A unique record of the 500th Test was made in the Rawalpindi Test of Pakistan-England, which everyone 'missed'.
Scyld Berry: With the report of Pakistan's sensational victory against England in the Rawalpindi Test, many new records made in the Test came to light, but the world of cricket 'missed' one big record. This is a record which will not be mentioned in any record book but the discussion about this record is a proof of the changes that have taken place in cricket in the last few years.
Now let's come to the record. Can anyone claim to have watched 500 tests? This was the 500th Test for Scyld Berry, the chief cricket writer of England's The Daily Telegraph newspaper, which he watched. How big a record this is can be gauged from the fact that before him this record was only in the name of the great Australian captain and commentator – Richie Benaud. The biggest reason for accepting this test count as correct for both of them is the evidence of the test count – there are reports written from the stadium for different publications of 500 tests of Shield. Similarly, Beno was present in the Khele Test – apart from this, there is record of his presence as a journalist and radio/TV commentator. It is a big thing that someone watched 500 tests.
The making of this record is a proof of change in cricket. Benno played a total of 63 Tests, 3 of them as 12th man, one Test at Lord's in 1961 as a non-playing member of the tour team, and one Test at the MCG in 1963–64, due to a broken finger. I was not there but covered that Test for the 'Sydney Sun'. Shields did not get the advantage of being in the Test team in terms of numbers, but during his tenure, the number of Tests increased significantly due to which he was able to cover more Tests and in this way, he is the first person to watch 500 Tests without playing any Test.
While Shields is a big journalist, he first became famous in India during the 1981-82 England series in India. Later, he also wrote a book on this series titled 'Cricket Wallah' and it is considered one of the best books written in the form of a tour diary. He got special permission to see the Ranji Palace and for the first time someone wrote about the cricket related items and cricket related things present in the palace. Since he is still reporting, he has seen cricket changing. He has seen 500 Tests in 51 years and he says that compared to the first tour in 1977, cricket has now become safer, faster, neutral and more commercial but not necessarily better.
Berry has been the editor of Wisden, which is a great honor for any journalist. Most tests reported for 'The Observer' and 'The Daily Telegraph' (since 1993). He has recently published a compilation of his reports on the cricket of all the countries where he watched Tests, titled 'BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES: Travels on England Cricket Tours.
This book is really the story of watching cricket change his world. Where else is the role of Brunel's steam ship SS Great Britain mentioned in cricket? He says that thanks to this ship, even before the opening of the Suez Canal, the England team could reach Melbourne in two months without stopping in South Africa for coal on the way. Today players often complain about long flights.
When he went to Australia in 1978-79, he was told to write a short story – it was not possible to send a long story. Today in the internet age no one even talks about this. In those years, players and the media were generally very close (both used the same travel agent, stayed in the same places and traveled together) and press conferences were rare as the news was available in bars in the evening. There was a unique relationship between the media and the players – private news was never published. Today journalists run to find scandals.
Now let's talk about Richie Benaud's records. The most remarkable thing about his record was that by the time he finally said goodbye to cricket commentary and stopped watching Tests, he had watched almost a third of the total Tests played. No one has seen more Ashes Tests than him. At present, the Sydney Tests from 1946-47 to 1951-51 are not counted in Beno's record, despite his watching, because in one of these he played club cricket or in between played a match with the New South Wales team in another city. Went away. In this way Beno counted the tests he saw himself and counted only those which he saw completely. The England–New Zealand Lord's Test, which began on 20 May 2004, was the 500th Test that he officiated.
Can you guess whose name could be next in the club of 500 Test viewings? This can also be taken in this way that who is the next contender to join this club? The answer to this question is another interesting story in itself.
Comments are closed.