All posts by h716a5.icu

A look back at the key numbers from MS Dhoni’s Test career, as batsman, captain, and wicketkeeper

S Rajesh30-Dec-2014Most Tests as keeper-captain |60 The number of Tests in which MS Dhoni captained India, the highest among all Indians, and sixth among all captains. It’s also easily the highest for a wicketkeeper – the next best is Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim, with 19 matches as captain.294 Test dismissals for Dhoni, the fifth highest among all wicketkeepers, and the best for an Indian by far: the next best is Syed Kirmani’s 198 dismissals in 88 matches.27 The number of Tests India won with Dhoni as captain – the next highest for India is Sourav Ganguly with 21. Only six captains won more Tests than Dhoni did.21 The number of home Tests India won under Dhoni, which puts him fourth in the all-time list – only Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh captained in more home wins. The next best for India is Mohammad Azharuddin with 13 wins. However, in overseas Tests India won only six out of 30 under Dhoni, and lost 15. In contrast, India won 11 out of 28 overseas Tests under Ganguly, and five out of 17 under Rahul Dravid. Since the 2011 World Cup, India lost 13 out of 18 overseas Tests under Dhoni, winning only one and drawing four.9 Number of dismissals Dhoni affected in his last Test (eight catches, one stumping), which is the highest for an Indian wicketkeeper. There are five instances of eight dismissals by an Indian wicketkeeper, of which Dhoni was the protagonist three times. In Test history, there are only four instances of wicketkeepers affecting more than nine dismissals in a Test.38 The number of stumpings by Dhoni, which is the joint third highest in Test history, along with Kirmani. Only Godfrey Evans (46) and Bert Oldfield (52) have more stumpings.224 Dhoni’s score against Australia in Chennai last year, the third best ever by a wicketkeeper in Tests. Only Andy Flower (232* against India in 2000) and Kumar Sangakkara (230 versus Pakistan in 2002) have made bigger scores. Before Dhoni’s double-century, the highest by a wicketkeeper for India was Budhi Kunderan’s 192 against England in 1964.Most runs as a Test wicketkeeper |4876 Runs that Dhoni scored in Tests, which is the third best for a wicketkeeper, after Adam Gilchrist (5570) and Mark Boucher (5515). Among Indian wicketkeepers it’s easily the best, well clear of Kirmani’s 2759 and Farrokh Engineer’s 2611. He averaged 38.09, the best among Indian wicketkeepers who played more than three Tests, while his six Test hundreds is three times the next best for India.47.21 Dhoni’s batting average in Tests in Asia. In 72 innings he scored six hundreds and 18 fifties. He played exactly 72 innings outside Asia as well, but didn’t manage a single hundred, and averaged 29.79. His highest outside Asia was 92, at The Oval in 2007.3454 Runs scored by Dhoni as Test captain, which is the highest among Indian captains. Sunil Gavaskar is next, with 3449 runs in 47 Tests as captain, while Azharuddin made 2856 runs in 47 matches. Dhoni averaged 40.63 as captain; when not captain, his average dropped to 33.06.2871 The Test runs Dhoni scored from the No. 7 position, the highest for India at that slot; Kapil Dev is next with an aggregate of 2861. No other Indian batsman has scored more than 800 runs from that position.15 The number of overseas Tests India lost under Dhoni. Only Stephen Fleming (16 losses from 42 Tests) and Brian Lara (16 losses from 20 Tests) have lost more overseas games as captain.78 Number of sixes Dhoni hit in Tests. Among Indians only Virender Sehwag, with 90 sixes, has more.22 The number of century partnerships that Dhoni was involved in. His most prolific partnerships came with VVS Laxman: in 27 stands they aggregated 1361 runs, at an average of 56.70 runs per completed partnership, with three century stands. Laxman was the only partner with whom Dhoni put together more than 1000 runs. Of the four double-century partnerships he was involved in, two were with Laxman.2 Number of Man-of-the-Match awards Dhoni won in Tests. Both were against Australia – in Mohali in 2008, and in Chennai in 2013.

