Of Chappell brothers, distinctions and two birthdays

Colombo, Aug 12 : It was on this day in 1972 that Greg Chappell and his elder brother Ian became the first brothers to score Test centuries in the same innings.

Captain Ian Chappell made 118 and Greg, now here with the India team, scored 113 while batting at number three and four respectively in the first innings of the fifth and final Test against England at Kennington Oval in London. Australia won by five wickets.

The victory helped Australia draw the series 2-2 and start the domination of world cricket in the 1970s.

Thirty-four years later, Greg is coach of the Indian team and busy preparing the players for the Unitech Tri-series against Sri Lanka and South Africa starting here Monday.

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Two birthdays Saturday

Saturday was the birthday of former India one-day international player Gyanendra Pandey and Sri Lanka’s Sidath Wettimuny, who opened the batting in his country’s first ever Test in 1981-82 against England here.

Pandey, born in Lucknow, turned 34 while Wettimuny, born in Colombo, completed a half-century of a different kind Saturday.

While Pandey, a former Uttar Pradesh captain who still plays for the state in India’s Ranji Trophy national championship, managed to play just two one-day internationals, the elegant Wettimuny went on to play 23 Tests and 35 one-day internationals with moderate success.

Wettimuny, who later became the International Cricket Council’s match referee, and his brother Mithra Wettimuny opened the innings against New Zealand in 1982-83 - a rare cricketing instance.

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Unlucky Jayasuriya

While on history, it was on this day nine years ago that dashing opener Sanath Jayasuriya, who is leading Sri Lanka’s charge in the tri-series, became one of the five batsmen in Test cricket to have been dismissed on 199.

A former Sri Lanka captain, Jayasuriya achieved the dubious distinction against India at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club in 1997. The match was drawn.

Apart from Jayasuriya, the others who have been out one run short of a double century are Pakistan’s Mudassar Nazar (1984-85), India’s Mohammad Azharuddin (1986-87), England’s Matthew Elliott (1997) and Australia’s Steve Waugh (1998-99).

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