Tour to India, February 2002

The KCC cricket section recently returned from its tour to India over Chinese New Year. A tour party numbering 21 eventually departed Hong Kong on the evening of 8th February 2002, boarding flight BG079 for Delhi via Dhaka.

The 9-day tour included a hectic itinerary featuring visits to 4 Indian cities – Delhi, Agra, Udaipur and Mumbai – and 3 games of cricket against local club teams and Invitation XI’s.

Match 1 – KCC v. Delhi Invitation XI at Nehru Stadium, Delhi

The first match was played in Delhi against an Invitation XI put together by former Indian test cricketer Atul Wassan, who’s company Awesome Inc. kindly sponsored the occasion. Now, local rules seem to allow the home side to bring 15 or 16 players to the ground and use them in a transfer system, similar to that now commonly used in rugby matches. Whilst this did offer the opportunity for everyone to get a game, it did give the scorer a bit of a headache…

The venue for the opening fixture was an outer ‘oval’ adjacent to the imposing grandstand of the Nehru Stadium, home of the Sports Authority of India. Whilst the grass wicket was fairly flat and true, the outfield was very small and uneven, rather akin to playing at KGV.

Batting first in the 35 over match, Manoj Cheruparambil and Anoop Nainani got the KCC off to a cautious start, scoring a sedate 14 runs off the first 6 overs. Manoj was the first to go when he mishit a full toss straight to Wassan in the covers. Roy Lamsam joined the fray and featured in a good partnership of 53 runs before he too departed, stumped with his score on 16. Anoop was next to go, having compiled a useful 38, including 1 six and 6 fours. Mark Burns (15) and Ray Brewster (8) failed to lift the momentum of the innings and it wasn’t until Sher Lama and Graeme Jardine got together that the runs finally began to flow.

Graeme won the award for the most unusual ‘not out’ of the tour when, thinking he should have been bowled, he began walking back to the pavilion (which incidentally was a tent erected in one corner of the ground), at which point he was stumped by the keeper. Oddly, to all concerned, the home captain took pity on him and recalled him to the crease. However he repaid the favour in kind, hitting the very next ball directly to Wassan and taking off for a single. Needless to say, he was comprehensively run out by a proverbial mile, with his personal score on 22.

Graeme’s dismissal sparked a final session of frantic hitting, with KCC eventually finishing on a total of 207-8 at the end of its 35 overs - not too bad a total given the slow start to the innings. Top scorer was Lama with 58 (1 six, 9 fours); the majority of which were hit via slog/sweep on the leg side. Best bowler for the Delhi team was a rather rotund and jovial chap called Sandeep, who captured 3-51 off 8 overs.

KCC’s defence of their total got off to a good start, with Lama capturing a wicket in his first over; Brewster claiming the catch behind the wicket. After Aftab Ahmad secured a second wicket in the fifth over, Wassan joined the fray. He started cautiously, hitting a single run off the first 8 balls faced, before unleashing a barrage of agricultural shots that effectively stole the game away from KCC. His 26 ball innings included 5 sixes and 5 fours, taking particularly harshly to Roy, who’s three overs conceded 40 runs.

A desperate bowling change saw a change of luck for KCC, with Burns bowling a short wide ball outside off stump that perplexed the advancing Wassan, for Brewster to complete the easy stumping. A similarly wide long hop accounted for the new batsman, though the third wide long hop of the over was duly smashed to the boundary. With the local side well ahead of the run rate, it was essential for KCC to capture quick wickets. Unfortunately this did not happen, although Burns did get his third wicket of the innings from yet another wide long hop.

The Delhi Invitation XI reached their target in the 26th over, with the compact and talented opener Mohit guiding his team to victory with a well compiled 66 not out. The bowling figures don’t make great reading with Burns claiming 3-23 off 3 overs and Lama 2-49 off 8 overs.

At Nehru Stadium: Delhi Invitation XI 208-7 (Mohit 66*, Wassan 53, Hamant 27; Burns 3-23, Lama 2-49) beat KCC 207-8 (Nainani 38, Lamsam 16, Burns 15, Lama 58, Jardine 22; Sandeep 3-51) by 3 wickets

Whilst the match itself had been a bit of a disappointment, the after match function certainly was not. Wassan had invited us all to a private garden party, held on a small farm on the outskirts of Delhi. Obviously this function was not solely for our benefit, with over 100 of Delhi’s well to do in attendance. There was a sumptuous buffet dinner and plenty of beer, wine and spirits on offer. We all enjoyed the evening but had to head back to the hotel early to ready ourselves for the following day’s excursion to Agra and the magnificent Taj Mahal.

Match 2 – KCC versus Bombay Gymkhana, Gymkhana Ground, Mumbai

Mumbai is a city of great contrasts. A sprawling and over crowded city with many magnificent colonial buildings and some of the most spectacular cricket facilities you will ever see.

Our second game pitted us against the Bombay Gymkhana, one of many cricket clubs in the city, and a team that we had played and lost to on two previous occasions. The Clubhouse at the Gymkhana Ground is a massive wooden structure, adorned with latticework that would not look out of place on any village green in rural England. The ground is massive, and was the venue of the very first test match to be played in India on 15-18 December 1933. It is divided in half by a public walkway, with the other end of the ground used for public cricket matches.

The weather was much warmer in Mumbai than Delhi, with temperatures reaching 35æC during the day. The format of the game was 40 overs per side and the opposition had once again employed local rules, with 15 players filling their 11 batting and fielding positions.

KCC won the toss and elected to bowl on a grassy wicket that would was expected to offer some seam and bounce. Lama had immediate success, claiming the opener from the second ball of the game, caught by Brewster behind the stumps. The rest of the innings went along rather unspectacularly, apart from three incidents worthy of mention.

