THE PONGAL MATCH

 

The Presidency Match of Madras, played at Chepauk between 1915 and 1952 was born of one Indian's desire to meet the Englishman on equal terms on the cricket ground, and try to vanquish him. As it turned out, the Indians won substantially more matches than the Europeans, and these were the two protagonists of this Pongal festival of cricket that drew large, enthusiastic audiences, in the days before Test matches.

It was Buchi Babu Nayudu, known as the father of Madras cricket, who conceived the idea of the Presidency Match, angered by the apartheid practised by the Madras Cricket Club, which required Indian players to sit under the tree and eat their lunch in the shade, while the Europeans enjoyed the comfort of the club's pavilion. It was this democratic and patriotic impulse that drove Buchi Babu to found the Madras United Club (MUC), and dream of an annual fixture between the rulers and the ruled.

Unfortunately, Buchi Babu died before the first Presidency Match in 1908. The match was organised by his trusted lieutenant B Subramaniam and the Indians were led by B S Ramulu Naidu. The MCC President, P W Partridge of King & Partridge, captained the Europeans, but the match had to be abandoned after a few hours as it rained heavily.

The Presidency Match was resumed only in 1915, this time R D Richmond and B Subramaniam leading the two rival teams. The big-hitting R B Carrick, R K Green, R D "Denny" Denniston, C G Plumer and E K Shattock were among the prominent Europeans, while besides Subramaniam, C Ranganathan, C R Ganapathi, N N Suvarna and the brothers Baliah, Bhat and Ramaswami, the sons of Buchi Babu, were the Indian stars.

The first match was drawn, the Indians making 199 and 304 for 7 and the Europeans 296 and 53 for 1. The successful players of the match were N N Suvarna (70), C R Ganapathi (57 not out), M Baliah (70 not out), R D Richmond (74) Plumer (66) and W O Newsam (54).

C Ramaswami, one Madras cricketer of yore who wrote extensively of his cricketing days, recalls that Richmond was an astute captain who often trapped Baliah and Ramaswami, by inviting them to loft the ball, something neither left hander could resist. Both were known to hit sixers and both tended to get out caught in the deep.

Ramaswami rated C R Ganapathi as "one of the best bowlers in India of the right arm medium paced type." "Immaculate in length with a good nip off the pitch, he always kept the batsman guessing since he could turn the ball both ways." This intriguing reference to the turn obtained by a bowler described as a medium pace bowler is a recurring theme, not only in Ramaswami's writing but also other cricket writers of the day.

About his brother Baliah's batting, "Ramu" says: "What a graceful and attractive left handed batsman! During my cricketing career of well over forty years, I had seen many left handed batsmen, but I have not come across one who could be compared with my late brother in the finer points of batsmanship — grace, power and style. I found only Frank Woolley of Kent equally attractive."

According to Ramaswami, the first five years of the Pongal match were dominated by B Subramaniam, C Ranganathan, C R Ganapathi, Thangavelu and "we three brothers" on the Indian side, and Richmond, Carrick, Denniston, Green and Shattock among the Europeans. "Young Thangavelu, poor in constitution, was a good left hand all rounder with a sound defence and of medium pace. "On him and C R Ganapathi, the Indians depended for their attack."

To continue with Ramu's narrative, "The Presidency Match of 1917 was of special interest to me. A student of the Presidency College, I was participating for the second year in a representative match. A medium fast right arm bowler from Bangalore who had a reputation for accurate bowling — Captain Britton Jones —had arrived to assist the Europeans. Even though we had never heard of such terms as swing bowling, cutters etc., Britton Jones must have bowled swingers with the new ball and in this match, he had created a sensation by disposing of a few of the Indian batsmen for small totals in quick succession. The skipper B Subramaniam had withstood the onslaught of Britton Jones and I joined him at the wicket      at a critical stage. My concentration and determination enabled me to assist my skipper to score between us a hundred runs for the fifth wicket, my contribution being 92. I was a victim of the R D Richmond-R B Carrick combination. I traced my way back to the pavilion when with my score at 92,1 lifted the wily delivery of the European skipper as planned by him into the safe hands of R B Carrick at long-on boundary promptly to be neatly held. That day was a proud day for me and for the valuable innings I had played in the match, I was presented with a silver cup by Sri P S Muthu Mudaliar, who was the captain of the MUC then." The Indians won that match by five wickets.

