On This Day In Cricket - February 27

27th February is remembered in cricket history for major World Cup moments and the birthdays of important figures. On this day in 2015, AB de Villiers scored the fastest 150 in ODI history in just 64 balls. In the 2011 World Cup, India and England played a high-scoring match that ended in a tie with both teams scoring 338 runs. In the 2003 World Cup, Glenn McGrath took 7 wickets for 15 runs against Namibia. This date is also the birthday of South Africa’s great batsman Graeme Pollock, well-known umpire Marais Erasmus, and former Australia World Cup winner Jimmy Maher.

On This Day - 27 February 1944 - Graeme Pollock Was Born

In 1944 in Durban, South Africa, one of cricket’s greatest batsmen came into the world. He later became known for his elegant and powerful left-handed batting. Sir Don Bradman said that he and Sir Garfield Sobers were the best left-handed batsmen he had ever seen. He ended his Test career with an average of 60.97, which is the third highest in Test history after Bradman and Adam Voges. At just 19 years old, he scored 122 runs against Australia in Sydney for his first Test century.

His career ended early because South Africa was banned from international cricket during apartheid. He played only 23 Test matches and scored 2,256 runs with 7 centuries. In his final Test series in 1970, he made 274 runs in one innings. He kept playing domestic cricket until the age of 43 and finished with 20,940 runs in first-class cricket. In 1999, he was named South Africa’s Cricketer of the 20th Century and in 2009, he was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.

On This Day - 27 February 1964 - Marais Erasmus Was Born

In 1964 Marais Erasmus was born in George, South Africa. He later became one of the most respected umpires in international cricket. Before becoming an umpire, he played first-class cricket for Boland from 1988/89 to 1996/97 as a fast-medium bowler and lower-order batsman. He took 131 wickets in first-class cricket and also scored an unbeaten 103. He started umpiring in South Africa’s domestic cricket in the 2002/03 season and made his international umpiring debut on 24 February 2006 in a T20 match between South Africa and Australia. In 2010 he joined the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires, replacing Rudi Koertzen.

During his umpiring career, he stood in 80 Test matches, 124 ODIs and 43 T20 Internationals. He officiated in major tournaments, including the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final between India and Pakistan and the 2019 Cricket World Cup final. He won the ICC Umpire of the Year award in 2016, 2017 and 2021, becoming the first South African umpire to receive this honor. In the 2023 World Cup, he was the umpire who gave Angelo Mathews out timed out, the first such decision in international cricket. After a long international career, he retired from the Elite Panel in March 2024 after a Test match between New Zealand and Australia.

On This Day - 27 February 1974 - Jimmy Maher Was Born

In 1974 Jimmy Maher was born in Queensland, Australia. He is a former Australian cricketer known as a stylish left-handed batting. He played ODI cricket for Australia and was part of the team that won the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup. He made his ODI debut in 1997-98 when Mark and Steve Waugh were absent from the team. His best return came in 2002 when he scored 95 runs against South Africa. He was often selected as an extra batsman and also served as a backup wicketkeeper when needed.

He had a strong domestic career and represented Queensland from 1993/94 to 2007/08. In the 2001-02 season, he became the first batsman to score 1000 runs in a Pura Cup season. He also played county cricket in England for Glamorgan and Durham. After retiring from Australian domestic cricket at the end of the 2007-08 season, he joined the Indian Cricket League and played for the Hyderabad Heroes as an opening batsman. His career also had controversy, especially in 1995 when he made a racial remark during a TV interview while celebrating a Sheffield Shield win, and he later apologized publicly to Indigenous Australians.

On This Day - 27 February 2003 - Glenn McGrath's 7/15 Demolished Namibia

Australia played against Namibia on this day in 2003 in the 31st match of the ICC World Cup at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom. Australia batted first and scored 301 runs for 6 wickets in 50 overs. Matthew Hayden made 88 runs off 73 balls with 9 fours and 3 sixes. Andrew Symonds scored 59 runs, and Darren Lehmann added an unbeaten 50 runs off 31 balls. For Namibia, Louis Burger took 3 wickets for 39 runs in 10 overs.

Namibia could not handle the target of 302 runs and were all out for just 45 runs in 14 overs. Glenn McGrath bowled 7 overs, including 4 maidens, and took 7 wickets for 15 runs. Four of his wickets were caught by wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist. Andy Bichel took 2 wickets in 1 over without giving a run, and Brett Lee took 1 wicket. Australia won the match by 256 runs.

On This Day - 27 February 2011 - The Great Tie Between India vs England

India and England played a thrilling ICC World Cup match on this day in 2011 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, and the game ended in a tie. India batted first and scored 338 runs in 49.5 overs. Sachin Tendulkar scored 120 runs off 115 balls with 10 fours and 5 sixes. Yuvraj Singh made 58 runs, Gautam Gambhir scored 51, Virender Sehwag added 35, and captain MS Dhoni scored 31. For England, Tim Bresnan took 5 wickets for 48 runs.

England chased 339 runs strongly. Captain Andrew Strauss scored 158 runs off 145 balls with 18 fours and 1 six. He added an important partnership with Ian Bell, who scored 69 runs. England were 281 for 2 in 42 overs and looked set for victory. In the 43rd over, Zaheer Khan dismissed Bell and Strauss on consecutive balls and brought India back into the match. Zaheer finished with 3 wickets for 64 runs, while Munaf Patel and Piyush Chawla took 2 wickets each. In the final overs, England reached 338 runs for 8 wickets in 50 overs, and the match ended in a tie. Marais Erasmus and Billy Bowden were the on-field umpires.

On This Day - 27 February 2015 - AB de Villiers Smashes Fastest ODI 150

AB de Villiers played a record innings on this day in 2015 in an ICC World Cup match in Sydney against West Indies. He came to bat in the 30th over when South Africa were 146 for 3. He reached 150 runs in just 64 balls and set the record for the fastest 150 in ODI history, breaking Shane Watson’s record by 19 balls. He remained not out on 162 runs off 66 balls with 17 fours and 8 sixes. He had stomach illness the night before the match and took an injection to play. Rilee Rossouw scored 61 runs off 39 balls, while Hashim Amla made 65 and Faf du Plessis scored 62. South Africa finished with 408 for 5 in 50 overs, which was the second highest team total in World Cup history at that time.

West Indies captain Jason Holder could not stop de Villiers. Holder gave away 64 runs in his last 2 overs, including 34 runs in one over, and ended with 1 for 104 in 10 overs, which became the most expensive spell in World Cup history. De Villiers scored 73 runs in the last 5 overs alone, which was another record. West Indies were all out for 151 runs in 33.1 overs while chasing 409. Imran Tahir took 5 wickets for 45 runs and became the first South African spinner to take five wickets in a World Cup match. South Africa won the match by 257 runs, which equaled the record for the biggest win by runs in World Cup history.