ACS Overseas First-Class Annual 2016

Preface I trust that this, the eighth edition of the ACS Overseas First-Class Annual , will meet with the same approval as its predecessors. Like them, it provides full scorecards for all first-class matches in the year under review – other than those played in England and Wales, which are printed in Wisden . Regular purchasers will have noted that the Annual sports a new cover design, a ‘generic’ bowler to complement his batting counterpart who has appeared until now. In the acknowledgments I extend my thanks to Gary Ingram of brand-ing.co.uk for generously permitting the use of this image. Readers may also have noticed that the Annual, always a bulky publication, has actually shed a little weight compared with previous years. This is mainly due to the revamping of the Pakistan season, which has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of matches in that country and therefore, in the absence of any compensating increases elsewhere, in the size of the present work. This edition contains a minor innovation that I hope readers will find helpful. For some years, the Annual has used a special marker to indicate cricketers on first-class debut, but this year, players on Test debut are also indicated. A novel feature this year is that a match in a country’s major first-class tournament was played outside the bounds of the home nation: the Sheffield Shield fixture between New South Wales and Western Australia took place in New Zealand. This presented a difficulty for the Annual , which has always grouped matches strictly according to the country where they are played. In the end, it was decided to adhere to this established practice, and accordingly the match appears in the New Zealand section. If, however, this practice becomes more common, the Annual’s policy may have to be reviewed. Turning to notable events on the field of play, this edition includes some spectacular bursts of rapid scoring at Test level. Last year’s Preface may have celebrated Misbah-ul-Haq’s equalling of the record for the fastest Test century by balls faced: but Brendon McCullum made sure that Misbah’s share of the record did not last long by reaching three figures in only 54 balls against Australia; and promptly retiring. And I had the pleasure to witness more sensational scoring at an extraordinary Test at Cape Town, as Ben Stokes smashed his way to 258 off only 198 balls. At the other end of the scale, these pages record two remarkable ‘blockathons’ at Delhi and Pallekele, in which South Africa and Australia respectively, facing high-class spin on a receptive subcontinental pitch, strove in vain to avoid defeat. This edition also records Test cricket’s first day/night match, at Adelaide in November 2015: surely a portent of cricket’s future. At first-class level, this Annual records such remarkable events as an opening stand of 503 followed by a decision that the match must be abandoned forthwith because the ground was unfit; a new record (by Travis Dean of Victoria) of first-class runs scored before being dismissed; and an extraordinary game for the Irani Cup in which Mumbai, the Ranji champions, somehow contrived to lose by four wickets after leading off with a score of 603 and leading by 297 on first innings. I hope readers will enjoy the discovery of these and many other nuggets in the pages that follow. John Bryant Editor 20 Wilton Square London N1 3DL overseasannual@acscricket.com October 2016 5