C K Nayudu played for the Indians in 1920-21, and made a spectacular 128. In that match, the Colonel was reported to have hit a ball so far that it landed in a coconut grove some 50 yards from the Chepauk ground, a distance in all of 150 yards from the crease. Nayudu completely eclipsed C K Krishnaswami Pillai who made 120 in the match and was involved in a big partnership with him.

In 1922 arrived Oxford Blue H P Ward, whose "hearty hits to the squareleg and the long-on will ever remain in the memories of those who played with and against him and also watched him score heavily for the Europeans." Ramaswami also found him to be a wicket keeper unequalled in his time.

Penfold was another Englishman who arrived in Madras hereabouts and with considerable help from Ward, became an accurate medium pacer, to have quite an impact in the Presidency Matches. His inswingers often trapped Nayudu in the legslip   area, something Ramaswami attributes to Ward's shrewd captaincy.

Ren Nailer was perhaps the most exciting batsman to turn out for the Europeans in the Presidency match, though of Eurasian descent. "Unorthodox in his execution of the shots, his keen eyesight and powerful wrists enabled him to play with consummate ease shots to cover and extra cover. When he played against Gilligan's team for Madras and hit Maurice Tate and other bowlers of repute all over the field, Tate ventured to remark that Nailer's runs were lucky to be got and that they were not the result of good hitting. Tate was also confident that Nailer would not be allowed to score even a single in the second innings. Ren however proved to Tate that his judgement was wrong and proceeded to hit him all over the field in the second innings also. Medium paced bowling had given him quite a bag of wickets in the Presidency Matches. Nailer minus his batting and bowling would have found a place for his fielding alone in any representative side. Ren had kept up his interest in the Presidency Matches by playing for the longest period — twentynine years in the series."

C P Johnstone, a senior of Ramaswami in Pembroke College, a double Cambridge Blue in cricket and golf, and a Kent cricketer, came to Madras in 1925 from Calcutta. According to Ramaswami, if Johnstone had not chosen to come away to India, he might have played for England, even become the captain, so highly did he rate his all round ability. "He signalled his appearance in the Madras Presidency Match in 1926 with a score of 135 runs."

Ramu, like many others who played with Johnstone, described him as a grand batsman to watch, a fine left handed opener with a penchant for cover drives, once he got over his nervous starts. He was a magnificent slip fielder, too, and a more than useful "off spin" bowler. (This is again a confusing categorization, as Johnstone often opened the bowling). According to Ramu, "his wickets were bagged by clever changes of flight, pace and length."

"During his stay at Madras for well over twentythree years, Johnstone had endeared himself to all the cricketers and cricket enthusiasts of Madras because of his genuine interest in the improvement of the game in Madras. As the President of the Madras Cricket Association for a number of years, his ardent enthusiasm enabled him to contribute not a little to the organisation of the cricket programme in Madras."

Johnstone it was who decided that young M J Gopalan's was a precious talent worth nurturing and appointed him as an employee of Burmah Shell, so that he would enjoy the job security that would enable him to play cricket without a worry. Gopalan made his Pongal Match debut in 1927 and took ten wickets in the match. An aggressive batsman, Gopalan could hit sixes at will, according to Ramaswami, bowled a good length and moved the ball both ways. Partnering him from the other end for the next four years was the steady C K Lakshmanan.

Like Johnstone an MCC president, C N Reed played for the Europeans from 1938 till the last Presidency Match in 1952. He was an attractive batsman whose off drives were his trade mark.

A G Ram Singh played his first Presidency Match in 1931. In Ramaswami's words, "Till he got set, he always preferred to get most of his runs behind the wickets, and with his eye in, hooked and drove hard. Bowling medium slows, his clever change of pace, flight and length obtained him many wickets. Like Vinoo Mankad of the present day, he was a great trier who could be relied on to go on bowling a number of overs without giving away many runs."

