England's Ollie Robinson gives away 43 runs for second-costliest over in First Class cricket
Brighton (England), Jun 26: England seamer Ollie Robinson on Wednesday had an unwanted record registered against his name for bowling the second-costliest over in First-Class cricket history, giving away 43 runs during a County Championship match.
The right-arm Robinson, who has played 20 Tests for England since his debut in 2021, was clobbered for 43 runs in a total of nine deliveries he bowled to complete his over.
Robinson, 30, was playing for Sussex against Leicestershire in Division Two match here at the County Ground in Hove.
Robinson, who overstepped thrice in the over, was hit for an overall two sixes, six fours and a single by Leicestershire's Louis Kimber, who was batting on 72 off 56 balls when the contest entered the 59th over of their second innings chasing 464.
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By the time Robinson finished his over, the right-handed Kimber had galloped to 109 not out off just 65 balls, with Ben Cox being the batter at the other end.
In county cricket, no-balls carry a two-run penalty.
The figures from Robinson's 13th over in the game read: 6, 6nb (4x1, 2-nb), 4, 6, 4, 6nb (4x1, 2-nb), 4, 6nb (4x1, 2-nb), 1.
Robinson thus also reset the record of most runs conceded by an English bowler, surpassing ex Test pacer Alex Tudor's 38-run over in which 34 were scored by Andrew Flintoff in a Surrey versus Lancashire contest in 1998.
Kimber went on with his carnage as he broke the record for the fastest double century in County cricket and England Test captain Ben Stokes' record of most sixes in a County innings (18).
But Kimber was the last man to be dismissed after a whirlwind 127-ball 243 with 20 fours and 21 sixes as Sussex clinched the game with an 18-run win.
On Monday, England spinner Shoaib Bashir had given away 38 runs when Dan Lawrence smacked five consecutive sixes to the right-arm bowler who had an impressive tour of India earlier this year.
Bashir also bowled five wides, a no-ball and allowed a single in the Division One match.
The costliest over in history of First-Class cricket, however, was registered when former New Zealand off-break bowler Bert Vance was hammered for a mind-boggling 77 runs during a Shell Trophy game between Wellington and Canterbury in 1989-1990.
Vance, who bowled 17 no-balls in that over, played four Tests and eight ODIs for New Zealand between 1988-89.
Ollie Robinson has conceded 43 runs in an over.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 26, 2024
- Most expensive over in 134 years of County Championship history. 🤯pic.twitter.com/SSWUg3smiF
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Narayana Guru's philosophy counters majoritarianism amid social divisions, says Siddaramaiah
Varkala (Kerala) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said saint and social reformer Sree Narayana Guru's philosophy remains a powerful answer to rising majoritarianism and social divisions in an India that boasts of economic progress even as unity weakens.
Speaking at the 93rd Sivagiri Pilgrim Conclave at Sivagiri Math, founded by Guru here, Siddaramaiah, the chief guest at the function, lamented that today's India faces a paradox where "we boast of economic growth, digital expansion and global influence, and yet social solidarity is weakening, and hatred is being normalised".
He said caste has not disappeared, but it has just changed its grammar.
Noting that communalism no longer speaks openly of hierarchy, it speaks the language of identity, fear, and majoritarian pride, Siddaramaiah said Guru foresaw this danger.
"He understood that when religion is separated from compassion and ethics, it becomes a tool of domination," Siddaramaiah said.
"Guru's philosophy directly counters religious majoritarianism, cultural nationalism without equality and identity politics without justice. His message reminds us that nation-building without social justice is merely state-building, not democracy," he said.
The Karnataka chief minister said it was no coincidence that after meeting Guru, Mahatma Gandhi sharpened his stance against untouchability, took a stand in favour of a simple life, and refused to attend weddings if they were not inter-caste.
He said that Rabindranath Tagore's idea of the "universal man" was inspired by the works of Guru.
He also shaped the ethical universe of Tagore, who acknowledged that dividing human beings in the name of religion is the greatest injustice, the CM said.
"Thus, Guru stands at the ideological crossroads of modern India by bridging spirituality, rationalism, humanism and social justice," Siddaramaiah said. The conclave was inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
According to Siddramaiah, Guru's influence was not confined to Kerala.
"His historic dialogue with Mahatma Gandhi in 1925 altered the intellectual course of the freedom movement. It made Gandhiji confront a fundamental truth that “Caste is not cultural diversity, it is institutionalised injustice," he said.
Using the mango tree analogy, Guru revealed that though leaves differ, their essence is the same, making Mahatma Gandhi realise that caste and religion, not diversity, are the world's deepest social problems, the Karnataka CM said. Siddaramaiah also spoke about Guru's impact on Karnataka.
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"Though geographically rooted in Kerala, Guru's influence crossed linguistic and state boundaries, shaping reform movements along the Karnataka coast, especially in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, and parts of Malnad," he said.
He said the Billava, Elava, Ediga, Mogaveera, and other backward communities of coastal Karnataka drew inspiration from Guru's call for dignity, education, and organisation.
"His message strengthened anti-caste assertion and self-respect movements in the region. This is one of the main reasons for strong resistance to attempts by communal forces to divide the people in the region," he said.
The chief minister said Basavanna's Kayaka (dignified labour) finds a direct echo in Narayana Guru's insistence on economic self-reliance alongside spiritual growth.
"Basavanna democratised devotion through Vachanas, Narayana Guru democratized divinity itself, asserting that human beings' exclusions are not graded by birth, but equal by existence. Both transformed religion from a tool of exclusion into a language of social justice," he said.
Siddaramaiah opined that the Sivagiri Pilgrimage cannot remain a yearly ritual.
"It must become a continuous social movement," the chief minister said and called upon religious leaders to speak against hatred, scholars to take Guru's philosophy into classrooms, youth to challenge injustice, not inherit silence and political institutions to align governance with ethical values," he said.
Concluding his address, Siddaramaiah called for an India rooted in dignity, dialogue and equal humanity, saying this was the democratic vision shared by Narayana Guru, Mahatma Gandhi and the Sivagiri movement.
