David Johnson Passed Away Aged 52

Former India pacer David Johnson passed away on Thursday in Bengaluru at the age of 52. He played in two Test matches in 1996, taking three wickets.

David Johnson, a name that might not ring a bell for many contemporary cricket fans, is known for his brief but impactful stint in the mid-90s. Despite his promising start and the ability to bowl at over 95 mph, he struggled with consistency and fitness, which limited his opportunities at the international level.

David Johnson was born on October 16, 1971, in Karnataka. From a young age, he showed a keen interest in sports, especially cricket. Growing up in a cricket-loving nation, it wasn't long before he started playing the game seriously. His passion and dedication towards cricket were evident, even as a child, as he spent countless hours, to improving his skills on the grounds of Bangalore.

His ability to generate pace and swing made him a standout performer in domestic matches. Playing for Karnataka, he delivered several match-winning performances, which eventually caught the eyes of the national selectors.

Johnson's breakthrough came during the early 90s when his consistent performances in the domestic circuit earned him a spot in the Indian national team. His pace and ability to move the ball both ways made him a promising prospect for India, a team traditionally known for its spin bowlers.

David Johnson made his Test debut for India on October 10, 1996, against Australia in Delhi. Although his debut match didn't turn out to be extraordinary in terms of personal statistics, his potential was evident. He bowled with vigor and pace, which added a new dimension to the Indian bowling attack. He then even accompanied the team to the tour of South Africa and played the first Test at Durban. That happened to be his last international outing.

Johnson was primarily a fast bowler who relied on pace and seam movement. His natural out-swingers troubled many batsmen, and his aggressive bowling style was a refreshing change for Indian cricket at that time. During the late 1990s, when Karnataka dominated the domestic circuit, Johnson was part of the pace battery which included Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad and Dodda Ganesh. Despite his promising start, Johnson's international career was plagued by injuries. These injuries hampered his performance and consistency, making it difficult for him to secure a permanent place in the national team. Moreover, the competition for spots in the team was fierce, and frequent injuries meant he often had to sit out crucial matches.

Even though his international career was short-lived, Johnson's contributions to domestic cricket and his brief stint with the national team are remembered fondly by cricket enthusiasts. He was part of a generation that helped India transition into a team capable of producing quality fast bowlers.

After retiring from professional cricket, David Johnson took up cricket coaching and mentoring young bowlers. He has been involved with various cricket academies and training programs, imparting his knowledge and experience to the next generation of cricketers. Despite not having a long international career, Johnson remains a beloved figure among fans who followed cricket in the 90s. His brief but impactful appearances left a lasting impression, and he continues to be celebrated in cricketing circles.

Johnson was one of the fastest Indian bowlers and his performance in the domestic circuit - his bowling figures of 10 for 152 against Kerala during the 1995-96 Ranji Trophy season - paved his path into the Indian side. Overall, he played 39 first-class matches, picked up 125 wickets at an average of 28.63, and had a strike rate of 47.4. Johnson also has a FC century to his name.

 

Time for a Cull

I (Nasser Hussain) have always said India play better cricket when they play with passion and fire. India can't do things on a cricket field in the old-fashioned way, the quiet, Indian, easy-going way. By and large, Indians are friendly, happy-go-lucky people so it may come naturally to them, but for me, they don't play their best cricket like that anymore. They have to play with passion and fire. It's something Sourav Ganguly gave them in his captaincy and I've seen a lot more of that ability to scrap and fight in this Twenty20 side.

When Andrew Flintoff had a go at Yuvraj Singh, he gave it back to Flintoff by hitting six sixes off the next bowler. Back in England, someone tried to wind up Zaheer Khan through the jelly beans saga and Khan ended up being a man of the series. When India visited Australia in 2001, Ganguly wasn't intimidated by Steve Waugh. Harbhajan Singh bowled them out and the Indian team fought back, down to the last man. That's what I mean by passion and fire.

