Afghanistan’s performance so far

Afghanistan has won 2 and lost 2 of its first 4 Tests. This makes it the best performer along with Australia and England:

(Here we have taken 1.0 for a win and 0.5 for a draw).

Now we look at individual performances:

Most runs (100 and above):

Rahmat Shah is the only one with a century. He and Asghar Afghan each have three fifties.

Highest innings (50 and above):

Ibrahim Zadran and Ihsanullah made fifties on debut.

Most wickets (5 and above):

Rashid Khan is the only one with a 10wm, and he also has the most 5wis (3).

Best innings bowling (3wi and above):

The two best figures are by Rashid Khan in the course of his 11-for. He also scored a fifty.

Amir Hamza took 5-74 on debut.

Best match bowling:

Apart for Rashid Khan’s dominance, there is Amir Hamza’s 6-wicket haul on debut.

Most dismissals (4 and above):

Note that Ibrahim Zadran and Ihsanullah have the most by non-keepers.

All-round match performance (50 and 5wi):

Once again Rashid Khan stands alone. In fact he has the rare double of a fifty and 10wm, which has happened only 29 times in all Tests.

 

 

Test cricket’s great collapses-2.

We have seen instances where the first wicket put on 100 or more runs. Now we look at collapses after the first two wickets put on 200 or more runs.

Here we choose the ratio of (runs added after the fall of 2 wickets)/(runs added by the first 2 wickets). The cutoff here is 0.3 or 30%.

This list is in chronological order. You can see that the worst collapse here (#7) was of 12.3% by Pakistan vs Sri Lanka in 2009. They lost by 7 wickets. The second spot is also held by Pakistan (16.3%), this time vs India in 1960. That Test was drawn.

1. Pak vs Ind (1st Test), Mumbai (BS), 02-12-1960.

Pak 350 and 166/4

Ind 449/9 dec

Drawn.

The addition of 16.3% after the second wicket fell is the second worst collapse here.

In the first innings, Pakistan’s 350 included scores of Hanif Mohammad 160, Imtiaz Ahmed 19, Saeed Ahmed 121, RB Desai 3-116, SP Gupte 4-43.

This Test was drawn, and was the first of the 5 generally boring draws in this series. It was only the second 5-draw series, following an earlier series with India visiting Pakistan in 1954-55.

2. Eng vs WI (1st Test), Port of Spain, 02-02-1974.

Eng 131 and 392

WI 392 and 132/3

WI won by 7 wickets.

In the 3rd innings (England’s 2nd) the 392 included scores of G Boycott 93, DL Amiss 174, MH Denness 44,  GS Sobers 3-54, LR Gibbs 6-108.

The 5-Test series was drawn 1-1, after the 5th Test was won by Tony Greig’s hitherto unrecognized off-spin which fetched 13 wickets.

3. NZ vs WI (4th Test), Kingston, 04-05-1985.

WI 363 and 59/0

NZ 138 and (fo) 283

WI won by 10 wickets.

In the 3rd innings (NZ’s 2nd) the 283 included scores of GP Howarth 84, JG Wright 10, JJ Crowe 112, MD Marshall 4-66.

The 4-Test series was won 2-0 by WI.

4. WI vs Eng  (5th Test), St John’s, 12-04-1990.

Eng 260 and 154

WI 446

WI won by an innings and 32 runs.

In the second innings WI’s 446 included scores of  CG Greenidge 149, DL Haynes 167, RB Richardson 34, DE Malcolm 4-126.

This also figured in the list of collapses after 100+ for the first wicket.

The 5-Test series was won 2-1 by WI.

5. Eng vs Pak (4th Test). Leeds, 06-08-1992.

Pak 197 and 221

Eng 320 and 99/4

Eng won by 6 wickets.

In the second innings (England’s first), the 320 included scores by GA Gooch 135, MA Atherton 76, RA Smith 42, Waqar Younis 5-117, Mushtaq Ahmed 3-60.

The 5-Test series was won 2-1 by Pakistan.

