SW’s Long Leg Tales: From David Shepherd’s Magic To Feroz Shah Kotla’s Misery

Dec 27, 2016 at 2:30 PM

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SW’s Long Leg Tales: From David Shepherd’s Magic To Feroz Shah Kotla’s Misery

Famous novelist Mark Twain once said,’History doesn’t repeat itself but it does rhyme’, and in cricket, it does make sense. Going by the game’s curious past, it has been scripted in one of the most magnificent manner. From its origin in England in early 19th century to its revolution by the Caribbeans in mid twentieth, Cricket has transformed eminently over the years, and so has its journey.

At Sportzwiki, we take you back in time to relive few of the greatest moments that were captured on the cricketing field on this day down the years. On December 27, we bring you the tale of one of the greatest umpires to officiate the game to the misery of a sub-continent track, that nearly shook everyone, even the caretakers of it:

  1. Happy Birthday David Shepherd (December 27, 1940- October 27, 2009)
Former England umpire David Shepherd was born on December 27, 1940.

On December 27, 1940, cricket’s most docile and recognizable figure, David Robert Shepherd, widely known as David Shepherd was born in Bideford, England. Shepherd, who never played an international game for his country, was once a part of Gloucestershire cricket county before trying his hand in umpiring, where he peaked in his career.

In cricketing history, he still holds the record of officiating in six World Cups, ranging from 1983 to 2003, including three finals in 1996, 1999 and 2003. He, in whole, took charge of 92 Tests and 172 One Day Internationals in his career span of 24 years. The legendary umpire stood last in an international game in 2005.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) now has an award after his name, called as David Shepherd Trophy, which is given to the best elected umpire every year, and in 2016 it was bestowed to South Africa’s Marais Erasmus.

On October 27, 2009, Shepherd lost his battle against cancer and thus took his last breath.

2. India vs Sri Lanka, 2009 (ODI at Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi)

Indian players sitting on the ground after their ODI match against Sri Lanka was called off.

One of the most embarrassing situations for the DDCA and the BCCI came in 2009 during an ODI match between India and Sri Lanka, which was abandoned because of an ‘ill behavior of the pitch’. The surface had uneven bounce on it which troubled the Sri Lankan batsmen from the outset, hitting couple of them on their body.

23.3 overs were it took before the pitch accounted for a check-up and later resulted in calling off the game. Just not anything but blows to fingers, elbows and shoulders raised the concern for officials and surely the players. Former India legend Sunil Gavaskar too mocked the pitch, calling it as a hair transplant with bald patches.

Disappointed with the turf, the ICC banned the DDCA to host any match post that until they resumed entertaining the crowd in ICC World Cup 2011.

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