Double Headers

134 A final batch of near misses Rather different, but still worth a mention as they involve sides with the same names but in different countries, were two fixtures played between sides styled ‘Smokers’ and ‘Non-Smokers’– one in England in 1884, the other in Australia in 1886/87. These were end-of-tour first-class games in which players from the two countries combined into two elevens for a friendly match. The merits of laying off the weed were clearly shown in the results, with the Non-Smokers winning by nine wickets at Lord’s in 1884, and having much the better of a draw at East Melbourne in 1886/87, when they recorded the then-highest innings total in any first-class match (803 all out – and with one man absent). Nottinghamshire’s Billy Gunn evidently saw the light between the two matches – he played for the Smokers in the first game, and the Non-Smokers in the second. And finally ... To end, something a bit different: a couple of instances where turf wars within a cricket association led to two elevens turning up to represent the same side in one and the same first-class match. There was never really any chance of both sides playing at the same time, but they seem at least peripherally relevant to the subject-matter of this book! There may be other instances, but these are the two that I have noted to date: On 3 October 1997, two separate Bahawalpur sides, representing different factions from within the Bahawalpur Cricket Association, turned up for their first Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match of the season, against Karachi Blues at the Asghar Ali Stadium in Karachi. The match referee consulted the Pakistan Cricket Board, and chose one of the squads ahead of the other, and the game then went ahead. It ended in a draw, with Bahawalpur winning a close-fought battle for first-innings points. On 1 December 2005 two rival teams both claiming to represent Himachal Pradesh turned up at Dharamsala for what should have been their second Ranji Trophy match of the season, at home to Tripura. According to Wisden , both HP teams attempted to take the field, which conjures up a confrontational image not perhaps entirely in accord with the spirit of cricket. The matter could not be resolved on the day, and the match was, for the time being, abandoned. When the dispute was eventually settled the game was rearranged to be played on Tripura’s home ground at Agartala the following month. In this game the now-home side recorded their first victory in 21 years in the Ranji Trophy, beating HP - who included in their side only two of the players who had appeared in their first Ranji Trophy match of the season in November - by the comfortable margin of 130 runs.