Brisbane locals and tourists talk about the Queensland capital’s weather, restaurants, botanical gardens and river

28-Jan-20152:57

‘Vibrant and chilled out’

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2015But Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc sent the openers back, reducing Pakistan to 24 for 2•Getty ImagesMisbah and Haris Sohail’s 73-run stand for the third wicket was Pakistan’s best of the innings•AFPHaris was dismissed for 41 just when he appeared to be settling in•Getty ImagesAaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell combined to remove Misbah and Umar Akmal and left Pakistan 125 for 5•AFPPakistan were kept on the back foot by Australia’s quicks…•ICC… and folded for 213 in the final over•Getty ImagesAustralia’s chase got an early jolt when both openers fell inside nine overs with the score at 49•AFPWahab Riaz struck to remove captain Michael Clarke for 8 in the 11th over•Associated PressShane Watson and Steven Smith joined hand to put on 89 for the fourth wicket, stabilising the chase•Associated PressRahat Ali dropped a sitter at fine leg after Watson was setup by some hostile bowling from Wahab, and it proved crucial•Associated PressWahab didn’t lose heart and kept egging on the Pakistan bowlers and fielders•Getty ImagesBut Pakistan had too few runs to defend with. Glenn Maxwell and Watson didn’t take long to finish off the match after Smith’s departure, handing Australia a six-wicket win•AFP

Adam Voges crossed out nine years of thwarted dreams with a hundred that made him the oldest debut centurion in Test match history

Daniel Brettig in Roseau04-Jun-2015In , Nick Hornby describes the intense euphoria that washed over him when Arsenal won their first title for 18 years, with a Michael Thomas goal at Anfield from virtually the last kick of the 1989 English football season. “And then he was turning a somersault,” he wrote, “and I was flat out on the floor, and everybody in the living room jumped on top of me. Eighteen years, all forgotten in a second.”Adam Voges claimed a most unexpected title of his own in Dominica, crossing out nine years of thwarted dreams with a hundred that made him the oldest debut centurion in Test match history. The journey to this point had been frustrating, maddening and often painful, but all those years of waiting made this a moment to savour enormously. It was also a journey that helped Voges shape his game into the neat, composed and adaptable model that drove the West Indies to distraction on a day that had seemed to be running irrevocably their way.Among the greatest compliments able to be paid to Voges is that this looked not just the innings of a seasoned Test batsman, but that of a player near Michael Hussey’s level in terms of versatility, match awareness and attention to detail. He found a way to thrive in conditions where none of Australia’s other batsmen could establish a workable method, veering from the stolid approach of Steven Smith to the shot-a-ball extreme of Shane Watson. Voges, like a longtime supporting actor finally getting a chance to take the lead, showed them all how it was done.Adam Voges speaks about his hundred

“Massive excitement. Massive relief. Just to get this opportunity and then make the most of it, is very satisfying. It’s been a long road, it’s been a lot of hard work. Just to get the opportunity firstly and then to make the most of it and get a hundred on debut, is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time.”

“I’d had an excellent partnership with Josh Hazlewood, I was on 99 and he blocked the last ball from that over and there was a big roar from the crowd. We hadn’t been taking the runs from the first couple of balls from the over and I came down and said, ‘I might take the first one this time mate’ and he said, ‘Yeah, that’s okay’. When I got the hundred I just yelled I think. I just had my hands up in the air yelling. Just pure elation.”

“Until I got into the 90s, a hundred hadn’t crossed my mind. The old ball was tough to score against. We always felt that if they took the second new ball, that was going to be our best scoring option so when that came it always felt like that would be our best chance to attack. Fortunately that’s how it worked out.”

“I thought all the tail, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon and Josh, did a terrific job to get us up to a 180-run [sic] lead on a wicket that’s deteriorating. We knew that any runs we could get ahead today were going to be like gold. We’re in a very good position.”

