00:00Neil Fairbrother, a stylish yet pretty left-hander, represented England in 10 Test matches between
00:061987 and 1993, scoring 219 runs at an average of 15.64, including one memorable half-century
00:16and four catches in the field. In this video, we relive his finest hour in Test cricket,
00:21his lovely 50, a composed and fighting knock of 83 runs of 159 balls, laced with 10 elegant forwards
00:29and a towering 6, played against India in the second Test match at Chennai on February 1993.
00:35It was his highest Test score and a display of determination and class against quality
00:40spin-balling. So let's revisit this vintage gem, Neil Fairbrother's fighting innings in Chennai,
00:46and relive a forgotten chapter of English Cricketing craze and grit.
00:59Two, Neil Fairbrother is at the crease, taking his mark. It really was a marvellous bit of fielding.
01:08So, Fairbrother survives the remaining ball of that over, England 166 for three.
01:16This is the man, Kravit Amre, who volunteered in Calcutta to stand at Shortleg for the first time
01:22in his life. He's been wearing that helmet quite a lot, both there and here in Madras.
01:28Well, the game really has changed.
01:31Common hallways in Test match, you need a lot of courage and you must stay down.
01:35Well, that hits Vinod Cambly very firmly on the legs at Scilly Point.
01:48And now, while he takes his time to get off the turf again, the England batsmen have heard the call of
01:54over. It's the end of the session. 73 runs and two wickets coming off 33 overs this afternoon,
02:00and Vinod Cambly in some trouble there. That was beautifully struck, very firmly struck by Neil Fairbrother.
02:07It was indeed firmly struck and I'll be surprised if we see him straight after T.
02:13I think he'll need some ice in the dressing room, because that's a fair old crack on the shin.
02:18A chance there, but off the pad. That's Werke Roman again at Scilly Point,
02:35safely taking what would have been a catch or could have been a catch from Neil Fairbrother,
02:38shaking his head.
02:39The gloves and the bats safely tucked away behind the front pad there.
02:52I'm not... the appealing that goes on, you know, obviously the fieldsmen close to the wicket do get
02:58excited. I would suggest though in this series that the fieldsmen on both sides are probably not
03:05appealing as much as what we've seen in previous tours. He's guided away, certainly one, possibly two,
03:13and Fairbrother coming back for the second as Raju picks the ball up just in front of the third man
03:17boundary. That's the end of the over and it's 179 for four. Still an absorbing contest here, although Fairbrother...
03:28Well, that's a rare sight. Fairbrother getting a full toss and swats it away for four.
03:44183 for six now.
03:46That's a better shot by Fairbrother. Down the wicket. Four runs. So, change of policy, do you think, Sunil?
04:05Yes, and why not? That's exactly the attitude that England must have up. There is nobody out in the deep.
04:11He's hitting with the spin. So, there's very little danger of him getting out caught.
04:20And this is terribly unlucky.
04:26Well, that's hauled away by Fairbrother again. Tendulka's after it. He can't get it.
04:32And so, Fairbrother has obviously decided the best form of defence for England now is to attack.
04:41And runs coming at a startling rate, especially when you consider the tempo since T.
04:53Well, India had to bowl 90 overs in the day.
04:58And this is the 91st, and we still have half an hour's cricket to go this evening. So, they've
05:03scuffled through their overs, the Indian spinners. I suppose it's only to be expected, and he's dropped him!
05:11I suppose it's over.
05:15The Barker at slip, got a hand to it.
05:21Fairbrother lives to fight another day.
05:25England are 197 for six. How did you see it, Sonny?
05:29Chauhan, tempting Fairbrother to drive. That was eminently catchable.
05:45Chauhan, meantime, to Fairbrother. And Fairbrother really is cutting loose. That's a lovely four. And that is,
05:51it gives Fairbrother his highest score in test cricket, beating the 33 knot out he made against New Zealand in 1990 at Lords.
06:01Yeah, I was telling you, but as an England supporter, this is what they want to see. Neil Fairbrother is usually a busy player.