It's difficult to keep that energy stoked all the time on a long tour but in a T20 tournament lasting two weeks you can do that, especially with the younger boys. It's amazing just what one or two changes can do. In the World T20, India had more than a few changes from the side that I saw playing ODIS against England, and it changed the complexion of the way they played. A team reflects the style and attitude of its captain and the Indian team is starting to reflect Mahendra Singh Dhoni a little bit, in an extravagant, outgoing manner. You saw it on the field all the time, in the celebrations every time a wicket fell, in the support a bowler got even when getting caned.

Maybe it is the nature of Twenty20 cricket that brought out this quality in the Indians, as this is a highly-charged occasion. The way Yuvraj and Dhoni were batting was a massive plus for India. Being in Durban was a lucky bonus for them Africa felt they were playing away from home, and Australia was away from home.

As I watched India strangle Australia, I thought, if they play the final on the same ground the next day, India would win without a problem.

Twenty20 is a game that is suited to India because it's a game of flair and it's a fairly simple game. When batting, you see the ball, you hit the ball. It's not a game where you need to be overly fit, you just need to be talented and you need natural, raw ability. And you can't tell me that Indian cricketers don't have a natural ability. You only have to drive around Mumbai to see young lads play and realize that they are naturally gifted young cricketers. In India and England, for some reason, they don't want to take advantage of that. I think Greg Chappell tried injecting youth into the team, trying to get in players like Suresh Raina and moving out guys like Ganguly. When India played the ODIS against England, I just kept hearing the same old names. Like, with all due respect, Ajit Agarkar; he's a decent cricketer but nothing more. So I think they needed an injection of youth and they've got that in the World T20.

While at the T20, I got into a taxicab and the South African driver said that the one team that should be very good in the next decade is India. People here were used to the Tendulkar’s and the Dravid’s, but for the first time, they saw just how well Yuvraj could bat, what Rohit Sharma could do, how R.P. Singh swung the ball. There's a lot for India to do, but it's an exciting time, it's an interesting time to be watching from the outside.

It is how India handles the gains from this event that will be revealing. The natural reaction is for people to say, get rid of all the senior players. I certainly wouldn't. You don't go from a whole bunch of old players to a whole bunch of young players. It just does not work. You look at any sport, you look at Manchester United, you look at any team. Australia, for instance. I faced a similar situation when Duncan Fletcher and I took over in 1999. We were at rock bottom, we had been knocked out of our own World Cup, we lost to New Zealand and were the world's second-worst side, and we did- n't have the talent the Indian side had. Some of the selectors were saying, get rid of the old guard, and get new players in, but I wanted a few senior players to set the tone in the dressing room. I wanted Alec Stewart, Mike Atherton, Darren Gough, and a few others on my side.

It's a gradual process and you need good, solid, senior players to guide the youngsters. You probably don't need that in a T20 tournament spanning two weeks, but say it's a three-month tour of Australia, where the lads haven't played, or the Pakistan series. When things start going the wrong way, you need the senior pros to guide the younger players.

In Test match cricket, I would retain the gems, the fab four of Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly, and Laxman. They are world-class Test players. We saw in the England series that you can still amble on at your pace Indian pace if you want to call it that in the field and get away with it. They dropped some catches, but they got away with that as well. They weren't very mobile on the field, but if Sachin gets his runs, along with Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman and the left-arms bowl, they will continue to be a good Test match side.

But in ODIs, I think, maybe it's time for a bit of a cull. I think India should do it one at a time. As Laxman has now gone from the ODI side, it is probably time for one more to go. The problem with Indian cricket is politics. This is what coaches find, what Chappell found, and what the selectors find. The moment you name one person, half the country is split. You only have to go back to the Ganguly episode. You try and do things for the forward movement of the team and all that it does is create a political situation that divides the country.

The one person I certainly wouldn't give up on yet is Tendulkar. I interviewed him for my newspaper and he still came across as someone desperately in love with the game. He wasn't just doing it for the money or the sponsors or because he's got nothing else to do. Talking to him was like talking to Graham Gooch or Stewart, who played cricket because they absolutely loved the game. I asked Sachin a question about what he was going to do after cricket. He sort of looked at me blankly because this is what life has been for him since he was a 10-year-old.