The foundation stone for this innings was laid by plans made for another winter playing Test matches, as the man to substitute for Chris Rogers at Middlesex. Voges’ northern sojourn was shortened by his call-up, but he was still permitted to venture to Lord’s for a stint of four matches that allowed him to return to the comfortable groove that he found while piling up more than 1300 runs for Western Australia last summer.Contrast that with the preparation of every other member of this squad and you have most of the explanation for how the man with the least Test match experience could look the most collected and prepared member of the team. The IPL, holidays, promotional and sponsor work or lazy afternoons on the couch cannot compare to the value of time at the wicket against a red ball, even if the pitches, overhead conditions and ball are vastly different from one another. Voges has quite simply found the habit for hundreds over the past 18 months, and slipped straight back into it here, despite all the pressures and trappings of international cricket.What Voges understood, better than anyone until the Australian tail proved admirably capable of similar comprehension, was what this pitch and bowling attack required. Patience, close attention to each ball and its subtle variations, and controlled, focused aggression at the right times to keep the bowlers from swarming. He had watched at the other end as Smith and then Watson attacked the wrong ball, while Haddin failed to stretch forward enough to adequately cover Devendra Bishoo’s often extravagant turn.Voges pounced on anything short, but did not try to challenge the spin when the ball was well-pitched, and kept his bat out in front of his pad to avoid any chances squeezed out to close fielders. He picked gaps, looked for singles and cajoled his partners to concentrate, extracting priceless occupations from Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Lyon either side of a somewhat careless swish from Mitchell Starc. They were helped by the raw, painful state of Bishoo’s spinning finger, which compelled Denesh Ramdin to use him in spells of medium length, and had the bowler offering up just enough dross to keep the scoreboard moving.Still, when Lyon was pinned lbw to leave only one wicket left it appeared that Voges, like Hornby’s Arsenal, would be left horribly, helplessly short of the summit. An unbeaten tally of 77 was proof enough that Voges belonged in this company, and runs enough to allow Australia to squeak ahead in the match. The last man Josh Hazlewood was capable and had played doggedly with the bat in the Antigua tour match. But a decade of falling short had left Voges well conditioned not to get his hopes up.Living in the moment seemed to be the best policy, and Voges simply continued to bat. There was to be no giddy rush for the hundred, no swipes at balls not there to hit, and no self-recrimination at a wicket thrown away. Instead he set about establishing another union with Hazlewood, farming the strike a little, and ticking the scoreboard along. The calmness and nerve shown all day was now growing in value, and Hazlewood benefited from the counsel.Suddenly, the milestone was looming. A well-placed loft took Voges through the 80s, then a misfield skipped him to 90. Jerome Taylor had bowled threateningly and well for much of the innings, but now he was dismantled as Voges, like Thomas at Anfield, chose his moment. A pair of twos, a towering six over wide long-on and a single took him to 99, and the relatively simple task of playing a typical leg side flick for that final run. The jubilation was tangible.Where does this innings rank among Australian debut performances? For match situation, difficulty of conditions and quality of play it must sit very close to Michael Clarke’s 151 at Bangalore in 2004, when he established Australia’s base camp for the “final frontier” triumph in India. Add to that the emotional release of so many years waiting for an event that was at long odds of coming to pass and it is not an effort that will be soon forgotten.Hornby could not find words to describe what he felt that evening in May 1989, but in his very inarticulacy he defined its power. “I can recall nothing else that I have coveted for two decades (what else is there that can be reasonably coveted for so long?), nor can I recall anything else that I have desired as both man and boy. So please, be tolerant of those who describe a sporting moment as their best ever. We do not lack imagination, nor have we had sad and barren lives; it is just that real life is paler, duller, and contains less potential for unexpected delirium.”Adam Voges knows what he meant.

MS Dhoni’s field placements have mostly been intuitive this IPL but a tendency to stick to a formulaic bowling strategy, devoid of surprise, revealed itself again.

