 204* vs South Africa at Johannesburg in 2003

• ODI Cricket – 172 vs Zimbabwe at Hobart in 2004

• T201 Cricket – 48 vs England at Sydney in 2007

• First-Class     - 204* vs South Africa at Johannesburg in 2003

• List-A Cricket – 172 vs Zimbabwe at Hobart in 2004

• T20 Cricket - 109* Mumbai Indians vs Deccan Charges in 2008

He was famous for walk batsman, on numerous occasions he walked even umpires given Not out. Gilly reignite the debate during a high-pressure match against Sri Lanka in the semi’s of 2003 world cup, after the umpire ruled him not out, but he walked straightforwardly. Even in Bangladesh, he walked when TV umpire didn’t find any contact between bat and pad, but he walked. The integrity of the game was so close to him.

Ray Lindwall Australian Premier Fast Bowler 1946–60

Australian Ray Lindwall raised the standard for fast bowlers in the ten years after the Second World War. Ray Lindwall represented Australia in 61 Tests from 1946-47 to 1960. Raymond Russell Lindwall born on October 3, 1921, in Sydney and died on 23 June 1996 at the age of 74. Lindwall approached like a graceful robust wave, erupted a quick burst of speed and the positioning the arms at 45 degrees, and legs spread in the long stretch of the final stride.

When he was 11 years old, he watched the body line series, when English bowlers terrifying Australian bowler with beamer with wide eyes and arrogant way. At that time, he decided to become a fast bowler. He was not a flamboyant character like Keith Miller, but very much admired by people due to his phenomenal records.

He was a terrific athlete who could have excelled at several other sports had he not chosen cricket. Ray Lindwall could have easily been a rugby league international player when he ran 100 yards in just 10.6 seconds. The mechanics of his run-up and delivery were widely admired. Fred Trueman, who, like Richie Benaud (writing in the The 1970s), rated Lindwall the finest fast bowler he had seen, described Lindwall’s approach to the wicket as the most rhythmical of all.

Genuinely fast bowlers of earlier eras had rarely maintained their speed and menace for long in Test cricket but Lindwall did. No out-and-out quick bowler had previously taken even 100 Test wickets. He was not only becoming the first to 100 wickets but was the first past 200 as well and by the time of his last match in 1960 had 228 to his name (exactly half of them against England).

At that time only the fast-medium Alec Bedser of England, with 236, had taken more test wickets. Ray Lindwall in full cry was reckoned to be one of the great sights of the era. His action was not without its impurities. His arm was not as high as it might have been at the point of release, but this slanginess helped him make the ball leave the right-hander very late in the flight.

Once, Trevor Bailey said that he never encountered a genuine fast bowler who moved the ball in the air as much or as late as Lindwall. He further adds that he was also the most devastating exploiter of the new ball. By way of variation, Lindwall brought the ball back in off the seam.

Ray Lindwall’s ‘drag’, a method by which bowlers took advantage of the back-foot no-ball rule then in operation (no-balls were measured by where the back foot landed rather than the front foot) to steal some extra distance before release, was controversial but also perfectly common.

It gave batsmen less time to react than they have under today’s laws – and in Lindwall’s case, you needed every split second available. Ray Lindwall was the most feared fast bowler in the world in the later 1940s. With Keith Miller as his new-ball partner, Australia knew they had a combination of bowlers of rare power and menace, and neither of them was reluctant to use the bouncer.

They first came together properly in the Ashes series of 1946–47 – they had appeared in one Test before that against New Zealand but did not open the bowling – and Lindwall’s seven for 63 in the first innings of the final Test in questionable light was a chilling portent of torments to come.

When the sides met again in England 18 months later Lindwall made the new ball count in almost every innings and finished with 27 wickets at just 19.62 apiece, even though he played only a small part in one Test because of a strain. He bowled more than half his victims and when he shattered England’s first innings at The Oval with figures of six for 20 – England all out for 52, still their lowest total at home – and followed up with three for 50 in the second, seven of his nine victims had their stumps hit.

