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land their first action is to build a fort,
that is except the English, the first
thing they do is lay down a cricket
pitch.’
The Indians began to adopt this odd
game in Bombay in the 1830s and
initially those who did so were the
Parsees, that strange fire-worshipping
sect who had fled toWestern India
when Islam came to Persia.
By the 19th century the Parsees were
the commercial heart ofWestern India
and as the British took control the
Parsees welcomed the stability which
British rule brought.
In 1877 the Parsees felt strong
enough to challenge the British at
their own game and played well
enough to have an honourable draw.
A couple of years later they wanted
to tour England in order to improve
their cricketing standards, but one
scheme after another fell by the
wayside and it was therefore nearly
ten years before the team came.
Their match at Trent Bridge
was against the Gentlemen of
Nottinghamshire, which contained
only four players who’d appeared in
county cricket – the match was drawn
very much in favour of the home side.
The 1888 Parsees side did not play in
Nottinghamshire nor indeed did the
first All-India team of 1911.
After 1932, the next Indian visitors
came in 1936, led by the famous
Maharaj Kumar of Vizianagram.
The wealthy Maharaj had at his own
expense formed a side, including
Hobbs and Sutcliffe, to tour India
when the MCC withdrew because
of the civil unrest being provoked by
Gandhi in 1930.
In 1936 only just over one day’s play
survived the rain and on the next trip
in 1946 precisely the same weather
came to Nottingham.
Thus Notts followers effectively
missed seeing much of the Indian
tourists between the 1932 visit and
1952. On the ’52 tour the wicket
was such that neither batsmen nor
bowlers flourished – it was a very slow
scoring draw.
Joe Hardstaff, the usually attractive
batsman, struggled 135 minutes to
score 54, whilst Cyril Poole, known
for his fast scoring was in over seven
hours, though he did reach 222
not out. The match was still well
attended, 15,500 on the first day.
Although Notts took the
Championship wooden spoon in
1959, the county did beat the Indian
tourists.They were bowled out by
John Cotton and Colin Matthews
for 172; Reg Simpson hit a bright
century, as the county gained a lead
18 19
The Indian touring side of 1932
_
Harold Larwood, who led the Notts
attack in that match
_
Cyril Poole (overleaf) reached 222 not
out against India in 1952