Teething problems

There have been troubled tours in the history of Indian cricket,but it is safe to assume that when it comes to seamy incidents,internal rivalry, petty jealousy, gross mismanagement and a poorrecord, the 1936 tour of England is the yardstick by whichunhappy tours are judged. Everything that could go wrong with ateam on tour took place, and the largely self-created problemsengulfed the team and affected the morale of the players. Whichwas a pity for, man to man, there is little doubt that the 1936Indian team is one of the strongest to have gone on tour.It would seem unbelievable to today’s generation that a sideincluding the likes of CK Nayudu, Amar Singh, Mohammad Nissar,Wazir Ali, Lala Amarnath, Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Merchantshould end up with a dismal record of having just four victoriesin 28 first-class matches on the tour, losing 12 and drawing 12.Or that the three-match series should have been lost 0-2 with thevisitors going down by nine wickets in both the first and thirdTests, England having the better of the drawn second Test.For starters, the side was badly led by the Maharajah ofVizianagaram and managed by Maj Brittain-Jones. Four years ago,the prince appointed captain had graciously stepped down infavour of CK Nayudu. But ‘Vizzy,’ as he was popularly known,refused to do the same. Not only was he a passenger as a batsmanand fielder ­ his average for the three Tests was 8.25 – he alsohad very strong likes and dislikes, and allowed personal enmityto often get the better of him.Mushtaq Ali being offered a gold watch to run out Merchant, BaqaJilani getting his Test cap because he insulted CK Nayudu at thebreakfast table – these were the kind of incidents that marredthe tour. A bit of a dictator, Vizzy had in Brittain-Jones amartinet sidekick. The two ruled with an iron hand, and themanager was at his worst in the Lala Amarnath incident, when thestar all-rounder was sent packing home midway through the tour asa disciplinary measure.The inquiry that went into the seamy happenings of the tourtermed the action as ‘stern’ and exonerated Amarnath, but thedamage had been done. Under such circumstances, the players couldnot be expected to perform at their best. Also, some of thejealousy and distrust among the players that were evident fouryears ago continued ­ only this time more vehemently.With the atmosphere marred by suspicion, the dice was heavilyloaded against the visitors almost every time they stepped on tothe field ­ and particularly so in the Tests. The batting andbowling came under severe pressure under which both crumbled.England helped themselves to scores of 571 for eight declared inthe second Test at Manchester and 471 for eight declared in thethird Test at the Oval. They also dismissed India for scores of147, 93, 203 and 222. India, thanks to a deadly spell by AmarSingh, who took six for 35, took the first-innings lead in thefirst Test at Lord’s ­ the only time India did so till 1971 ­ butthe second-innings collapse meant that England could coast tovictory.But there were the proverbial silver linings. Predominant amongthese was the record 203-run opening stand between Mushtaq Aliand Merchant at Manchester. India were 368 runs behind on thefirst innings, but in dazzling fashion, they scored the runs injust two-and-a-half hours. It was ethereal batting that had thecritics groping for adjectives. Both openers got hundreds, withMushtaq’s being the first Test hundred by an Indian abroad.Then of course there was Nayudu’s courageous knock of 81 in thethird Test; incidentally it proved to be his last Test innings.Hit on the heart by an ultra-fast ball from the England captain’Gubby’ Allen, Nayudu not only stayed his ground after receivingmedical treatment for a brief while but counter-attacked in amanner that brought back memories of the Golden Age for oldtimers. Amar Singh’s spell of six for 35 that saw Englanddismissed for 134 was another highlight of the tour. Both Nissarand Amar Singh in fact lived up to their reputation, but they hadlittle support. The two shared 22 wickets in the three Tests,while all the other bowlers accounted for just six.Amar Singh had impressed Walter Hammond four years ago, and onthis tour he left a lasting impression on Len Hutton, then anestablished Yorkshire star and on the verge of getting hisEngland cap. Thirty-four years later, in an interview in Madras,Hutton recalled, “There is no better bowler in the world todaythan Amar Singh.”In first-class matches, Merchant was head and shoulders above histeammates. He scored 1,745 runs at an average of 51.32. Thisincluded 282 runs in the Tests. So classy and correct was hisbatting that Neville Cardus hailed him as the “Indians’ goodEuropean” and suggested that to solve their opening battingproblems in Australia during the winter, the England team take aphotograph of Merchant for inspiration. Nayudu (1,102) andMushtaq Ali (1,078) were the others to cross the 1,000-run mark.Among the bowlers, Nissar headed the averages, taking 66 wicketsat 25.13 apiece. Amar Singh by now was a popular and well-paidLancashire league professional and was released only for ahandful of matches, besides the three Tests.But England generally had things their own way. Hammond hadsuccessive knocks of 167 and 217, while Allen picked up 20wickets in the series. On the second day of the second Test, 588runs were scored ­ still the most runs scored in a day of Testcricket. Of these, England scored 398 runs for the loss of sixwickets while India replied with 190 for none.