Top Bowlers in Test Cricket between the two World Wars

 

Clarrie Grimmett

Maurice Tate

Hedley Verity

Bill O'Reilly

Top Bowlers in Test Cricket between the two World Wars

The giants among bowlers between the two World Wars were the Australian leg-spin, googly duo of Clarrie Grimmett and Bill O’Reilly. Essentially a part of the dominant Bradman era. Between them they captured 352 wickets in this period. O’Reilly played one Test in 1946, bagging another 8 wickets. The English reposte came from the right-arm fast-medium Maurice Tate, who also bowled off-spin, and the slow left-arm orthodox Hedley Verity. They prised out 299 wickets during this period. These are the only four bowlers who bagged 100 wickets in the inter-war phase, and at fine averages ranging between 23.68 and 26.16.

The Aussie leg-break and googly specialist Arthur Mailey and the England’s left-arm fast-medium Bill Voce just missed out, snaring 99 and 97 wickets respectively. Voce took one more wicket after the war. The Australian slow left-armer Bert Ironmonger had the best average at 17.97 for his 74 wickets.

The best figures in an innings was 9 for 121 by Arthur Mailey against England at Melbourne in 1920-21. Hedley Verity had an analysis of 8 for 43 against Australia at Lord’s in 1934. The English slow left-arm orthodox Jack White took 8 for 126 against Australia at Adelaide in 1928-29.

The top haul in a Test was 15 for 104 by Verity against Australia at Lord’s in 1934, in what came to be known as ‘Verity’s Test’. This was followed by two superb analyses by Grimmett against South Africa four years apart. He captured 14 for 199 at Adelaide in 1931-32 and 13 for 173 at Durban in 1935-36. Mailey’s match figures against England at Melbourne in 1920-21 were 13 for 236. White, on his part, completed the Test versus Australia at Adelaide in 1928-29 with 13 for 256.

The first hat-trick came from the English right-arm medium-pacer Maurice Allom against New Zealand at Christchurch in 1929-30. England’s off-spinner Tom Goddard followed versus South Africa at Johannesburg in 1938-39.

The English fast bowling foursome Harold Larwood, Bill Voce, Gubby Allen and Bill Bowes captured 318 wickets between them in the inter-war period at fine averages in the 20s.

TOP WICKET-TAKERS (minimum 50 wickets)

Clarrie Grimmett (Australia, legbreak googly) 1925-36, Tests 37, Balls 14513, Wickets 216, Average 24.21, BBI 7/40, BBM 14/199, 5WI 21, 10WM 7

Maurice Tate (England, right-arm fast-medium, medium, offbreak) 1924-35, Tests 39, Balls 12523, Wickets 155, Average 26.16, BBI 6/42, BBM 11/228, 5WI 7, 10WM 1

Hedley Verity (England, slow left-arm orthodox) 1931-39, Tests 40, Balls 11173, Wickets 144, Average 24.37, BBI 8/43, BBM 15/104, 5WI 5, 10WM 2

Bill O’Reilly (Australia, legbreak googly) 1932-38, Tests 26, Balls 9910, Wickets 136, Average 23.68, BBI 7/54, BBM 11/129, 5WI 10, 10WM 3

Arthur Mailey (Australia, legbreak googly) 1920-26, Tests 21, Balls 6119, Wickets 99, Average 33.91, BBI 9/121, BBM 13/236, 5WI 6, 10WM 2

Bill Voce (England, left-arm fast-medium) 1930-37, Tests 24, Balls 5852, Wickets 97, Average 26.04, BBI 7/70, BBM 11/149, 5WI 3, 10WM 2

Jack Gregory (Australia, right-arm fast) 1920-28, Tests 24, Balls 5582, Wickets 85, Average 31.15, BBI 7/69, BBM 8/101, 5WI 4, 10WM –

Cyril Vincent (South Africa, slow left-arm orthodox) 1927-35, Tests 25, Balls 5851, Wickets 84, Average 31.32, BBI 6/51, BBM 8/149, 5WI 3, 10WM –

Wally Hammond (England, right-arm medium-fast) 1927-39, Tests 77, Balls 7963, Wickets 83, Average 37.77, BBI 5/36, BBM 7/87, 5WI 2, 10WM -

Harold Larwood (England, right-arm fast) 1926-33, Tests 21, Balls 4969, Wickets 78, Average 28.35, BBI 6/32, BBM 10/124, 5WI 4, 10WM 1

Gubby Allen (England, right-arm fast) 1930-37, Tests 22, Balls 4116, Wickets 76, Average 28.60, BBI 7/80, BBM 10/78, 5WI 5, 10WM 1

Bert Ironmonger (Australia, slow left-arm orthodox) 1928-33, Tests 14, Balls 4695, Wickets 74, Average 17.97, BBI 7/23, BBM 11/24, 5WI 4, 10WM 2

Bill Bowes (England, right-arm fast-medium, medium) 1932-39, Tests 14, Balls 3481, Wickets 67, Average 21.58, BBI 6/33, BBM 9/219, 5WI 6, 10WM –

AP ‘Tich’ Freeman (England, legbreak googly) 1924-29, Tests 12, Balls 3732, Wickets 66, Average 25.86, BBI 7/71, BBM 12/171, 5WI 5, 10WM 3

Walter Robins (England, legbreak) 1929-37, Tests 19, Balls 3318, Wickets 64, Average 27.46, BBI 6/32, BBM 7/68, 5WI 1, 10WM –

