Summing up the one-match players

This is to provide links to a few posts in the last few days, for those who are interested in the obscure byways of cricket history. These deal with the best performances of those who had only one match (or innings) in the three formats of international cricket:

https://abn397.wordpress.com/2016/05/03/making-the-most-of-limited-chances-batting/

https://abn397.wordpress.com/2016/05/05/making-the-most-of-limited-chances-bowling/

https://abn397.wordpress.com/2016/05/08/making-the-most-of-limited-chances-fielding/

https://abn397.wordpress.com/2016/05/11/making-the-most-of-limited-chances-allround-performances/

Making the most of limited chances-fielding

A few days ago we had separate posts on good batting and bowling performances in their only Test/ODI/T20I and their only innings. Today we take up fielding performances for those players with the shortest possible careers.

First we take up Tests.

Best fielding (4 or more dismissals) for those playing in their only Test:

This list consists of wicket keepers with the exception of RR (Robin) Singh, the Trinidad-born Indian player. He took 5 catches in his only Test, but had a somewhat better run as a batting all-rounder in ODIs.

Many of them were designated reserve keepers on tours and got to play only when the main keeper was injured or otherwise unavailable. The list is headed by Phil Emery of Australia, who was Ian Healy’s deputy in the 1994-95 tour of Pakistan who took 6 catches in his only Test. Three other keepers and Robin Singh made 5 dismissals each. NV Ojha and L Ronchi have some chance of playing Tests again.

Note India’s V Rajindernath who had 4 stumpings but no catches. This is the record for stumpings by any Test debutant. Emery, Atiq-uz-Zaman and TRO Payne each took 5 catches.

Best fielding (2 or more dismissals) in their only Test innings:

Here we have Australian keeper GA Manou (deputy to BJ Haddin) heading the list with 3 dismissals (all catches). Two lesser-known fielders took two catches each.

Now for ODIs:

Best fielding (2 or more dismissals) in their only ODI:

Our old friend Phil Emery tops this list again, on that same tour of Pakistan.If you want to know more about him:

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/5139.html

There is also India’s long-forgotten P. Krishnamurthy who played in all 5 Tests of India’s tour of West Indies in 1970-71, though this ODI was in a later tour of New Zealand.

This list includes 6 keepers and 4 non-keepers. The latter group includes Australia’s JK Moss who also played in exactly one Test.

Best fielding (2 or more dismissals) in their only ODI innings:

We get exactly the same table.

Now for T20Is:

Best fielding (2 or more dismissals) in their only T20I:

A total of 6 players (2 keepers and 4 non-keepers) have each taken 2 dismissals in their only T20Is. The only well-known player is TR Ambrose who played in several Tests for England. India’s P Negi will probably play more T20Is.

Best fielding (2 or more dismissals) in their only T20I innings:

We get exactly the same table.

 

 

Making the most of limited chances-bowling

Today we take up the cases of those who got to bowl in only one match or innings. First we consider Tests, followed by ODIs and T20Is.

5 wickets or more in their only Test:

Only one ten-for by CS Marriott, though the best innings bowling here is 7/95 by WH Ashley in the 19th century. All instances of fivers in their only Test are included above.

Also note the 1-Test careers of PJ Cummins and JP Faulkner who probably will play again. There is also CA Smith who spent most of his life in Hollywood and was known as Aubrey Smith

Also note the strange case of the two unrelated Banerjees who bowled well in the only Tests they played in the 1948-49 series against the West Indies. We will meet another 1-Test Banerjee in a moment.

3 wickets or more in their only Test innings:

WH Ashley is the only one with a five-for in this category. Hill, Lyttelton and Nazir Ali bowled in only one innings in their multi-Test careers. Lyttelton’s 4-19 is the best innings bowling by any designated wicket-keeper. A few others such as Boucher and Kirmani have taken 1 wicket in an innings.

A few more players from India here, including ST Banerjee. All 3 players with this surname played exactly one Test each, despite getting reasonable returns.

Now for ODIs:

Three or more wickets in their only ODI:

While an unknown player from PNG tops this list,the only well-known player here is BS Chandrashekhar who was one of India’s leading bowlers of the 70s. Stott played his only ODI during the 1979 World Cup. DV Lawrence played a few Tests with some success.

Three or more wickets in their only ODI innings:

The only addition is England’s veteran Test player Fred Titmus who, like Colin Cowdrey, earned a recall to the ill-starred England tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1974-75.

Now for T20Is:

2 or more wickets in their only T20I:

The best performances here are by little-known players such as Mansoor Amjad and CG Burnett. The better-known Test players here are MS Panesar and CT Tremlett.

2 or more wickets in their only T20I innings:

Here we have several instances of those who bowled only once in a relatively long T20I career (notably Younis Khan in 25 matches, Sarwan and AR White in 18 matches). There are also AC Voges and AJ Redmond (primarily  batsmen).

Next we will take up the best fielding performances by those playing in their only matches and innings.

 

 

Same bowling figures in both innings (Revised on 26/02/2017)

This is a logical follow-up to the last post

https://abn397.wordpress.com/2016/04/19/same-score-in-both-innings/

Here we consider cases where bowlers have recorded the same bowling analysis in both innings. This means that wickets and runs were the same in both innings. We are not getting into overs and maidens.

Taking a minimum of 3 wickets in an innings, this has happened only 8 times in all Tests:

Only three instances of tenners. The second one was historic as India recorded their maiden Test win in Australia. This was a victory by a large margin, while India had lost the first two Tests of that series by narrow margins.

Strangely Hyderabad in India figures in two of these instances, though at two different grounds. Abdur Rehman recorded this on debut.

Looking at Indian bowlers alone with a minimum of 1 wicket in an innings, we get:

On debut, there are only two who have taken at least 1 wicket in an innings:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cricket odds and ends-symmetrical careers

Symmetry in wins, losses and draws:

So far we have seen lists of Test players with “unsymmetrical” careers-either the dominance or absence of wins, losses and draws. But there are a few cases where the players ended their career with exactly the same number of wins, draws and losses:

TBA May (Aus):      8 wins, 8 losses and 8 draws.

Akram Raza (Pak): 3, 3 and 3.

JM Wiener (Aus):    2, 2 and 2.

And there were some who ended up with almost similar numbers of wins, losses and draws:

NJ Astle (NZ):          81 (27 wins, 28 losses, 26 draws)

EH Hendren (Eng):  51 (16, 18, 17)

FMM Worrell (WI):   51 (18, 17, 16)

ED Weekes (WI):     48 (16, 15, 17)

N Kulashekara (SL): 21 (7,6,8)

Symmetry and asymmetry in centuries in particular innings

You would expect that all leading batsmen (say with 20 or more centuries) would have scored centuries in all 4 innings. But there are some exceptions:

SR Waugh (Aus):      32 (No 4th)

M. Yousuf (Pak):       24 (No 4th)

V Sehwag (Ind):        23 (No 4th)

IR Bell (Eng):            22 (No 4th)

MC Cowdrey (Eng):  22 (No 4th)

DC Boon (Aus):        21 (No 4th)

G Kirsten (SA):         21 (No 4th)

DC Boon (Aus):        21 (No 4th)

Some other odd cases:

H Masakadza (Zim) and A Melville (SA) each scored 4 centuries, with one in each innings.

Melville was the first to score 4 Test centuries in consecutive innings-though World War 2 came in between the first and second century.

AF Rae (WI) and Wasim Raja (Pak) each scored all their 4 centuries in the 1st innings

MJ Horne (NZ) and RT Simpson (Eng) each scored all their 4 centuries in the 2nd innings