Bradman’s ‘Invincible’ won the Test series 4–0 and went through the entire tour unbeaten, Lindwall taking 86 wickets at 15.68 in all matches. The following year the South Africans prepared for the arrival of Lindwall and Miller by practicing against baseball pitchers, although as it turned out Lindwall was not at his fastest because of a groin problem.

He still took 12 wickets in the series at an average of 20.66 and claimed another 15 at 22.93 when England was trounced in Australia in 1950–51. It was then the turn of the West Indians to endure Lindwall and Miller on their own pitches. Lindwall captured 21 wickets to Miller’s 20. So dependable was his action and physique that Lindwall did not have.  

What could be remotely described as a bad series with the ball between making his debut in 1946 and the tour of England in 1953. Hence, during that time his average never rose above 23. So accurate was he that even if he did not take wickets, he rarely went for runs.

Ray Lindwall suffered a dip when England regained the Ashes in Australia in 1954–55 but within weeks was back among the wickets in the Caribbean, where he also scored one of his two Test centuries. Lindwall was a more than useful lower-order batsman although in what was generally a strong and successful side – Australia lost only nine of the 61 Tests in which he appeared – runs were rarely needed from him.

The hundred he scored in the third Test of the 1946–47 series at Adelaide made good what was already a strong position, but nevertheless the way he struck the ball was a fair indication of his class; coming off 90 balls. Although, it was at the time the second fastest scored by an Australian.

As a youngster, Lindwall was inspired by watching Harold Larwood bowl at Sydney during the Bodyline series and there was perhaps something similar in their styles. Lindwall was lucky in his mentors. He played his early cricket for the St George club in Sydney under the captaincy of Bill O’Reilly and Bradman took him under his wing during his first tour to England in 1948.

Richie Benaud Australia, 1952 – 1964

Richie Benaud, the Australian leg spinner displayed flair in everything he did. Whether it was aggressive batting, intelligent and varied leg-spin, brilliant close catching, instinctive and positive captaincy. Even though insightful TV commentary, which is probably what most people, too young to have seen him play for Australia, know him for.

Richie Benaud born on 6 October 1930 at Penrith New South Wales in a cricketing family. His younger brother John Benaud played 3 Test for Australia from 1972-73 to 1973-74. His father Louis, was a leg spinner, playing grade cricket in Australia. Richie was mostly inspired by his father's leg-spin abilities. He has been famous for more than 60 years and what underpinned everything with him throughout that time was a deep love and understanding of the game.

If he was to be remembered for just one thing, it perhaps ought to be leadership. Richie Benaud more than anyone led Australian cricket out of the doldrums in the late 1950s. His all-round cricket before he formally took over the national captaincy in 1958. He, along with his opposite number Sir Frank Worrell, did a great deal to revive general interest in Test cricket in a bold way. They conducted what turned into a truly epic series between Australia and West Indies in 1960–61.

That famous series started with the celebrated tied Test in Brisbane in which Benaud’s run-out for 52 with seven runs needed proved a major turning point during the game’s climax. Tactically he was razor-sharp, while never losing sight of the fact that a captain could realistically. The only hope to control so much of what happened during a game spanning several days and many hours. One of his most famous sayings was! “Captaincy is 90 percent luck and 10 percent skill. But don’t try it without the 10 percent.”

He certainly had that 10 percent and, like Mike Brearley, appeared to possess the uncanny knock of creating his own good fortune. Probably by being so good at anticipating what might happen next. If conjuring victory from defeat in the 1981 Ashes was Brearley’s defining achievement. Richie Benaud finest hour was a not dissimilar Houdini-like act at Old Trafford 20 years earlier, only a few months after the historic contests with Worrell’s team.

Then, with the series standing 1–1 after three matches and England 150 for one needing only a further 106 to take a 2–1 lead. He chose to forget that he was handicapped by a shoulder injury and, operating from round the wicket and into the rough. The bowled his country to unbelievable victory with a spell of five for 12 from 25 balls, thereby retaining the Ashes. If Brearley can claim to be England’s finest captain of all time, the same status might be accorded Benaud among Australian leaders.

