Southern comfort

Former India captain and umpire, S Venkataraghavan talks about cricket in Chennai from the yesteryears. He rewinds to the corporate tournaments that drew huge crowds, Test cricket at Chepauk during Pongal, and the magic of local matches in the Hindu.

For the typical cricket lover in Madras, a Test match at Chepauk was imbued with a rare magic; the excitement began days before the first ball was bowled. But he also patronised local cricket. Great expectations were in the air when popular league teams such as Parry's, State Bank and SVOC played one another. Even inter-collegiate cricket had a good following.