Ken Farnes (England, right-arm fast) 1934-39, Tests 15, Balls 3932, Wickets 60, Average 28.65, BBI 6/96, BBM 10/179, 5WI 3, 10WM 1

Learie Constantine (West Indies, right-arm fast, medium) 1928-39, Tests 18, Balls 3583, Wickets 58, Average 30.10, BBI 5/75, BBM 9/122, 5WI 2, 10WM –

Tim Wall (Australia, right-arm fast) 1929-34, Tests 18, Balls 4812, Wickets 56, Average 35.89, BBI 5/14, BBM 8/189, 5WI 3, 10WM –

EP ‘Buster’ Nupen (South Africa, right-arm fast-medium) 1921-36, Tests 17, Balls 4159, Wickets 50, Average 35.76, BBI 6

FULL CAREER

Bill O’Reilly (Australia) 1932-46, Tests 27, Balls 10024, Wickets 144, Average 22.59, BBI 7/54, BBM 11/129, 5WI 11, 10WM 3

Bill Voce (England) 1930-47, Tests 27, Balls 6360, Wickets 98, Average 27.88, BBI 7/70, BBM 11/149, 5WI 3, 10WM 2

Wally Hammond (England) 1927-47, Tests 85, Balls 7969, Wickets 83, Average 37.80, BBI 5/36, BBM 7/87, 5WI 2, 10WM –

Gubby Allen (England) 1930-48, Tests 25, Balls 4386, Wickets 81, Average 29.37, BBI 7/80, BBM 10/78, 5WI 5, 10WM 1

Bill Bowes (England) 1932-46, Tests 15, Balls 3655, Wickets 68, Average 22.33, BBI 6/33, BBM 9/219, 5WI 6, 10WM –

BEST AVERAGES (minimum 50 wickets)

Bert Ironmonger (Australia) 1928-33, Tests 14, Balls 4695, Wickets 74, Average 17.97, BBI 7/23, BBM 11/24, 5WI 4, 10WM 2

Bill Bowes (England) 1932-39, Tests 14, Balls 3481, Wickets 67, Average 21.58, BBI 6/33, BBM 9/219, 5WI 6, 10WM –

Bill O’Reilly (Australia) 1932-38, Tests 26, Balls 9910, Wickets 136, Average 23.68, BBI 7/54, BBM 11/129, 5WI 10, 10WM 3

Clarrie Grimmett (Australia) 1925-36, Tests 37, Balls 14513, Wickets 216, Average 24.21, BBI 7/40, BBM 14/199, 5WI 21, 10WM 7

Hedley Verity (England) 1931-39, Tests 40, Balls 11173, Wickets 144, Average 24.37, BBI 8/43, BBM 15/104, 5WI 5, 10WM 2

AP ‘Tich’ Freeman (England) 1924-29, Tests 12, Balls 3732, Wickets 66, Average 25.86, BBI 7/71, BBM 12/171, 5WI 5, 10WM 3

Bill Voce (England) 1930-37, Tests 24, Balls 5852, Wickets 97, Average 26.04, BBI 7/70, BBM 11/149, 5WI 3, 10WM 2

Maurice Tate (England) 1924-35, Tests 39, Balls 12523, Wickets 155, Average 26.16, BBI 6/42, BBM 11/228, 5WI 7, 10WM 1

Walter Robins (England) 1929-37, Tests 19, Balls 3318, Wickets 64, Average 27.46, BBI 6/32, BBM 7/68, 5WI 1, 10WM –

Harold Larwood (England) 1926-33, Tests 21, Balls 4969, Wickets 78, Average 28.35, BBI 6/32, BBM 10/124, 5WI 4, 10WM 1

Gubby Allen (England) 1930-37, Tests 22, Balls 4116, Wickets 76, Average 28.60, BBI 7/80, BBM 10/78, 5WI 5, 10WM 1

Ken Farnes (England) 1934-39, Tests 15, Balls 3932, Wickets 60, Average 28.65, BBI 6/96, BBM 10/179, 5WI 3, 10WM 1

Learie Constantine (West Indies) 1928-39, Tests 18, Balls 3583, Wickets 58, Average 30.10, BBI 5/75, BBM 9/122, 5WI 2, 10WM –

Jack Gregory (Australia) 1920-28, Tests 24, Balls 5582, Wickets 85, Average 31.15, BBI 7/69, BBM 8/101, 5WI 4, 10WM –

Cyril Vincent (South Africa) 1927-35, Tests 25, Balls 5851, Wickets 84, Average 31.32, BBI 6/51, BBM 8/149, 5WI 3, 10WM –

Arthur Mailey (Australia) 1920-26, Tests 21, Balls 6119, Wickets 99, Average 33.91, BBI 9/121, BBM 13/236, 5WI 6, 10WM 2

EP ‘Buster’ Nupen (South Africa) 1921-36, Tests 17, Balls 4159, Wickets 50, Average 35.76, BBI 6/46, BBM 11/150, 5WI 5, 10WM 1

Tim Wall (Australia) 1929-34, Tests 18, Balls 4812, Wickets 56, Average 35.89, BBI 5/14, BBM 8/189, 5WI 3, 10WM –

Wally Hammond (England) 1927-39, Tests 77, Balls 7963, Wickets 83, Average 37.77, BBI 5/36, BBM 7/87, 5WI 2, 10WM -

Jack White just missed the 50-wickets mark, ending up with 49 wickets at 32.26 in his decade-long 15-Test career from 1921 to 1931.

