Pongal and cricket go together

As any cricket follower in Chennai that was Madras will testify, this is the time to get nostalgic and take many trips down memory lane. For traditionally, the Pongal (or harvest) festival which is observed around this time in this southern state, coincides with the peak of the cricket season. Pongal and cricket are inseparable and frequently Pongal and the Chepauk Test match have gone hand in hand. The weather in the southern city at this time is generally bright and sunny without getting too hot and so even from this viewpoint, playing cricket would seem the right and proper thing to do.

The tradition of Pongal and cricket goes back to the annual Madras Presidency match between the Indians and Europeans. The first such game was played in 1916. On and off (but more on than off), the matches were played during the Pongal weekend, generally in the second or third week of January. The last match was held in 1952. Out of a total of 30 matches, the Indians won 14, the Europeans eight and the remaining ended in draws. Chepauk reverberated to the feats of well known players like HP Ward, Ron Nailer, PE Palia, CP Johnstone, CK Nayudu, JWA Stephenson, RD Richmond, E Britton Jones, AG Ram Singh, C Ramaswami, MJ Gopalan, B Subramaniam and M Baliah.

Administrators were keen that tradition should continue even after international cricket came to India and Madras became one of the regular venues. Test matches and Pongal were for some time synonymous but the crowded international calendar changed the scenario and Madras staged Test matches in months as diverse as December and February, March and October, September and November.

Actually however, the tradition that Pongal and international matches have gone hand in hand has not always been true. Even in the days when the international calendar was not chock-full, Madras has not always held Test matches during the festive period. A glance at the 39 Test matches, official and unofficial, played between 1934 and 1999, would show that only 14 games have been played during the festive period proper.

A small matter, really. To the cricket lover in the city, Pongal and cricket do go together. And while the game is played round the year, there is little doubt that cricketing activity reaches a frenzy at this time and the bat and ball are seen all over Chennai as much as the traditional sugarcane and "sakkaraipongal."