6. Pak vs WI (3rd Test), Karachi, 06-12-1997.

WI 216 and 212

Pak 417 and 15/0

Pak won by 10 wickets.

In the second innings (Pakistan’s first), the 417 included scores by Aamer Sohail 160, Ijaz Ahmed 157, Saeed Anwar 15, CA Walsh 4-74, M Dillon 5-111.

This also figured in the list of collapses after 100+ for the first wicket.

The 3-Test series was won 3-0 by Pakistan.

7. Pak vs SL (2nd Test), Colombo (PSS), 12-07-2009.

Pak 90 and 320

SL 240 and 171/3

SL  won by 7 wickets.

This is the worst collapse in this category, with only 12.3% added after the fall of the 2nd wicket.

The 3rd innings (Pakistan’s 2nd) of 320 included scores by Khurram Manzoor 38, Fawad Alam 168, Younis Khan 82, N Kulasekara 4-37, R Herath 5-99.

Fawad Alam was making his Test debut.

The 3-Test series was won 2-0 by Sri Lanka.

8. Ind vs Aus (2nd Test), Hyderabad (Deccan), 02-03-2013.

Aus 237/9 dec and 131

Ind 503.

Ind won by an innings and 135 runs.

The 2nd innings (India) of 503 included scores by  M Vijay 167, V Sehwag 6, CA Pujara 206, XJ Doherty 3-131, GJ Maxwell 4-127.

India won by an innings and 135 runs.

Maxwell was making his debut.

India won the series 4-0.

 

Best performance in the first 4 Tests

Before the Afghanistan-WI Test got under way, there was some speculation about Afghanistan winning and thus winning 3 of their first 4 Tests. No other team had done this.

This did not happen, but is interesting to see how all Test teams performed in their first 4 Tests. Afghanistan did have a creditable start with LWWL (two wins), which matches the record of Australia and England.

Ireland is not listed here as they have only played 3 Tests.

Let us take 1 point for a win and 0.5 for a draw:

Afghanistan: LWWL: 2

Australia: WLWL: 2

Bangladesh: LLLL : 0

England: LWLW : 2

India: LLDL : 0.5

New Zealand : LDDD : 1.5

Pakistan: LWLD : 1.5

Sri Lanka : LLDL : 0.5

South Africa : LLLL: 0

West Indies : LLLD : 0.5

Zimbabwe : DDLL : 1

So the approximate ranking is:

Note that Afghanistan, Australia and England had the best start while Bangladesh and South Africa had the worst.

Australia and Zimbabwe are the only teams which did NOT lose their first Test.

Zimbabwe is the only team which did NOT see defeat in their first 2 Tests.

India and Sri Lanka have identical sequences, as do Bangladesh and South Africa.

Note this study of the first 25 Tests (and 25 ODIs):

https://abn397.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/performance-in-the-first-25-tests-and-odis/

 

 

 

Cornwall and Crapp

Rakheem Cornwall is the man of the moment-as he had good bowling figures as well as Man of the Match award in only his second Test. Many sports fans like large and bulky figures, as Dwayne Leverock and Jesse Ryder would testify.

Another point of interest is the surname Cornwall, which as we know is a rather remote part of England and one of the Minor Counties. A quick look at the pages of the Cornwall county club do not show any prominent name who played for it. At best we can find two 1-Test players, Shakil Ahmed (Pakistan 1998-99) and NV Williams (England 1990).

There appears to be only one Test player who was born in Cornwall. He played for Gloucestershire and even captained it. You may have heard of him and his (unusual) surname, as most of his Test career coincided with the last few Tests of Bradman in 1948.

He did make 3 fifties in his 7 Tests, and was considered to be responsible for winning a close Test against South Africa.

More on the etymology of crap and the better-known Thomas Crapper:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Crapper#Origin_of_the_word_%22crap%22

Bad days for geography quizzers

Geography used to be a stable subject which did not need much updating. For many years the only genuine new country formed was Bangladesh, and the dubious Republic of Northern Cyprus a little later.

