On This Day

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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Sun Jan 10, 2016 11:56 am

On this day in 1908 England faced off against Australia in the third test of the 1907-08 Ashes. The tournament was tied one match a piece so was delicately poised going into the third test.

The first day of the test was a battle between one impressive batsman and two impressive bowlers; and it is probably the Australian batsman who feels his team have the edge.

At 32-2, England would have felt relatively comfortable until Charles Macartney came in and formed a 79 run partnership with Warwick Armstrong to add a bit of steel to the Australian score. When he fell his team could thank him for helping them to 140-4.

The galling thing for Australia is that they always had one big scoring batsman at a time and couldn't combine two at the same time to really force their issue. Macartney was replaced by Vernon Ransford who tried to set up a number of partnerships, failed but still got just shy of a half century. He and Roger Hartigan looked like they could form something together but mustered only 24 runs as a partnership before Hartigan had to go it alone for his 44.

The regular flow of Australian bit players were dismissed with semi-regularity by the tandem bowling of Sydney Barnes and Arthur Fielder. The first bagged three wickets, including Ransford's, and was also very economical with the ball whilst the second also got three scalps, including Hartigan's, as well as being influential in the field.

Australia have the right to feel they have a very slight edge on day one with their score likely to edge to the 300 mark early tomorrow.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Mon Jan 11, 2016 5:13 pm

On this day in 1908, England’s Gunn for hire sways the balance of power towards the travelling team.

England would have opened the day hoping to finish off Australia’s tail as swiftly as possible. A feat more than met by the fact only 6 more runs were added onto the overnight total.

England began their session scoring steadily. Freddie Fane was the principal partner for the openers after Hobbs fell for 26. After Jack Hobbs came George Gunn who provided the spine for England’s day today, forming three strong partnerships with three separate batsmen. First he got 40 with Fane, added another 40 with Ken Hutchings and then 56 with Joe Hardstaff. England’s hopes now rest with Hardtaff who stands on 51* not out to consolidate the England position.

The star man with the bat yesterday for Australia was today the star man for Australia with the bat. Charles Macartney bagged two of the England wickets including the caught and bowled dismissal of Hutchings.

England are just 26 runs short of Australia’s total with 5 batsmen left to come in.
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Re: On This Day

Postby braveneutral » Tue Jan 12, 2016 1:08 am

I really enjoy this thread.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Tue Jan 12, 2016 9:33 pm

On this day in 1908 Australia and England had a rest day; so this is a good opportunity to share one of the more strange stories of one of England's team members.



Careers can start in a myriad of ways but for George Gunn there was a remarkable stroke of luck that led to his inclusion in the Ashes squad. Batting was Gunn's strength and he made his debut for Nottinghamshire in 1902, coming from a family rich in cricket tradition as both his uncle and brother played for England. Some explosive performances made his name known on the circuit but he was perceived as an average cricketer of no real note. Bowlers would sometimes be given a reminder when he came down the pitch or cut a ball square, however. Whether or not Gunn would have been better if his health was sounder is hard to say but throughout his career he was plagued by illness and in the winter of 1907-08 he decided to go to Australia so as to benefit from the warm weather.



Party to this information the MCC called Gunn up to the side when Arthur Jones, the England captain, and another member of the team fell ill and had to be hospitalised. One batsmen down in the first Test, Gunn came out to bat. England's total of 273 was bolstered by Gunn's contribution of 119 – 44% of the team's total. The win was Australia's but the star of the match was undoubtedly Gunn's.



With this in mind, yesterday's display of 65 is even more impressive.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Tue Jan 12, 2016 9:33 pm

braveneutral wrote:I really enjoy this thread.


Sarcasm?
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Re: On This Day

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Tue Jan 12, 2016 9:42 pm

I doubt it!
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Re: On This Day

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Wed Jan 13, 2016 10:14 am

Presume the Gunn family was involved in the Gunn and Moore cricket bats?

When I moved to Nottingham, there was a G&M shop in the city centre, just selling cricket equipment. Long gone now.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Wed Jan 13, 2016 7:32 pm

On this day in 1908 a successful day with ball and, to a lesser extent, bat puts Australia in the driving seat.

Saturday's total of 259 had another 105 runs added to it on due to some expressive batting from England's Jack Crawford. Coming in at number 8, after the loss of England's two batsmen from Saturday for the addition of only 14 more runs, Crawford added a bit of steel to a fairly lax England tail. His unbeaten 64 led England on to their lead of 78 after the first innings. The loss of the tail's wickets came about solely through the bowling of Jack O'Connor and Warwick Armstrong who got a pair of wickets each, the former with a stifling economy. It is their bowling performance that gives Australia the edge on day four.

When Australia came in to bat, England got the early scalp of Victor Trumper for a duck and, hero of the first innings, Charles Macartney for 9. Australia stood at 35-2 and were soon 71-3 after the loss of McCalister for 17. The fact that they can consider going into Day Five with the edge in the batting comes stubborn batting of Monty Noble. His unbeaten 63 added a defiance to the Australian score and means that Australia are now 55 runs ahead.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Thu Jan 14, 2016 8:21 am

On this day in 1908 Australia went from having the partial edge to being so far over the edge that the edge is a small dot on their horizon thanks to the spectacular batting of Roger Hartigan and Clem Hill.

