Blast from the past

Amazing stuff Viresh

1974
Another Test double-century in England for Zaheer Abbas. Strangely enough, his 240 at The Oval was his first Test ton since his equally epic 274 at Edgbaston in 1971. England had less trouble drawing the match this time

24 aug 1973
Lord's provided a suitable stage for Garry Sobers to complete his 26th and final Test hundred. His unbeaten 150 helped West Indies declare at 652 for 8 and win by an innings. Sobers later admitted that on the first evening (when he was 31 not out at the close), he had spent all night drinking port and brandy and was not in the best state when he resumed his innings. Wisden reported that he retired hurt with a stomach disorder, but Sobers admitted that he was worried about vomiting. The 2-0 defeat ended the Test career of the England captain, Ray Illingworth, who was replaced by Mike Denness.

1971
India's first Test win in England. At The Oval, after conceding a first-innings lead of 71, India regrouped to bowl England out for 101, which was their lowest score against the visitors. The wrecker-in-chief was legspinner Bhagwat Chandrasekhar with 6 for 38. England fought bravely in attempting to defend a target of 173. Ray Illingworth, the captain, bowled well on the slow, turning track and set his fields intelligently, but India had a day and a half to chase the target. It took them three hours to get the final 97 runs, but they got there in the end. The win gave them the series 1-0 and brought to an end England's record run of 26 official Tests without defeat

AUG 25

1995
In the course of his 254 not out for Gloucestershire against Glamorgan, 20-year-old Andrew Symonds used the short boundaries at Abergavenny to hit 16 sixes, a world record for a first-class innings. He hit another four sixes in the second innings to set up another record of 20 in the match.

1973
A bomb scare held up play for an hour and a half at Lord's. The delay couldn't save England: the lost time was made up, and their defeat at the hands of West Indies by an innings and 226 runs cost them the series 2-0.