He was inspired to bowl leg-spin by watching Clarrie Grimmett. Richie Benaud first played for New South Wales at the age of 18 and for Australia at 21. However, it took him time to fulfil his talents at the highest level. He smashed a maiden Test hundred in just 78 minutes at Jamaica in 1955. Where circumstances were extremely hard for the most taxing – six other centuries were scored in the same game – and it took him 25 matches to record his first five-for.

Richie also tasted a fair bit of defeat in his early years, finishing on the losing side to England in three straight Ashes series. English conditions were hardly conducive to leg-spin and he made a little impression with the ball on the 1953 and 1956 tours. Therefore, even accounting for his Manchester triumph in 1961 his Test wickets in England cost almost 40 apiece). Which is fairly high for his caliber? His best bowling analysis was 7 for 56 against India at Madras (now Chennai) in 1955-56.

Then things clicked on a tour of the subcontinent that followed straight on from the 1956 tour. Australia lost to Pakistan on a matting wicket in Karachi but Benaud then proved the decisive player with 23 wickets in three Tests in India in a series Australia won 2–0. A year later he produced what ranks among the finest all-round performances of all time in South Africa, where in five matches he scored 329 runs and took 31 wickets.

Only two other players – George Giffen and Ian Botham – have ever scored 300 runs and taken 30 wickets in the same series. Australia won that series 3–0. Moreover on the tour Benaud’s return in all first-class matches was a stupendous 817 runs and 106 wickets. When Ian Craig fell ill, Benaud was the natural choice to take over the captaincy against England in 1958–59. He took to the promotion effortlessly.

England was trounced 4–0 and if the methods of Benaud’s pace attack was questioned. This was at the height of the ‘throwing’ controversy – his own bowling was beyond reproach and he was leading wicket-taker on either side with 31 at 18.83. A year later Australia toured Pakistan and India again and this time won both series and Benaud was again the star with 47 wickets in the eight Tests at and a marvelous average of 20.19.

Then came the stubborn victories, both by 2–1 margin, over West Indies and England. With his shoulder problem causing him increasing difficulty. Because his effectiveness as a bowler began to diminish but he nevertheless retained the Ashes at home in 1962–63 with a 1–1 draw. He played one more series, at home to South Africa in 1963–64. Because initially as captain but then under Bob Simpson, before retiring from all cricket at the age of just 33. In fact, Benaud has left two- or three-years cricket to make his records more impressive.

If that was sad, the story of the second, triumphant phase of his Australia career was not. During it, he averaged five more points with the bat than he had earlier, and nine points fewer with the ball, while Australia won 19 Tests and lost only five. At the time of his retirement, Benaud had taken 248 wickets in 63 Tests Matches with the best of 7 for 72 and taking five wickets on 16 times and one time to grab 10 wickets in a match. As a mini all-rounder, he scored 2,201 runs at 24.45 with the highest score of 122 against South Africa at Johannesburg in 1957-58. Indeed, more than anyone else for Australia up to that point and second only to Fred Trueman among all nations.

He had also captured a record 266 wickets for New South Wales. And overall, he had a whole bag of tricks – googlies, flippers and top-spinners, countless variations in flight – and was very accurate by the standards of his breed. My entire experience of Richie is of him as a broadcaster, first listening to him and then, behind the microphone, working alongside him in the commentary box for Channel Nine and the BBC. He was indeed the guru of cricket commentary.

His selection of words and manner of delivery were always pitch-perfect. To a novice such he was generous of spirit, always happy to talk and pass on advice. It is easy in our business to fire from the hip but one of his great aphorisms is ‘Engage brain first before speaking’ and he was always very careful to avoid making sweeping statements about issues that might develop and force some revision.

His influence extended into many areas. He was a key adviser to Kerry Packer during World Series Cricket. A groundbreaking venture that was highly controversial at the time but for which all well-remunerated modern cricketers should be thankful. Taking together his contributions on and off the field, he must rank as one of the most significant cricketing figures of all time. Richie Benaud captain for Australia in 28 Test Matches with 12 wins, 4 lost, 1 tie, and 11 draws.

