Abhishek Mukherjee describes how Cardus, who pompously dismissed the scoreboard as an ass, nevertheless made one up as proof of a point he wanted to make .
Read MoreCK Nayudu's Cross-County Hit
In a tour match at Edgbaston in 1932, CK Nayudu hit a six which cleared the perimeter of the ground and landed in the River Rea. While certainly an impressive feat, was this really “hitting it into the next county”, as it is commonly referred to? Michael Jones investigates.
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Growing up with Sunil Gavaskar: The man, milestone and myth
Sunil Gavaskar was born on 10 July 1949
Read MoreDenis Compton and player memories
Player memories can be fallible.
Read MoreDon Bradman's vindictiveness against Miller and Grimmett - what do the facts and figures say?
Once again the ugly controversy claiming Don Bradman’s vindictiveness against Clarrie Grimmett and Keith Miller is doing rounds. Arunabha Sengupta looks at some facts and some numbers to underline that they are largely unsubstantiated.
Read MoreDid Keith Miller really throw his wicket away against Essex?
15 May 1948. As Australia piled up 721 in a day against a hapless Essex attack, Keith Miller fell for a first ball duck. The common belief is that Miller was sick of the carnage and decided to throw his wicket away. Arunabha Sengupta looks at the various accounts and records of the incident and tries to verify whether Miller’s story holds water.
Read MoreKeith Miller, Don Bradman and the myth of 87 powered by fickle memory
December 27, 1929. A young Don Bradman was nearing his century against Victoria when he was bowled by Harry ‘Bull’ Alexander. The legendary all-rounder Keith Miller had just turned 10, but was, by his own account, present in the ground that day. And also according to Miller that was the day the superstition surrounding 87 was born. Arunabha Sengupta looks at the facts and figures and tries to deduce what took place.
Read MoreDickie Bird and one of his many stories that seem to be phoney
As per Dickie Bird’s claims, Allan Lamb had carried his mobile phone to the centre at Trent Bridge on June 11, 1990. Abhishek Mukherjee tries to validate whether the statement was true.
Read MoreA random Neville Cardus fabrication
Abhishek Mukherjee writes about Neville Cardus playing God by proxy.
Read MoreWilliam Attewell: The Cardus mistaken identity
In the much vaunted, and largely fictitious, Autobiography of Neville Cardus, as well as in his Summer Game, there are accounts of his experiences as the assistant coach of Shrewsbury School, along with the delightful anecdotes about the Nottinghamshire and England cricketer William Attewell who served as the head coach. Arunabha Sengupta documents how these episodes, like so many Cardus musings, were nothing but creations of his fertile mind.
Read MoreNeville Cardus and his date of birth
Neville Cardus, officially born April 2, 1889, revolutionised cricket reporting, transforming it from a staid description of events on the field to a series of metaphors invoking Greek gods and heroes. However, he was also notorious for his refusal to let the facts get in the way of a good story: he frequently wrote supposed “first-hand” reports of matches at which he was not present, and sometimes of ones which never actually took place. Michael Jones discovers that this cavalier disregard for the small matter of truth was exhibited in accounts of his own life as much as in his cricket reports.
Read MoreCricket Dress: It was not always all whites
The introduction of numbers and names behind the cricket attire in Test matches seems to have shocked many into indignation. The great pristine game of cricket is going to the dogs and all that …
No, actually traditional cricket is not supposed to be played in whites. Not unless there is a very specific window of traditionalism. Arunabha Sengupta looks at the way cricket dress has evolved through the years.
Ranji, Fry , Sussex and Cardus the scribbler of cricket fiction
In his landmark essay ‘Ranji, Fry and Sussex’ Neville Cardus famously recounts Yorkshire player Ted Wainwright talk of KS Ranjitsinhji and CB Fry putting on huge stands. Arunabha Sengupta looks at the scorecards – Cardus’s asses – and unearths that those great partnerships took place in the fertile mind of the legendary writer.
Read MoreThere is no evidence that opening the batting is more difficult than batting lower down the order
It is the general belief that facing fast bowlers with the new ball makes opening more difficult than batting down the order. However, we tend to attach less importance of the value of making first use of a placid track and other perks of an opener’s job. Arunabha Sengupta analyses those batsmen who have opened as well as batted lower in Test cricket and concludes that there is no evidence to say that opening is a more challenging task.
Read MoreThe Claim "Playing for a weaker batting side handicaps a batsman" has no basis
We often hear the argument that a batsman’s efforts are more commendable when he makes runs for a weaker side. Arunabha Sengupta crunches numbers to show that there is no evidence that a batsman is handicapped by batting in a weaker side. On the contrary, there is plenty to suggest that such situations boost the career of a batsman.
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