ACS Overseas First-Class Annual 2015

Preface As always, it is my pleasure as editor to introduce this new edition – the seventh – of the ACS Overseas First-Class Annual . The overall format is much the same as in previous years, but please note that the coverage of this edition extends to matches played outside England and Wales in the 2015 season: in other words, it comprises the overseas ‘year-straddling’ season 2014/15 and the following ‘single year’ season; whereas earlier editions covered their respective overseas seasons and the preceding ‘single year’ season. This arrangement has the merit of making the Annual more up-to-date, besides meaning that the ‘year’ for the purposes of the Annual is now identical to the ‘year’ used for the ACS International Cricket Year Book . Like its predecessors, the present edition of the Annual provides scorecards for all first-class games played in the period under review, with the exception of games in England and Wales. The latter are printed in Wisden , so it remains the case that the Annual and Wisden , taken together, cover all first-class matches played throughout the world. On 27 November 2014, Phillip Hughes died in a Sydney hospital. There is more about this in the Australia section, so I propose to say only that such an event puts the usual concerns and preoccupations of the cricket world into their true perspective. As usual, there are some notable achievements recorded in this year’s Annual . Some are well known, such as the extraordinary blitz unleashed in Abu Dhabi by Pakistan’s captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, whose batting has hitherto attracted adjectives such as ‘dour’ and ‘resolute’. But not this time: in his forty-first year, a time of life when most Test cricketers have put their feet up in well-earned retirement, he suddenly revealed a dazzling array of shots and smote Australia’s finest bowlers – the same attack that had tormented and humiliated England less than a year before – to such effect that he reached fifty in only 21 deliveries and a hundred in only 56. Other fine performances attracted less attention, certainly outside (maybe also sometimes even within) the country where they took place. How many of us, for instance, outside India, took note of the splendid final of the 2014/15 Ranji Trophy? A casual glance shows only an apparently crushing innings win; but closer scrutiny reveals a game of extraordinary interest and fluctuation. Other enthralling games include a sensational 2-run win snatched by Barbados after following on against Guyana; the remarkable achievement of Galle in winning the unpromisingly-titled Relegation Play-off in Sri Lanka by 4 runs after being dismissed in the first innings for a mere 31; and the perhaps even more extraordinary achievement of South Australia of starting the match against Victoria with a score of 431-8 declared, yet contriving to go down to defeat by an innings. (The Galle match, incidentally, has been included in these pages even though, as noted in the introduction to the Sri Lanka section, there remains some ambiguity about its first-class status.) Finally, I am pleased to be able to say that the price of the Annual remains unchanged at £65. John Bryant Editor 20 Wilton Square London N1 3DL overseasannual@acscricket.com October 2015 5