Dilip Vengsarkar – stuttering to sublime
The memories are vivid. One hand held the bat, the other brushed the pads, adjusted the abdomen guard, and touched…
Continue Reading...Rahul Dravid and the magic of branding
Peshawar 2006. Sachin Tendulkar’s 108 had helped India set a target of 329. Salman Butt’s 101 had propelled the chase….
Continue Reading...Dickie Bird Umpire and Entertainer
Perhaps the most explosive situation he diffused was when Sarfraz Nawaz, charged up and aggressive, unleashed a beamer high enough…
Continue Reading...Mushtaq Ali The Eternal Stylist
The dichotomy between how and how much… The debate between the relative worth of beauty and substance. This was never…
Continue Reading...John Woodcock: The Long Life of The Sage
John Woodcock lived a long life. A really long life. He was born on 7 August 1926. That day Gloucestershire…
Continue Reading...Nostalgia – The first ever Test in Pakistan – nothing short of a miracle
New Year’s Day, 1955. The Dacca Stadium. That was what it was called. Today it is enmeshed in the short…
Continue Reading...Alan Knott: The eccentric gloveman
Huish, Hubble, Ames, Levett, Evans … great work behind the wickets has been a feature of Kent cricket for long….
Continue Reading...Profile of John Arlott: Being Human
It was John Betjeman who changed the course of his life. The young man had moved on from his early…
Continue Reading...Vinoo Mankad: The first great all-rounder of India
1956-57. Peter May’s England was in South Africa. A series full of drama, suspense, swings of fortune, and often superb…
Continue Reading...Eden Gardens bursts into flames, Kolkata Test of 1998-99
It could have been a fascinating finale, and it almost was for three and a half days. And then it…
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