Dudley Nourse and his classic double hundred with a broken thumb

June 8, 1951. Dudley Nourse battled a broken thumb to bat over nine-and-a-quarter hours and scored a magnificent double-hundred, his last major innings for South Africa. In the spectacular final two days of play, the Springboks earned their second Test victory in England. Arunabha Sengupta recalls one of the most heroic batting displays and the memorable Test at Trent Bridge.

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England come up against a battery of googly bowlers on matting

December 28, 1905. Faced with an unprecedented battery of googly bowlers on an unfamiliar matting wicket, the English side faced their first ever defeat in a First-Class match in South Africa. Arunabha Sengupta recalls the day Plum Warner’s men were stunned by the incredible Transvaal rally engineered by Reggie Schwarz and a young Aubrey Faulkner. 

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Bert Sutcliffe and Bob Blair at Ellis Park: A fairy tale bigger than cricket

December 26, 1953. Ellis Park, Johannesburg witnessed Bert Sutcliffe defy a near-fatal injury to pull off one of the bravest performances of all time. To add to the drama, Bob Blair put aside his grief to join Sutcliffe at the centre. Abhishek Mukherjee looks back at one of the most poignant days in the history of the sport.

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When Wally Hammond batted all day for Tom Goddard

Gloucestershire had awarded Tom Goddard a benefit match at his hometown in Wagon Works. However, all seemed doomed when Nottinghamshire were bowled out cheaply on what turned out to be a bowler-friendly track. Then Wally Hammond, seldom hailed as the greatest team-man, rose to the cause. On August 31, 1936, the second day of the match, Hammond carved out 317 of the best runs on a pitch that required tremendous application. Goddard’s benefit match was thus saved, Abhishek Mukherjee looks at a day when a teammate brought the compassionate best in probably the most enigmatic character cricket has witnessed.

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Ranji Trophy final 1990-91: Dilip Vengsarkar cries as Bombay lose to Haryana by a whisker

May 7, 1991. On the final day of the Ranji Trophy final, young Sachin Tendulkar hit a stunning 96 before Dilip Vengsarkar essayed a majestic unbeaten 139. Yet, Haryana clinched the match by 2 runs in a spectacular finish. Arunabha Sengupta recalls the day which saw Vengsarkar break down in tears on the field.

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