Sobey, Immy and other Shield tales

Television commentators can come up with some fascinating revelations One such Did You Know was thrown up by Ravi Shastri last Saturday while on air during the Australia v Pakistan Test at PerthAfter viewers were shown a snapshot of picturesque Perth Shastri revealed that he nearly played for Western Australia in the late 1980s The plan didnrsquot come to fruition as the Australian season clashed with the Indian season unlike his stints with English county team GlamorganHad Shastri signed the dotted line he would have become the first Indian Test player to figure in the Sheffield Shield after allrounder Rusi Surti who settled in Queensland and played for them from 196869 to 197273Surti whose only domestic game in India during his Queensland stint was the West Zone v North Zone Duleep Trophy final in 196970 played the last of his 26 Tests against the Australians at Mumbai in 1969On Tuesday Indiaborn Sydneybased cricket historian Kersi MeherHomji enlightened me about one of Surtirsquos most memorable Sheffield Shield performances ldquoAgainst Western Australia in Perth in 1969 he scored 63 and took five wickets including the hattrick It was the first hattrick taken by a Queensland bowler in the Sheffield Shieldrdquo Surti helped Queensland win that game at the WACA ground by one wicketSurti was known as a poor manrsquos Garry Sobers The great West Indian too played Sheffield Shield cricketmdashfor South Australia from 196162 to 196364 It is believed that the partyloving Sobers used to catch up on his lost sleep in the South Australia dressing room while his teamrsquos openers walked out to bat Several times Sobers used to be woken up by Sir Donald Bradman a key functionary of the South Australia Cricket Association then with the words ldquoSouth Australia needs a hundred from you todayrdquo And often Sobers went out and got that centuryIan Chappell who was Sobersrsquos teammate during his South Australia stints told David Evans on his With The Greatest Respect podcast a story about Sobers wearing a West Indies cap when he batted for South Australia against the visiting South Africans in 196364 Sobers sought captain Les Favellrsquos permission to do so since Favell was particularly keen on players wearing their South Australian cap Permission granted Sobers smashed 155 Nearly three decades later Chappell while having a drink with the greatest living cricketer in Barbados thought of asking him the reason for wearing that West Indies cap way back in 196364 And Sobers said ldquoIan at that stage the South Africans had never seen a West Indies cap and I thought it was time they had a good long look at onerdquoSobersrsquos West Indies teammate Rohan Kanhai played a season for Western Australia in 196162 In 197677 Viv Richards opened the batting for Queensland while fellow Antiguan Andy Roberts played two games for New South Wales before both returned home early to prepare for the home series against PakistanRichards got hauled up by a cop for speeding in his ldquobig car on hirerdquo as he described it in a 1979 book written by David Foot The policeman recognised him and said that hersquod have to book him When Richards told him that it was his last day in Australia the cop put away his receipt book grinned and said ldquoNot much I can do thenrdquoAlvin Kallicharran played for Queensland the following season with his most memorable performance being a matchimpacting hundred against New South Wales at Sydney in December 1977A few Pakistanis enjoyed the Sheffield Shield cricket experience as well It started with Duncan Sharpe representing South Australia in 196162 196465 and 196566 Younis Ahmed the lefthanded batsman turned out for South Australia in 197273 and opener Majid Khan for Queensland in 197374Imran Khanrsquos season with New South Wales was fulfilling in 198485 He helped them win the Sheffield Shield and McDonaldrsquos Cup oneday competition brushing aside his shin injury worries and a troubled mind caused by his motherrsquos cancer diagnosis at the start of the Australian seasonThe season helped Imran in no small measure In All Round View he dwelled on the fierce competition that prevailed in the Australian domestic set up and how it was so different from the ldquotranquillity of the threedayrdquo game in EnglandFellow fast bowlers like West Indians Michael Holding Wayne Daniel Joel Garner Winston Davis Patrick Patterson NZrsquos Richard Hadlee Englandrsquos Ian Botham Richard Ellison and Gladstone Small were also Sheffield Shield players in the 1980sMy friend Mark Ray who played the Sheffield Shield for New South Wales and Tasmania remembered how young West Indian pace terror Patrick Patterson declined a spell in Tasmaniarsquos game against the touring West Indies on a bitterly cold day in December 1984 He had dismissed Richards for 16 and forced Larry Gomes to retire hurt He was asked to bowl again when skipper Clive Lloyd came in He then got Lloyd for 30 as the tourists were dismissed for 184 in a drawn match at DevonportldquoPatto Patterson was young and inexperienced and he underestimated Australian state cricketrdquo Ray told me on WednesdayAnother giant Garner who was part of that West Indies squad stood out for South Australia with 55 scalps in the 198283 season The late David Hookes wrote in Hookesy how Garner wanted Rodney Hogg to have the choice of ends When captain Hookes reminded him that he was the best bowler in the world Garner said ldquoHoggy is trying to play for Australia He is the Australian You give him whichever end he wantsmdashfor the whole seasonrdquoWho said fast bowlers donrsquot have a heartmiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzelloSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper