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Craven's Maximum In Poland


2ndBender

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In the Poland v England test match at Wroclaw on 09 October 1960, Peter Craven scored a 21 point maximum. Does anyone know why he was allowed to take an extra ride? Surely 'tactical substitutions' were not allowed in 18 heat test matches at that time. Did the Ref just bend the rules, to allow the crowd to see one more brilliant ride? After all, there was no chance of Poland losing; they hammered England 68~39.

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He also scored 21 points in the second Test at Rybnik on 15 October. The only reference in the report in the 1961 Speedway Star Digest to his seven rides says, "In the first match at Wroclaw, Poland raced to a 68-39 victory. Peter Craven, given seven races, scored 21 of England's points. Craven repeated this feat in the second Test at Rybnik....." Poland won this match too 56-51. The strange thing is that England won the last Test (56-52) when Craven "only" scored 17 (from 6 rides).

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He also scored 21 points in the second Test at Rybnik on 15 October. The only reference in the report in the 1961 Speedway Star Digest to his seven rides says, "In the first match at Wroclaw, Poland raced to a 68-39 victory. Peter Craven, given seven races, scored 21 of England's points. Craven repeated this feat in the second Test at Rybnik....." Poland won this match too 56-51. The strange thing is that England won the last Test (56-52) when Craven "only" scored 17 (from 6 rides).

That 17 pointer was actually 17+1 so he was unbeaten by a Pole in the series. 2 years earlier his scores were 17, 18 and 17 all from 6 rides. Given how unfamiliar the tracks would have been to him and the relative strength of the Poles on their own circuits, it was an impressive feat to say the least. Another reason why he stands head and shoulders (metaphorically, given his diminutive stature) as the best Brit ever.

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  • 7 years later...

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