Top 5 most memorable unofficial matches in cricket history

The gentleman’s game has had bitter rivalries and nerve-wrenching encounters over the course of its history. Players haven’t stopped short of fighting tooth and nail for their nation.There are also matches which serve as promotional events or are aimed at generating financial benefit for charities. These watered down versions of their more extreme counterparts often comprise of an ensemble of current and retired players teaming up for a cause. The recent Cricket All Stars tournament has been a huge success in the United States, just like many such matches over the years.Here is a look at the top 5 unofficial cricket matches:

#1 MCC vs Rest of the World, 2014

Batting greats, Sachin Tendulkar (L) and Brian Lara (R) at the MCC v RoW match at Lord's

The Bicentenary Celebration match in July 2014 at the Lord’s created a tremendous buzz in the days leading to it, and rightly so. With teams made up of contemporary players and legends of the previous generation, it gave fans an opportunity to witness some never-seen-before clashes.

Adam Gilchrist and Virender Sehwag, perhaps two of the greatest attacking players of their time, made an interesting opening pair and started off the proceedings in a traditional Lords setting. Gilchrist wore a GoPro camera on his helmet, giving a batsman’s view of the proceedings.

Saeed Ajmal ran through the RoW lineup, returning with four wickets from his ten. But it wasn’t enough to stop a rampaging Yuvraj Singh set up a counter-attacking 138 which propelled their innings to 293.

In response, Tendulkar and Finch set up an opening partnership of more than 100 in less than 16 overs. Tendulkar rolled back time by playing delightful strokes, but fell victim to another legend, Muralitharan, before his half-century. Lara and Chanderpaul contributed their part, but the bulk of the chase was completed by Aaron Finch, who remained unbeaten on 181.

Dravid fell for a first-ball duck, Warne never got to bowl (owing to an injury), and Shahid Afridi failed to trouble the scorers, yet the match managed to fill cricketing hearts with the nostalgia of seeing their favourite cricketers play one more time.

#2 Help for Heroes XI vs Rest of the World XI, 2015

MS Dhoni scored the winning runs for the Help for Heroes team

Help for Heroes is a charity organisation that aims at providing financial assistance to injured British servicemen. It has a list of high-profile trustees and has organised a number of competitions ranging from bike races to music singles since their inception in 2007.

The Kia Oval was the place for one of their recent events in September this year, when the newly appointed Director of England, Andrew Strauss led Help for Heroes XI against a Rest of the World Team.

MS Dhoni hit the winning runs in the last over for the Help for Heroes, top-scoring with 38 and bagging the man of the match award.

Umpires Michael Gough and Martin Bodenham, as well as Rest of the World captain Brendon McCullum, had GoPro cameras installed on their headgears, giving the fans a unique view of the proceedings.

The event, attended by around 20,000 people, raised nearly 300,000 pounds. The recently retired Mahela Jayawardene top-scored for the Rest of the World, scoring 48 runs and taking his team’s score to a respectable 158.

A blistering partnership between Strauss and Virender Sehwag, Jayawardene’s sweep shots on both sides of the wicket, Vettori’s four wickets and a 13-run cameo from Major Green (ColdStream guards, British Army) were some of the highlights of the fundraiser.

#3 Princess Diana Memorial Match, 1998

Sachin Tendulkar (R) scored his only century at the Lord's in an unofficial match

Sachin Tendulkar holds a majority of the batting records in World Cricket, but the one thing missing from his 24-year long career was a century at the Mecca of Cricket, the Lord’s. Few people know that he did manage to score a ton at the ground once, albeit in a charity event organised by the MCC for the Princess Diana Memorial Fund.

Partnering Sanath Jayasuriya against the new ball, Tendulkar started steadily against McGrath, Srinath and Donald. Chasing a target of 262, the Rest of the World managed to finish the match in 43 overs. Tendulkar scored a masterful 125 and garnered praise from the British Media.

The MCC XI had set the target on the back of a century from their number three, Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Coming in at the fall of Aamer Sohail’s wicket in the seventh over, Chanderpaul remained unbeaten, striking fifteen fours in the process.

The toss was conducted using an 1848 florin coin, in memory of WG Grace, whose 150th birth anniversary coincided with the match.

#4 Ian Healys testimonial match, 2000

Sir Viv Richards (L), Jeff Dujon (C) and Sir Richard Hadlee (R) playing for the World XI in Ian Healy's testimonial

Before Adam Gilchrist’s flamboyant batting changed the perception of a wicketkeeper-batsman, Australia had a specialist in Ian Healy, who held the record for most Test dismissals by a wicketkeeper before Boucher and Gilchrist.

At the turn of this millennium, and with Ian Healy retired from Tests the previous year, a Healy XI played a 45-over match against a World XI team in Brisbane. The World XI, captained by Sir Vivian Richards, won the toss and chose to bat.

Starting with the opening duo of Graham Gooch and Desmond Haynes, the World XI further consisted of legends of the previous era such as Kepler Wessels, Jeff Dujon, Richard Hadlee and Abdul Qadir, as well as youngsters such as Adam Dale and Andrew Symonds.

Due to non-overlapping careers, the world got to see Sir Vivian Richards face Shane Warne for the first time. The gum-chewing, long retired Richards looked at ease while facing the blonde leg-spinner.

Ian Healy’s team chased down the 279 run target in 37 overs. David Boon, who had retired around half a decade before, compiled a stroke-filled century, with ample support from Michael Slater and Mark Waugh.

#5 Bradman XI vs World XI, 1994

Graeme Pollock was adjudged as man-of-the-match in the match between Bradman XI and World XI (Image courtesy: YouTube)

On a December night in 1994, the Sydney Cricket Ground hosted a unique match featuring a team under the name of the country’s greatest cricketing legend, Sir Donald Bradman. The match was organised to raise funds for The Bradman Museum, now known as the International Cricket Hall of Fame.

Celebrities such as Paul Vautin (famous for his freakish catch in an All-Stars match the previous year, television actor Gary Sweet and actor-presenter Ernie Dingo were part of the teams. The match was attended by more than 17,000 cricket lovers and raised around $150,000 in charity.

But the player who stole the limelight was Australia Women’s cricketer Zoe Goss, who managed to dismiss Brian Lara and Jeff Dujon. After being stumped by Lara after making a 38-ball 29, she returned the favour by dismissing him in World XI’s chase. She followed it up with the wicket of Jeff Dujon, dismissing the keeper for 8.

Players on both sides were seen sporting baseball outfits. Playing at the age of 50, Graeme Pollock was adjudged Man of the Match for his 71-ball 89, which ended up in losing cause, as the World XI fell short by a solitary run.