Partab Ramchand on the 1936 India tour of England
Partab Ramchand26-Jul-2007
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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 poor
record, the 1936 tour of England is the yardstick by which
unhappy tours are judged. Everything that could go wrong with a
team on tour took place, and the largely self-created problems
engulfed the team and affected the morale of the players. Which
was a pity for, man to man, there is little doubt that the 1936
Indian team is one of the strongest to have gone on tour.It would seem unbelievable to today’s generation that a side
including the likes of CK Nayudu, Amar Singh, Mohammad Nissar,
Wazir Ali, Lala Amarnath, Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Merchant
should end up with a dismal record of having just four victories
in 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 the
visitors going down by nine wickets in both the first and third
Tests, England having the better of the drawn second Test.For starters, the side was badly led by the Maharajah of
Vizianagaram and managed by Maj Brittain-Jones. Four years ago,
the prince appointed captain had graciously stepped down in
favour of CK Nayudu. But ‘Vizzy,’ as he was popularly known,
refused to do the same. Not only was he a passenger as a batsman
and fielder his average for the three Tests was 8.25 – he also
had very strong likes and dislikes, and allowed personal enmity
to often get the better of him.Mushtaq Ali being offered a gold watch to run out Merchant, Baqa
Jilani getting his Test cap because he insulted CK Nayudu at the
breakfast table – these were the kind of incidents that marred
the tour. A bit of a dictator, Vizzy had in Brittain-Jones a
martinet sidekick. The two ruled with an iron hand, and the
manager was at his worst in the Lala Amarnath incident, when the
star all-rounder was sent packing home midway through the tour as
a disciplinary measure.The inquiry that went into the seamy happenings of the tour
termed the action as ‘stern’ and exonerated Amarnath, but the
damage had been done. Under such circumstances, the players could
not be expected to perform at their best. Also, some of the
jealousy and distrust among the players that were evident four
years ago continued only this time more vehemently.With the atmosphere marred by suspicion, the dice was heavily
loaded against the visitors almost every time they stepped on to
the field and particularly so in the Tests. The batting and
bowling came under severe pressure under which both crumbled.
England helped themselves to scores of 571 for eight declared in
the second Test at Manchester and 471 for eight declared in the
third Test at the Oval. They also dismissed India for scores of
147, 93, 203 and 222. India, thanks to a deadly spell by Amar
Singh, who took six for 35, took the first-innings lead in the
first Test at Lord’s the only time India did so till 1971 but
the second-innings collapse meant that England could coast to
victory.But there were the proverbial silver linings. Predominant among
these was the record 203-run opening stand between Mushtaq Ali
and Merchant at Manchester. India were 368 runs behind on the
first innings, but in dazzling fashion, they scored the runs in
just two-and-a-half hours. It was ethereal batting that had the
critics groping for adjectives. Both openers got hundreds, with
Mushtaq’s being the first Test hundred by an Indian abroad.Then of course there was Nayudu’s courageous knock of 81 in the
third 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 receiving
medical treatment for a brief while but counter-attacked in a
manner that brought back memories of the Golden Age for oldtimers. Amar Singh’s spell of six for 35 that saw England
dismissed for 134 was another highlight of the tour. Both Nissar
and Amar Singh in fact lived up to their reputation, but they had
little 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 on
this tour he left a lasting impression on Len Hutton, then an
established Yorkshire star and on the verge of getting his
England cap. Thirty-four years later, in an interview in Madras,
Hutton recalled, “There is no better bowler in the world today
than Amar Singh.”In first-class matches, Merchant was head and shoulders above his
teammates. He scored 1,745 runs at an average of 51.32. This
included 282 runs in the Tests. So classy and correct was his
batting that Neville Cardus hailed him as the “Indians’ good
European” and suggested that to solve their opening batting
problems in Australia during the winter, the England team take a
photograph of Merchant for inspiration. Nayudu (1,102) and
Mushtaq Ali (1,078) were the others to cross the 1,000-run mark.
Among the bowlers, Nissar headed the averages, taking 66 wickets
at 25.13 apiece. Amar Singh by now was a popular and well-paid
Lancashire league professional and was released only for a
handful of matches, besides the three Tests.But England generally had things their own way. Hammond had
successive knocks of 167 and 217, while Allen picked up 20
wickets in the series. On the second day of the second Test, 588
runs were scored still the most runs scored in a day of Test
cricket. Of these, England scored 398 runs for the loss of six
wickets while India replied with 190 for none.