But quizzers in this line took a long time to recover from the twin shocks of the collapse of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, which meant about 23 new countries which had to be memorized along with their capitals. The reunification of Germany and (earlier) Vietnam at least helped to REDUCE the number of countries to be studied.

Then people had flights of fancy, changing Swaziland to Eswatini (to encourage E-commerce?) Its neighbors had earlier made the switch from Bechuanaland and Basutoland to Botswana and Lesotho. Meanwhile a few other new countries such as Eritrea and South Sudan sneaked in when nobody was looking.

Then we have the renaming of cities in India. Many of them involved reverting from the British pronunciation to the original pronunciation (as in Calcutta-> Kolkata, Calicut -> Kozhikode and so on). This topic is enough for a few doctoral dissertations.

Now the rulers of India have bigger ideas, playing around with the names of larger entities. The creation of the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir AND Ladakh was hailed as a masterpiece. So next comes a mini-masterpiece, the Union Territory (yes, just one) of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu:

https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/bill-to-merge-uts-of-dadra-nagar-haveli-daman-diu-passed-by-lok-sabha-150241

(It will take a while to figure out where the “and” and “&” will be used). Also, the people in these places do not seem to have asked for this reunification of the smaller bits of Portuguese India.

Perhaps there is a point here. How many of you can find D & NH on a map? Even if you can, do you know WHY it is an Union Territory? (Another interesting point is why Chandernagore is a part of West Bengal and not an Union Territory like the rest of French India); see

https://abn397.wordpress.com/2015/04/21/oddities-in-indian-history-chandernagorechandan-nagar/

Unusual languages on signboards in India

Dogri in Jammu:

Maithili in Darbhanga:

Also at Madhubani, although it does not seem to be on the platform signs:

These are in Manipur. While the residents of that state are called Manipuris, there is no language of that name. Experts from there will tell you that the signs are Meitei in Mayek script.

Here is one language many of us would not have heard of:

This is in Jharkhand, midway between Rourkela and Chakradharpur. This is the local script Ol’Chiki. Thanks to Pavel Ghosh.

In the neighborhood, here is a left-over Urdu sign in Bangladesh:

And left-over signs in Gurumukhi script up in Khyber-Pakhtunwa province of Pakistan:

Remember that no train has been to Landi Khana since 1932, and not to Shahgai since around 2000.

Also see this:

Where English is the official language of a state

Notes on Test statistics-Nov 2019

Pairs by captains:

Mominul Haque became the latest captain to make a pair. Also remember the double act by du Plessis and Sarfaraz last year.

While the balls faced in an innings were not always recorded before 2000, we know that the only unusual pairs by captains were the “queen pairs” or silver pairs by Bedi and de Villiers.

Highest scores by wicketkeepers:

BJ Watling’s double century is the highest score by a wicketkeeper from New Zealand, but there are many other keepers with high scores:

Scores above 175 by wicketkeepers:

Mushfiqur Rahim is the only keeper with two double centuries.

Highest totals in Eng-NZ Tests:

New Zealand’s 615/9 dec against England was the highest in ANY Test between these teams:

Lowest scores against India:

Bangladesh’s 106 in 30.3 overs is not really the worst innings score against India. But it is the lowest score (both by runs and balls faced) in the first innings against India.

You can also see how Afghanistan fared in their first Test, against India in June 2018. They have picked up well after that.

 

Vanished routes of the Indian Railways since 1975-Part 2-Former ER

Continuing our study of routes which were listed in the All India Timetable of 1975 but not now, or now  in substantially different form.

The route maps of the Indian Railways have undergone major changes since 1975.Construction of new lines, large-scale gauge conversion and the upgrading of many hitherto minor routes have all taken place.

Here we start with the All-India Time Table of November 1975 and see which lines have vanished from the passenger timetable.

The timetable was arranged in alphabetical order, so we started with the Central Railway as it then was. Next is the Eastern Railway.