Among those who took between 25 and 49 wickets, the best averages were achieved by South Africa’s right-arm fast bowler George Bissett who played four Tests in only one series against England in 1927-28. He bagged 25 wickets at 18.76 apiece. England’s right-arm medium-pacer Alex Kennedy too played 5 Tests in just the series against South Africa in 1922-23. His tally was 31 wickets at 19.32.

The West Indies fast bowler Manny Martindale was next in the averages in this category with 37 wickets at 21.72 in 10 Tests between 1933 and 1939. He formed a fearsome fast bowling pair with Learie Constantine who took 58 wickets at an average of 30.10 in 18 Tests from 1928 to 1939.

The Indian duo of Mohammad Nissar and Amar Singh, both right-arm fast-medium, played in series against England between 1932 and 1936. Nissar captured 25 wickets at 28.28 in 6 Tests, while Amar Singh bagged 28 wickets at 30.64 In 7 Tests.

21-Gun Salute Vintage and Classic Cars Concours 2025

 

Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost 1922 Windovers - Best car of the show.

It was a surreal drive back in time at the 21-Gun Salute Vintage and Classic Cars Concours, held in the enchanting environs of the Ambience Island golf course, Gurgaon from 21st to 23rd February 2025.

There was a splendid array of vintage and classic cars. It was particularly delightful to see the exquisite collection of Rolls-Royce, Bentley and MG cars, and some rare ones like Cord and Tatra. There was also a range of motorcycles and scooters. They were all beautifully restored, but there were a few cars in pristine, unrestored condition, still running beautifully. This photo feature will evoke nostalgia among connoisseurs of heritage cars.

Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost 1922 Windovers - Best car of the show.

Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost 1922 Windovers - Best car of the show.

Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost 1926 of Shrivardhan Kanoria.

Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost 1926 of Shrivardhan Kanoria.

Rolls-Royce Phantom II 1930.

Rolls-Royce.

Bentley.

Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow 1970.

Indra Vikram Singh with Dhananjay Badamikar and his Fiat.

Fiat 1100 Elegant 1956

Veteran Ford.

Cord 1930.

MGs.

Tatra 603 from Czechoslavia.

The car of the show, the magnificent ex-Mayurbhanj State Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost 1922 reminded me of the Silver Ghost 1921 #32UG Hooper Phaeton of my grandfather Maharaja Vijaysinhji of Rajpipla. A link to my article on this car is given below:

https://singhiv.wordpress.com/2021/01/01/hundred-years-of-rolls-royce-silver-ghost-1921-32ug-of-maharaja-vijaysinhji-of-rajpipla/

There were judges and comperes from around the world who did a thoroughly professional job.

Those interested in vintage and classic cars rallies and concours may like to know that my grandfather Maharana Chhatrasinhji of Rajpipla participated in what was perhaps the first car rally in India, the Bombay to Mahabaleshwar rally in 1906 in his Clement-Bayard 16 hp car. Another link to my article on  this rally is given below:

https://singhiv.wordpress.com/2025/02/21/participation-of-maharana-chhatrasinhji-of-rajpipla-in-bombay-to-mahabaleshwar-car-rally-in-1906/

As the golden sunshine made way for late winter evening chill, the grand finale was the prize distribution ceremony. The winning cars and two-wheelers and their owners and restorers drove jubilantly up the ramp to applause all round. It was indeed a great ride down memory lane for car aficionados.

Top Batsmen in Test Cricket between the two World Wars

 

That Don Bradman dominated the batting landscape like a colossus between the two World Wars is stating the obvious. The Australian icon was the second-highest run-getter during this period, with 5093 runs in 37 Tests with 21 hundreds and 8 fifties. The English off-side powerhouse Wally Hammond amassed 6883 runs in 77 Tests, playing 70 more innings than Bradman, hitting up 22 hundreds and 22 fifties. 

Needless to say, Bradman averaged far higher than anyone else between the two wars, and indeed any other period in Test history. His average was 97.94, customary by his standards.

The next in terms of averages during this period, were names that would surprise no one:

Charlie ‘Governor-General’ Macartney, audacious Australian stroke-player, at 69.55 for his 1252 runs in 14 Tests.

Len Hutton, record-breaking English opener at 67.25 for his 1345 runs in 13 Tests.

George Headley, pioneer among West Indies greats, at 66.71 for his 2135 runs in 19 Tests.

Hammond at 61.45.

Herbert Sutcliffe, the resolute English opener at 60.73 for his 4555 runs in 54 Tests.

Eddie Paynter, England’s left-hander, at 59.23 for his 1540 runs in 20 Tests.

Jack Hobbs, the original master at 56.63 for his 2945 runs in 33 Tests.

Jack Ryder of Australia at 51.62 for his 1394 runs in 32 Tests.  

Among batsmen who just missed scoring 1000 runs were three who represented England:

K.S. Duleepsinhji at 58.52 for his 995 runs in 12 Tests.

CAG ‘Jack’ Russell at 56.87 for his 910 runs in 10 Tests.

George Ernest Tyldesley at 55.00 for his 990 runs in 14 Tests. 