A V Krishnaswami was a right handed opening batsman whose 71 and 100 in the 1937 Presidency Match gave him a star status in the series. He was a consistent batsman who combined a sound defence with judicious aggression but often complained of poor health. According to his contemporaries, it did not seem to affect his cricket overly. He was known for his "crisp cuts and leg glances."

From 1937 to 1941, the Presidency Match was illuminated by the delightful presence of that entertaining all rounder G Parthasarathi, "GP" to everyone. "He believed in using the long handle and particularly delighted in scorching hits to the onside. Using his height to advantage — the high trajectory of his bowling was an additional force to encounter for every batsman—this very good right arm spinner mixed his googlies with his leg breaks and made the ball come off the pitch sharply. On a turning wicket, his bowling was a potential danger and many a time has he run through sides without giving away runs."

The express fast bowler from Triplicane who went on to tour Australia with Lala Amarnath's Indians, C R Rangachari, had a memorable Presidency Match in 1941, when he took eight wickets in the match. Rangachari was a tireless fast bowler, who also took brilliant catches close-in and could bat obdurately on occasion at No. 11. His round arm action caused the ball to keep low and facilitated late outswing.

S V T Chari and M O Srinivasan were good wicket keepers like H P Ward. Chari "would have gone very high and played for India if he had not given up cricket as soon as he passed out of Medical College, to devote attention seriously to his profession. "MO" was quiet and stylish, useful as an opening bat." Both played for India in unofficial Tests.

The advent of the Ranji Trophy, and the exodus of Europeans from Madras as independence approached, meant the gradual decline in the popularity of the Presidency Match. The younger Englishmen, who arrived in Madras in the late thirties and early forties, did not show the same enthusiasm for cricket as their predecessors. By the time the fifties rolled in, the Pongal festival match was close to extinction. The last match, in 1952, was “an apology for the genuine spirit of this contest." Neither side was fully representative and the match never rose to great heights. Thus ended a glorious chapter of         Madras cricket.

Sir Robert Denniston, an MCC president who played cricket and hockey with great enthusiasm, recalls his experiences in the Presidency Match with fond memories:

"I have been browsing among the score sheets of old Presidency Matches and I find that I have seen almost every ball bowled in every match but three. And every one of these 75 happy days in the sun and the pavilion holds a memory.

Let us go back to the early days of the contest and recall the innings of some of the old stalwarts. Of old Subramaniam who always seemed to have a cracked bat, which did not prevent him from being a thorn in the flesh of the Europeans for many a year. How difficult he was to get out! His best performance was probably in 1919 when he carried his side to victory with an innings of 104 not out. The Indians wanted 210 runs to win, and got them for the loss of 6 wickets — perhaps the best performance of the series. The following year, the tables were turned, and Parsons of Warwickshire, cricket professional, soldier, and clergyman, improved the shining hour pending his demobilisation by taking 12 wickets for 115 runs — a performance only beaten by Ganapathy and Ram Singh in later years. The year 1921 saw the first of a number of joyous innings by C K Nayudu, and C K Krishnaswami — a delightful offside player — also got a century, and the Indians won in an innings.

I remember the next match because the day before, an acquaintance came to see me and said, "Here's a bat for you to make 100 with tomorrow." I opened the innings, was caught at the wicket first ball and given not out by a friendly little man in a turban, and was not out at lunch time. Alas! The magic properties of the bat had vanished and that hundred still eludes me. The game ended in a rather tame draw.

A low scoring match in 1923 was memorable for Ganapathy's 11 wickets for 70 runs and the Indians won by 10 wickets. The following year, Ganapathy, besides taking 8 wickets, blossomed forth as a batsman and made 75 runs, mostly of the Chinese variety, and the Europeans were overwhelmed. They came into their own the next year in spite of a first innings score of 66 (Ganapathy 7 for 15) and a fine recovery, in which Carrick scored 98, enabled them to win by 125 runs. The Europeans won again in 1926, thanks to centuries by Johnstone and Carrick and some splendid bowling by Penfold who took 8 for 43 in the second innings. A magnificent catch by Summerhayes settled the issue for C K Nayudu, having made 89 in the first innings was batting with the utmost confidence in the second, and drove a ball hard to Summerhayes at wide midoff, and he took a fast travelling, swerving ball with supreme confidence.

