On This Day In Cricket - January 23

23rd January is a special day in cricket history in many ways. Many records were made on this day, which every player dreams of breaking. On this day, Don Bradman scored his record 12th double century, two New Zealand batsmen shared a record sixth-wicket partnership in ODI cricket and a young leg-spinner bowled the best bowling spell in Under-19 World Cup history. Furthermore, on this day, Muttiah Muralitharan was involved in a controversy that all cricket lovers are well aware of. In this context, we are going to take a look at the major events that occurred in cricket history on 23 January.

On This Day - January 23, 1948 - Don Bradman's 12th Double Century in Test cricket

On 23 January 1948, former Australian batting legend Sir Don Bradman scored his 12th and final double century in Test cricket. He achieved this feat in the fourth Test of the five-match Test series against India. Australia made a brilliant start on the first day of the match in Adelaide, scoring 370 runs for the loss of three wickets. Captain Don Bradman played a blistering innings of 201 runs off 296 balls.

However, Lindsay Hassett also played an unbeaten innings of 198 in this match, as Australia were all out for 674. In this match, the Indian team led by Lala Amarnath could only manage 381 runs in the first innings, forcing them to follow on. However, they were bowled out for just 277 in the second innings, giving Australia a comprehensive victory by an innings and 16 runs.

On This Day - January 23, 1958 - Hanif Mohammad's Historic Batting of 970 Minutes in Barbados

Whenever a list of records for the longest time spent batting while stuck to the fridge is reviewed in Test cricket history, the name of former Pakistani batsman Hanif Mohammad always comes first. In the first Test match of Pakistan's tour of the West Indies in 1958, played in Barbados, the hosts batted first and declared their innings at 579 for 9. Pakistan were then bowled out for just 106 in their first innings, forcing them to follow on.

After a dismal first innings performance, Pakistan were completely on the back foot. However, in the second innings, Hanif Mohammad performed a feat that is still etched in Test cricket history. He batted for 970 minutes in the second innings, scoring an unbeaten 337, helping Pakistan reach 657 for 8 in the second innings. The visitors then declared, setting a target of 185 for the West Indies. However, only 11 overs were played, in which the hosts could only score 28 runs, and the match ultimately ended in a draw.

On This Day - January 23, 1971 - Adam Parore Was Born

On 23 January 1971, former New Zealand cricketer Adam Parore was born, becoming the first Māori to score a century in Test cricket history. He achieved this historic feat with an unbeaten 100* off 249 balls against the West Indies in Christchurch in February 1995. The Māori are the original inhabitants of New Zealand, but after the British took over their territory, they were left behind in every respect. Even today, they are considered second-class citizens in their own country.

Adam Parore, who made his Test debut against England in July 1990, was a wicketkeeper-batsman who played 78 Test matches and scored 2,865 runs at an average of 26.28. During this period, he scored two centuries and 14 half-centuries, with a best of 110. He also kept wicket, taking 194 catches and seven stumpings. Parore played his last Test match in 2002 against England in Auckland and then retired.

On This Day - January 23, 1999 - Ranatunga Walks Out With Team Over Muralitharan No-Ball

On 23 January 1999, a World Series match between England and Sri Lanka was played in Adelaide and it remains a memorable one. On-field umpire Ross Emerson sparked controversy when he gave a no-ball to Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing. Captain Arjuna Ranatunga, enraged, left the field with his team for a short time, vowing not to return until the umpire reversed his decision. However, Sri Lankan team manager Ranjit Fernando and match referee Peter van der Merwe spoke with Sri Lanka Cricket Board officials over the phone and after a 14-minute standoff, the match was able to resume.

Let us tell you that the bowling action of former legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan initially seemed quite suspicious because his hand did not match the rules made by the ICC. However, later the ICC declared his bowling action illegal because the bend in his hand was a congenital issue. Well, that match played in Adelaide was quite exciting, in which England, batting first, scored 302 runs for the loss of three wickets due to Graeme Hick's innings of 126 runs, but in reply Mahela Jayawardene also played a brilliant innings of 120 runs in 111 balls, due to which the Sri Lankan team got a close victory by one wicket with two balls remaining.

On This Day - January 23, 2001 - West Indies Collapsed at 91 Against Zimbabwe

Once considered the world's most dangerous and formidable team, the West Indies were all out for just 91 runs against Zimbabwe in the 2001 World Series. This match, played in Sydney on 23rd January, proved to be the most shameful day for West Indies cricket. The Caribbean team, which once dazzled the world with its excellent batting and dangerous bowling, lost by 47 runs while chasing a target of 138.

This team, which boasted excellent batsmen like Wavell Hinds, Brian Lara, Jimmy Adams and Marlon Samuels, had lost 8 wickets for just 31 runs at one point, a feat no one would have believed at the time. However, a 60-run partnership for the ninth wicket between captain Jimmy Adams (22 runs off 76 balls) and Nixon McLean (40 runs off 32 balls) helped them reach the score of 91. In this match, Heath Streak, batting for Zimbabwe, scored 45 runs off 70 balls and, bowling, took 8 wickets for just 8 runs in eight overs, including 4 maidens, for which he was named Player of the Match.

On This Day - January 23, 2015 - Ronchi and Elliott Rewrite ODI Records

On 23 January 2015, in the fifth and final ODI between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Dunedin, wicketkeeper-batsman Luke Ronchi and Grant Elliott shared an unbeaten 267-run partnership for the sixth wicket, which still holds the record for the highest sixth-wicket partnership in ODI cricket. At one point, New Zealand were 93 for 5 and appeared to be in a difficult position. However, Elliott and Ronchi both scored unbeaten centuries to take their team to 360/5.

Coming in at number five in this innings, Elliott scored 104* off 96 balls with the help of 7 fours and 2 sixes, while Ronchi played a blistering innings of 170 runs off just 99 balls, which included 14 fours and 9 sixes. However, chasing the target of 361 runs, Sri Lanka were all out for 252 runs, 15 runs short of the partnership between these two batsmen and New Zealand won the match by a huge margin of 108 runs.

On This Day - January 23, 2018 - Lloyd Pope's best ever spell of 8/35 in Under-19 World Cup history

In the quarter-final of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2018, Australian leg-spinner Lloyd Pope set a record every young bowler dreams of achieving. On 23 January 2018 against the England Under-19 team in Queenstown, Australia Under-19 were all out for just 127 runs and it seemed their journey would end there. But Pope turned the match around with his magical spin bowling.

Young leg-spinner Lloyd Pope played a key role in defending a modest total of 127 runs, taking eight wickets for just 35 runs in his 9.4 overs. This remains the best bowling spell by any bowler in Under-19 World Cup history. He took the wickets of Tom Banton, Liam Banks, captain Harry Brook, Will Jacks, Finley Trenouth, Luke Holman, Ethan Bamber and Dylan Pennington in this match. Brook is currently the captain of England's limited-overs team and a key batsman in all three formats. Banton and Jacks also represent England, while Lloyd Pope has yet to make his international debut for Australia.