Surendranath (cricketer)

Raman Surendranath pronunciation  (4 January 1937 – 5 May 2012) was an Indian cricketer who played in eleven Test matches between 1958 and 1961.[1] He was primarily a medium-pace swing bowler, who enjoyed a particularly successful tour of England in 1959.

Surendranath
Cricket information
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
International information
National side
Test debut31 December 1958 v West Indies
Last Test13 January 1961 v Pakistan
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class
Matches 11 88
Runs scored 136 1,351
Batting average 10.46 15.70
100s/50s 0/0 1/4
Top score 27 119
Balls bowled 2,602 17,058
Wickets 26 278
Bowling average 40.50 25.37
5 wickets in innings 2 15
10 wickets in match 0 1
Best bowling 5/75 7/14
Catches/stumpings 4/– 32/–
Source: CricInfo, 1 February 2020

An army officer, he played his domestic cricket for Services in a career that extended from 1955–56 to 1968–69.[2] He came to national prominence in 1958–59 when, playing for Services, he dismissed the first three West Indian batsmen in a tour match. He followed that up with 6 for 10 against Patiala, and was selected for the Third Test. He took 2 for 168 in the only West Indies innings, the only Indian bowler to take more than one wicket. He then took 7 for 14 and 6 for 62 against Railways,[3] and retained his position for the Fourth Test. This time he took no wickets in another big West Indian victory, and he lost his place for the Fifth Test.

On the tour of England in 1959 he opened the bowling with Ramakant Desai in all five Tests, and took 16 wickets at 26.62 to lead the Indian bowling averages. In the Fourth Test he took 5 for 115 off 47.1 overs in the first innings,[4] and in the Fifth he took 5 for 75 off 51.3 overs in England's only innings, as well as making his highest Test score of 27, adding 58 for the eighth wicket with Naren Tamhane after India had been 74 for 7 in their first innings.[5] "For one not too well endowed physically he stood up well to many long spells of bowling," noted Wisden, but he "spent hours bowling down the leg side" to a packed leg-side field; "this happy cricketer would help the game if he developed his attack on the off-stump instead of outside the leg-stump".[6]

He played the first two Tests against Australia in 1959–60 but took only two wickets and was omitted from the Test side. After taking 6 for 34 to dismiss Delhi on the first morning of their Ranji Trophy match in December 1960,[7] he returned to the Test team for the Third and Fourth Tests against Pakistan in 1960–61. He had figures of 46–20–93–4 in the first innings of the Third Test, when he once again formed the opening attack with Desai,[8] but took only two more wickets in the next three innings and lost his place again.

He scored his only first-class century in 1961–62, 119 against Southern Punjab, but only 187 runs at 15.58 in the whole season.[9] He also took 22 wickets at 28.04,[10] but was unable to force his way back into the Test team. He played irregularly thereafter, but in five Ranji Trophy matches in 1967–68 he took 25 wickets at 13.44,[11] helping Services reach the semi-finals. In the final zonal match, when Services needed at least a first-innings victory to overtake Railways and make the finals, he took 7 for 59 to dismiss Railways for 114 in reply to Services' 207.[12]

References
  1. "ONLINE – International News Network". Onlinenews.com.pk. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  2. Wisden 2013, p. 241.
  3. Railways v Services 1958–59
  4. England v India, Manchester 1959
  5. England v India, The Oval 1959
  6. Wisden 1960, p. 265.
  7. Delhi v Services 1960–61
  8. India v Pakistan, Calcutta 1960–61
  9. Surendranath batting by season
  10. Surendranath bowling by season
  11. Ranji Trophy bowling averages 1967–68
  12. Services v Railways 1967–68
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.