Arun Venugopal in Hyderabad03-May-2015If one were to look for reasons for Chennai Super Kings’ defeat, the obvious ones stare at the face. A tall chase dented beyond repair by the dismissals of Faf du Plessis and MS Dhoni off consecutive deliveries. Super Kings’ patchy bowling after winning the toss, and David Warner’s smash-mouth batting.All the above factors undeniably had a hand in their loss. However, it’s hard to overlook how Super Kings pushed the wrong buttons when they could have tripped up, or at least, slowed down Sunrisers Hyderabad. Had MS Dhoni revisited some of his bowling plans, they might have been chasing fewer than the 193 they eventually did.Warner posed the most demanding test to Dhoni and Super Kings’ ability to absorb shock and deflect it. He truculently pulled the very first delivery, bowled by Mohit Sharma, for four, and fed off the pace hurled at him. The short balls were shorn of menace; there was enough time for Warner to step back and redirect them when he wasn’t scything the ball through the leg side or punching one past the bowler.Dhoni was , in the way he usually does. There was the familiar staccato whirring of arms, as fielders were moved to the area the previous ball went to. Cue the joke about not being able to score twice in the same region when Dhoni is the captain. But was he ? There was enough evidence to suggest he didn’t.During the Powerplay, Dhoni has hedged his bets on his seamers, especially Ashish Nehra and Mohit. This is a departure from seasons past when R Ashwin would be seen opening the bowling. So loath has Dhoni been to use spinners inside the first six overs that Ashwin’s introduction against Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai was the only such instance in IPL 2014. Kolkata had zipped away to 52 for 0 in five overs on the occasion, and it was Ashwin’s strike, off his first ball, that changed the course of the match.The Hyderabad pitch had some grass on it and, according to Warner, was hard and bouncy. Which is why Dhoni had opted to bowl. But it was easy to see why Warner wasn’t complaining. The sameness in bowling style, with no variation in pace, was the springboard Warner and his top-heavy side needed.It was a ploy that had worked in earlier matches, when his seamers were doing his bidding. But now, it was reeking of tactical rigidity, and Sunrisers had galloped away to 76 in six overs. Even making allowance for R Ashwin’s absence, Dhoni had in Suresh Raina a useful option to slow things down.When Raina was eventually introduced in the seventh over, it paid off immediately. After playing his first over out quietly, Warner jumped out in the next to give deep square leg catching practice. And even though the next man, Moises Henriques, hit Raina for two sixes, his brief counter-offensive was fraught with risks all along. Soon enough, left-arm spinner Pawan Negi had him stumped in his first over.David Warner posed the most demanding test to MS Dhoni and Super Kings’ ability to absorb shock and deflect it•BCCIDhoni had delayed bringing Negi on until Warner’s dismissal. It was in tune with another maxim high up on the Dhoni manual: never bring a left-arm spinner on when two left-handers are batting. But there were still openings to be exploited. From 128 for 2 in 12 overs, Sunrisers added just four runs in the next two overs, with Shikhar Dhawan getting run-out.At the crease were Eoin Morgan, playing his first game in more than 10 days, and an out-of-form Naman Ojha. There was a real chance to put Sunrisers’ fragile middle-order under pressure. But Dhoni, for the second time in the match, allowed them to get out of jail.Mohit was handed the ball, and Ojha found the release he needed. With Ronit More engaged at the other end, the two overs yielded 24 runs. There was to be no more spin in the innings. Raina had completed his quota, giving away 29 runs. Negi had two more overs, and Ravindra Jadeja wasn’t even considered. Granted he hasn’t been having a great time lately, but surely an over wouldn’t have not hurt? More so because Morgan was struggling to score at even a run a ball initially.Mohit, instead, offered a friendlier brand of bowling to help Morgan’s innings gain some legs. While Nehra and Dwayne Bravo bowled well, there was no one to back them up at the other end.Dhoni was justified in blaming his bowlers for “not bowling to their field”, but there was a case for a niftier approach to bowling changes. Dhoni the Test captain was often criticised for letting games drift, but his limited-overs captaincy has always been about staying ahead of the curve. His field-placements have been intuitive for the most part in this year’s competition, but a tendency to stick to a formulaic bowling strategy, devoid of an element of surprise, revealed itself again on Saturday.