The top-rungetters between the wars with at least 2000 runs were:

Wally Hammond (England), Tests 77, Highest Score 336*, Runs 6883, Average 61.45, Hundreds 22, Fifties 22

Don Bradman (Australia), Tests 37, Highest Score 334, Runs 5093, Average 97.94, Hundreds 21, Fifties 8

Herbert Sutcliffe (England), Tests 54, Highest Score 194, Runs 4555, Average 60.73, Hundreds 16, Fifties 23

Patsy Hendren (England), Tests 51, Highest Score 205*, Runs 3525, Average 47.63, Hundreds 7, Fifties 21

Jack Hobbs (England), Tests 33, Highest Score 211, Runs 2945, Average 56.63, Hundreds 10, Fifties 12

Maurice Leyland (England), Tests 41, Highest Score 187, Runs 2764, Average 46.06, Hundreds 9, Fifties 10

Stan McCabe (Australia), Tests 39, Highest Score 232, Runs 2748, Average 48.21, Hundreds 6, Fifties 13

Leslie Ames (England), Tests 47, Highest Score 149, Runs 2434, Average 40.56, Hundreds 8, Fifties 7

Bruce Mitchell (South Africa), Tests 32, Highest Score 164*, Runs 2399, Average 45.26, Hundreds 5, Fifties 15

Frank Woolley (England), Tests 42, Highest Score 154, Runs 2346, Average 37.83, Hundreds 4, Fifties 15

Bill Woodfull (Australia), Tests 35, Highest Score 161, Runs 2300, Average 46.00, Hundreds 7, Fifties 13

Herbie Taylor (South Africa), Tests 31, Highest Score 176, Runs 2234, Average 42.96, Hundreds 6, Fifties 13

George Headley (West Indies), Tests 19, Highest Score 270*, Runs 2135, Average 66.71, Hundreds 10, Fifties 5

Bill Ponsford (Australia), Tests 29, Highest Score 266, Runs 2122, Average 48.22, Hundreds 7, Fifties 6

What emerges from these figures is that there was no decline in the performances of the inimitable Don Bradman even after the seven-year break due to the Second World War. The same is true for the opening batsman par excellence Jack Hobbs who was brilliant either side of the First World War.

At the other end of the spectrum, Charlie Macartney began as a slow left-arm bowler before the First World War, but was an explosive batsman after the war with an average next only to Bradman between the two wars. George Headley was dubbed ‘the Black Bradman’ for his feats between the wars. He played two Tests in 1948 and one in 1954, which brought down his average, but still finished above 60.

Leslie Ames is the only wicketkeeper who figures in this line-up of top batsmen between the wars. He was without doubt the best wicketkeeper-batsman of this period. For all his elegant left-handed batting, Frank Woolley was an allrounder with 83 Test wickets at an average of 33.91.

Finally Duleepsinhji, like his uncle K.S. Ranjitsinhji, fell just short of 1000 Test runs. Ranji aggregated 989 runs in 15 Tests, Duleep scored 995 runs in 12 Tests. The uncle’s highest Test score was 175, the nephew’s was 173. Both had 8 scores of fifty and above.

The full Test career records of these great batsmen are:

Don Bradman, span 1928-48, Tests 52, Highest Score 334, Runs 6996, Average 99.94, Hundreds 29, Fifties 13

George Headley, span 1930-54, Tests 22, Highest Score 270*, Runs 2190, Average 60.83, Hundreds 10, Fifties 5

Herbert Sutcliffe, span 1924-1935, Tests 54, Highest Score 194, Runs 4555, Average 60.73, Hundreds 16, Fifties 23

Eddie Paynter, span 1931-39, Tests 20, Highest Score 243, Runs 1540, Average 59.23, Hundreds 4, Fifties 7

K.S. Duleepsinhji, span 1929-1931, Tests 12, Highest Score 173, Runs 995, Average 58.52, Hundreds 3, Fifties 5

Wally Hammond, span 1927-47, Tests 85, Highest Score 336*, Runs 7249, Average 58.45, Hundreds 22, Fifties 24

Jack Hobbs, span 1908-30, Tests 61, Highest Score 211, Runs 5410, Average 56.94, Hundreds 15, Fifties 28

CAG ‘Jack’ Russell, span 1920-1923, Tests 10, Highest Score 140, Runs 910, Average 56.87, Hundreds 5, Fifties 2

Len Hutton, span 1937-55, Tests 79, Highest Score 364, Runs 6971, Average 56.67, Hundreds 19, Fifties 33

George Ernest Tyldesley, span 1921-1929, Tests 14, Highest Score 122, Runs 990, Average 55.00, Hundreds 3, Fifties 6

Jack Ryder, span 1920-29, Tests 32, Highest Score 201*, Runs 1394, Average 51.62, Hundreds 3, Fifties 9

Bruce Mitchell, span 1929-49, Tests 42, Highest Score 189*, Runs 3471, Average 48.88, Hundreds 8, Fifties 21

Bill Ponsford, span 1924-34, Tests 29, Highest Score 266, Runs 2122, Average 48.22, Hundreds 7, Fifties 6

Stan McCabe, span 1930-38, Tests 39, Highest Score 232, Runs 2748, Average 48.21, Hundreds 6, Fifties 13

Patsy Hendren, span 1920-35, Tests 51, Highest Score 205*, Runs 3525, Average 47.63, Hundreds 7, Fifties 21

Maurice Leyland, span 1928-38, Tests 41, Highest Score 187, Runs 2764, Average 46.06, Hundreds 9, Fifties 10

Bill Woodfull, span 1926-34, Tests 35, Highest Score 161, Runs 2300, Average 46.00, Hundreds 7, Fifties 13

Charlie Macartney, span 1907-26, Tests 35, Highest Score 170, Runs 2131, Average 41.78, Hundreds 7, Fifties 9

Herbie Taylor, span 1912-1932, Tests 42, Highest Score 176, Runs 2936, Average 40.77, Hundreds 7, Fifties 17

Leslie Ames, span 1929-39, Tests 47, Highest Score 149, Runs 2434, Average 40.56, Hundreds 8, Fifties 7

Frank Woolley, span 1909-1934, Tests 64, Highest Score 154, Runs 3283, Average 36.07, Hundreds 5, Fifties 23

Two Indian rulers, Jam Saheb Ranjitsinhji of Nawanagar and Maharaja Vijaysinhji of Rajpipla excelled on vastly different turfs

Maharaja Vijaysinhji of Rajpipla and Jam Saheb Ranjitsinhji of Jamnagar are seated third and fourth from left in the front row.