At the age of 84, he diagnosed with skin cancer in 2014. He fought with cancer with brave heart but eventually, he died in his sleep on April 10, 2015. Many great players attended his funeral like Shane Warne, Michael Clarke, Ian Chappell and his close family and friends. Richie Benaud handed the last baggy green cap to Mitchel Starc and Simon Katich. He was, in fact, most influential cricket personality post era of World War II. Many cricketers believe this is the second greatest loss after Don Bradman. His chirping voice will be forever missed by cricket lovers.

Read More 

• Doug Ring – The Member of Invincible Team
• Don Bradman Australia, 1928 – 1948
• Bill Johnston – Bradman Invincible Bowler
• Gil Langley – Former Australian Wicket Keeper
• Victor Trumper – The Greatest Batsman of Golden Age
• 50,000 Runs in all forms of cricket

Don Bradman Australia, 1928 – 1948

Indeed, the greatest batsman ever born in the history of cricket. His figures and feats are ones with which you simply cannot argue. Don Bradman record is so far ahead of anyone else’s that one can scarcely believe one man could be so dominant through a career spanning 20 years.

Whereas most players, if not every other player but him, went through dips in form, he maintained his supremacy each year, every year. That was what really set him apart. As Wally Hammond said, Don Bradman whole career demonstrated his merciless will to win. One can only admire the mental strength he must have possessed.

As with WG Grace, it often became a match between the opposition and him. ‘He spoilt the game,’ Jack Hobbs said. He got too many runs.’ Australia lost only two series in which he played. Both were against England. The first was in 1928–29 when Don Bradman was appearing for the first time and was dropped for one game after making an innocuous debut (his response when he was recalled was to score two hundred in the remaining three games).

The second came in 1932–33 when Douglas Jardine deployed his infamous Bodyline tactics. That series represented Bradman’s most serious failure and yet he averaged 56.57! Although, that’s wasn’t true failure in other people’s books. These were the only two series in which he averaged less than 70. You’ve seen brief glimpses of footage of him batting and wondered about some of the field settings, which hardly seemed designed to slow down the scoring.

He himself has conceded that the game in those days was in some respects very different from the way it later became. When Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar were granted an audience with him in the 1990s. An interesting conversation ensued in which ‘The Don’ was asked how he might have fared in the modern era.

He said he would not have scored so many runs exactly because of defensive fields; in his day, fields remained attacking for far longer, even when batsmen were scoring quite freely. There was no such thing as a deep point or sweeper in those days and he also conceded that the standard of fielding was much better in the modern game.

His admission that he might have averaged nearer 70 than 100 had he played in the modern era prompted some jokes along the lines of ‘Not bad for a 90-year-old’, but his comment was perhaps a serious and revealing one. To an extent, the transformation in fielding standards supports to explain one of Bradman’s key strengths, which was the phenomenal speed of his scoring.

Don Bradman two Test triple-centuries were both scored in matches in England restricted to four days. The first one in 1930, when he brilliant scored 309 of his 334 runs in one day, including a hundred in each of the three sessions. In that series, consisting of four matches lasting four days and one (the last one) played to a finish. He scored 8, 131, 254, 1, 14, 334 and 232 for an aggregate of 974 which still stands as the record for any series, even though many series since have been played over more matches and more days.

That innings of 334 was at the time the highest ever played in a Test match and meant that he held the records in both Test and first-class cricket, having earlier that year scored an unbeaten 452 (in just under seven hours) for New South Wales against Queensland in Sydney. He was just 21 years old at the time.

His personal view was that his innings of 254, made in the second Test at Lord’s, was the best of his career. For him, though, scoring fast did not mean taking foolish risks. His method was so clinical and efficient – if not always pretty enough for some purists – that he hit few sixes and rarely hit the ball in the air (he had an unorthodox grip that did not lend itself to aerial shots).

And even if we concede that the standard of fielding was not as high then as it is now: it was the same for everyone in his time and he still stood head, shoulders and a fair bit of the body above his peers in terms of productivity. He was clearly an interesting character. Talk to the likes of Ian Chappell, who knew The Don well, and what comes back is not all sweetness and light. He appears to have been prickly and critics will call him self-centered and self-interested.