Firstly, KCC’s bowling sensation of the first match, Mark Burns, could only manage to stay on the field for a couple of overs, having spent most of the previous evening and early morning on the toilet. He did however manage to shake off the worst of his ailment (literally) and was able to bat later in the day.

Secondly, those that know of the fielding exploits of Papu Butani will feel great sympathy for the Bombay batsman who tried to steal a quick single off his bowling, only to see Papu pounce on the ball and throw the stumps down from an acute angle…believe it or not!

The final incident involves our unfortunate tour guide, Travis Pittman, who had to hobble off the field after pulling a calf muscle. Travis has been on two KCC tours to India and has the unenviable record of having played 4 games, achieving one ‘golden duck’, one ‘did not bat’ and twice ‘retired hurt’. He has not bowled and has not taken a catch. He has however taken nearly 1,400 photographs on the 2 tours…

Anyway, back to the game…

Bombay Gymkhana managed to compile a respectable score of 219-10 in 37.4 overs with Raut top scoring with 46. For KCC, Lama, Aftab and Manoj all claimed two wickets each.

After a pleasant lunch, the KCC opening pair strode to the wicket to begin the chase. Manoj obviously had too much juju juice with his curry for after superbly swatting the third and fourth balls of the first over effortlessly to the boundary, he holed out to mid-off with a poor shot.

Roy joined Anoop and much like the first game, the pair set about building a good foundation for the innings. Roy appeared to be struggling a little with the conditions, suffering with some breathing problems. His condition wasn’t helped by the sudden appearance of a small scrub fire that had been lit it one corner of the ground, causing choking smoke to drift across the wicket for a large part of the KCC innings. Unfortunately he was dismissed just when he looked like he had got himself set, which seemed to be the order of the day for KCC. Anoop was next to fall after having compiled a hard earned 26 runs from 65 balls in stifling conditions.

The best batting of the innings came from Graeme and Ray. The skipper was in good touch, hitting a gutsy 40 from 43 balls, including two big sixes down the ground, before falling LBW to Shetty’s first delivery. Mark came groggily to the crease to join Ray but was back in the pavilion shortly afterwards, having been unfortunately run-out after the bowler deflected a strongly hit straight drive from Ray on to the wickets. Ray was meanwhile smacking the ball to all parts of the ground, being particularly harsh on any deliveries straying down leg. He was eventually bowled in the final chase for runs for 61 off 59 deliveries.

Once again the tail failed to wag for KCC and from a promising position of 135-3 after 26 overs, and despite the recruitment of Sanjay Bhimsaria to bat in place of the lamed Pittman, the team was eventually dismissed for 202, 17 runs short of the target.

At the Gymkhana Ground: Bombay Gymkhana 219 (Raut 46, Satpute 41, Vichare 38, Shetty 32; Lama 2-43, Ahmad 2-43, Cheruparambil 2-50) beat KCC 202 (Nainani 26, Jardine 40, Brewster 61, Ahmad 16*; Dalvi 2-36, Shetty 2-23) by 17 runs

Match 3 – KCC versus The Cricket Club of India, Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai

Our final tour match saw us once again at the hallowed ground of Brabourne Stadium for a match against the Cricket Club of India. On the 1996 tour, we had arrived at the venue (we were being accommodated at the CCI club) at 4am after a long flight delay and were playing against the home team a mere 7 hours later. At least this time we were a little fresher, though the previous day’s match at Bombay Gymkhana and left the tourists a little weary.

The Brabourne Stadium is a magnificent ground, an immaculate wicket and pristine outfield, encircled by a 40,000+ stadium. It was the venue of the famous victory by India over Australia in 1964, but today is no longer designated a test venue. Nowadays it is only used to host the occasional first class fixture and the odd match between CCI and visiting teams.

Winning the toss again and inserting the home team to bat on another grassy track, the KCC bowlers were made to toil by all the home team batsmen, who compiled a total of 219-5 in their 40 overs. Of note was the performance of a promising youngster by the name of Bravish Shetty, who claimed to be 14 but looked no more than 12. He hit the KCC bowlers to all parts of the ground in a mature batting display that showed he is a great talent for the future, perhaps emulating his CCI club mate Sachin Tendulkar. Best of the KCC bowlers was Aftab, claiming 2-53 from 10 overs.

Against easily the best bowling attack faced so far on tour, the KCC reply got off to a bad start with the early loss of the openers. However a good middle order showing by Roy (20), Graeme (49) and Mark (41), took the KCC team to a respectable 148-4 before the wheels fell off and the team was dismissed for 173. Tony White was again unlucky to be run out at the bowlers end, this time after a deflection from Shetty – the young star showing no respect to a person more than three times his age and twice his height!

As usual our hosts provided an excellent after match function, with plenty of alcohol to quench the thirsts of the weary players and their supporters. Invitations to return were extended to the KCC as was a reciprocal offer to host the CCI team at KCC in the not too distant future.

At Brabourne Stadium: CCI 219-5 (Ladiwala 25, Waigankar 39, Jain 31, Shetty 53, Naik 25*; Ahmad 2-53) beat KCC 173 (Lamsam 20, Jardine 49, Burns 41; Kulkarim 2-24, Ghadhially 3-23) by 46 runs

So that was it. Played three, lost three. Not the best tour results wise but a very special experience for many of the tourists.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Graeme Jardine for skippering the side during the tour and for handling all the official engagements so expertly. I’d also like to thank Kim Leung who scored for the team on tour, keeping an immaculate record of all our matches. And finally a big thank you to all the non-players, many of whom confessed to having very little interest in the game, but who still came along to the venues to support the team.

We look forward to the next occasion when we can renew the our sporting ties with India.

- Travis