Note that we are here using scans of scans, so some of the old timetables may not be as legible as we would wish.

At that time, the main ER timetables included the suburban lines. (The Metro was far in the future). One development was the two NG lines of McLeod & Co (Ahmadpur-Katwa and Burdwan-Katwa) being acquired by the government and transferred to the ER.

And parts of ER have become part of the new East Central Railway.

Now we look at what has vanished:

The trans-Ganga steamers were still plying. Here are the services between Manihari Ghat (linked to Katihar) and Sakrigali Ghat (linked to Sahibganj). This had only one pair of services daily.

While rail and road bridges have been opened at several places in this part of Bihar, there does not seem to be anything planned here.

Pandabeswar to Palasthali has been closed after Bhimgara for some years, due to subsidence caused by illegal mining. It is not likely to reopen.

Then there is the Andal-Gaurandi section. The Ikra-Gaurandi section is no longer part of IR. There may have been a non-IR siding earlier, but no track can be seen on Google Maps.

You can still travel from Dhanbad to Pathardih, but NOT via Jharia. As most of us know, underground coal fires have been burning since 1930 and show no sign of abating. This line was closed in 2005 and its future is uncertain. Rather, the future of Jharia is uncertain.

For background information see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jharia

Meanwhile, trains between Dhanbad take this route:

The section from Pradhan Khunta to Pathardih was not in the 1975 timetable, though it was used for goods.

Trains currently running on this route are:

https://erail.in/trains-between-stations/dhanbad-jn-DHN/pathardih-jn-PEH

and https://erail.in/trains-between-stations/pathardih-jn-PEH/dhanbad-jn-DHN

Finally, the steamer services between Monghyr (now Munger) and Monghyr Ghat (linked to Sahebpur Kamal). Today there is  a bridge on a different alignment. A new station for Munger has come up.

And finally, evidence that this is indeed from 1975.

A map of this area: https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/Munger,+Bihar+811201/@25.3936147,86.460869,14z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x39f1eee66aa3ebc7:0x1bcf4fdc391adc06!8m2!3d25.3747561!4d86.4735251

Trains now running across the Ganga via Munger:

https://erail.in/trains-between-stations/jamalpur-jn-JMP/monghyr-MGR

https://erail.in/trains-between-stations/monghyr-MGR/jamalpur-jn-JMP

The routes include a new junction at Sabdalpur, where lines separate towards Sahibpur Kamal on the west and Khagaria on the east.

 

 

Pairs in Tests-Updated Nov 2019

Correct as on 20 Nov 2019

You would know a King Pair or Golden Pair-when a batsman is dismissed first ball in each innings.

A Queen Pair or Silver Pair is when it is second ball in each innings.

A Jack Pair or Bronze Pair for three balls.

We also look at pairs involving 4, 5 and 6 balls in each innings.

Note that for many Tests before 2000, balls in an innings were not always recorded.

Here is the updated list of King Pairs:

The 21 cases include a number of recognized batsmen (Richardson, Gilchrist, Javed Omar and Sehwag). Maybe even Agarkar, who made a Test century at Lord’s. Interestingly there is no King Pair at Lord’s.

Now for Queen Pairs:

22 cases here, including two by McGrath in successive Tests in 1998-99.

Dawson and Broad achieved this at Lord’s. The two of them and Mohammad Abbas deserve their own little board at Lord’s.

Recognized batsmen here include OG Smith, Mudassar, Samuels, de Villiers, Babar Azam and Markram. AL Mann and Broad have also made centuries.

While no captain has made a King Pair, Bedi and de Villiers are here.

Now for Jack Pairs:

Vettori, Griffith and Powell are the recognized batsmen here.

Finally we come to 4-, 5- and 6-ball pairs which are much rarer.

One may invent new terms such as Ruby pairs or Sapphire pairs here.

Here, even Ireland’s bowlers inflict these ducks on recognized batsmen.

Gibbs, DS Smith and Bairstow are the recognized batsmen here.

