What is the highest partnership in Test cricket?

According to Guinness World Records, the highest partnership in Test cricket is 624, achieved in the first innings of the first Test of the South Africa tour of Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo, Sri Lanka between July 27 and July 29, 2006. South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first, but scored only 169 all out in the first innings, with Abraham Benjamin (AB) de Villiers top-scoring on 65.

In reply, Sri Lanka lost both openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga cheaply to feared fast bowler Dale Steyn, the former trapped lbw for 4 and the latter caught at the wicket for 7. Thus, Sri Lanka were 14-2 after 3.3 overs when Kumar Sangakkara and captain Mahela Jayawardene came together at the crease. However, both batsmen remained unbeaten at close of play on the second day and, remarkably, also at the end of third day, having scored 229 and 224, respectively. They still weren’t finished, though; by the time Sangakkara was caught at the wicket, off lively medium-pacer Andrew Hall, for 287 on the third day, the pair had been in the middle for exactly 157 overs and taken the score to 638-3.

Jayawardene batted on for another 25 overs, bar two balls, and was, in fact, the last man out – cleaned bowled by Andre Nel for 374 – as Sri Lanka declared on 756-5, with a colossal first innings lead of 587 runs. Understandably, South Africa were always fighting a losing battle, but made a much better fist of their second innings, with Jacques Rudolph (90), Andrew Hall (64), captain Ashwell Prince (61) and wicketkeeper Mark Boucher (85) all making significant contributions. Nevertheless, the tourists were dismissed for 434, giving Sri Lanka victory by an innings and 153 runs.

Who was the first batsman to score a century at the Cricket World Cup?

The Cricket World Cup, which represents the pinnacle of competition in One Day International (ODI) cricket, was inaugurated, as the Prudential World Cup, in 1975. In the opening match, between England and India at Lord’s, London on June 7, 1975, England won the toss and elected to bat first. John Jamieson and Dennis Amiss opened the batting and it was Amiss who became the first batsman to score a century at the Cricket World Cup.

Jamieson was caught by Indian captain Srinivas Venkataraghavan off the bowling of Mohinder Amarnath with 54 on the board, but Amiss and Keith Fletcher (68) put on 176 for the second wicket, before Fletcher was clean bowled by brisk medium-pacer Syed Abid Ali. Amiss went on to make 137 from 147 balls, including 16 fours and, following his dismissal, captain Mike Denness (37 not out) and Chris Hold (51 not out) took England to a healthy total of 334/4 off their 60 overs.

The Indian reply was bizarre, thanks in no small part to what team manager Gulabrai Ramchand later described as ‘…the most disgraceful and selfish performance I have ever seen’ by opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar. Gavaskar ‘carried his bat’ throughout the entire 60 overs but, for reasons best known to himself – and apparently oblivious to the frustration of his team-mates and the crowd – he scored just 36 not out, including just one four, off 174 balls. Somewhat ironically, Gavaskar’s brother-in-law, Gundappa Viswanath, top-scored with 37 off 59 balls, but India finished with a paltry total of 132 for 3 and lost by 202 runs.

Who was the first cricketer to bat at No. 12 in a Test match?

The Laws of Cricket, which are maintained by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), state that ‘A match is played between two sides, each of eleven players…’ Hence, historically, it was impossible for any cricketer to bat at No. 12 in any match, Test or otherwise. However, on August 1, 2019, the International Cricket Council (ICC) introduced a ruling that gave teams playing first-class cricket, including Test cricket, the option of making a Concussion Replacement Request for any player ‘ diagnosed with concussion or suspected concussion’. The ruling further stipulated that any replacement should be a ‘like-for-like player whose inclusion will not excessively advantage his team for the remainder of the match’.

Thus, on September 2, 2019, in the second innings of the second Test of the India tour of West Indies at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, Jermaine Blackwood replaced Darren Bravo as a concussion substitute. The latter retired hurt on 23 on the fourth morning, having been hit on the head by a bouncer from India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah the previous evening; a subsequent medical examination confirmed that Bravo was, in fact, suffering from concussion.

Blackwood went on to score 38 before being caught at the wicket, again off Bumrah, but his arrival at the crease meant that fast bowler Shannon Gabriel – a bona fide tailender, with a Test average of just 4.32 with the bat – was demoted from his usual No.11 position and came in at No. 12. Gabriel may have made history, but there was to be no fairytale ending for him or his team. In fact, he was at the crease for just four minutes and faced just one delivery, without scoring, before West Indies’ captain Jason Holder was clean bowled by Ravindra Jadeja for 39, giving India victory by 257 runs.

What was World Series Cricket?

World Series Cricket (WSC) was an independent professional cricket tournament set up by Australian media mogul Kerry Packer to directly rival established international cricket. In 1976, Packer sought to exclusive broadcasting rights to Test and Sheffield Shield cricket in Australia for his commercial, free-to-air television network, Channel Nine. However, his bid of A$1.5 million was dismissed by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) in favour of a bid of just A$210,000 by the existing contract holder, the government-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Incessed, Packer secretly recruited dozens of the leading players in the world, including Tony Greig,

Greg Chappell and Clive Lloyd, the captains of England, Australia and West Indies, respectively, to play a series of ‘Supertests’ and a one-day series, dubbed the ‘International Cup’, on Channel Nine. Players’ pay had been a major cause of dissatisfaction, especially in Australia, but Packer attracted the crème de la crème of world cricket by offering salaries in the region of A$30,000 for a three-year contracted. He later described cricket as ‘the easiest sport in the world to take over’, adding, ‘nobody bothered to pay the players what they were worth’.

Players signing up for the ‘Packer Circus’, as WSC was dubbed by the press, were initially banned from playing any match under the auspices of the International Cricket Council (ICC). However, following the 1978/79 Ashes series, in which England thrashed a vastly-depleted Australia team 5-1, public outcry for a settlement between the parties involved become irresistibly loud. The establishment effectively raised the white flag to WSC, the ACB granted Channel Nine the rights to televise cricket in Australia from 1979/80 onwards and the ‘rebel’ players returned to their respective countries.

Which male cricketer scored the fastest Test match hundred?

Until February 20, 2016, the record for the fastest Test match hundred was held, jointly, by West Indian Sir Vivian Richards and Pakistani Misbah-ul-Haq. Richards needed just 56 balls to reach three figures in the fifth and final Test of the England tour of West Indies at the Antigua Recreation Ground, St. John’s in April, 1986, and hs feat was matched by Misbah in the second innings of the second Test of the Australia tour of the United Arab Emirates at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi in November, 2014.

However, on February 20, 2016, in his farewell Test match, after 100 consecutive previous appearances for the Black Cats, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum picked an appropriate occasion to claim the record for the fastest Test century as his own. In the first innings of the second Test of the Australia tour of New Zealand at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, needed just 54 balls to reach three figures, including 16 fours and four sixes.

For the record, McCullum brought up his hundred in 79 minutes, or five minutes longer than Misbah, who, in turn, took four minutes longer than Australian Jack Gregory, who made a rapid-fire century in 70 minutes, albeit off 67 balls, in the first innings of the second Test of the Australia tour of South Africa at Old Wanderers, Johannesburg on November 12, 1921. Over a century later (no pun intended), Gregory still holds the record for the fastest Test hundred, in terms of minutes taken.