From what I saw of him in England, I wouldn't certainly call time on Sachin Tendulkar. The only thing with him, and it was noticeable in England, is that his body is beginning to fall apart a little bit because of one-day cricket. He admitted that the first thing that would give way wouldn't be his mind, which looked very sharp and strong, it would be his body. Dravid is one person that India should hold on to for as long as possible in some way.

I'm not sure about ODI, so I won't make any categorical statements about that. But whoever takes over, be it Dhoni or anyone else, will need Dravid around as a shoulder to lean on and also to see how Dravid goes about his business. He's a little bit like Stewart, very meticulous, very organized and a very good example. In these two weeks, the World T20 has found its place in cricket. I'm not of the argument that T20 will eventually take over everything because there's a place in sport for variety. In golf, there's your weekly tour events, the President's Cup, and the Ryder Cup.

It doesn't mean the Ryder Cup is the be-all-and-end-all of everything. You have to go back to your Masters, go back to the weekly tour. It's the same with Twenty20. It will stand like it is, a one-off tournament, played every two years, which is great. Twenty20 will be played domestically or at the start of a series to spice things up, or maybe at the end. I don't think it will kill 50-over cricket or Test cricket. There will be T20 specialists who will suddenly be knocking on the 50-over door like Rohit Sharma has.

T20 cricket will put pressure on the 50-over formats if they realize there is a younger generation that can break through. What T20 will also do is what 50-over cricket has done to Test match cricket. People like Adam Gilchrist and a few others realized they could play the same way in 50-over cricket and Test cricket. T20 will show, Yuvraj Singh and a few others, that they can, if they want to, clear the boundary at any time. It is up to them to choose the time to hit the big sixes. More than any other consequence, I somehow think India might enjoy that the most. Nasser Hussain is a former England cricket captain.

INDIA TODAY OCTOBER 8, 2007

Roger Binny 5 for 40 vs England 2nd Test Match at Leeds in 1986

In the 2nd Test at Leeds in 1986, India beat England by 279 runs and took the lead 2-0 in a three-match series. Dilip Vengarsark and Rojer Binny contributed their extraordinary performances in the victory. In the first inning, Roger Binny took 5 for 40, which helped India bowl England for a mere 102 runs. Rojer Binny took the wickets of Allan Lamb, Mike Gatting, Derek Pringle, John Embury, and Bruce French. Binny also went 2 for 8 in the second inning as well. Let's watch the Roger Binny 5 for 40 spells. 

Read More: Jeff Thomson – The Human Hurricane

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.

Ian Bishop Spell vs Pakistan at Brisbane Gabba 1988-89

A 6 feet and 5 inches tall Ian Bishop represented the West Indies cricket team between 1988 and 1998 in Tests and One Day Internationals. Ian Bishop who had serious back problems had twice brought a halt to one of the most promising fast-bowling careers. In this video, you will see Ian Bishop's spell against Pakistan in the 9^th Match of Benson and Hedges World Series at Brisbane Gabba on 7^th Jan 1989. Bishop spell cast 51 runs in 10 overs including 2 wickets. The 21-year-old Bishop was one of the most fearsome bowlers of that era, along with Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, and Malcolm Marshall. Let's get into the video and watch his spell. Javed Miandad and Aamer Malik are batsmen to face him.

He reached 100 test wickets in only 21 Test matches. A powerful fast bowler with a talent for outswing and was among the fastest bowlers in the world before severe back injuries cut him down in 1991. Ian Bishop rehabilitated and made adjustments to his bowling action, returning strongly late in 1992. However, in 1993, he was struck by injuries again, not returning until mid-1995. Thus, what had been at one stage a highly promising career was substantially curtailed. He has forged a successful career as a television commentator. Like several other past players for the West Indies, he is quite vocal about the languishing state of his former team.

