67.
X’s first tour to India in 1976 was an ill-tempered affair during which the visitors were unhappy with the umpiring. In the final Test, X frustratingly flung a bail at the umpire after Anshuman Gaekwad wasn’t ruled out hit-wicket. To make things worse, the heat and humidity contributed to him falling violently ill ten minutes into the game, and kept him off the field for a day and a half. He swore that he would never return to the subcontinent. He kept his word and even went on to give the 1987 World Cup a miss. But X finally did come back in 1988 in pursuit of a record and achieved the record within 18 minutes of the first match he played. Who is this cricketer? What record did he come chasing in 1988?
68.
Leigh Kasperek is an off-spinner in the New Zealand woman’s cricket team while Neil Mallender was an unfortunate English bowler who took 8 wickets in his first Test but was dropped after one more Test. Both Kasperek and Mallender share the same nickname. While Kasperek has her surname to blame for the nickname, in case of Mallender, it was his almost albino complexion that got him that nickname. What was the common nickname?
69.
The 1974 Organisation of the Islamic Conference was held in the backdrop of growing bonhomie among the Islamic nations after they had scored a victory against the West by causing the Oil Crisis of 1973. Notable names of the Islamic world gathered to show solidarity with the host nation. One of them also spoke in support of the host nation’s nuclear programme. What was the result of it seen in the world of cricket?
70.
There were two rebel tours from his country to South Africa during South Africa’s cricketing isolation and he was on both of those tours. While many were banned for life for doing the same, this cricketer, a veteran of 64 Tests, had the good fortune of getting amnesty from his board on both the occasions and coming back to represent his country as well. Who was this lucky fellow?
71.
X was the father of Y who played 15 Tests, 3 less than his son. Their Best Bowling in an Innings was a six for and came against the same opposition almost four decades apart. Both had their brief but successful careers curtailed by injuries. Apart from his bowling, X is known for playing out the all crucial final over in the final Test against West Indies in 1967-68 where his team was in danger of giving up the 1-0 lead and with it the trophy. Y, on the other hand, is known for one series that his team won against a particular opposition after 16 years. Who is the father and son pair?
72.
Rusi Surti warned X about the bowler’s action which he thought wasn’t legal. However, his captain shunted him down because it was distracting him. He told him that instead of shouting across the wicket, he should report it to the umpire. That, he now recalls, caused the loss of concentration. What did that result in?
73.
Albeit an aberration in 1969-70, this seems to be the most plausible explanation for this – There were 6 Tests in the 1974-75 Ashes and, thus, in order to fit them all in one overall schedule, a certain modern tradition was started. What’s the tradition?
74.
Issued on January 18, 1962, the world’s first cricket stamp came from the Portuguese colony of CapeVerde, now an independent nation. The first stamp to be released from a test playing nation happened a couple of months later though. Which country was this, whose name was inscribed in English, Urdu & Bengali on the same?
75.
13
Quiver Full of Arrows is a 1980 collection of twelve short stories by British writer and politician Jeffrey Archer. One of the stories, titled “The Century” revolves around the protagonist, an unnamed Oxonian who has an ambition to succeed as a cricketer for Oxford and follow his famous father’s footsteps. The aforementioned character is in fact based on a real-life cricketer, someone who Archer adored & looked up to throughout. Who?