A chance encounter with a cricket hero

Sanam Sharma31-Jul-2015It was late in the afternoon on a Friday. The lounge at Adelaide airport was abuzz with people like me, racing to get home for the weekend. However, my flight home had been delayed by an hour. So I made myself a sandwich and sat in the lounge browsing through a magazine.There were people seated all around me. Some working away furiously on their laptops, a few twiddling through their smartphones, and some just chatting with each other.It was all pretty uneventful. Until I looked up to re-check the status of my flight on the TV screen in front of me. The flight status still read ‘Delayed’. So I got back to reading the magazine.As my eyes manoeuvred back to the magazine, I felt the faint glimpse of a familiar face sitting opposite me. So, I looked up again. This time with a jerk. Only to find Adam Gilchrist positioned in the chair opposite me. I gently rubbed my eyes, and double-checked. Yup. Still there. Still him. Adam Gilchrist was in the seat opposite me.I think I dropped the magazine I was reading. And perhaps the sandwich too. Stunned, I searched within myself for a reaction befitting that moment. Scream out to the rest of the lounge? Take out my phone and start clicking away? Go hug “Gilly” the man himself?The great man was busy working his way through a rushed-up meal. It would have been impolite of me to bother him. So I just leaned back in my seat and marveled at the fact that Adam Gilchrist was sitting at an arm’s length from me. A non-event for the superstar, but the event of a lifetime for me. And perhaps for many others sitting in that lounge that day.I wriggled around in my seat. Ducking, weaving, tying and untying shoelaces, all in the hope to catch his eye. He didn’t look up. Not even for a moment. He must have been well aware of the numerous eyes fixated on him in that lounge. There were these faint murmurs and gentle whispers across the place, all discussing his presence.Amid all this frenzy, Gilly managed to finish his meal. Then, in trademark Gilly style, he got up, and . And, normalcy returned within that lounge.All this took 10 minutes. Maybe less. And as I sat there waiting for my flight, I revisited those last 10 minutes. They felt surreal. They still do, as I write these lines almost four weeks on. Ten minutes of yet another ordinary day’s work for Gilly. Uneventful, and perhaps a bit too intrusive for his liking. Yet, ten minutes of my life that will always stay with me.And just like Gilchrist often did on the cricketing field with his sheer presence, he lent a bit of extraordinary to a cricket fan’s ordinary day.If you have a submission for Inbox, send it to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line.

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2015Milinda Siriwardana spun West Indies into further trouble by dismissing Marlon Samuels for 13 and the visitors’ sole resistor Kraigg Brathwaithe for 47, reducing them to 89 for 5•AFPRangana Herath was as miserly as ever and put the West Indies middle order under immense pressure. He was rewarded in the 56th over when he cleaned up Denesh Ramdin, by which time Prasad had already removed Jermaine Blackwood•Associated PressOffspinner Dilruwan Perera ensured Sri Lanka didn’t let the pressure up. He cleaned up the tail, including the crucial wicket of Jason Holder. West Indies were bowled out 37 short of Sri Lanka’s 200•Associated PressWest Indies struck first ball of Sri Lanka’s innings, Dimuth Karunaratne caught off Jerome Taylor by Bishoo at square leg•AFPAfter Jomel Warrican got fellow debutant Kusal Mendis for 39, Sri Lanka lost no further wickets in the day, gaining a 113-run lead by stumps•AFP

Stats highlights from the first day of a historic Test in Adelaide

S Rajesh27-Nov-20151997 The last time a team was bowled out for fewer than 202 in the first innings of an Adelaide Test: West Indies were bundled out for 130 in January 1997, and lost by an innings and 183 runs. In 20 Tests here during this period, there have been only two other instances of teams being bowled out for less than 300 in the first innings of a Test; on the other hand, there are nine instances during this period of teams scoring more than 500.15 Australian bowlers who have taken 200 or more Test wickets. Peter Siddle became the latest to join the list, when he dismissed Doug Bracewell in New Zealand’s first innings.14 Number of times, in 26 Test innings, that Tom Latham has been dismissed between 20 and 85. In this series, his scores have been 47, 29, 36, 15 and 50.29.40 New Zealand’s average first-wicket partnership in this series; in five innings they have had partnerships of 56, 44, 6, 34 and 7. Australia’s average for the series, despite the failure in Adelaide, is 102.60.12.83 Mitchell Starc’s bowling average in three day-night first-class games in Adelaide (including this Test). Against South Australia he took 7 for 117 last year, 8 for 90 last month, and 3 for 24 in this Test.23.5 Kane Williamson’s batting average against Starc in this series: he has scored 47 runs off 124 balls, and been dismissed twice (SR 38); against other bowlers in this series, Williamson has averaged 186 (372 runs, two dismissals) at a strike rate of 75.2 Number of times David Warner has been dismissed under 25 in nine Test innings at the Adelaide Oval. He has scored three Test hundreds here, and averages 69.50.9.71 Joe Burns’ first-class average in day-night matches. In seven innings he has scored 68 runs, with a highest of 25.

