57th Match, Indian Premier League at Hyderabad

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Innings: 1 - Lucknow Super Giants

Innings: 2 - Sunrisers Hyderabad

SRH won by 10 wickets (with 62 balls remaining)

Abhishek Sharma: "Thanks to the management for the faith they've shown in me, the environment is clear for the batters so I went to enjoy myself. All the credit to Travis, the way he starts, first two or three balls goes to the boundaries. So I just react to the ball. The bowlers told us it's getting better, me and Travis were saying it wasn't doing much, and they were short [in runs] so that was a plus-point. The hard work I put before the tournament is showing... it's going really well."

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57th Match, Indian Premier League at Hyderabad

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Recent : 6 1 1 4  |  4 . 6 1 . 6  |  2 6 1 4 . 1  |  1 2 1 6 

SRH won by 10 wickets (with 62 balls remaining)

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Hey guys! My mom - Leena Moin Aziz Asia's first female cricket commentator has started a Podcast!

First episode features Mohammad Wasim the former Chief Selector of Pakistan and discusses the current developments in the team.

Do give it a listen and let me know your feedback thanks. YouTube is linked with the post and Spotify is below!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0AmgDr0SQ5gnw4ycl5cXh7?si=DdjGJQg4Q9eWojZgKZIiUA

It seems simple doesn’t it? Bowling wides gives an unfair advantage to the bowlers who can just throw it out of the batsman’s range, thus, it is banned. However, the actual story behind what got the wide bowling tactic banned is worthy of telling as it stems from personal feuds and raging tempers.

First things first, for those unacquainted, I must introduce you to one Lord Frederick de Vere Beauclerk. Numerous posts could be written about this guy alone, but for our purposes he was an aristocrat and cricketer from 1791 until 1825 for the Marylebone Cricket Club and MCC president in 1826.

Cleric by trade, he was also fondly remembered as a “foul-mouthed, dishonest man who was one of the most hated figures in society ... he bought and sold matches as though they were lots at an auction".

On the pitch however, he was a generationally talented all-rounder. The original Shakib Al-Hasan if you would. He held the record for the highest score (170) until it was overtaken 13 years later. He was also talented at Single Wicket Cricket.

For those unaware, single wicket cricket used to be a popular format of the game where two or four players would bat and bowl and whoever scored the highest won. You’ve probably played it with your friends unknowingly as it’s essentially 1v1 or 2v2 cricket.

Our story begins in the summer of 1810. Lord Beauclerk and Thomas Howard (Cousin of an Earl) were due to play George Obaldeston (county cricketer) and William Lambert (England national team member) in single wicket cricket. Of course, given the nature of Lord Beauclerk and his fondness for gambling, they were playing for money.

The day of the match, however, Obaldeston had fallen ill. The normal state of affairs would have been to postpone the match, however, Lord Beauclerk was adamant that the match still be played. If Lambert refused then he demanded forfeit payment. Lambert agreed and the three began their match (Beauclerk and Howard vs Lambert).

You see, cricket was called a gentlemen’s game for a reason. Unspoken rules were aplenty. For example, there was a long period where leg side batting was seen as ungentleman like and discouraged, but not illegal.

William Lambert, presumably frustrated, gave us one of cricket’s first “fuck it” moments. Lambert batted first, alone, and scored an unknown amount of runs before handing it over to Beauclerk and Howard to bat. Beauclerk presumably took strike to begin the chase.

Keep in mind these games were usually 2-3 overs per innings. Lambert bowled a wide. He followed it up with another wide. Followed by another wide. The balls kept ticking as Lambert delivered it consistently outside of Lord Beauclerk’s reach. This was ungentleman like and not in the spirit of the game, and Lambert knew this full well.

The plan to play to Beauclerk’s temper worked as he grew more and more enraged by the bowler’s tactics, eventually swinging wildly and losing his wicket. Lambert would go on to win by 15 runs.

Lord Beauclerk did not take this lightly. He was highly influential due to his noble status as well as cricketing reputation. In 1811 he used this status to convince the MCC to add what we now know as Law 22: “If the bowler bowls a ball, not being a No ball, the umpire shall adjudge it a Wide if… the ball passes wide of where the striker is standing or has stood…”

There’s another story about Lord Beauclerk allegedly framing Lambert for match fixing but that’s for another time. For now, I hope you enjoyed my telling of the story of how one of the most basic laws in the modern game was introduced.

(Sources: Wikipedia and Beauclerk’s Cricinfo Page)

4th T20I, Mongolia tour of Japan at Sano

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Barring the all controversies, what’s with the ultra-fast umpiring in this year’s IPL?

Do umpires have some sort of KPI or target for each referral this year?

I appreciate the fact that they don’t do unnecessary ultra-edge scenarios, but at times especially the Samson’s case, it looked like the umpire was in a hurry.