The next year saw a high scoring match left drawn. H P Ward made a superb 173 towards the Europeans' first innings which remained a record for precisely twentyfour hours, Sivasankaran obliging with an equally admirable 174. Johnstone's 6 for 65 in an innings of 485 was notable. Another drawn match followed, Ward scoring 90 and 99, the latter innings containing five sixes. All round work by Gopalan saved the Indians from defeat. A low scoring match in 1929 was won by the Europeans, with Ward, who about this time could do nothing wrong, being top scorer with 80. Penfold took 5 wickets for 13. The next match saw the closest finish of the series, the Indians winning by 10 runs. Venkataramanujulu and Suvarna made 76 and 82 respectively and Jagannathan took 11 wickets for 88 runs.

The year 1931 saw Ram Singh's first appearance, when he gave little indication of the menace he was to prove in later years. The Europeans made the huge score of 570 for 7 wickets and won by an innings, the Indians twice scoring 282, Suvarna playing a couple of fine innings and the Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram playing a plucky second innings of 66. This was J W A Stephenson's first appearance for the Europeans and he made 117 and took 6 wickets. Stephenson subsequently did great things in county cricket in England, and I saw him captaining Essex in 1939.

The European batting strength about this period was most formidable and in 1932, Ward and Nailer scored hundreds in a total of 425. Palia produced what is almost the best all round performance in the series and was on the field almost throughout the three days of the match, which ended in a draw. After bowling 45 overs for 7 wickets and 109 runs, Palia proceeded to make 65 and 143. The next year, it was Shahabuddin's match and the Europeans were overwhelmed by an innings, C K Nayudu scoring 139 and Shahabuddin taking 13 wickets for 63 runs. There was little of outstanding note in the 1934 match which the Europeans won by 31 runs, but Ram Singh gave signs that a valuable all rounder was in the making. This fact he demonstrated to the full the following year when he contributed towards a European rout by making 70 and taking 13 wickets for 48 runs. Hereabouts the Europeans were not a strong side and a further defeat awaited in 1937, A V Krishnaswami playing two solid innings of 71 and 100. A high scoring match next year was left drawn, Nailer, Reed, and Ram Singh scoring hundreds. Gopalan and G Parthasarathi, in a splendid sixth wicket stand, saved the Indians when all seemed lost. In 1939, the Indians won by 4 wickets, thanks to admirable all round play by Ram Singh, and despite skilful bowling by Spitteler, who took 9 wickets for 82 runs. A similar result was seen the following year when a century —his first in the series —by C Ramaswami and two glorious innings by Nailer were the chief features. Ram Singh took his usual ten wickets and Spitteler again bowled well. The Indians won again in 1941, but there were no special features except that there were ten wickets once more for Ram Singh, and Vesey-Brown bowled equally well for the Europeans.

In 1942, with the majority of their young men on active service, the Europeans were unable to raise a side, but at the end of the year it was found possible to play a two-day match, and though the Europeans won it in the end by the comfortable margin of 8 wickets, it was a match of strange fluctuations of fortune and the time factor added to the excitement. The Indians made 268, with M Swaminathan — quick on his feet —Ram Singh and Gopalan batting well for 56, 54 and 89. The Europeans replied with 242 which might have been more had Johnstone not been run out for 75. De Kretser, Robinson and Mischler scored usefully. In the second innings the Indians collapsed before Robinson (slow leg breaks) and Blunt (fast medium) and the Europeans looked to be winning easily, but Srinivasan and Parankusam put on 47 invaluable runs for the eighth wicket, "Pincushion" batting like a No. 1 batsman. They were both victims of superb fielding, Nailer throwing Parankusam's wicket down from the long field, and Srinivasan falling to an astonishing catch by Lindley Jones on the square leg boundary. He ran 20 yards or so, took the ball low down, turned a somersault or two and managed to retain the ball. The Europeans had to hurry, and at one time were behind the clock, but after Johnstone and Edge had put on 57, Robinson and Nailer came together and by the brightest cricket in the match added 48 runs and won the match with about 3 minutes to spare.

