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Crunching Numbers from Lords

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• Strauss crosses 5000 runs mark, during is knock of 161 runs. He now has 18 centuries, 4 at lords.
• Andrew Strauss became the fifth batsman to score 1000 runs or more at an average of 67.64 at Lords.
• Strauss and Cook went past the pair of Mike Atherton and Graham Gooch to take fourth place in the list of top opening partnerships for England. The pair now averages 47.07 for 2589 runs with seven century-stands
• Together with Cook, Strauss forged the highest first-wicket partnership by an England combination at Lord's (196) in an Ashes Test, bettering by 14 runs the 83-year-old record held by Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe (182)
• The duo posted the highest first-wicket stand in England since Colin Cowdrey and Peter Richardson at Trent Bridge in 1956 (204). It was England's best in any Ashes Test since Graham Gooch and Mike Atherton put together 213 at Adelaide in 1990-91.
• Mitchell Johnson gets to 100 wickets in Test Cricket.
• Onions & Anderson add 47 for 10th wicket is a record for England at Lords.
• Michael Hussey's 51 was only his second half-century in 10 innings this year. He's averaged a modest 29 in 2009, compared to his overall average of 54.29.
• 145.23 Matt Prior's strike rate - he scored 61 off 42 balls. It's the highest strike rate for a 50-plus score in 2009.
• 123.6 The most overs Australia have batted in the fourth innings of a Test. Those were eight-ball overs - against South Africa in 1950 - which convert into 165 six-ball overs. The record against England is 115 eight-ball overs (153.2 six-ball ones).

Freddie helps England break Aussie stranglehold after 75 years!!!

Andrew Flintoff playing his last test series sealed the faith of Aussies with a match winning spell of top class fast bowling. It was only his 3rd five for for England in test cricket and first since last Ashes in England in 2005.

Lords, 2nd Test, Day 1

Although Flintoff pushed the nails on the coffin, it all started on first session of Day 1 itself, when captain courageous Andrew Strauss after winning the toss added 196 for the first wicket with Alistair Cook. Cook was unlucky though to miss out on a century, when he was dismissed by Johnson for 95. Such was there assault on Aussies that Mitchell Johnson there strike bowler was hit for 77 runs in his first 11 overs and as many as 15 four's were hit of him. The Aussies came back strongly with wickets in the final session, but were handed a blow when Hauritz while attempting a catch of Strauss, dislocated his finger and could not bowl any further in that innings. The first day undoubtedly belong to Andrew Strauss who remained not out for 161 at the end of Day 1. With honours even with scoreboard reading 364 for 6.

Lords, 2nd Test, Day 2

The Aussies came back strongly 2nd morning, with the pick of the bowlers on day 1 Ben Hilfenhaus dismissing Strauss on the 2nd bowl of the day. Strauss failed to add a run to his 161 but that could not undermine the importance of this innings. With 2 more wickets Aussies had the advantage scoreboard showing 378 for 9. Yet again the 10th wicket pair proved their nemesis. The duo of Anderson and Onions added 47 runs off just 52 balls. Anderson played some scorching shots in his cameo of 29 off 25 balls. England ended their innings on a high, with a formidable first innings score of 425, Aussies had some catching up to do. They soon found themselves in trouble, when Hughes and Ponting departed early, Australia 10 for 2. Both wickets were taken by Anderson, who along with his opening partner Flintoff looked deadly with his swing. Katich and Hussey started cautiously, and ensured no further hiccups till lunch. After lunch they started playing shots which gave English bowlers a chance to comeback and with some rain around Aussies found themselves in deep trouble loosing 6 for 46 in final session, 156 for 8 when bad light forced the close of play early. Aussies were tested with some good short pitched stuff during that period, especially by Broad. England took the honors on day 2 with Australia needing a further 70 runs to avoid the follow-on. Strauss had some decision to make on whether to enforce follow-on or not.

