In this feature Martin looks back at the life of one of the most combative all-rounders there has been, Eddie Barlow of South Africa, the Rest of the World and Derbyshire

South Africa had failed to defeat Australia in eight Test series since readmission when they toured Australia in 2008/09, but this Graeme Smith led side soon showed they could overcome any obstacle Australia put in front of them.

Stop a local on the streets of Dublin, Belfast, or Skibbereen and ask them if they can name a member of the Irish cricket team. The likely answer will be a shake of the head and a shrug, with perhaps a slight recognition that Irish cricket is now a ‘thing’, and that perhaps there is a team doing ‘something’ in some corner of the world.

Possibly yes, possibly no, but certainly a candidate – in this feature Martin tells the story of Subhash ‘Fergie’ Gupte

Misbah ul Haq was never going to be Pakistan’s hero. The Universe, the Stars, the Oceans and the Mountains had all conspired against him. Pakistan lives vicariously through its heroes, so they need to see them do heroic things physically, like change the course of the wind or make the mountain come to him.

Our final look at Test cricketers who managed the bowling equivalent of 100 runs in a match deals with those who are more fresh in the memory, those who achieved six wickets in a match from 1990 onwards.

We are pleased to announce that we will be offering cash prizes for our upcoming Champions Trophy 2017 Fantasy Cricket competition.

There were great expectations in Yorkshire when Chris Old began his county career. He never did prove to be the like for like replacement the county’s supporters yearned for, but was still a fine cricketer. In this feature Martin tells his story

This feature follows on from the earlier feature covering batsmen who had managed to notch up consecutive matches scoring at least 100 runs. Here, we look at bowlers who have most often managed to take at least six wickets in a match.

In this feature Martin takes a look at the life and times of the batsman with some of the biggest numbers in the history of the game