Whether a Presidency Match will be possible this year remains to be seen, but if so, numerous changes are likely in the European side, since army cricketers are birds of passage. Perhaps by the end of next year we shall once more be enjoying a peacetime Presidency Match. I have a feeling that Indian cricket in Madras is rather standing still, but once we can get a full season's cricket unmarred by war conditions young cricketers will have their opportunity."

According to S K Gurunathan of The Hindu, writing in 1955, "The standard of cricket witnessed in these matches was very high — sometimes higher than the present day Test matches —and we had on both sides players whose skill would shine in the highest company in any part of the world. This series of matches was in those days looked upon as the biggest event of the year and the goal and ambition of every budding cricketer was to play in these matches some day. The Presidency Match necessarily played a great part in the development of the game in Madras."

Gurunathan calls the years between the two great wars the most decisive period in the history of the MCA. He connects the formation of the Board of Control for Cricket in India to the 1926 tour of India undertaken by the A E R Gilligan-led official Marylebone Cricket Club team. The team played three matches at Madras, in which veteran C R Ganapathi and young M J Gopalan showed glimpses of the past and the future with their sparkling performances.

At the end of that tour, Gurunathan says, Gilligan suggested that a Board of Control for Cricket in India be formed so that organised cricket might come to India. His suggestion was immediately accepted and the board was formed with R E Grant-Govan and A S de Mello at the helm. Soon member associations were formed in various provinces.

The Madras Cricket Association, formed in 1930, had three members: the MUC representing Indian clubs, the Anglo-Indian Sports Club, and the Madras Cricket Club, the "European" club. Sir Daniel Richmond of MCC was the first president of the MCA — and this practice of the MCC president heading MCA continued into independent India —while B Subramaniam and Buchi Babu's son M "Bhat" Venkataramanujulu were members.

MCA then came to life only at the time of visits by touring teams like Douglas Jardine's MCC in 1938 and Jack Ryder's Australian XI in 1935.

The Presidency Match was conducted under the joint auspices of MUC and MCC, and when gates were collected for the first time in 1921, the two clubs shared the proceeds.

 

As the Indian team for the Pongal match was selected by MUC and South India Athletic Association (SIAA) "without consultations with the other Indian clubs, there was widespread dissatisfaction."

This dissatisfaction led to the formation on April 10, 1932, of the Indian Cricket Federation (ICF), embracing 20 clubs. Their representatives assembled at Emmanuel Club and at a meeting chaired by Prof. C K Krishnaswami Pillai —the C K Krishnaswami whose offside batting Sir Robert Denniston describes as delightful — the following were elected to office:

President: Dr P Subbaroyan

Secretary & Treasurer: T Govindarajulu

Asst. Secretary: C D Parthasarathi

MCC, MUC and SIAA abstained and did not join ICF, promoted with great zeal by Govindarajulu of Emmanuel Club.

The first league championship of Madras was instituted by ICF. The

18 teams        that participated in the first season were:

1.                            Triplicane Cricket Club (Winners)

2.                            The Madras Emmanuel Club

3.                            The Mylapore Recreation Club

4.                            The Minerva Cricket Club

5.                            The Chepauk United Club

6.                            The Madras Eastern Club

7.                            The Nowroji-Gokhale Union

8.                            Mambalam Cricket Club

9.                            The Madras Aryan Club

10.                      Progressive Union

11.                      The City Central League

12.                      The Mars Union

13.                      Trades Staff Club

14.                      The Royapettah Students' Club

15.                      Perambur Recreation Club

16.                      Corporation Sports Club

17.                      The Postal and RMS Recreation Club

18.                      The B & C Mills Athletic Association