Lords, 2nd Test, Day 3

Day 3 saw some stern resistance from the Australian tail enders as they added 59 runs more but couldn't cross the 225 run mark to avoid the follow-on. Which laid Strauss to make a decision,with a lead of 210 runs and sun shining, Strauss decided not to enforce the follow-on. Again it was a good start by the openers and again Johnson looked a shadow of himself. But Hauritz dismissed both the openers and ignited an Aussie revival, for the next 2-3 hours bowlers toiled hard, there were numerous plays and misses, as Pieterson and Bopara toiled hard. They were made to work hard for runs. And the pressure soon paid off as both batsmen departed. That brought Matt Prior to the crease who along with Collingwood decimated the Australian bowlers to all parts of the ground. It was a treat to watch the free flowing innings by Prior. Before departing he had scored 61 of just 42 balls. Then Collingwood and Flintoff helped England cross the 300 run mark. England ended day 3 at 311 for 6, with a lead of 521 runs, they were in total command.

Lords, 2nd Test, Day 4

The possible threat of rain forced Strauss to declare first up in the morning, setting Australia a herculean task of scoring 522 runs in 2 days. Australian's were in trouble straight away thanks to some poor umpiring decisions, while Katich given out to a no ball, Hughes catch was not referred to the third umpire, replays showed that ball clearly bounced before reaching Strauss at slip, Australia 34 for 2 also had to contain with a recharged Flintoff playing his last test at the Mecca of cricket Lords. Ponting looked good but dragged one back on his stumps of Broad, then Hussey was given out to another controversial decision, though I must admit it looked out from the naked eye, replays confirming otherwise. Swann was finding some sharp turn and drift and soon found North's stumps too, Australia at 128 for 5 and a threat of loosing out inside 4 days. Then came Haddin who provided much needed support to Clarke who looked in sublime touch. The duo added 185 runs before the close of play, with Clarke completing his century and Haddin his half century in process. All of a sudden 522 runs was not looking like that many with Australia ending day 4 at 313 for 5 and two batsmen at 125 and 80 respectively, we had a game on our hands.

Lords, 2nd Test, Day 5

The history was beckoning both teams; England who have not beaten Australia at Lords since 1934 and Australia who could possibly chase down a world record total. Anderson opened the attack with exceptional display of swing bowling kept Clarke at bay. Flintoff was next up and dismissed Haddin on the 4th ball of the over. After that Aussies had their backs to the wall and Flintoff ran through their tail, with a wonderful display of fast bowling in spell of 10 overs. He finished with figures of 27-4-92-5, he was equally well supported by Swann who finished with 28-3-87-4 and of-course with the all important wicket of Michael Clarke. Mitchell Johnson's brisk 63 runs helped Australia cross 400 runs. In the end 522 runs proving too much for Australia but they fought hard and who knows if a couple of decision's would have went their way, they might have overhauled this total. But they must remember what happened against India in Sydney test last year, So they mustn't blame the umpires now and should focus on getting the right combination for the next test otherwise they might end up with the same fate they did in 2005.

All Stars 11 ( Part 1)

India played its first ever test against England in 1932 which they ended up loosing by 158 runs. It took them 19 years and 25 tests before they could register first ever test win.India wasn’t as good as the Aussies, England or West Indies. But they too had their share of stars. We can divide India’s Cricketing history in two parts the first 60 years.1932-1992 and from 1992-till now. The classification of the “All Stars 11” is done in the same way. Here’s the All Stars 11 part 1 (1932-1992). The criteria for selecting the All Stars 11 was the cricketer must have played atleast 40 tests.

1. SM Gavaskar (1971-1987 )

Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	100	50	0 12
125	214	16	10122	236*	51.12	34	45

Born on 10 July 1949 in Bombay, Maharashtra ,widely regarded as one of the greatest opening batsmen in test match history, Gavaskar set world records during his career for the most runs and most centuries scored by any batsman. Made his debut against the West Indies in 1971. He was widely admired for his technique against fast bowling, afterall how many opening batsmen average 65.45 against the West Indies. He was the first Indian to aggregate more than 700 runs in a series, and this 774 runs at 154.80 remains the most runs scored in a debut series by any batsman. Incidently Gavaskar didn't score a century on home soil until 1976.He captained India to nine victories and eight losses, but most of the games were drawn, 30. He was named the wisdon cricketer of the year in 1979.