Noble and O'Connor were dispatched with relative ease by the England batsmen claiming only another 18 runs between them. The England team must have felt mightily confident; but then...

Hartigan, the 29 year old Queensland player, had only just come into the side and impressed on debut being the only example I've ever come across of someone whose scored their highest score on debut. It could have been all different, however, if, when on 32, Fielder had held on to a catch...but he didn't...and then moved on unopposed to 105*.

In contrast to Hartigan, Hill was a veteran of Australian cricket having made his debut in 1896 and took his time with the run scoring. Hill's 106* could have been allayed yet again by a catch that was dropped by the England's fielders. On 22, Hill was dropped from a far easier catch than Hartigan...but he didn't....and then Hill moved on unopposed to 106*

Gallingly if those catches had stuck England could have saved themselves 157, wrapped up the tail and have been batting...but they didn't.....they aren't....and Australia have a lead of 319.

Hindsight Watch.

The partnership between Hartigan and Hill is still the Australian record for an eighth wicket partnership.
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Re: On This Day

Postby Arthur Crabtree » Thu Jan 14, 2016 9:59 am

Evocative names. Clem Hill, Victor Trumper, Warwick Armstrong and Monty Noble. I can smell the pipe tobacco and hair oil in the dressing room.
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Re: On This Day

Postby braveneutral » Thu Jan 14, 2016 11:57 pm

365notout wrote:
braveneutral wrote:I really enjoy this thread.


Sarcasm?

Definitely not. Always one of those things I used to look at in the papers.
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17/04/17 - 'The day that history was made'

20/04/17 - Better than Bolt.
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I suppose.

At times.

Re: On This Day

Postby braveneutral » Thu Jan 14, 2016 11:57 pm

I'm not clever enough to do sarcasm anyhow.
Asia Cup 2012 guru
SA vs Oz 2011 combined guru
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India vs WI ODIs 2014 guru
2016 French Open guru
2016 Wimbledon guru
2016 RL50 Cup guru
Premier League Final Placings Prediction League 2016/7 guru
England v SA ODIs 2017 guru
Guru.

D/L wrote:Words fail me for once.


17/04/17 - 'The day that history was made'

20/04/17 - Better than Bolt.
User avatar
braveneutral
 
Posts: 20726
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 5:22 pm
Location: In between the hemispheres
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I suppose.

At times.

Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Fri Jan 15, 2016 9:08 pm

On this day in 1908, England opted for minor disaster in place of it's cousin major disaster versus Australia.

The Australian tail, already showing mighty resilience, offered up one last salvo even after Roger Hartigan was sent back having acquired only another 11 runs to his overnight total. Clem Hill then pushed on, supported by Sammy Carter, to another 78 runs. Australia's total was 506, setting England a target of 428.

This total was big enough as it was but was not helped by two of the top four batsmen going for a duck (Jack Hobbs retiring hurt) and the other two only getting 33 between them. The score standing at 15-3, the man that brings an air of respect to the result is Joe Hardstaff. His quick fire 72 and his partnership with Len Braund, who stands at 41* sees England finish the day on a more respectable 139/5. The two Jacks; O'Connor and Saunders were the hit men for Australia with five wickets between them.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Sat Jan 16, 2016 12:10 pm

On this day in 1908, England's tailenders failed to do what Australia's did so brilliantly, capitulating to allow Australia a 2-1 lead in The Ashes.

When all is said and done today was something of a damp squib for all concerned. It only took an hour for Australia to polish off the last English batsmen and seize the initiative in the series. The last hope for England was Len Braund and when he fell for 47, gaining only 6 from yesterday's total, England were dead and buried.

This game was won and lost through the back end of the batting order. In the second innings Australia's last six batsmen scored 352 runs. England's scored 26.

SPOILERS AHEAD! IF YOU DON'T WANT THE 1908 ASHES RUINED FOR YOU DO NOT READ AHEAD.

From here on in the series was a case of Australia's batting experience and superiority trumping England's inexperienced line up. Depressingly, this performance was one of the best that England would see in that Australian Summer. Australia would win the series 4-1.
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Re: On This Day

Postby The Professor » Sun Jan 17, 2016 10:42 am

On this day in 2014 some stunning rearguard action snatched victory away from England in the second ODI of, what has been, a dismal tour for England.

In the clamour inspired by James Faulkner at the death many will be excused for forgetting that Eoin Morgan bagged a century in this match and rescued an innings that appeared to be drifting into obscurity. The scale of Morgan's century was impressive, reaching his fifty off 24 balls and his century in 94. Morgan inspired England from 171-5 to their total of 300.

Australia's chase started disappointingly with Aaron Finch gone for a duck and David Warner and Michael Clarke both gone for less than twenty. Shaun Marsh held the opening overs together with a effective half century.

James Faulkner came in at 206/7 when it seemed Australia were unraveling. There was even more light at the end of the tunnel when Australia lost two more batsmen to Tim Bresnan, leaving the last pair, Faulkner and Clint McKay, to make up a 56 run deficit.

The manner of Faulkner's play was smash and grab - as is underlined by the fact he ended the contest with three boundaries. Faulkner's unbeaten 69 here was the third-highest score by a No. 9 in ODIs and his stand with McKay was the second-highest tenth-wicket partnership to win a match
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