My Recollections of the 1952-53 Indian Tour by Cecil Kippins

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Player:	FCP Kippins
Event:	India in West Indies 1952/53

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When the news reached Guyana that the Indian Cricket Board of Control was sending a team to visit the West Indies in 1952-53, we in Guyana anxiously awaited the naming of the side. The consequent announcement left all of us happy, as there had before been some misgivings that the more talented and famous present day Indian players may not have been able to accept invitations. We would not have been surprised as India, during the past 18 months, had taken part in four strenuous Test series. Happily, however, all the name players accepted and we were overjoyed.

 

We, of course, had heard of Vinoo Mankad; his epic at Lord's was still fresh in our minds. Remember how single-handed he defied the might of England to top score with 72 and 184, and bowled 97 overs for 231 runs with five wickets.

 

To come too, was Vijay Hazare. He, we knew, had scored centuries against us in 1948-49, and had carved a niche for himself by scoring a Test century in each innings of a Test against Australia.

 

Vijay Manjrekar and Deepak Shodan had both scored Test centuries on their first appearances, and Polly Umrigar, the palm tree hitter, was already making a name for himself.

 

Another whom we looked forward to seeing with relish was Subhas Gupte, the diminutive leg spinner who was not afraid of punishment and who kept the ball up to the batsmen, even to Everton Weekes the scourge of Indian bowling.

 

During the Guyana leg of the tour there were some fine performances which stand out in my memory to this day. I stood in a game where Mankad and Gupte put on such such fine performances of spin bowling that to this day I have yet to see their equal as a pair.

 

Gupte, in both matches in Guyana showed us why Clyde Walcott named him, at the end of his illustrious career, the greatest leg spinner he had ever encountered. A leg spinner thrives on plenty of hard work. I always contend that it is no use taking him off if, at the start of his spell he his hit for, say, 35 in 5 overs without taking a wicket. He must have plenty of work to do before he really starts his business. And there is no lovelier sight than a batsman being beaten by this type of craftsman. Gupte was blessed with an understanding captain in Hazare who paramountly understood leg spinners and know the importance of field placing.

 

I remember too, Manjrekar's century in the match against British Guiana. It was a beautiful affair, putting John Trim and company to the sword. Yet the innings that impressed me most, and still lingers today, was not a Test century but a mere 50 not out. The player was C.V.Gadkari, and on his day he made a plaything of the West Indies attack. After the dreary performances of his team mates, Gadkari was like the sum emerging from behind cloudy skies. It was the best innings by an Indian in Guyana.

 

These are just a few of my recollections. But the most outstanding feature of the Easterners was undoubtedly their ground fielding. From the moment they entered the playing field, they performed so excitingly that they reached the greatest heights in this department of the game--heights that at times bordered on the miraculous. We were made to understand that before the tour commenced, the Indian board insisted on it's players taking part in physical exercises and plenty of ground fielding sessions. There is no doubt that they had indeed reached physical fitness at its peak.

 

Swooping, clean and swift gatherings and accurate returns to the wicketkeeper and bowler continually delighted the eye. The many occasions that the fieldsmen hit the stumps from all angles sent the appreciative spectators into raptures of delight. Applause after applause greeted these Eastern acrobats. Some performed as the panther, others as beautiful as the gazelle. There can be no denying that, at times, the Indian bowling did not attain the Test standards it should have, especially when Worrell, Weekes and Walcott were at the wicket - but with finest of fielding to back them up, a second class attack took a more worthy look.

 

The most outstanding of them all was Gadkari, a little man with an abundance of energy. He was their finest showman. His pair of hands were the safest, and his returns to the wicketkeeper Joshi, the most accurate. The way he kept hitting the stumps with unfailing regularity gave the impression he was using calipers out there. David and his slingshot had nothing over him. There was, however, one thing that these great fielding entertainers could not do, even Gadkari: they could not, they simply could not save the overthrows that sometims happen when their returns hit the stumps and careened off.

 

Yes, it was their fielding that my fondest memories of the 1952-53 Indians lie. Their grandest moments in Guiana were to be found in their courageous and skilful fielding, and the like we may never see again.

 

The touring party was: P.G.Joshi, S.P.Gupte, D.K.Gaekwad, E.S.Maka, R.H.Shodan, N.Kannayiram, J.W.Ghorpade, V.L.Manjrekar, P.R.Umrigar, V.Mankad, (vice-captain), Vijay Hazare, (captain), D.G.Phadkar, G.S.Ramchand, C.V.Gadkari, M.L.Apte, P.Roy.

 

(this article is reprinted, with permission, from From Bombay to Bourda, 1971)

 

(Article: Copyright © 2004 Cecil Kippins)