MCC veteran recalls India's first Test victory
India won their first Test match 60 years ago beating MCC by an innings and eight runs. Andy Bull, writing in the Guardian, speaks to Fred Ridgway and Donald Carr, who were part of the MCC squad for the series
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
India won their first Test match 60 years ago beating MCC by an innings and eight runs. Andy Bull, writing in the Guardian, speaks to Fred Ridgway and Donald Carr, who were part of the MCC squad for the series.
Ridgway had been to India in 1951, with the Commonwealth XI. "S'alright," he said. "It's too overwhelmed with people all the time, mile after mile of people, busy, busy, busy." And for the fast bowlers, like Fred, it was hard and thankless work. He taps his finger on the table top. "The pitches were like this, brown, no grass, no movement at all. The longer you bowled, the slower it'd go. And the sweat! I bowled one over in Bombay and thought 'Oh crikey', the ground was wobbling under my feet. So I said to Nigel Howard, 'I can't bowl on this, mate, it's too hot'. But someone had to. So I cut my run down and bowled for another hour."