Madras Presidency Matches
Encyclopedia
The Madras Presidency Matches were annual first-class cricket
matches played in Madras
(now Chennai) from the 1915-16 season to 1951-52 between the cricket teams of Indians
and the Europeans
(i.e., Europeans who were living in India). The matches were played in the Chepauk Grounds (the present M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
) usually in mid-January around the time of Pongal
festival. They were sometimes called the Pongal Matches because of this. Of the 33 matches played, Indians won 15 and the Europeans 8 with 10 draws.
of the Madras United Club (MUC) and Percival Partridge of the Madras Cricket Club (MCC). The MCC, at the time, was an exclusively white organisation and the MUC was founded by Buchi Babu as a similar cricket club for the Indians. Shortly before the first match Buchi Babu, who was to captain the Indian side, died of a heart attack. The match still went ahead, mainly because of the efforts of B.Subramaniam, an assistant of Buchi Babu. The Indian side was captained by BS Ramulu Naidu and the Europeans by Partridge. This "Presidency Hindus" and "Presidency Europeans" match was played between December 29, 1908 and January 1, 1909. It was abandoned because of rain without the first innings being completed.
Subramanian organised an annual Buchi Babu Memorial Tournament from 1909 and the Europeans v Indians series was not revived until the 1915-16 season. This match, which began on the last day of 1915, is considered as the first Madras Presidency match.
The teams occasionally brought in players from outside the Madras Presidency
. C. K. Nayudu
, Maharajkumar of Vizianagram
and Phiroze Palia
all played for the Indian team. In 1918 E. Britten-Jones, later to play a controversial role as the manager of the Indian cricket team in England in 1936
, took the only hat-trick
in the competition. In 1921, CK Nayudu hit 128 before lunch on the first day, an innings that included a famous hit. CK's hit cleared "the boundary wall at the southern end of the MCC compound - to land near a coconut tree 50 yards from the MCC grounds. The hit was easily above 150 yards from the batting crease". In 1927, Humphrey Ward of the Europeans hit 173 setting a record for the highest score in the series. It was bettered the next day by MC Sivasankaran who made 174 for the Indians.
An attempt was made in 1956 to revive the competition and a match was played between Indian and European members of the MCC. Indians won by an innings. This experiment was never repeated.
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
matches played in Madras
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
(now Chennai) from the 1915-16 season to 1951-52 between the cricket teams of Indians
Indians cricket team
The Indians cricket team was an Indian first-class cricket team which took part in the annual Madras Presidency Matches against the Europeans cricket team, commencing in December 1915.-Sources:* Vasant Raiji, India's Hambledon Men, Tyeby Press, 1986...
and the Europeans
Europeans cricket team
The Europeans cricket team was an Indian first-class cricket team which took part in the annual Bombay tournament. The team was founded by members of the European community in Bombay who played cricket at the Bombay Gymkhana....
(i.e., Europeans who were living in India). The matches were played in the Chepauk Grounds (the present M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium is a cricket stadium in Chennai , India, named after M. A. Chidambaram, the former President of BCCI and the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. The stadium was formerly known as Madras Cricket Club Ground or Chepauk Stadium. Commonly known as Chepauk, its first match was...
) usually in mid-January around the time of Pongal
Pongal
Thai Ponggal is a harvest festival celebrated by Tamils in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Indian Union Territory of Pondicherry and in Sri Lanka. Pongal coincides with the festival Makara Sankranthi celebrated throughout India. Pongal in Tamil means "boiling over" or "spill over". The boiling...
festival. They were sometimes called the Pongal Matches because of this. Of the 33 matches played, Indians won 15 and the Europeans 8 with 10 draws.
Background
The Europeans v Indians matches were the idea of Buchi Babu NaiduBuchi Babu Naidu
Buchi Babu Nayudu was an Indian Cricketer, known as the Father of Chennai Cricket, who established the Madras Presidency Matches.- Early life :...
of the Madras United Club (MUC) and Percival Partridge of the Madras Cricket Club (MCC). The MCC, at the time, was an exclusively white organisation and the MUC was founded by Buchi Babu as a similar cricket club for the Indians. Shortly before the first match Buchi Babu, who was to captain the Indian side, died of a heart attack. The match still went ahead, mainly because of the efforts of B.Subramaniam, an assistant of Buchi Babu. The Indian side was captained by BS Ramulu Naidu and the Europeans by Partridge. This "Presidency Hindus" and "Presidency Europeans" match was played between December 29, 1908 and January 1, 1909. It was abandoned because of rain without the first innings being completed.