The oldest man to play in a World Cup remembers his journey from Barbados to Netherlands and then to the subcontinent in 1996

Peter Della Penna13-Mar-2016On Tuesday, Ryan Campbell set a new mark as the oldest debutant in a T20I at 44 years and 30 days when he opened the batting for Hong Kong against Zimbabwe. As remarkable as that accomplishment was, it was still well short of a similar achievement made at a World Cup in India by another opener 20 years earlier.”If I was in England, I wouldn’t be able to do it,” Nolan Clarke says matter-of-factly when recalling his World Cup and ODI debut for Netherlands at age 47 against New Zealand in Vadodara. “If I was in Australia, I wouldn’t be able to do it. They’d say, ‘Thank you, we’ve got someone who might not be as good as you but we’ve had enough investment [in them].’ I was able to do it in Holland because Holland was low in talent and needed to compete.”Peter Cantrell, Flavian Aponso and I were three Hoofdklasse cricketers at that time. Even at that time, we were still the best. I didn’t do it to inspire people, but the Indian public and Pakistan public would say: if a man at 47 years can still run around and play a bit of cricket, well, that is enough hope for people.”Born and brought up in Barbados, Clarke made his first-class debut for his home island in March 1970 at 21 and four years later struck 159 against an MCC side captained by Mike Denness during England’s 1973-74 tour of the West Indies. Two years later, he was still toiling away in the Shell Shield when an offer to coach in Netherlands came up.”There were two English pros that played in England. One was a coach here in Holland and he was in Barbados in a tournament,” Clarke said. “We sat and talked and he said to me, ‘Are you interested in coming to Holland?’ I said, ‘But I don’t even think they play cricket in Holland.’ He said, ‘Yeah, they do play a bit of cricket.’ I said okay and that’s when it started.”He arranged the contract with a guy named Dries Kost in Deventer and that’s when I started, in 1976. How many people years ago knew that the Dutch really played cricket? People in England, but [people in Barbados] know Holland differently – for cheeses and stuff like that. The level at that time wasn’t that bad, but you just played cricket differently. It wasn’t a serious level of cricket – a bit of fun, not results.”

“I should have taken the World Cup a little more serious. For some reason, I was like, ‘I’m here now and I’ve come here to have a good time'”

Despite the lack of intensity in the Dutch domestic competition, Clarke says the lifestyle in the Netherlands grew on him. The relative anonymity of the sport allowed him the sort of freedom cricketers were unaccustomed to back in Barbados.”Nobody knew me in Holland, and you walk the streets and nobody knew you. I liked that kind of life. In Barbados you had to be involved all the time, day and night, and it was all around you. Some people like that, but it wasn’t my kind of thing. I managed to do it but I had a bit of peace when I came to Holland, and I really enjoyed that.”Clarke played just one more first-class season for Barbados in 1977 and was shuttling back and forth to Netherlands before he decided to take a break from the game altogether. In 1981 he moved to New Orleans to work for RJ Tricon, an industrial-equipment supplier, and spent two years in the USA before a chance meeting – one he tells of with a big grin on his face – brought him back to cricket.”Call it a miracle or what have you. I was sitting at home one morning and I decided to get in the car and take a nice drive into town. When I got into town and parked, I saw a guy walking on the other side of the pavement and I looked and said, ‘I know that guy.’ It was Dries Kost, the same guy who got me the job in Holland when I started. He was in New Orleans! So I parked the car and got out, started to walk on the other side of the street behind the guy.”Some people had the impression on their faces like, ‘Uh oh, I think he’s going to rob that guy.’ You should’ve seen their faces. I put my hand up and when I moved, he looked and said, ‘Nolan!'”He was over there working for his company back in Holland. He said, ‘Man, what are you doing down here? Don’t you want to play cricket again?’ I said, ‘No problem.’ He said, ‘I’ve got a job for you’, and in three weeks he arranged a job again and I was back in Holland.Clarke (extreme left) with his Netherlands team-mates in Peshawar, 1996•Getty Images”The timing was super. I had a reasonable life there in New Orleans, but this normal desk work wasn’t for me. I came back and started at a club called Hercules, then Quick Den Haag asked me to join them. I did it for ten or 11 years, coaching at Quick. I discovered that after all, what I was doing was heaven on earth. Thank God that I had actually done that. That was a blessing. Sometimes you need a rest or a change to appreciate the things that you have.”In 1989, Clarke made his Dutch debut as a 41-year-old in style, scoring 77 in a Netherlands total of 176 that wound up being just enough for a famous three-run victory over an England XI featuring Alec Stewart, Nasser Hussain and Derek Pringle, and captained by Peter Roebuck. A year later, he was the leading scorer at the ICC Trophy, held in the Netherlands, with 523 runs at 65.37, including two centuries. But with a single 1992 World Cup qualifying berth up for grabs, Netherlands fell short to Zimbabwe in the final, at the Hague, by six wickets.The following ICC Trophy in 1994 was held in Kenya, but unlike in previous editions, where only the winner advanced to the World Cup, the top three finishers would now qualify to go to the subcontinent in 1996. It was a fortuitous change because Netherlands lost a semi-final to UAE, setting up a showdown with Bermuda in the third-place game. Aside from his time in Holland and the USA, Clarke had also spent some time in Bermuda and had mixed feelings about the encounter.”All the Bermudans were my friends,” Clarke said. “We’d eat, drink and go into the town together years before that. I went to the bus in the morning before we left and hugged them. I got 121 against them and we won the game. I had a feeling that I had done something wrong. That was one of the special things in my life when the Bermuda guys still came over and hugged me and said, ‘Well played.'”After working so hard with so many great performances for Netherlands over the years to get to the World Cup, Clarke finally played to his age two years later at the main event. He made 50 runs in five games, including two ducks, with a best of 32 against South Africa. Looking back, he says he was just happy to be there.

