Ramesh Chand Saxena (20 September 1944 – 16 August 2011) was an Indian

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er who played in one Test match in 1967. He was a great batsman in the

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...

team and was a mentor to many young cricketers from Bihar and Jharkhand.

Life and career

Saxena made his first-class debut for

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

vs Southern Punjab as a 16-year-old in the 1960/61

, hitting an unbeaten 113 in his first first-class innings. He played for Delhi until 1965–66, then moved to

, playing for them from 1966–67 to 1981–82. He also played for North Zone and East Zone in the

Duleep Trophy The Duleep Trophy, is a domestic First Class Cricket competition played in India. Named after former cricketer Duleepsinhji, the competition has largely been contested by teams representing various geographical zones of India since the first ed ...

. His highest score was 202

not out In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at ...

for Bihar against

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

in 1969–70. He had the reputation of one of the best players of spin bowling in India. Saxena made his Test debut for India in a match against England in Leeds in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

. England batted first and declared on 550/4, with

Geoffrey Boycott Sir Geoffrey Boycott (born 21 October 1940) is a former Test cricketer, who played cricket for Yorkshire and England. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's m ...

scoring an unbeaten 246 and Saxena bowling 2 wicketless overs. He then opened with

Farokh Engineer Farokh Maneksha Engineer (born 25 February 1938) is an Indian former cricketer. He was a wicket-keeper-batsman, usually an opening batsman, who represented India in 46 Test matches from 1961 to 1975. In first-class cricket, he played for Bomba ...

in India's innings, but was out for just 9 as India were bowled out for 164 and forced to follow on. India put in an improved performance in the second innings, posting 510, but Saxena, batting at 7, only contributed 16. England then knocked off the required runs to seal a 6 wicket victory. He toured

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

with the Indian team later that year but did not play in any of the eight Test matches. He captained Bihar for five seasons and also captained East Zone several times in the

. Saxena served as a Test selector in the 1980s.''Wisden'', 2012, p. 220. He died in hospital after suffering a stroke and consequent illnesses. He left a wife and two sons.

References

External links

*
"Remembering Ramesh Saxena" by Clayton Murzello
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saxena, Ramesh 1944 births 2011 deaths Cricketers from Delhi India Test cricketers Indian cricketers 20th-century Indian sportsmen East Zone cricketers Bihar cricketers Delhi cricketers North Zone cricketers State Bank of India cricketers Indian Starlets cricketers