Subramanian organised an annual Buchi Babu Memorial Tournament from 1909 and the Europeans v Indians series was not revived until the 1915-16 season. This match, which began on the last day of 1915, is considered as the first Madras Presidency match.
The matches
The Indian teams generally dominated the series and it was 1920 before Europeans scored their first victory. The length of the match was increased from two to three days in the third year and gates were introduced in 1921. The 1935 match was cancelled because of a dispute about sharing the profits from the previous year between the MCC and the Indian Cricket League.The teams occasionally brought in players from outside the Madras Presidency
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
. C. K. Nayudu
C. K. Nayudu
Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu , also known as CK, was an Indian cricketer who served as India's first Test captain. He was born in Nagpur, Maharashtra and died in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. He played first-class cricket regularly till 1958, and returned for one last time in 1963 at the age of 68...
, Maharajkumar of Vizianagram
Maharajkumar of Vizianagram
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Vijayananda Gajapathi Raju , better known as the Maharajkumar of Vizianagram or Vizzy, was an Indian cricketer, cricket administrator and politician.- Childhood :...
and Phiroze Palia
Phiroze Palia
Phiroze Edulji Palia was an early Indian cricketer. His first name is sometimes written as Phiroz....
all played for the Indian team. In 1918 E. Britten-Jones, later to play a controversial role as the manager of the Indian cricket team in England in 1936
Indian cricket team in England in 1936
The Indian cricket team toured England in the 1936 season and played 28 first-class fixtures, winning only four whilst losing 12 and drawing 12.India played three Test matches and lost the series to England 2-0 with one match drawn...
, took the only hat-trick
Hat-trick
A hat-trick or hat trick in sport is the achievement of a positive feat three times during a game, or other achievements based on threes. The term was first used in 1858 in cricket to describe HH Stephenson's feat of taking three wickets in three balls. A collection was held for Stephenson, and he...
in the competition. In 1921, CK Nayudu hit 128 before lunch on the first day, an innings that included a famous hit. CK's hit cleared "the boundary wall at the southern end of the MCC compound - to land near a coconut tree 50 yards from the MCC grounds. The hit was easily above 150 yards from the batting crease". In 1927, Humphrey Ward of the Europeans hit 173 setting a record for the highest score in the series. It was bettered the next day by MC Sivasankaran who made 174 for the Indians.
Decline
The Second World War caused the cancellation of the 1942 match and from here the series went on a decline. By the late forties, with the exodus of the British, the Europeans struggled to raise their teams. As a consequence, the number of spectators saw a steady decrease. No match was played in 1949 and 1950 and those for 1951 and 1952 were two day affairs. The match in the latter year was watched by a crowd of six people, four of whom were journalists. This was the last of the Madras Presidency matches.An attempt was made in 1956 to revive the competition and a match was played between Indian and European members of the MCC. Indians won by an innings. This experiment was never repeated.