K.S. Ranjitsinhji, Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, 

wizard of the willow

Batting, having already been defined by Grace, saw its next two stars descend from distant lands. If Prince Ranjitsinhji, later the Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, delighted with his artistry at the crease, the Aussie Victor Trumper provided the thrills with his panache. The very thought of Ranji conjures images of the leg-glance. He was the inventor of the shot, one that was patently his own and an early glimpse of the suppleness of wrists that characterised the batting of some later Indian stalwarts. 

Ranji worked hard to hone his talent, hiring professional bowlers from Surrey while he was at Cambridge. Simon Wilde wrote in his biography Ranji A Genius Rich and Strange: “He practised with as much purpose whether he had just been out for 100 or for 0. He was a severe critic of his own game, and if he was indeed a genius it was for his infinite capacity for taking pains, not for becoming a superlative cricketer overnight. He enjoyed theorizing about the game and putting those theories into practice.” 

The outcome was a batting style that was as unique as it was novel, and it perplexed the English. Cardus elucidated in Good Days (1934): “In the ‘nineties the game was absolutely English; it was even Victorian. W.G. Grace for years had stamped on cricket the English mark and the mark of the period. It was the age of simple first principles, of the stout respectability of the straight bat and the good-length balls. And then suddenly this visitation of dusky, supple legerdemain happened; a man was seen playing cricket as nobody in England could possibly have played it. The honest length ball was not met by the honest straight bat, but there was a flick of the wrist, and lo! The straight ball was charmed away to the leg-boundary. And nobody quite saw or understood how it all happened.” 

All those who saw Ranji bat vouched for the fact that he had an exceptionally quick eye and could hook the fastest bowling with ease. Though he had appeared in English first-class cricket since 1893, Ranjitsinhji’s first full season was in 1895 when he made his debut for Sussex against the MCC at Lord’s. He caused an immediate impact, carving out scores of 77 and 150. From then on he captured the imagination of the public and became a very popular, even mystical, figure. 

The next year at the age of 23, Ranji topped the first-class averages at 57.92, surpassing Grace’s record season aggregate by scoring 2780 runs, and equalling the great senior’s 10 hundreds. In a unique feat, Ranji hit up a century in each innings of a match on the same day. Resuming at zero not out, he notched up 100 and 125 not out for Sussex against Yorkshire at Hove. The English were reluctant to pick him in their Test side, but his huge popularity ensured that he was selected for the second match. Appropriately, Ranji became the second England batsman after Grace to score a hundred on Test debut, an unbeaten 154 against Australia at Manchester, having hit 62 in the first innings. In the process he nearly pulled off an improbable win. In the 1897 season, Ranji scored 1940 runs at an average of 45.12. He hit up his first double-century, 260 in just 250 minutes with 36 fours and a six against MCC at Lord’s, the highest by a Sussex batsman. 

Ranji never took the tedious sea journeys well. Prone to attacks of asthma, he was taken ill during the month-long voyage to Australia in 1897-98, even though he joined the team only in the south of the European Continent. He was still unwell when the first Test began in Sydney. Even so, he battled through, carving out a monumental 175, which was a record for England until R.E. Foster bettered it with 287 at the same venue six years later. Ranji’s knock enabled England to win their only Test in a series they lost 1-4. It was a productive tour for him personally, averaging over 50 in the Tests and over 60 in the first-class matches. In all he collected 1157 runs. At the end of the tour, Ranji returned to his homeland after a decade. 

Having missed the English season of 1898 as a result of a long sojourn at home, Ranji’s best came at the turn of the century, even though he was not quite as slim and his feet seemed not as nimble. In 1899 he became the first to score 3000 runs in a season. He bailed out England in the first Test at Nottingham, scoring 42 and 93 not out, and holding Australia to a draw. By the end of the series he had scored 970 runs in 12 Tests at a brilliant average of 53.88. He amassed 3159 first-class runs at 63.18 per innings. 

After a trip to the United States during the winter, Ranji’s 1900 season was just as brilliant. So irresistible was his form that he knocked up successive double centuries, both for Sussex - 222 against Somerset at Hove, and an unbeaten 215 versus Cambridge University at Fenners. Quite the master on rain-affected wickets, he breezed to 202 in three hours off the Middlesex bowling after a thunderstorm at Hove, the next highest by a Sussex colleague being 17. His five double centuries were a record for a season, bettered only by Bradman with six in 1930. Everton Weekes of the West Indies equalled Ranji’s five double tons exactly half a century later. The now-unstoppable Ranji logged up 3000 runs for the second successive season, this time scoring 3065 runs and topping the averages at a mind-boggling 87.57, hitting up 11 hundreds. 

1901 was yet another splendid season. Again Ranji scored two double centuries in a row, once more representing his county, an unbeaten 285 against Somerset at Taunton and 204 at the expense of Lancashire at the home ground of Hove. The first was an amazing feat, not only for the fact that it was his top score and the highest-ever by a Sussex batsman, but because he was out fishing the entire previous night! For the 1901 season his tally was 2468 runs at 70.51 per innings. In three consecutive seasons, Ranjitsinhji had totalled 8692 runs at an average of 72.43 with 27 hundreds. The wizard from the orient continued to enchant and befuddle at the same time. 