It was well known at the time that Don Bradman did not see eye to eye with several other Australian players, the Irish-Australians Bill O’Reilly and Jack Fingleton among them. When Australia – without Bradman, who was recovering from illness – happily toured South Africa under Vic Richardson in 1935–36, only for Don Bradman to be appointed captain in his place for the following winter’s series against England, it was not a popular decision with all parts of the dressing room.

But Don Bradman proved as ruthless and as successful a captain as he was a batsman, and the results brooked little argument. A classic example of his leadership style came in that 1936–37 series against England when he reversed his batting order on a rain-affected wicket so that by the time he went in, at number 7, conditions had improved, and he was able to score what proved to be a match-winning 270.

His contribution went beyond just the playing feats. He also had a role in management and was a very influential member of the Australian board. Some feel he might have done more to see that players were better remunerated in the period leading up to their decision to take Kerry Packer’s dollars, but he also played an undeniably beneficial role in eradicating ‘chucking’ and in encouraging the teams to play enterprising cricket ahead of the famous 1960–61 series between Australia and West Indies.

With a similar ambition in mind he was also instrumental in Garry Sobers, the world’s biggest drawcard, joining South Australia the following year. I met him briefly once in Adelaide on one of my early tours, a chance encounter walking round from the dressing rooms to the dining room. He was struck by how small he was, a reminder that many of the finest batsmen – Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara Ricky Ponting, and Sunil Gavaskar also come to mind – are not great hulks.

He was 5ft 8in tall and not powerfully built. You imagine that when you meet such a revered figure there will be a golden aura surrounding them, a great charge of energy when you shake hands, and pearls dropping from his lips when he speaks. He exuded coolness, calmness and a normality that hid the great ability and determination. One of the first cricket books I ever read, and pored over, was his masterly Art of Cricket.

While it is hard to compare different societies and different times, Bradman carried the hopes of a nation on his shoulders, just as Tendulkar did for Indians in a later era. In Bradman’s case, Australians were feeling acutely the consequences of the First World War, which had left their relationship with Britain under strain, as well as the Great Depression. Sport gave them an identity and Don Bradman provided them with their most reliable champion.

But the burden took its toll, which only makes his achievements more remarkable. Bradman himself said that his concentration was what set him apart from others. He was famously single-minded in practice as a child, using a single stump to hit a golf ball against a water tank outside the family home in Bowral in rural New South Wales where he grew up, the fifth child of a wool trader and carpenter.

He was 17 years old when he made scores of 234 and 300 for Bowral, the former against a young O’Reilly (off whose bowling he was dropped twice before reaching 50). This led to an invitation to attend a practice session at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and ultimately to an offer to play for the St George club.

Don Bradman and Stan McCabe 1938

In his first match for them – and his first-ever match on a turf wicket – he scored 110. A little more than a year later he was playing his first match for New South Wales and scoring another hundred. What was particularly striking was how Bradman was equal to each new challenge that was presented to him. He made a success of his first season of state cricket and his first season as a Test cricketer, despite being dropped after one game.

When doubts were expressed that he would struggle in English conditions on his first tour in 1930 his response was to hit 236 at Worcester in his first match and he went on to make 1,000 runs before the end of May. Such indeed were his powers of concentration that he was never out in the 90s in Test cricket (he scored 29 hundred).

He was surely fortunate to play in an era tailor-made for batsmen. Scoring in state cricket in Australia was huge and before Bradman had arrived on the scene Bill Ponsford twice played innings in excess of 400. Far fewer Test matches were played in those days but even so three other batsmen besides him made Test scores of more than 300 in the 1930s.

In the series in which Don Bradman made his debut, Wally Hammond topped 900 runs. Bradman therefore had plenty to aim at in terms. Just how well he succeeded can be measured by a first-class career average of 95.14 and career Test average of 99.94, which remain well ahead of all his rivals. He played at a time when big scores – huge scores – were a necessity, and Don provided them like no batsman before or since.

Eddie Gilbert and Donald Bradman at the Woolloongabba
Read More 

• Doug Ring – The Member of Invincible Team
• Bill Johnston – Bradman Invincible Bowler
• Gil Langley – Former Australian Wicket Keeper
• Victor Trumper – The Greatest Batsman of Golden Age
• 50,000 Runs in all forms of cricket