100 Hundreds

[GIMH]

Any chance you could elaborate on the playing conditions bit? ITSTL

 

[Indipper]

The majority of WSC's games were played in grade or VFL grounds. A horsetrack was also featured.

 

[fredfertang]

I was going to simply express the view they should be treated as first class but then I seemed to recall that they couldn't use cricket grounds so didn't they airlift in pitches to other stadia? With that as a start I didn't want to show my ignorance hence hedging my bets in that cowardly manner - I'll check it out later!

 

[Indipper]

Seems you're right.

 

[Richard]

I mean, look at the South African Tests 1961 to 1970. The ICC ruled that those matches were no official tests but that historians wouldn't have to change their records because the records have been established for so long.

Erm... eh?

 

[Richard]

The first ever test match and a number of subsequent ones were wholly private affairs .

Indeed, and for that reason I've long found it a bit iffy TSTL that these games were subsequently recognised as Tests. It'd be impossible to change all that now, and there'd be outcry if anyone tried, but whoever decided these games were Tests 30 years or however long it was later was badly mistaken IMO.

The inaugural Test should have been the game in 1880 for mine. And as for South Africa being classed a Test team in the 19th-century, that was beyond a joke. Possibly even worse than Bangladesh being so recently.

 

[fredfertang]

The inaugural Test should have been the game in 1880 for mine. And as for South Africa being classed a Test team in the 19th-century, that was beyond a joke. Possibly even worse than Bangladesh being so recently.

Couldn't agree more - at least all the Banglas have played first class cricket before their test debuts

 

[Richard]

I seem to recall there was actually one who made his First-Class debut in a Test actually, though may be mistaken.

Certainly there was a Pakistani who made his Test and First-Class debuts simualtaneously against them. Lad called Yasir Ali, IIRR.

 

[fredfertang]

Joe McMaster's only first class game was a test in SA in 1889 - though he didn't know it at the time!

 

[Richard]

Haha really? I had wondered whether something like that had happened but never knew for certain whether it actually had.

How ridiculous.

 

[Indipper]

Erm... eh?

It's on the ACS homepage. Or it was when I last checked. Press release dated April 15 AFAIR. Can't provide a link cause it won't open. South Africa wasn't an ICC member from 1961 to 1991, so none of their Tests were official and none of their domestic matches were first-class.

Ah, now it works.

 

[Richard]

Well no-one's ever suggested that they are anything other in my lifetime TBH. It seems they're basically considered Tests by all common-sense with some asterix attached.

ICC wasn't in charge of the game in the 1960s though - MCC was. And I don't think the ACB, WICB or anyone else was a member of MCC at any point, but could be wrong.

 

[Indipper]

What on earth does common sense have to do with administrative decisions? And perhaps this is due to my lacking knowledge of the game, but I couldn't find any reference as to the MCC being in charge of Test cricket beyond a lawmaking capacity. So I guess it's not completely wrong to assume that the Imperial Cricket Conference had a certain degree of say regarding Test status. Or perhaps even the current ICC just retconned the status of those matches, according to membership. I can't pretend to have all the facts.

 

[Richard]

Until either 1989 or 1993, I can't remember which, MCC had complete and total control of all matters in the World game. Imperial Cricket Conference was nothing more than an imperial relic. It was only in the 1990s that ICC became cricket's govorning body.

All rulings about games involving apartheid-era SA were made retrospectively, by ICC early in the time they became the govorning body.

 

[Indipper]

Hm. Ok, I did not know that but it explains a few things. Like the lifting of the FC status of the Rebel Tests. Yet I still don't see your point there. You obviously feel the status should never have been lifted in the first place, but I merely used that as an example for the obvious difference between political or administrative views and historian ones.

 

[Richard]

Matches in South Africa had always been First-Class - private ventures organised deliberately to disrupt official cricket have never been. That's the difference.

 

[morgieb]

Has Rampers got 100 tons yet?

 

[Perm]

Yes.

 

[wpdavid]

Has Rampers got 100 tons yet?

iirc he passed that milestone against Yorks a few weeks ago. And he's made, I think, a couple more since then.

 

[superkingdave]

It's feasible that Rob Key could get closer than most, he's only 26, has 28 so far and it's quite likely he could still score heavily but not get in the England side, whilst still getting selected for A tours etc. Don't think he'd get 100 but he may get to 70 or 80.

Still think Bob Key may come close, he's on 43 and just turned 30. Not going to get into the England side but could play on for Kent for another 10 years. It would be a stretch though. Has had a couple of lean years recently but still scored 15 in the last 4 years.