Who is Connor Williams, the man whose only Test was stripped of international status?

Former cricketer Connor Williams celebrates his 50th birthday on Monday, August 7. A former left-handed batter from Baroda, Williams made his first-class debut in the 1995-96 season.

One of Indian domestic cricket’s most-renowned grafters, the former batter featured in 124 first-class matches and played 208 innings, scoring 7942 runs at an average of 39.90. Williams’ stats include 19 hundreds and 42 fifties and an impressive best of 237 not out. He had a long domestic career, which concluded in January 2011.

Apart from first-class games, Williams also featured in 57 List-A games, amassing 2087 runs at an average of 39.37, with three hundreds and 14 fifties to his name. The last game of his List-A career came in February 2007 in the Ranji One-Day Trophy match for Baroda against Mumbai.

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“Uncapped” despite Test debut - The strange case of Connor Williams

Most cricketers are renowned for their famous performances, while many also make news for failing to live up to their potential on the big stage. But Williams’ case is unique and somewhat bizarre as well.

He has played a Test for India, but the match does not feature in his official records as the International Cricket Council (ICC) had declared the Test match unofficial.

In a promising development, Williams was rewarded for some excellent domestic batting performances in the 2000-01 season. He scored 728 runs in eight matches at an average of 52, with one hundred and fifties.

Subsequently, he registered scores of 143 and 83 while leading Baroda in the 2001 Irani Trophy. Although the Rest of India won the match by six wickets, Williams had done enough to earn a place in the Indian team for the 2001 Test tour of South Africa.

He was handed a Test debut in the third match of the series at SuperSport Park in Centurion in the most controversial of circumstances. In the second Test played at St. George's Park in Port Elizabeth, match referee Mike Denness found six Indian players guilty of different offenses.

Virender Sehwag was banned for one Test match due to excessive appealing, and Sachin Tendulkar was handed a suspended ban of one Test Match over ball-tampering allegations. Sourav Ganguly, Harbhajan Singh, Shiv Sunder Das, and Deep Dasgupta were also among those who were handed suspended bans.

A massive controversy erupted and India threatened to call off its tour of South Africa unless Denness was replaced as match referee for the third Test. The ICC backed Denness, but the South African board had to, perhaps reluctantly, go with the BCCI. The host board replaced Denness with Denis Lindsay for the third and final Test of the series.

Since Sehwag was banned from the third Test, Williams made his debut in the game. However, it did not count as his Test debut as ICC declared the match "unofficial" due to the South African cricket board’s decision to replace Denness as match referee for the final Test.

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How did Connor Williams fare in the unofficial Test?

South Africa sent India into bat after winning the toss. Opening the innings, Williams failed in the first innings and was dismissed for 5 off 46 balls, trapped lbw by pacer Lance Klusener. India put up a poor batting show and were bowled out for 232 in 97.4 overs, with Shiv Sunder Das top-scoring with 46.

The Proteas responded with 566/8 declared in their first innings as Jacques Kallis (110) and Shaun Pollock (113) hit hundreds, while Gary Kirsten scored 90. India were bowled out for 261 in 84.1 overs in their second innings, Williams gave a much better account of himself, scoring 42 off 83 balls, an innings which consisted of seven fours. He again fell to Klusener.

Das again top-scored with 48, while Sachin Tendulkar scored 40. But it was not enough to save India from an innings and 73-run defeat. As for Williams, he never played another Test for India. In other words, he never officially represented the country.

In a column for ESPNcricinfo back in 2011, Shashi Tharoor referred to Williams as an “all-time Mr. Unlucky”. That pretty much sums up the cricketer’s brief brush with international cricket that finds no mention in the record books.