He did not sail to Australia in 1901-02 and, perhaps due to the troubles in his personal life, lost form dramatically in the Tests in 1902, managing just 19 runs in four innings and never played at that level again. He still finished with a Test average of 44.96, a splendid achievement at the time. In first-class matches, though, Ranji continued to blaze away till 1904 when he again topped the 2000 mark as well as the averages - 2077 runs at 74.17. 

Succession issues in Nawanagar kept Ranjitsinhji back in India, and he missed the next three seasons. He returned to England in 1908 as His Highness The Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, having being installed as ruler of the 3791 square miles, 13-gun salute princely State in circumstances so full of intrigue and danger as to render a racy novel hopelessly mundane. He played that season as well as in 1912, remarkably notching up 1000 runs each time. Ranji was seen on the cricket field one last time in 1920. Astonishingly, he played three first-class matches and, as was only to be expected, failed miserably. The fact was that his right eye had been removed five years earlier when on August 31 he had met with an accident while shooting grouse on the Yorkshire moors. This was soon after he returned from France, ending a brief and miserable stint in the army during the First World War. 

Peter Hartland summed up the impact of Ranji on the game: “The batting star of the Golden Age in England was Ranjitsinhji, with a first-class average of 56 - virtually as high as any English-qualified player has ever achieved and quite phenomenal for the time, particularly since he scored at around 50 runs an hour. Taking a qualification of ten thousand runs for all English batsmen who faced their first ball in the nineteenth century, Ranji’s first-class average is approached only by Sussex teammate Fry with 50. Test bowling did not slow Ranjitsinhji much, and the combination of his high average and scoring rate in relation to others really does mark him as out of the ordinary.” 

Ranji’s first-class average of 56.37 was the highest for a full career by an England-based player until as late as 1986 when Geoff Boycott retired with a fractionally higher average of 56.84. And if one considers that Ranji’s career was all but over in 1904; his appearances thereafter were sporadic in 1908 and 1912, and farcical in 1920, his deeds are even more astounding. Upto 1904, Ranji had scored 22,402 runs at an average of 58.49 with 65 hundreds in 267 matches, really in less than a decade. That is the true reflection of his genius. 

To the outside world Ranji was an exceptionally gifted prince who toiled diligently in the nets to emerge as the finest batsman of his era. Yet not many realised the inner turmoil that he undoubtedly underwent during his best years at the wicket, what with the drama of his adoption that never was, the machinations over his succession as ruler and his financial woes at the time. And he was laid low by illness for long periods. One has to marvel at the fact that he excelled at the game under these trying circumstances. Or more likely, he used them as a spur to motivate himself and to prove to those who mattered that he was fit to be king. 

Yet his charm transcended all the elegant runs that he made. As Jessop wrote: “From the moment he stepped out of the pavilion he drew all eyes and held them. No one who saw him bat will ever forget it. He was the first man I ever knew who wore silk shirts, and there was something almost romantic about the very flow of his sleeves and the curve of his shoulders. He drew the crowds wherever he went, and at the height of his cricket days the shops in Brighton would empty if he passed along the street. Everyone wanted to see him.” 

There was little doubt that Ranjitsinhji had transformed batting forever. As late as 1944, Pelham Warner wrote in The Book of Cricket: “With his wonderful eye and wrists, he could play back to almost any ball, however good a length, and however fast. Like Bradman, he seldom played a genuine forward stroke, for, again like Bradman he found that balls to which he could not play back he could, with his quickness of foot, get to and drive.” This ‘play back or drive’ method, however, could only be used by one with a sharp eye and quicksilver footwork, like a Ranji or a Bradman. English batsmen attempted to copy it with disastrous results. It takes someone extraordinary to play in an extraordinary way. Ranji scored more profusely than anyone had done before, just as Bradman was to do three decades later.

 

(Excerpt from Indra Vikram Singh’s book ‘Don’s Century’) 

Half a million cheered “Good old Pip” 

 and the King hailed the triumphant Prince 

This is the story of a man who followed his dream, of a prince who set his eyes on a lofty goal, worked towards it assiduously, relentlessly and intelligently, with passion and patience, and eventually won the biggest prize of them all. Horses were the passion of Maharana Vijaysinhji, ruler of Rajpipla. He wanted to own the best horses in the world, and to win the most prestigious horse races devised by man. Minor successes did not satisfy the ambitious young man. He wanted dearly to reach the pinnacle, and did. That is why it is such an inspiring tale. 

Succeeding his father Maharana Chhatrasinhji as ruler of the 4,000 square kilometres first-class Rajpipla State in the Rewakantha Agency of the Bombay Presidency in the year 1915, the adroit Vijaysinhji established himself as a leading light of the Indian racecourses very early. In 1919 he won the first-ever Indian Derby, then known as the Country Bred Derby and run in Calcutta, with his Kunigal-bred horse Tipster, ridden by the famous Australian jockey ‘Bunty’ Brown. 

Having been bestowed with the title of Maharaja in 1921, Vijaysinhji then set his eyes on the centre of the Empire and travelled extensively the next year in the British Isles, Europe and United States of America, not just exploring the racing world and western society, but also studying the workings of modern governments, systems and institutions. He called on President Warren Harding in Washington, and visited New York to gain first-hand knowledge of the stock exchange. Back in England, he bought himself an estate near London on the banks of the Thames, with a 27-room Victorian mansion and extensive grounds, named ‘The Manor’ at Old Windsor in Berkshire. 