Alec Stewart 59 off 36 balls vs Sri Lanka in World Cup 1992

In the 23^rd Match of the Cricket World Cup 1992 at Ballarat, England batsman Alec Stewart scored 59 off 36 balls including 7 fours and 1 six. He smashed all Sri Lankan bowlers and scored the third fastest fifty of the tournament 50 off 332 balls, just behind Martin Crowe, fifty of 30 balls vs Zimbabwe and Inzamam ul Haq 50 off 31 balls vs New Zealand in the semi-final.

Let’s watch Alec Stewart's fastest fifty.

Winning and toss and electing to bat first, England scored 280 for 6 in 50 overs. Ian Botham scored 47, Graeme Hick 41, Neil Fairbrother 63 and Alec Stewart 59 were the major contributors. In reply Sri Lanka all out at 174 runs, and Arjuna Ranatunga scored 36 runs. Chris Lewis took 4 for 30 and was declared player of the match. England won the match by 106 runs and earned the 2 precious points.

India and Pakistan in Another Dreary Series 1960-61

India and Pakistan in Another Dreary Series, 1960–61. Pakistan, who won the toss and batted first in four of the five drawn Tests, scored 2,481 runs for 68 wickets in 1,101.5 overs at a rate of 2.25 runs per over. India, who had first use of the wicket in only the last Test, scored 2,178 runs off 1,014 overs at an average of 2.14. The difference is virtually negligible, but Pakistan on four occasions set the tempo. Furthermore, while they scored 140 for 3, 146 for 3 declared, and 59 for no loss in the second innings of the Kanpur, Calcutta, and Madras Tests, respectively, they were completely safe from defeat and were able to bat without a care in the world.

In only two Tests did India get a second innings. In Calcutta, they were in peril of losing the game when they batted a second time, and in the final Test, they went in when only ten minutes remained on the last day. In the first four Tests, one was tempted to condone India's rate of scoring because Pakistan took about two days to put up totals of between 300 and 350, and then it was not worth India's while to take risks and try and force a result in the remaining three days. But when it came to Contractor's turn to call the tune in the last Test on an unimpeachable wicket at Delhi, his outlook was no different from that of his rival. Just over a full day's play was lost in the whole series.

Rain took away four and a half hours from the third test at Calcutta. However, the fourth day's play in the Madras Test was curtailed by 20 minutes due to a fire breaking out in a section of the stands, and the start of the final test was delayed by an hour. After accounting for these curtailments, the two teams aggregated 4,669 runs for an average scoring rate of 194.54 runs per day (of five hours) and 38.85 runs per hour. The 200-mark was topped on only 11 of the 24 days, and on half of these occasions, it was on the last day, when a decisive result was out of the question.

But Pakistan must get credit for the highest number scored in a day. Ironically enough, it was on the opening day of the first Test that they made 241 for 1, with Hanif Muhammed batting in all his glory for the only time in his nine innings. The lowest mark was reached by India on the third day of the second Test, when they put on no more than 149. India, I thought, was the superior side, and it was dropping catches at crucial stages that prevented them from winning the Bombay Test. At Delhi, it was through chances for all three batsmen who made sizeable scores that India built up a huge total, and they let the match slip out of their fingers, dropping no less than five catches.

At Bombay, in the first Test, Pakistan were 300 for 1 at one stage. Then followed a collapse that was a virtual landslide, and they were all out for 350. The fear of a recurrence of such a debacle and Hanif Muhammed's loss of form after his magnificent century must have detracted considerably from their confidence, although Saeed Ahmed did more than take over the role of sheet-anchor in their batting. Increasingly Reliable As the series progressed, the middle of Pakistan's batting became increasingly reliable, but rarely did Pakistan in India exude the air of mastery. The only batsman on the Pakistan side who batted always with the demeanor of one in command was Saeed Ahmed.

Imtiaz Ahmed, who opened with Hanif, accumulated 375 runs for an average of 41.60, including a hectic century; at least the latter part of it was at Madras, but none of his big innings were free of chances. At number four in the batting order, Javed Burki looked like a cultured cricketer. He did not come off in the first Test because he joined the team only a couple of days before the game, having stayed back in Pakistan to appear for a public service examination.