“I have to be grateful playing for Holland. I had 99 games for Holland, but it could’ve been no games at all. A guy coming from Barbados, coaching and playing here, they could have said, ‘We don’t need foreigners'”

“I should have taken the World Cup a little more serious. For some reason, I was like, ‘I’m here now and I’ve come here to have a good time.’ I did not focus and I missed something along the line, the seriousness of the World Cup. It was only afterwards that I realised I could have done a lot better in the World Cup if I had actually put my mind to it. What I enjoyed, which was my dream, was to qualify the Dutch team [for the World Cup]. I think after we qualified, everything just went flat.”In general Clarke feels it was just a reflection of the general attitude of Associate cricket at the time. Teams were talented but mostly run in amateur fashion. Even though Associate funding for countries like Netherlands remains nowhere close to an ideal amount, the differences are noticeable compared to 20 years ago.”There wasn’t that kind of money around. The competition was good. Canada was a strong team. United States, Holland, Kenya, Bermuda were strong. It was difficult because those guys never really played together until they arrived in a short tournament, but they were fantastic cricketers. If that money was around then and it was run like they do now, the standard of that cricket would’ve been close to top-class cricket.”After the World Cup ended, Clarke stayed active on and off in the domestic scene in Holland. After a six-year break, he came back in 2005 with club side VVV at age 56, and he finished fifth on the domestic Hoofdklasse run charts with 782 runs, not far behind Tim McIntosh, George Bailey and Neil McKenzie. He still keeps himself busy with a regular game of golf nowadays, though every so often he’ll pop in to watch a local cricket match in Den Haag.”I think that I’ve been blessed. First, to be born in Barbados in a tropical country to good parents who supported my cricket and my life and put me on the right path, and then from there having the right role models that you can look at, and being blessed to go into one of the best cricket clubs we had at that time in the Caribbean, Spartan CC, where all the top-class cricketers came through – Wes Hall, David Holford, Peter Lashley. When you’re in a dressing room with Garry Sobers at 19 – at that time he was magic – you have a lot of people around you and just being in their presence was enough to make you a good cricketer and a good human being.”I have to be grateful playing for Holland. I had 99 games for Holland but it could’ve been no games at all. They didn’t have to give me a game over here. A guy coming from Barbados, coaching and playing here, they could have said, ‘We don’t need foreigners.’ To be in the right place at the right time most of the time, travelling around and playing, you can’t get it better than that. It’s not possible.”

Brendon McCullum smashed the fastest Test hundred on the first day of his farewell Test. Here are some of the best reactions on Twitter

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-2016Fearless and entertaining. Former players summed up what made Brendon McCullum special.

Every Test cricketer, at some stage feeling frustrated in the change room , has thought I should have just tee'd off…"Brendon McCullum&quot

— Shaun Pollock (@7polly7) February 20, 2016

The greatest challenge a batsman has as his career unfolds is to retain that youthful fearless approach, McCullum owned that NO FEAR style!

— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) February 20, 2016

This innings has aptly highlighted what McCullum meant to cricket…edge of the seat excitement and game-changing ability. Take a bow.

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) February 20, 2016

The innings also got the attention of the most powerful man in New Zealand.

What a way to mark your final game Brendon McCullum, fastest century in test history! What an innings! #NZvAus

— John Key (@johnkeypm) February 20, 2016

And some witty folk.

People retire on a high note. This guy is retiring on a fast note. Please don't Brendon McCullum. #FastestTestCentury

— Rofl de Goa (@abcdvilliers) February 20, 2016

Some used subtle coping mechanisms.

Even as an Australian I'm enjoying this performance by McCullum, almost as much as I enjoyed his World Cup Final performance. #NZvAUS

— Titus O'Reily (@TitusOReily) February 20, 2016

The questions that were most asked on Twitter: Is he going to play the World T20? Why is he not playing the World T20? Folks, he’s announced his retirement from international cricket and this is his final game.

Extraordinary cricket being played by NZ! McCullum in T20 mode!!

— Aaron Finch (@AaronFinch5) February 20, 2016

A bit too early for a 1009, we think.

McCullum got one eye on Dhanawade here imo.

— Dave Tickner (@tickerscricket) February 20, 2016

He surely did punch hard during the innings.

Massive congratulations to my mate Brendon McCullum #NZvAUS pic.twitter.com/ZkAGkkyPp1

— Kevin Barry (@kevinbarrynzl) February 20, 2016

Some just couldn’t believe it, or were predicting one of the theories about this hundred that people will hear 100 years down the line.

This Brendon McCullum innings was built by aliens.

— Dave Tickner (@tickerscricket) February 20, 2016

Kudos to an elder brother who stayed up, and had friends along too.

Unreal little bro. Amazing!!@BLACKCAPS @lukewright204 @grantelliottnz boys loving watching it. pic.twitter.com/BRKc2D6ZCr

— Nathan McCullum (@MccullumNathan) February 20, 2016

What a day. @TeamQuetta into the final, then watching Brendon McCullum smash it everywhere on a green one!! @MccullumNathan @grantelliottnz

— Luke Wright (@lukewright204) February 20, 2016

It surely wasn’t easy pickings, though.

Brendon McCullum and Corey Anderson treating the Aussie bowlers like fat kids at an ice-cream buffet. #NZvAUS

— Alt Cricket (@AltCricket) February 20, 2016

When you score 7 off 69 in the same innings, Twitter won’t spare you from a bit of relativity.

Wow Williamson faced more balls for his 7 than #McCullum did for his 100…. #NzvAus

— Marko Milinkovic (@AusLoafer) February 20, 2016

Fast hundreds make for fast viewing.

Not often you can say I'll watch a replay of that hundred when I get a spare five minutes! Unbelievable McCullum #NZvAUS

— Rohan Connolly (@rohan_connolly) February 20, 2016

He got a reprieve, to the delight of many a fan.

Man I'm gonna miss Brendon McCullum!! What a legend!! Not often I'm glad an Aussie wicket was a no-ball. Fitting end for a ripping bloke.

— Neroli Meadows (@Neroli_M_FOX) February 20, 2016

To put it in perspective.

That was the 3887th ton scored in Test cricket. None have been scored faster. What a slice of history for McCullum to take with him #nzvaus

— Brydon Coverdale (@brydoncoverdale) February 20, 2016

Steven Smith pretty much tried everything to stop our man.

Brendon McCullum hits the fastest ever test century against an Australian team with a fine third man and a backstop in the field.

— Toby Manhire (@toby_etc) February 20, 2016

It didn’t take too long for things to get back to normal, given how fast McCullum went about his innings.

Brendon #McCullum out for a sensational 145 off 79 balls. #NowBackToNormalTestFields #AUSvNZ

— Damien Fleming (@bowlologist) February 20, 2016

Fans around the world were tuned in, with many pleased for making the trade-off of giving up on their sleep.

I'm so happy I never went to sleep. What an innings, what a legend! Fastest century for B.McCullum! 100* off 54! #NZvAUS #crazy #cricket

— Haroon Ahmed (@hazharoon) February 20, 2016