Which English medium-pacer turned commentator was born in Simla? (09 July 2002)

Robin Jackman never scaled great heights as a cricketer, but his career nevertheless remains one of the most colourful in cricketing history.

Born in Simla, once the summer capital of the British Raj in India, and brought up in England, Jackman's association with South Africa's Western Province and Rhodesia ( later Zimbabwe) was to lead to the cancellation of a Test involving England and West Indies. The Test - the second in England's 1981 tour of the West Indies - was in fact supposed to witness the debut of the 35-year-old medium-pacer. But the revoking of his visa by the Guyanese government on account of his having played and coached in South Africa - then practicing apartheid - for 11 seasons led to the cancellation of the Test.

It was a unique and eventful start to Jackman's career. His debut finally occurred in the next Test against the West Indies at Bridgetown. He claimed 3-65 in his debut innings. That was to be his best innings figures in Tests as, after just three more matches, his age and relative lack of success led to him being sidelined.

Jackman also played 15 one-dayers for England in an international career stretching over a decade. He has become a more familiar figure in his role as a television commentator these days, in which capacity he has also made many visits to the country of his birth.

For more details on all the above facts check out [ StatsGuru ]

[Archive]