But scoring 79 and 48 not out, he provided a backbone for both the Pakistan innings at Kanpur and in Calcutta; he twice topped the 40 mark. He played no small part in saving the final Test, scoring a valiant 61 in the first innings Half of this inning was played practically one-handed because he had been badly injured. Javed Burki could barely grip the bat in the second, but he kept the ball out of the clutches of five or six close fielders for 45 full minutes and aided Mushtaq-homed in halting a collapse.

Mushtaq Muhammed, at number six, proved as resourceful as Burki, more so when things were going against his side. At the start of the tour, he looked like a rabbit for leg spinners, but he dealt with them competently by stretching fully forward to smother the spin. For a small man, he drove with force on either side of the wicket and hooked and pulled without fear. He was struck more than once in trying to hook Desai's kicking deliveries, but it never stopped him from getting behind the line of the ball; his century, which snatched victory out of India's grasp at Delhi, was a valiant effort. He did not make many runs in the second inning, but without his long vigil, it might have again folded up quickly.

The tail-enders all took their turns at 45 to rise to the occasion. At Kanpur, Nasim-ul-Ghani, the Pakistanis' only left-hander, played an invaluable innings of 70, a real life-saver. At Calcutta, the hard-driving Intikhab Alam made 56 and enabled Pakistan to touch a respectable mark in the first inning. At Madras, the only Test in which Pakistan declared their first innings, no wagging of the tail was called for, and at Delhi, Mahmood Hussain frustrated India's hopes of a victory by saying Pakistan had a varied attack but not one with the potential to run through the Indian batting.

In a team of 17—too large a compliment for so short a tour—they brought out three fast-medium bowlers, Mahmood Hussain, Muhammed Farooq, who had never played for Pakistan before, and Muhammad Munaf, described before the team arrived as the quickest bowler on the other side of the border. Then came Fazal Mahmood, now bowling with a shortened run and a lower arm at just about medium pace. Among the spinners were off-spinner Haseeb Ahsan and left-arm Nasim-ul-Ghani, both found on the tour to the West Indies in early 1958. Leg-spin was served up by the stocky, swarthy all-rounder Intikhab Alam, who, with Richie Benaud as his model, turned out to be a better leg-spinner than we expected.

The terror of Pakistan's new ball attack was obviously on the wane. Mahmood Hussain had lost much of the speed and lift he had when he came here eight years earlier. Before the tour had advanced very far, the other two pace bowlers, Farooq and Muhammad Munaf, went on the invalid list, and Hussain had a lot of work to do. Fazal Mahmood pulled a muscle in the opening game of the tour, an injury that recurred in the match before the first test and again in the first test. As a run-saver, he was effective, bowling steadily at just short of a length, but only the softish, green wicket at Calcutta gave 46 Pakistani players in India the look of a match-winning bowler. This was one test captured at 5 for 26 in which he was a menace.

In the first Test, Mahmood Hussain and Fazal Muhammed were well supported by Muhammed Farooq, who took 4 for 139 in 46 overs. But he got his first three wickets and that of Roy, Baig Contractor, without much cost. An injured muscle after this Test allowed him only two smaller games, but he returned to the side in the fifth Test and once more bowled effectively, bringing the ball in nicely off the wicket. A bowler with a run-up reminiscent of Ray Lindwall, Muhammad Farooq, at 22, is Pakistan's young bowler of the future, provided, of course, he trains up his muscles to withstand the strain and hard work. Nari Contractor and Pankaj Roy opened for India in the first Test.

If Pankaj Roy did not play again in the series, it was because of his unsure fielding and not because he was not impressive while making 23 runs out of an opening stand of 56. Contractor, who aggregated 319 runs for an average of 53.17, was consistently personified, and contrary to the fears of many, his batting remained unaffected by the onus of captaincy. Pankaj Roy was replaced by M.L. Jaisimha, who made a laborious 99 in almost eight hours in the Kanpur Test and remained Nari Contractor's opening partner for the rest of the series. He never made another big score in four more innings, but he always stayed till the shine was off.