Test cricket’s great collapses-3

We have already seen instances when a collapse occurred after the first wicket put on 100 or more runs, and then collapses after the first two wickets put on 200 or more runs. Now we look at collapses where the first three wickets put on 300 or more runs.

Here, we choose the ratio of (runs added after the fall of 3 wickets)/(runs added by the first 3 wickets). The cutoff here is 0.2 or 20%.

This  list is in chronological order. The worst collapse is by 15.9% for Pakistan against India at Mumbai in 1960. Then there is 16.0 (Eng v WI at Port of Spain, 1974) and 16.1 (WI v Pak at Port of Spain, 1993.

We briefly summarize these 10 Tests below. The detailed scorecards could be seen at www cricinfo com or www cricketarchive com among others.

1. WI v Eng (3rd Test), Georgetown, 21-02-1930.

WI 471 and 290

Eng 145 and 217

WI won by 289 runs.

In the first innings, WI’s 471 was built on the scores of CA Roach 209, EAC Hunte 53, GA Headley 114, MP Fernandes 22. No bowler took more than 2 wickets in this innings.

The 4-Test series was won 1-1, not before the 4th Test was drawn with WI 408/5 facing a target of 836.

2. Eng v Aus (4th Test), Leeds, 22-07-1948.

Eng 496 and 365/8 dec

Aus 458 and 404/3

Aus won by 7 wickets.

In the first innings, Eng’s 496 included scores of L Hutton 81, C Washbrook 143, WJ Edrich 111, AV Bedser 79, with SJE Loxton 3-55.

Bedser, who normally batted at no 9, had his moments as a night-watchman.

This was a famous victory by Australia, being the first time 400 had been scored to win in the 4th innings. This ensured that Australia retained the Ashes, with a 3-0 lead in the 4th Test.

The 5th Test was somewhat of an anti-climax with England 52 and Bradman 0 in his last Test. Australia won the 5-Test series 4-0.

3. Eng v SA (2nd Test), Johannesburg, 27-12-1948.

Eng 608

SA 315 and (fo) 270/2

Drawn.

In the first innings, Eng’s 608 included scores of L Hutton 158, C Washbrook 195, JF Crapp 56, DCS Compton 114, CN McCarthy 3-102, NBF Mann 3-107.

England won the 5-Test series 2-0.

4. Pak vs Ind (1st Test), Mumbai (BS), 02-12-1960.

Pak 350 and 166/4

Ind 449/9 dec

Drawn.

We have met this innings earlier, as an example of a collapse after 200+/2.

Yet again in the first innings, Pakistan’s 350 included scores of Hanif Mohammad 160, Imtiaz Ahmed 19, Saeed Ahmed 121, Mushtaq Mohammad 6, RB Desai 3-116, SP Gupte 4-43.

(At 15.9%, it is the worst collapse in this category).

This Test was drawn, and was the first of the 5 draws in this series. It was only the second 5-draw series, following an earlier series with India visiting Pakistan in 1954-55.

5. Aus v WI (2nd Test), Melbourne, 26-12-1968.

WI 200 and 280

Aus 510

Aus won by an innings and 30 runs.

But their 510 included scores of IR Redpath 7, WM Lawry 205, IM Chappell 165, KD Walters 76, GS Sobers 4-97, LR Gibbs 4-139.

Finally Australia won the 5-Test series 3-1.

6. Aus v Eng (1st Test), Brisbane, 27-11-1970.

Aus 433 and 214

Eng 464 and 39/1

Drawn.

Australia’s 433 included scores of WM Lawry 4, KR Stackpole 207, IM Chappell 59, KD Walters 112, JA Snow 6-114, DL Underwood 3-101.

While this match was drawn, Snow had showed signs of his pace which was to prove decisive in England winning the 7-Test series 2-0. This included one Test at Melbourne which was abandoned and replaced by the first ODI.

7. Eng vs WI (1st Test), Port of Spain, 02-02-1974.

Eng 131 and 392

WI 392 and 132/3

WI won by 7 wickets.