06:08Plays his shots, always on the move. Usually the scoreboard's sticking around if he's batting.
06:14It's really difficult.
06:14Oh, that's a good stroke. That's gone away for four runs. Sidhu is chasing it. He won't get it. That was a lovely shot by Fairbrother.
06:24Cumblay over-pitching on this occasion. But beautifully plays. Everything in the ideal position. Head right over the ball.
06:40No great effort in the shot. Just the timing that took it away, speeding across the outfield.
06:4844, Fairbrother has now.
06:54More runs here. Four more runs, I think. Nice little tickle down the leg side. The ball racing over this lightning pass outfield to the boundary.
07:15And again, Cumblay just straying from his normal line and length.
07:19Just a little bit of turn. Just flicked off his hips by Neil Fairbrother.
07:24So Fairbrother now two runs short of what will be his first test match 50.
07:33Quite a moment for him.
07:34And there it is. A slashing drive. It was uppish. It was a little bit edgy, but it was away to the left of backward point for another four.
07:47That's Fairbrother's 50.
07:49Well, he's played very well, Neil Fairbrother. It was very slow at the start of his innings yesterday.
07:55It took a long time. It was very watchful.
07:58Now that he's been there for some time. He's very much getting the hang of playing against these Indian spinners.
08:04And Cumblay here going for three fours off the over.
08:07Well, in the air, past the field though. And that's safe enough.
08:12Raju to Fairbrother.
08:15Oh, and that's a fine stroke coming down the ground. That's going for six, I think.
08:18Yes, it's gone over the long on boundary for six. That was a fine shot.
08:27Need we say more? This is the sort of treatment that Raju is most unused to in the context of this series.
08:32That's a beautifully controlled, lofty drive from Neil Fairbrother.
08:37Admirably executed. Get the head down.
08:41That's swung away. Two bounces, four runs. That won't make Chowen very pleased.
08:51Well, he might not be through with it, Chowen, but I can tell him there's a lot of bowlers suffered from Neil Fairbrother.
08:57He's a very difficult customer to bowl at if he gets in.
09:03I think he's one of the most difficult players in world cricket. You just don't know where to put your fielders.
09:14That's cut away again and Fairbrother's up into the 80s.
09:21Rousing stuff by Neil Fairbrother. Successive fours.
09:27All sorts of beckoning going on by the umpires.
09:31Oh, the drinks trolley was nosing its way onto the ground. It's been sent back.
09:36Still another six or seven minutes before that.
09:41England are 277 for eight.
09:47Soft hands, but it was still a brilliant catch.
09:57Oh, and he's gone.
10:17Neil Fairbrother is out.
10:19A little bit of turn there from Rajas Chauhan and Kapil Dev would slip.
10:24Look for a moment as though he's going to fumble the chance.
10:27But that's the wicket India so desperately wanted.
10:29And Neil Fairbrother was trying to guide that ball.
10:35The wicket is gone.
10:38For 279.
10:40Neil Fairbrother out for 83.
10:45279 for nine it is.
10:48Neil Fairbrother compact in stature but brimming with resolve.
10:53He was known for his quick running, deft placement and uncanny ability to turn ones into twos.
10:59He built a formidable reputation as England's most reliable middle-order best man in one-day
11:05international through the 1990s. With scientific precision, he pairs the gaps,
11:10work the ball behind square and occasionally lofted with finances over the infield.
11:15Always accomplished by his trademark frantic running between the wickets.
11:20Yet despite his immense one-day prowess, his test carrier never flourished as expected.
11:25His bottom-handed tactic and vulnerability outside of stum often proving his undoing.
11:31Nevertheless, Fairbrother's name remains asht in England's one-day history,
11:36particularly for his heroic 62 of 70 balls in the 1992 World Cup final at the MCG against Pakistan,
11:44where he top-scored and nearly steered England to a famous victory.
11:48If you like this video, please comment, share and subscribe. Thank you very much.
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