Cricket Hall of Fame’s
Induction Set for
October 1
An
impressive line-up of former international cricket stars has
been nominated for induction into the Cricket Hall of Fame
at a ceremony, which is set for Saturday, October 1, 2005,
at the new Marriott Hotel, Adrien’s Landing, downtown
Hartford.
They are former batting stars Javed Miandad of Pakistan and
Dilip Vengsarkar of India and former West Indies fast bowler,
Andy Roberts of Antigua. Joining them will be well-known West
Indian cricket writer Anthony Becca of Jamaica.
Miandad, who is known for his fighting qualities on and off
the field, had a long career as an international cricketer
for Pakistan between 1975-1996. He coached Pakistan in the
2003-2004 season before stepping down. He is regarded as the
greatest batsman ever to come from Pakistan. A 100 per cent
team man, he was named one of the cricketers of the year by
Wisden in 1982.
Vengsarkar burst upon the cricket scene as a talented teenager
when he scored a breezy 110 for Bombay against a Rest of India
in the Irani trophy match at Nagpur in 1975. Tall and slimly
built Vengsarkar was basically an elegant stroke player but
on his day – which was often – he could be a tormentor
of even the strongest attacks. With Sunil Gavaskar he holds
the Indian record for the second wicket in Tests – 344
unbroken against the West Indies at Calcutta in 1978-79. At
the time of his retirement in 1992, he was second only to
Gavaskar in runs and centuries scored in Tests.
A menacing fast bowler, whose bouncer was regarded as one
of the most dangerous, Roberts took less than two and a half
years to reach 100 Test wickets, the quickest at that point.
The modern West Indian game based on the heavy artillery of
fast bowlers, that served so well for a quarter of a century,
began with him, one writer said. He varied his pace, often
setting batsmen with a slower ball and then pole axing them
when they were late on the quickie, the writer added. He was
a very intelligent cricketer, who plotted and panned the downfall
of batsmen as if it were a military campaign.
Becca, who recently retired as Sports Editor of the Gleaner
newspaper, is not only well-known but is one of the most respected
writers of the sport throughout the Caribbean region.
As usual, the Cricket Hall of Fame is working hard to produce
a program with the same high quality as previous ones. Supporters
can be assured that they will once again be treated to a very
entertaining, exciting and enlightening program. It is possible
that like the last year’s ceremony they may be in for
some surprises.
Persons interested in attending the function or need more
information are asked to contact the Cricket Hall of Fame
at (860) 246-5400, Stan Walker at (860) 243-5314, Mike Chambers
at (860) 250-2796 or at email sgwalk@sbcglobal.net.
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