1994 The day Brian Lara achieved immortality by spanking the highest score in first-class cricket history: 501 not out
Wisden Cricinfo staff06-Jun-2003All Today’s Yesterdays -June 6 down the years 1994
The day Brian Lara achieved immortality by spanking the highest score in first-class cricket history: 501 not out. As if his Test-record 375 wasn’t enough, Lara took the first-class record within two months when he surpassed Hanif Mohammad’s 499 for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston. He had a few near-misses – Lara was bowled off a no-ball on 12 and then was dropped by wicketkeeper Chris Scott on 18 (Scott apparently said: “Oh dear, he’ll probably go on and get a hundred”). Technically, there was only one ball left when he creamed John Morris through the covers for four to bring up the magic 500. In all Lara faced only 427 balls, and hammered 62 fours and ten sixes. On the final day he whacked 174 runs before lunch. For good measure, he also became the first man to make seven hundreds in eight first-class innings, the first of which was the 375.1957
The career of Mike Gatting, who was born today, split into three distinct segments. He struggled at first, taking seven years and 54 innings to make his first Test century. But after breaking that duck with 136 at Mumbai in 1984-85, Gatting went on a storming two-year run in which he made nine centuries in 28 Tests and averaged 63. Then came Shakoor Rana, and an alleged liaison with a barmaid that cost him the England captaincy in 1988. Gatting was never the same – he captained the rebel tour to South Africa in 1989, and in 51 Tests either side of that outstanding run of form he only made one century, a tortuous 117 at Adelaide in 1994-95 as the curtain came gently down on his career.1943
One of Pakistan’s finest batsmen is born … in Hyderabad, India. Asif Iqbal came a long way from the 21-year-old who opened the bowling – with his fellow debutant and future batting star Majid Khan – and batted No. 10, against Australia at Karachi in 1964-65. In full flow Asif was a sumptuous sight. He made his first Test century from No. 9, 146 against England at The Oval in 1967, but he eventually graduated into the middle order, where his dashing, fleet-footed strokeplay charmed allcomers, not least during a successful stint in county cricket with Kent. Less affecting was his alleged involvement in the match-fixing scandal. For many years, Asif was director of cricket at Sharjah, a haven for bookmakers.1991
After all the fuss, 25-year-old Graeme Hick finally made his England Test debut against West Indies at Headingley. Most pundits had already booked him in for 100 Tests, 8000 runs and an average of 50, but it didn’t quite work out like that. In fairness, it was an unforgiving baptism – Curtly Ambrose tortured him all summer, dismissing him six times in a row, but it was Courtney Walsh who ended his first innings when Hick fenced to Jeffrey Dujon having made just 6.1930
A typhoon is born. In terms of raw, unbridled pace, few bowlers in history can match England’s Frank Tyson. Richie Benaud rates him the quickest he’s ever seen. In 17 Tests, Tyson took 76 wickets at an average of 18. This was no brainless quickie, however – Tyson was a Durham University graduate, and had a penchant for quoting Shakespeare or Wordsworth to batsmen, something you can’t quite imagine Glenn McGrath ever doing. Most famously, Tyson blew away Australia as England retained the Ashes in 1954-55. After starting off with 1 for 160 in defeat at Brisbane, he shortened his run and took 10 wickets at Sydney and nine more at Melbourne, when he took 7 for 27 in the second innings and frightened the life out of the Aussies. Injury plagued his career, though, and he emigrated to Australia, where he became a headmaster for a time, before coaching Victoria.1994
Brian Lara’s famous 501 overshadowed a routine England victory over New Zealand at Trent Bridge, in a match that ended on the same day. England won by an innings for the first time at home in nine years, thanks mainly to Graham Gooch (210, his last Test hundred) and Phil DeFreitas (9 for 165 in the match), who as well as firing a quickfire 51, became the 100th person to take 100 Test wickets.1940
Birth of the South African allrounder Herbert “Tiger” Lance, who played 13 Tests. He was a handy strokeplayer in the lower-middle order, and a useful thirdor fourth-change seamer. He took 3 for 30 in his first Test innings, against New Zealand at Johannesburg in 1961-62. His finest hour with the bat also came at Johannesburg, when he made 44 and 70 against Australia in 1966-67, a match that South Africa won at a canter despite trailing on first innings.1969
Birth of the Indian left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi, whose 15-Test career has one distinct highlight. In Bangladesh’s inaugural Test, at Dhaka, Joshi pooped the party with 92, his only Test fifty, and eight wickets, including his only five-for. It set up only India’s second overseas victory in 14 years. Joshi also produced the seventh-best bowling performance in one-day international history, according to the Wisden 100, 5 for 6 against South Africa at Nairobi in 1999-2000.Other birthdays
1909 Morappakam Gopalan (India)
1917 Prior Jones (West Indies)
1956 Andy Pycroft (Zimbabwe)
1959 Tahir Naqqash (Pakistan)
1967 Wasim Haider (Pakistan)
1972 Dulip Liyanage (Sri Lanka)