Never did he look anything but a batsman of Test match class. Jaisimha, however, does not enjoy opening the innings because it stifles his stroke play, which is as brilliant as that of any contemporary Indian batsman. Nothing was more unfortunate from the Indian angle than Baig's failure to get going. In contrast to his teammates, the little Oxford batsman sought runs from the very moment he arrived at the crease. He did not play even a full over at Bombay, but at Kanpur, he seemed to be seeing the ball very well and provided a few moments of delightful cricket while making 13.

At Calcutta, he started shakily against the spinners and was just settling down when he made an ill-advised pull and was bowled. Faultless Technique Manjrekar returned to the side for the first time since his knee gave way during the tour of England. Faultless technique makes him a sound and solid batsman despite his capless knee, but his stroke play has certainly been affected. Against Pakistan, he played his drives as handsomely as he always did, but less frequently. Umrigar had a most successful series, with his six innings yielding him 382 runs, including three centuries. Chandu Borde always batted in cavalier fashion, and he invariably changed the complexion of the innings.

He failed at Kanpur after a handsome innings of 41 at Bombay, and the selectors wanted his head. Had Milkha Singh not reported ill on the morning of the match, Chandu Borde would not have played at Calcutta, where he saved India with innings of 44 and 23 not out. When Haseeb Ahsan at Madras was threatening to mow down India for a paltry score after Pakistan had put up 448 for 8 declared, their highest total of the series, Chandu Borde played the longest innings of his career, 177 not out, and again proved himself the man for a crisis.

He played another useful inning in Delhi, but this time his touch was unsure. As I have said earlier, India played Surendra Nath in only two Tests, trying to make do with either Surti or Umrigar as the other opening bowler. A great burden therefore fell on Tiny' Desai, and bowling 215.5 overs, more than any other Indian bowler, he captured 21 wickets at an average of 29.76.

Sri Lanka all out for 55 runs against West Indies at Sharjah

As everyone knows, even when you have a good day, you may also have a bad day. It is also true that Sri Lankan teams have sometimes failed miserably. Sri Lanka played West Indies at Sharjah on 3rd Dec 1986 in the 5th Champions Trophy match. Against the strong West Indian bowling lineup, it was a difficult target to reach. In the end, that's what happened. Sri Lanka never looked comfortable at 22 for no wicket but steadied the partnership to reach 45 for 2. After that, Courtney Walsh was incredible with the ball, as they were all out for just 55 runs. During his spell, he picked up five wickets and gave up just one run. In the end, Sri Lanka lost by 193 runs in that match. Malcom Marshall picked up a single, while Roger Harper had two for eight. 

Earlier Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bowl first. 132 runs were added for the first wicket by the West Indian openers. Thanks to a strong opening partnership, the West Indies scored 248/5 runs. With 8 fours and 1 six, Richie Richardson scored 109 runs off 120 balls. Gordon Greenidge, his opening partner, scored 67 runs off 83 balls, including 7 boundaries. It was a 193-run victory for the West Indies. The first one-day international hundred for Richardson came after he was dropped at 0, 6, and 35. Asantha de Mel and Rumesh Ratnake both took 1 wicket each for Asantha Ratnake, he took 3 wickets for 59 runs. The match is umpired by two English umpires, Dickie Bird and David Shepherd. Against South Africa at Paarl, Sri Lanka scored 43 runs in a day-night game. Let's take a look at the Sri Lankan innings.

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.

Brian Lara (50 for 23 Balls) and Wavel Hinds (50 from 24 balls) in Beast Mood

Brian Lara and Wavell Hinds are in the beast mood to destroy Canada Bowling. Brian Lara scored 50 from 23 balls; however, Wavell Hinds scored 50 from 24 Balls. This was the 24th Match, of the ICC World Cup 2003 played at Centurion, on February 23, 2003. Let’s watch the brief highlights of both innings.

