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Tendulkar fell to a bowler who made his test debut before he was born
(18th May 2001)
When Zimbabwe played their inaugural Test against India at the Harare
Sports Club from October 18-22, 1992, ten of the eleven players were making
their Test debuts. The exception was a remarkable man called Athanasios
John Traicos. Born of Greek ancestry in the intriguingly named Egyptian
town of Zagazig, Traicos, then a young man of 22, played three Tests for
South Africa in 1970. When the Springboks were exiled from the cricketing
arena shortly afterwards, his career seemed to have met with a premature
end.
But Traicos is nothing if not a survivor. He played in three consecutive
World Cups for South Africa's northern neighbours Zimbabwe, skippering them
in the 1987 edition. When the ICC finally granted Zimbabwe Test status,
Traicos had advanced in years to a venerable 45. As the Test against India
got underway, Traicos had patiently waited through a whopping 22 years and
222 days between successive appearances, breaking George Gunn's mark of 17
years and 316 days. Time's relentless passage had diminished none of his
cunning as he collected returns of 5/86 from 50 probing overs, almost
inflicting on India, replying to the home team's 456, the ignominy of a
follow-on. The off spinner's first victim was Sachin Tendulkar, caught
and bowled for nought. Nineteen-year-old Tendulkar was not yet born when
Traicos turned out in his previous Test against Australia at Port Elizabeth!
[Archive]
For more details on all the above facts check out [ StatsGuru ]
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