| Madras Presidency Matches | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Season | Winners | Winning margin | Captains | Scorecard | Notes |
| - | 1908-09 | Abandoned due to rain | BS Ramulu Naidu & PW Partridge | http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/122/122430.html | Only one day's play possible | |
| - | 1914-15 | Madras United Club | innings and 112 runs | http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/122/122431.html | This MCC v MUC match is not considered as part of the series | |
| 1 | 1915-16 | Drawn | B. Subramanian (Ind) & RD Richmond (Eur) | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/9/9487.html | ||
| 2 | 1916-17 | Indians | 5 wickets | B. Subramanian & PW Partridge | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/9/9491.html | |
| 3 | 1917-18 | Indians | 91 runs | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/9/9501.html | Britten-Jones took the only hat-trick in the tournament | |
| 4 | 1918-19 | Indians | 4 wickets | CK Krishnaswamy & RD Richmond | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/9/9519.html | |
| 5 | 1919-20 | Europeans | 68 runs | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/9/9729.html | ||
| 6 | 1920-21 | Indians | innings and 14 runs | CR Ganapathy and KO Goldie | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/10/10001.html | |
| 7 | 1921-22 | Drawn | M Baliah & EWC Bradfield | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/10/10349.html | ||
| 8 | 1922-23 | Indians | 10 wickets | B Subramaniam & EWC Bradfield | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/10/10678.html | |
| 9 | 1923-24 | Indians | innings and 27 runs | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/11/11041.html | ||
| 10 | 1924-25 | Europeans | 125 runs | CR Ganapathy & HP Ward | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/11/11399.html | |
| 11 | 1925-26 | Europeans | 66 runs | NN Swarna & HP Ward | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/11/11762.html | |
| 12 | 1926-27 | Drawn | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/12/12172.html | |||
| 13 | 1927-28 | Drawn | ? & CP Johnstone | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/12/12568.html | ||
| 14 | 1928-29 | Europeans | 8 wickets | CK Nayudu and CP Johnstone | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/12/12954.html | |
| 15 | 1929-30 | Indians | 10 runs | M Venkataramanjulu & HP Ward | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/13/13349.html | |
| 16 | 1930-31 | Europeans | innings and 6 runs | Maharajkumar of Vizianagram and HP Ward | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/13/13756.html | |
| 17 | 1931-32 | Drawn | Maharajkumar of Vizianagram & HP Ward | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/14/14147.html | ||
| 18 | 1932-33 | Indians | innings and 109 runs | Maharajkumar of Vizianagram & HP Ward | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/14/14533.html | |
| 19 | 1933-34 | Europeans | 31 runs | M Baliah & HP Ward | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/14/14900.html | |
| 20 | 1935-36 | Indians | innings and 87 runs | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/15/15682.html | ||
| 21 | 1936-37 | Indians | 247 runs | MJ Gopalan & HP Ward | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/16/16073.html | |
| 22 | 1937-38 | Drawn | C Ramaswami and CP Johnstone | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/16/16488.html | ||
| 23 | 1938-39 | Indians | 4 wickets | MJ Gopalan & CP Johnstone | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/16/16875.html | |
| 24 | 1939-40 | Indians | 4 wickets | MJ Gopalan & CP Johnstone | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/17/17253.html | |
| 25 | 1940-41 | Indians | 97 runs | MJ Gopalan & CP Johnstone | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/17/17302.html | |
| 26 | 1942-43 | Europeans | 8 wickets | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/17/17367.html | ||
| 27 | 1943-44 | Drawn | AG Ram Singh A. G. Ram Singh Amritsar Govindsingh Ram Singh was an Indian first-class cricketer. An allrounder, he bowled slow left-arm orthodox and was a left-handed middle order batsman. His son A. G. Kripal Singh played Test cricket for India.... & CP Johnstone |
http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/17/17400.html | ||
| 28 | 1944-45 | Europeans | 8 wickets | ? & CP Johnstone | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/17/17456.html | |
| 29 | 1945-46 | Indians | 5 wickets | ? & CP Johnstone | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/17/17538.html | |
| 30 | 1946-47 | Indians | innings and 63 runs | ? & CP Johnstone | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/17/17939.html | |
| 31 | 1947-48 | Drawn | G Parthasarathi & CP Johnstone | http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/18/18349.html | ||
| 32 | 1950-51 | Drawn | ? | http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/122/122433.html | The 1950-51 and 1951-52 matches are not given first class status as they were played over two days. | |
| 33 | 1951-52 | Drawn | ? | http://cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/122/122432.html | ||
Statistics
| Highest individual score (Indians) | 174, MC Sivasankaran | 1927 |
| Highest individual score (Europeans) | 173, HP Ward | 1927 |
| Best bowling, innings (Indians) | 8 for 14, AG Ram Singh | 1936 |
| Best bowling, innings (Europeans) | 8 for 43, AG Penfold | 1926 |
| Best bowling, team (Indians) | 13 for 49, AG Ram Singh | 1936 |
| Best bowling, team (Europeans) | 13 for 115, JH Parsons | 1920 |
| Highest total (Indians) | 458 | 1927 |
| Highest total (Europeans) | 570 for 7 decl | 1931 |