In the 3rd innings (England’s 2nd) the 392 included scores of G Boycott 93, DL Amiss 174, MH Denness 44, FC Hayes 8, GS Sobers 3-54, LR Gibbs 6-108.

This also figured in collapses after 200+ for 2.

The 5-Test series was drawn 1-1, after the 5th Test was won by Tony Greig’s hitherto unrecognized off-spin which fetched 13 wickets.

8. WI vs Pak (1st Test), Port of Spain, 16-04-1993.

WI 127 and 382

Pak 140 and 165

WI won by 204 runs.

The 3rd innings (WI’s 2nd) of 392 included scores of DL Haynes 143* (carried bat), PV Simmons 22, RB Richardson 68, BC Lara 96, Wasim Akram 4-75, Waqar Younis 3-88).

WI still won after this reverse, and went on to win the 3-Test series 2-0.

9. WI vs NZ (1st Test), Hamiliton, 16-12-1999.

WI 365 and 97

NZ 393 and 70/1

NZ won by 9 wickets.

The first innings of 365 included scores of AFG Griffith 114, SL Campbell 170, D Ramnarine 8, S Chanderpaul 14, CL Cairns 3-23, DL Vettori 4-83.

It has also figured in one of the greatest collapses after the first wicket put on over 100 (276 to be precise).

New Zealand won the series 2-0.

10. Eng v WI (1st Test), Lord’s, 22-07-2004.

Eng 568 and 325/5 dec.

WI 416 and 267

Eng won by 210 runs.

The first innings of 568 included scores of ME Trescothick 4, AJ Strauss 137, RWT Key 221, MP Vaughan 103, PT Collins 4-113, DJ Bravo 3-74 on debut.

England went on to win the series 4-0.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Non-Government Railways of the 1940s

I had earlier summarized information about the 9 non-government railways which were separately listed in the All-India Timetable of 1964. None of them exist in NG now, they have either been converted to BG or closed for many years.

https://abn397.wordpress.com/2015/10/28/the-non-government-railways-of-india-in-1964-and-what-happened-to-them/

As there is interest in timetables of these and other vanished lines, I am giving some extracts of the June 1944 Bradshaw which covers all the lines which were apparently not part of the larger railway systems of that time. Some survived into the 1960s and beyond and others closed much earlier.

Here we see the lines of the Bengal Provincial Railway, which closed in 1956:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_Provincial_Railway

Here we have the two McLeod and Co lines known as the Burdwan Katwa Light Railway and the Ahmadpur Katwa Light Railway.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardhaman%E2%80%93Katwa_line

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmadpur%E2%80%93Katwa_line

Both these lines were purchased by the Government transferred to the Eastern Railway in 1966, where they continue till now after being fully converted to BG and electrified.

Also the Dehri Rohtas Light Railway, initially owned by the Octavius Steel group and then the Sahu Jain group. It closed in 1984 and is not likely to be revived.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dehri_Rohtas_Light_Railway

The 4 lines here were all part of the Martin Burn group:

https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Bukhtiarpur-Bihar_Light_Railway

Closed in 1961.Became part of ER and converted to BG by 1962.

https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Futwah-Islampur_Light_Railway

Was closed in 1986, converted to BG and became part of ER (and then East Central Railway).

https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Arrah-Sasaram_Light_Railway

Closed in 1978, converted to BG and became part of ER (and then East Central Railway).

https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Shahdara-Saharanpur_Light_Railway

Closed in 1970, converted to BG and became part of Northern Railway.

The Barasat Basirhat Light Railway (which had other owners, NL Roy and Sons Ltd)

This was closed in 1955. In 1962 the Barasat-Hasnabad BG line was opened with a similar alignment.

Also from the Martin Burn group:

https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Howrah-Sheakhalla_Light_Railway

This was of 2’0″ gauge. This closed in 1971 and no steps have been taken to reopen it.