Earlier in the match, John Davison scored a famous century in front of an 11,630-strong crowd, were entertained for 98 unbelievable minutes as Davison, the Canadian Gilchrist, blushed West Indies with a blistering 111 off 76-ball, the fastest World Cup century at that time.

At one stage Canada was 2 for 155 in 20.6 overs, but once John Davison was out, the rest of the Canadian team all out at 202 in 42.5 overs. In reply, the West Indies batsman also outplayed Canadian bowling to achieve the target in just 20.3 overs. Wavell Hinds scored 64 off 31 balls, Brian Lara 73 in 40 Balls, and Sarwan scored 42 in 32 balls. West Indies won the match by 7 wickets with 177 balls remaining. John Davison was declared man of the match. 

Richie Richardson - Destructive West Indies Batsman

Richie Richardson was a flamboyant batsman and superb player of fast bowling. Richie Richardson normally bats as Number Three for West Indies. In the fifth match of the ODI series against Australia at Georgetown in 1991, he smashed all Australian bowlers and scored a superb 94 runs off 88 balls in 112 minutes with the help of 11 fours and 1 six at the strike rate of 106.81. Richie Richardson's innings comes to an end by Merve Hughes, when Ian Healy took a stunning catch behind the wicket.

West Indies set the target of 251 in the allotted 50 overs. Australia chased the target in 48.3 overs and won the match by 6 wickets. Geoff Marsh scored 106 not out and was declared man of the match. Australia also won the 5-match ODI series by 4-1. This was ODI # 675. Let's watch short highlights of his innings. 

Asad Rauf Death, Age, Family, Profile, Stats,

 Former Pakistani umpire AsadRauf, who was a part of the ICC Elite Panel from 2006 to 2013, died after suffering a cardiac arrest in Lahore. He was 66. "Saddened to hear about the passing of Asad Rauf. Not only was he a good umpire but also had a wicked sense of humour. He always put a smile on my face and will continue to do so whenever I think about him. 

Many sympathies with his family for their loss," Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ramiz Raja tweeted. Rauf's brother Tahir put forth the development about the legendary umpire. Tahir said that the veteran was returning home after closing his clothing shop at Landa Bazaar in Lahore when he felt some sort of discomfort in his chest. The Punjab-born Rauf was taken to the hospital on an immediate basis, but he couldn't be revived.

His career as an umpire really started in 1998 when he made his first-class debut, and in 2000 he stood in his first ODI. He was elevated to the ODI panel in 2004 and officiated in his first Test the following year. Rauf umpired his first ODI in 2000 and his first Test in 2005. In 2006, he was named in ICC's Elite Panel, which he was a part of until 2013.

He was a popular figure on the circuit who, alongside Aleem Dar, improving the reputation of Pakistani umpires before the neutral umpires era. But his career came to an abrupt halt in 2013 when he was named as a "wanted accused" by Mumbai police in their investigation into the IPL spot-fixing scandal, where Rauf had been umpiring. Asad Rauf left India before the end of that IPL season and but was withdrawn from the Champions Trophy that followed by the ICC and later that year would be dropped from the ICC's elite panel, though the ICC insisted it wasn't because his name had come up in the investigations. 

Rauf protested his innocence throughout and said he would be happy to cooperate with the ACSU. In 2016, the BCCI banned Rauf for five years on four charges of corruption and misconduct.

Asad Rauf officiated 64 Tests, 139 ODIs, 28 T20Is and 11 women's T20Is as either umpire or TV umpire. He also officiated in 40 First Class matches, 26 List A matches and 89 T20s overall, including IPL matches. Asad Rauf was a right-hand batsman who enjoyed a solid but unglamorous career in the 1980s, which he has best season in 1986-87 when he made 672 runs at 35.36, including one hundred and five fifties. 

But he lost form the following season and played little first-class cricket thereafter. As a middle-order batsman, Asad Rauf played 71 First Class matches, scoring 3423 runs at an average of 28.76 including three hundred and 22 fifties and 29 catches. He played 40 List A matches, scoring 611 runs at 19.70 including 4 fifites and 16 catches. 

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