2. Vinoo Mankad (1946-1959)

Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	100	50	Wick	BBI	Avg
44	72	5	2109	231	31.47	5	6	162	8/52	32.32

(12 April 1917 - 21 August 1978) An effective batsman and slow left arm orthodox bowler, he played in 44 Tests for India, and made 2109 runs at an average of 31.47 including five Test centuries with a top score of 231. He also took 162 wickets at the average of 32.32, including eight five-wicket hauls. He is one of the three cricketers to have batted in every position, from the first to the last, during his Test career. Mankad was the first player in more than 30 years to score a 100 and take five wickets in the same Test and the first Indian to achieve this feat. In 1956 he hit 231 against New Zealand at Chennai and together with Pankaj Roy established the world record opening partnership of 413 runs which stood for 52 years.

3. DB Vengsarkar (1976-1992)

Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	100	50	0 15
116	185	22	6868	166	42.13	17	35

Born 6 April 1956 in Rajapur, Maharashtra , he was one of the most stylish batsmen of his time. He was also known by the nickname 'Colonel'. While the West Indies pacemen dominated the cricket world, Dilip Vengsarkar was one of the few batsmen who was successful against them, and scored 6 centuries against the likes of Marshall, Holding and Roberts. He has the distinction of scoring three consecutive Test match centuries at Lord's. From 1986 to 1988, in 16 Tests, he scored eight hundreds. He was the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1987.

4. GR Viswanath (1969-1983)

Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	100	50	0
91	155	10	6080	222	41.93	14	35	10

Born on 12 February 1949 in Bhadravathi, Karnataka. He was one of the worlds finest batsmen in the 1970s. Viswanath, popularly nicknamed Vishy, had an elegant and wristy batting style which emphasised timing rather than power. He was an artist rather than a run-machine. On his Test match debut, Viswanath scored a century and a duck against Australia at Kanpur in 1969, one of only three batsmen to have done this in their first match. He averaged over 50 against two of the most feared attacks of that era. A feat of Viswanath's career is that India never lost a game in which he scored a century. Especially memorable was an unbeaten, match winning 97 against a rampaging Andy Roberts at Madras in 1974-75. Viswanath often excelled on pitches others found difficult - witness his match winning 124 out of 255 on another fiery, bouncy Madras wicket against West Indies in 1978-79, and innings of 83 and 79 against New Zealand on a Christchurch greentop in 1975-76. He played the game in its true spirit.

5. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi (1961-1975)

Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	100	50	0
46	83	3	2793	203*	34.91	6	16	7

Born on January 5, 1941 in Bhopal, Also known as the The Nawab of Pataudi, arguably, India's greatest captain ever. He led India in 40 of 46 Tests he played in, and won 12 of them. Under him, India achieved their first overseas Test victory against New Zealand in 1967. As a batsman he was boldly adventurous and unorthodox for his times, and unafraid to loft the ball over the infield. His Test average was a modest 34, but what he could have achieved with complete sight is a matter of conjecture.

6. PR Umrigar (1948-1962)

Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	100	50	Wick	BBI	Avg
59	94	8	3631	223	42.22	12	14	35	6/74	42.08

Born on 28 March 1926, he was primarily a middle-order batsman, as a bowler, he was an accurate offspinner and could even open the bowling, sending down outswingers. He captained the Indian team in eight Test matches from 1955 to 1958. When he retired in 1962, he had played in more Tests (59), scored more Test runs (3,631), and recorded more Test centuries (12), than any other Indian player. He scored the first double century by an Indian in Test cricket against New Zealand in Hyderabad. He scored 130 not out going in at No.7 in India’s first ever test win against England in 1951. He is only one of two Indian cricketers (Vinoo Mankad being the other) to score a century and take five wickets in an innings - a feat he achieved against West Indies at Port of Spain in 1962. He died on 7^th November 2006.