The world’s leading trainers and jockeys were regular guests at Maharaja Vijaysinhji’s sprawling seaside ‘Palm Beach’ Nepeansea Road residence at Bombay, and the grand ‘Sommerville Guest House’ at Nandod (New Rajpipla town), the capital of Rajpipla State. Steve Donoghue, an expert on the great Epsom Derby, was a visitor in 1924. Quizzed about the path to a Derby win, the legendary jockey advised his host to buy a good yearling or two every year. On returning home Donoghue purchased Embargo for the Maharaja that summer, and rode him to victory in the Irish Two Thousand Guineas as well as Irish Derby in 1926. Vijaysinhji, who had been knighted the previous year, felt convinced that he was well on the way to realising his big aspiration. 

Winning the blue riband of the turf was, however, not such an easy ride. A caller in 1932 was the celebrated trainer Fred Darling, whose input was to start breeding with good mares (which matter 75 per cent as the Maharaja himself held) and a proven stallion. And so the keen Vijaysinhji started a stud in England with Embargo as sire, even as he continued buying high quality yearlings. 

In July the same year, Darling’s protege Marcus Marsh, now training for the Maharaja, spotted a promising colt at the Newmarket sales, and received approval to purchase him. They named him Windsor Lad. The genial animal shaped extremely well under the tutelage of Marsh, a younger son of the late Richard Marsh who had trained three Derby winners for King Edward VII, and later trained the horses of the reigning King George V. 

In 1933 Windsor Lad won the Criterion at Newmarket. As a three-year-old in 1934 he finished at the head of the field in the 1 ½ miles Chester Vase and the mile-long Newmarket Stakes. His discerning owner was now certain that the colt had the requisite stamina as well as speed. 

The favourite for the Derby was the unbeaten Colombo, winner of seven races in 1933 and two in the current season of 1934. But he had not proved himself in a twelve furlong race, and Maharaja Vijaysinhji confidently stated that Colombo did not worry him. So sure was he of Windsor Lad’s prowess that in a signed article later he declared that he didn’t think he would win the Derby, he knew. 

An estimated quarter to half a million people began descending on the Epsom Downs right since daybreak on 6th June 1934. Around noon dark clouds drifted in and a sharp shower broke the three-week-long dry spell. Just at this time the royal cavalcade drove in led by the Rolls-Royce of King George V and Queen Mary; and followed by those carrying the Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, parents of the present Queen Elizabeth II; other members of the family and the King of Greece. The Prince of Wales, who succeeded as King Edward VIII but abdicated soon, joined them a little later. 

There was a huge buzz around the race as usual, but more so for the prophesy of Gipsy Lee, made as far back 1868, that a horse with a ‘W’ in its name would win in 1934. There were also a number of uncanny coincidences around the number 13, which particularly enchanted the ladies, who backed Windsor Lad. 

They were off five minutes after the scheduled 3 o’clock start, and Donoghue on Medieval Knight set a fast pace by the side of the rails, with Colombo right behind. But reaching the top of the hill, the leader cracked and Colombo was baulked coming down the hill towards the iconic Tattenham Corner. Seizing the opportunity, Tiberius slipped through, pursued closely by Easton and Windsor Lad. 

Just after taking the big bend to the left, Tiberius began to fade and was passed. The dashing Charlie Smirke - returning after a ban of five years - soon breezed Windsor Lad along the rails past Easton. Meanwhile Colombo recovered and made a great run on the outside in the centre of the course. The crowd thought that the hitherto invincible favourite would carry the day yet again, and began yelling “Colombo wins”. In the final furlong the three horses were bunched closely together. At this moment Colombo’s stamina failed him even as Windsor Lad surged to the post, equalling the record of 2 minutes 34 seconds set up by Hyperion the previous year. 

The jubilant 44-year-old Maharaja was already a popular figure on the English racecourses and had been affectionately nicknamed ‘Pip’ by friends and the public alike. Now the multitude roared “Good old Pip” as he led his victorious colt back to the unsaddling area. Soon the King invited Maharaja Vijaysinhji to the royal box, high up above the finishing post, and raised a toast to this exhilarating win. 

Lady luck had indeed smiled on the Indian prince when Colombo got hemmed in behind Medieval Knight, but ultimately it was the deft training of Marsh, the speed and stamina of the muscular Windsor Lad, and the skill of Smirke that carried the day. 

No other Indian owner had won the Derby before, nor one after, in its history dating back to 1780. One of the first to congratulate Maharaja Vijaysinhji was his close friend the Aga Khan, himself a distinguished Derby winner. Dreams do indeed come true, if you persist long enough. During the Second World War, Maharaja Vijaysinhji donated three Spitfire aircraft named ‘Rajpipla’, ‘Windsor Lad’ and ‘Embargo’, besides a Hawker Hurricane ‘Rajpipla II’; and the headlines ran “Windsor Lad will fly”. The Maharaja was honoured with a GBE in 1945, and when the winds of change wafted in, he merged his State with the Union of India in 1948, bringing down the curtain on the 600-year rule of the Gohil Rajputs over Rajpipla State. 

(Excerpt from Indra Vikram Singh’s book ‘A Maharaja’s Turf’)

On the eve of the Australia-India Test series 2024-25, flashback to Don Bradman’s 100th First-class hundred in 1947-48. Excerpt from Indra Vikram Singh’s book ‘Don’s Century’

 

K.S. Duleepsinhji, Don Bradman and Lala Amarnath during India's tour of Australia in 1947-48.  