Next is the Howrah-Amta Light Railway. This was also of 2’0″ gauge.

https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Howrah-Amta_Light_Railway

Like its sister line above, it closed in 1971. The Howrah-Amta section was converted to BG and electrified, and is now part of the South Eastern Railway. It is unlikely that the Champadanga branch will be revived.

The Rupsa-Bagerhat Light Railway, now in Bangladesh. This was converted to BG in around 1970 but was closed soon afterwards.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khulna%E2%80%93Bagerhat_Railway

The Bankura Damodar River Railway (from the McLeod & Co group):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLeod%27s_Light_Railways#Bankura%E2%80%93Damodar_Railway

This was transferred to the South Eastern Railway and converted to broad gauge in the 2000s. It was extended from Rainagar to Gram Masagram (near Masagram on the Howrah-Barddhaman chord).

The Kaligat Falta Railway (McLeod & Co)

https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Kalighat-Falta_Railway

This was closed by 1957. A road now runs over the alignment.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, which needs no introduction. The 2’0″ line from NJP and Siliguri continues to run much as it has since the 1880s, except that diesels now haul the regular trains.

It was initially part of the Gillanders Arbuthnot group. By this time it was considered to be a part of IR and not a  non-government line.

The line from Siliguri to Kishanganj was converted to MG as part of the Assam Rail Link in 1948-50, and to BG more recently.

The Teesta Valley branch continued running until 1950. The section between Siliguri and Sevok was converted to mixed NG/MG gauge until the hill section up to Gielle Khola was damaged by floods in 1950. The hill section was closed and the NG line removed from Siliguri to Sevok which continued to be part of the Assam Rail Link. Today it is broad gauge.

The Tezpur Balipara NG line was initially run by the local agents Kilburn & Co. In 1952 it became part of the Northeast Frontier Railway and converted to MG. Still later it was converted to BG although the terminus is now Dekargaon, north of Tezpur.

And finally the Jagadhri Light Railway, which closed in 1950:

https://wiki.fibis.org/w/Jagadhri_Light_Railway

This, then, is the summary of all NG lines which were not part of the major railway companies in 1943. A brief history of the later developments has been given.

The links provide sources of more information from Wikipedia and Fibis.

There were still other NG lines which had closed by 1940, mainly in  southern India. A few were part of the major companies of IR and others were privately owned. Most of them never reopened.

Test Cricket: the greatest collapses-1

Putting on a century partnership for the first wicket is difficult. It is particularly frustrating if the rest of the team contributes less than 50% of the opening partnership.

This has happened several times in Tests:

The above list is in chronological order. However the extent of the collapse can be seen from the column “Percent added”.

The worst such collapse was at # 5, where the West Indies plunged from 276 for no loss to 365 all out (when the others contributed 89 runs or 32.2 % of 276).

Naturally they lost. But you can see that some teams recovered enough to draw or even win a Test after such a collapse.

We look at each of the Tests mentioned above:

1): https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/17517/scorecard/62663/england-vs-india-2nd-test-india-tour-of-england-1946

Debutant Bedser (7-49 and 4-96) had helped rout India in the first post-war Test in England at Lord’s.

In the second Test at Manchester, things went better for them:

Eng 294 and 153/5 dec

Ind 170 and 152/9.

The 170 included Merchant (78) and Mushtaq Ali (46) putting on 124 for the first wicket. Mushtaq was the first to go, dismissed by debutant R Pollard. The only other batsman to record double figures was the captain Pataudi (11). Bedser finished with 4-41 and Pollard 5-24, who followed him with a five-for on debut.

India was set 278 in three hours. This time Bedser took 7-52 (and thus took 11 wickets in each of his first two Tests) and Pollard 2-63. India reached 138/9 before the last pair of Sohoni  (11* on debut) and Hindlekar (4*) played out 13 minutes to ensure a draw.

This was the first time that a Test was saved by the 10th-wicket pair in the fourth innings.

Finally England won this series 1-0 with two draws.

2): https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/17216/scorecard/63124/new-zealand-vs-australia-3rd-test-australia-tour-of-new-zealand-1973-74

This match was also dramatic but in a different way.