7. Kapil Dev (1978-1994)

Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	100	50	Wick	BBI	Avg
131	184	15	5248	163	31.05	8	27	434	9/84	29.64

Born on 6 January 1959, Chandigarh one of the greatest all-rounders of all time was named by Wisden as the Indian Cricketer of the Century. The Haryana Hurricane was a right-arm pace bowler noted for his graceful action and potent outswinger, he was a natural striker of the ball. He often helped India in difficult situations by taking the attack to the opposition. He retired as highest wicket taker in both forms of the game and to date is the only person to take 400 wickets and score more than 5,000 runs in test cricket. \in the series against Pakistan in 1979-80, became the youngest Test player to achieve the all-round double of 100 Wickets and 1000 Runs and in 25 matches (although Ian Botham took just 21 matches to achieve the same feat) and finished the series with 32 wickets (Ave: 17.68) and 278 runs that included 2 fifties. India's tour of Australia in 1980-81 had the looks of the familiar Indian series as India were 1-0 down and were defending a meager 143 runs and Kapil Dev virtually ruled out with a groin injury. Kapil willed himself to play the final day with pain-killing injections and removed the dangerous Australia middle order. Kapil won the match for India with the innings bowling performance of 16.4-4-28-5. If he had played at any other time - not when Imran Khan, Ian Botham and Richard Hadlee were contemporaries - he would surely have been recognised as the best allrounder in the world.

8. SMH Kirmani (1976-1986)

Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Avg	100	50	0	Ct	St
88	124	22	2759	102	27.04	2	12	7	160	38

Syed Mujtaba Hussain Kirmani was born on December 29, 1949 in Madras. Popularly known as 'Kiri', Syed Kirmani is generally regarded as the finest wicket keeper to play for India. Kirmani made his debut against New Zealand and in his second Test, equalled the world record of six victims in an innings. He had 17 catches and two stumpings against Pakistan in 1979-80 and it equalled Naren Tamhane's Indian record for a single series. Against England in 1981–82, he did not concede a single bye in three consecutive Tests while 1964 runs were scored.

9. BS Bedi (1966-1979)

Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	Avg	BBI	BBM	SR	5w	10w
67	118	21364	7637	266	28.71	7/98	10/194	80.3	14	1

Born 25 September 1946 in Amritsar, formed part of the famous Indian spin quartet.His bowling has been described as graceful, even beautiful, and full of guile and artistry.In 2008, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack named Bedi as one of the five best cricketers to have not been selected as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year. He said that he has always washed his own clothes, calling it "the best exercise for your shoulders and fingers", when pointing out that spin bowling requires suppleness of limbs. He finished with 1560 first-class wickets, more than any other Indian bowler. He was forthright and outspoken throughout his playing career, and inevitably courted controversies: objecting to the use of Vaseline by England bowler John Lever in 1976-77, declaring India's second innings at Kingston in protest against intimidatory bowling by the West Indians in 1976 and, famously, threatening to dump the Indian cricket team in the sea in 1990, when he was the coach.

10. EAS Prasanna (1962-1978)

Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	Avg	BBI	BBM	SR	5w	10w
49	86	14353	5742	189	30.38	8/76	11/140	75.9	10	2

Born on May 22, 1940, made his debut Test cricket match at Madras against England in 1961. His first overseas tour to the West Indies was a tough one and he did not play another Test for five years. He left the sport for a period to finish his engineering degree, returning in 1967. A bowler with an attacking mindset, he was also patient, and would bait a batsman for over after over, attempting to induce a mistake. He has written an autobiography, One More Over.

11. BS Chandrasekhar (1964-1979)

Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	Avg	BBI	BBM	SR	5w	10w
58	97	15963	7199	242	29.74	8/79	12/104	65.9	16	2

Born May 17, 1945 in Mysore, Considered amongst the top echelon of leg-spinners, Chandrasekhar along with E.A.S. Prasanna, Bishen Singh Bedi and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan constituted the Indian spin quartet that dominated spin bowling in the 1960s and 1970s. Overcoming a polio attack which withered his right wrist as a child, so that he always used his left arm for throwing, he became one of the most successful leg spin bowlers in cricket history.. He was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1972 and won the Wisden's "Best bowling performance of the century" award in 2002, for his 6 wickets for 38 runs against England at the Oval in 1971 which helped India to a series win. He was instrumental in India's first win in Australia in 1978, taking 12 for 104 at Melbourne. He also holds the dubious record of scoring fewer runs (167) off his bat than wickets (267) taken in Test Cricket.