Chandrahasa Alva

A stylish strokeplayer and one of the mainstays of the Madras side in the forties and fifties, Alva played in two `Tests' against the second Commonwealth team in 1950-51. Earning his place following some excellent performances in the Ranji Trophy, Alva had the mortification of being dismissed for a pair in the second game of the five match series at Bombay. Brought back for the fourth `Test' at Madras, he fared better scoring 26 at No 7. Alva, who played 18 games for Madras in the Ranji Trophy, had a particularly good run in 1950-51 when he scored hundreds against both Mysore and Hyderabad.(Partab Ramchand)