Appropriately, independent India’s first Test series was against Bradman’s Australians. The Don was a much loved and worshipped figure in India. It was said that apart from his own country, Bradman received the most letters from India. A succession of Indian cricketers from the captain of the 1947-48 team Lala Amarnath, to the present demi-god Sachin Tendulkar, spoke about their admiration and awe of Bradman, and many of them kept in regular touch with him, exchanging greetings and letters and speaking over the phone.

The Indian team missed a few of its top players. Vijay Merchant, who was designated captain, had to withdraw owing to health problems, as did Rusi Modi. Mushtaq Ali had a bereavement, while Fazal Mahmood, based in Lahore, was now a citizen of newly-created Pakistan. A fortnight before the Test series, there was a match between an Australian XI and the touring Indians at Sydney. Prior to this Bradman had scored his 99^th first-class century in a Sheffield Shield game. A huge crowd congregated at the Sydney Cricket Ground in anticipation of the great man’s 100^th hundred. The Indian team batted first and was all out for 326 on the second morning. Rob Lurie, Australian High Commissioner in India more than half a century later, was a wide-eyed young spectator on that historic occasion.

He wrote in a special issue of Cricket Talk in September 2000 to commemorate the 92^nd (and as it, sadly, turned out, last) birthday of Sir Donald Bradman: “The day was overcast. Bradman, by his standards at least, started sedately and for much of the pre and early after lunch sessions Miller was the dominant partner. So much so that when he reached his half-century before Bradman and to a rapturous reaction from the crowd, it looked as though the day belonged to Miller rather than to his captain. But a remarkable change came over the game as Miller suddenly seemed to appreciate this fact and went into his shell, working the strike so that Bradman had a good deal of the bowling and limiting his own flamboyant strokeplay to the occasional trademark and sublime cover drive. Bradman meanwhile got on with things with superb judgement, placement and running between the wickets until he reached 99 in the last over before tea. You can imagine how we all felt - Bradman later wrote ‘even in the most exciting Test match I can never remember a more emotional crowd nor a more electric atmosphere’.“

The High Commissioner continued: “Amarnath threw the ball to (Gogumal) Kishenchand. In my view this was a very shrewd move as Bradman like most of us in the crowd, had never seen him bowl, and the element of surprise can be critical at such a moment. Bradman was very careful with the first ball but the second he played off his pads on the on-side. As he and Miller ran through for the single, a huge cheer engulfed the ground and the Indian team rushed to congratulate a man they admired and liked. My family and I joined with many thousands in repeated singing of the refrain ‘For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow’.” Bradman himself recalled that cherished instant in his Farewell to Cricket: “Finally, with my score on 99, Amarnath called on G. Kishenchand, who was fielding on the boundary. He had not bowled before and I had no idea what type of bowler he was. It was a shrewd move, as one could have so easily been deceived but I treated him with the greatest respect until eventually came a single to mid-on and the great moment had arrived.”

Don Bradman sprinting for the 100th run of his 100th First-class hundred.

High Commissioner Lurie added, “After tea Bradman cut loose and in 45 minutes scored an extraordinary, even by his standards, 72 runs marred only by the injury to a spectator by a very big six over long-on.“ Bradman revealed in Farewell to Cricket that he felt obliged to give the crowd which had so cheered his achievement some reward for its wonderful feelings towards him. 

It was unheard for anyone except those who played in English first-class cricket to log up a hundred centuries because nowhere else were sufficient matches played to enable a batsman achieve the feat. That Bradman reached the landmark is hardly surprising, and this only underlines the huge gulf between him and the others. Indeed Amarnath, in his brusque and inimitable way wrote in The Sportstar, “I always considered him a Derby horse; the others were horses before the cart.” Of the hundredth run of that famous innings, Raymond Robertson-Glasgow stated, “at the historical statistical moment, when Bradman was about to go from 99 to 100 there was the Indian bowler trying to deliver the ball with one hand and applaud with the other, a feat that is beyond the most enthusiastic practitioner.”

To give an idea of how difficult it was for non-English first-class batsmen to score a hundred centuries, Bradman scored 41 tons in four English seasons, but 72 three-figure knocks in his 14 full Australian seasons, not considering his first and last seasons, and two seasons during the war when he played just a few games. In England he scored more than 10 hundreds per season, while in Australia he averaged just above five centuries in a season. That was because he played 120 innings in those four English seasons, but only 197 innings in his 14 full Australian seasons. If Bradman was English he would have scored 200 centuries, wet wickets or otherwise. Hobbs - whose career was about a decade longer - scored 197 hundreds in 1315 innings (a century every 6.67 innings); Bradman hit up 117 hundreds in 338 innings (a century every 2.88 innings). (Hobbs’ tally was revised to 199 centuries later).

Back to his 100^th hundred, Bradman was determined to get it in that innings. That is why he began slowly, got his eye in, assessed the wicket and the bowling, and accelerated when well set. That is what he usually did, but on this occasion it might have been a bit more exaggerated. Indian vice-captain Vijay Hazare observed this tendency, and he said in an interview with Cricket Talk: “He used to take a lot of singles and rotate the strike in the initial phase of his innings.” C.S. Nayudu supplemented this as he told The Sportstar, “His footwork was lightning fast and I have not known a batsman with a better technique and class. After the initial period when he would gauge the pitch and the attack, it was almost impossible to contain him.”