New Zealand had unexpectedly won the 2nd Test and thus led 1-0 going into the third Test:

Aus 221 and 346

NZ 112 and 158

Redpath had carried his bat for 159 in Australia’s second innings.

New Zealand were set 456 for an improbable victory. They started well enough with Turner (72) and JM Parker (34) putting on 107 for the first wicket. Once Parker was dismissed by  Gilmour, only Wadsworth (21) crossed double figures and they were dismissed for 158. Walker led the bowling with 4-39 and Australia won by 297 runs on the third day, drawing the series.

3): https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/16616/scorecard/63529/west-indies-vs-england-5th-test-england-tour-of-west-indies-1989-90

Not quite so dramatic. England had won the first Test of the series (their first win in the West Indies since 1974) and the series was drawn 1-1 going into this final Test.

Eng 260 and 154

WI 446

It was actually England who collapsed, but not in a peculiar manner like the West Indies.

The West Indies started with Greenidge (149) and Haynes (167) who put on 298 before the former was run out. There were more contributions down the line, with Malcolm (4-126) the leading bowler. The remaining wickets contributed 49.7% of the opening partnership, thus meeting our cutoff of 50%. The West Indies duly won by an innings and 32 runs, winning the series 2-1.

4: https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/64/64957.html

As in the previous match, this collapse did not affect the result.

This series confirmed the rapid decline of the West Indies in the latter half of the 1990s. They lost the first two Tests by innings margins. The result of this Test was similar:

WI 216 and 212

Pak 417 and 15/0.

For Pakistan, Aamir Sohail (160) and Ijaz Ahmed (151) opened until the former was dismissed by occasional bowler Chanderpaul on 298. After that Walsh (4-74) and Dillon (5-111) dismissed Pakistan for 417. It did not make much difference, as Pakistan won by 10 wickets and swept the series 3-0. This was the first “whitewash” in a 3-Test series for the West Indies since 1928.

5): https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/15743/scorecard/63868/new-zealand-vs-west-indies-1st-test-west-indies-tour-of-new-zealand-1999-00

The West Indies also figured in this match, the first of a two-Test series.

WI 365 and 97

NZ 393 and 70/1

They started off with AFG Griffith (114) and SL Campbell (170) who had put on 276 when the latter was dismissed by Nash. CL Cairns (3-73) and the upcoming Vettori (4-83) helped dismiss the team for only 89 runs added. In the second innings, they were dismissed for 97, thus completing a sequence of losing 20 wickets for 186.

New Zealand won by 9 wickets and completed the rout by winning the next Test by an innings.

6): https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/15529/scorecard/63941/zimbabwe-vs-west-indies-1st-test-west-indies-tour-of-zimbabwe-2001

The West Indies again, though this was a happier occasion for them at the start of a two-Tests series.

Zim 155 and 228

WI 559/6 dec.

Zimbabwe started the third innings 404 runs behind. The start was promising with DD Ebrahim (71) and ADR Campbell (103) putting on 164. Ebrahim was dismissed by Stuart. The only other batsman to cross double figures was GJ Whittall (10*), as McGarrell (4-38) and Stuart (3-45) dismissed the side for 228 giving the West Indies an innings victory. The second Test was drawn, so the West Indies enjoyed a series victory which was already becoming a rare event for them.

7): https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18886/scorecard/1157370/australia-vs-pakistan-1st-test-australia-in-uae-2018-19

Here, the team which collapsed was able to scrape through to a draw.

Pak 482 and 181/6 dec

Aus 202 and 362/8.

Facing a large total, Australia started with Khawaja (85) and debutant Finch (62).

Finch was dismissed by Mohammad Abbas (4-29), who shared the wickets with debutant Bilal Asif (6-36). Pakistan did not impose the follow-on, and Australia was able to draw. But Pakistan won the second Test by a large margin and won the series 1-0.

We will also look at collapses after 200+ for 2 and 300+ for 3.