The first encounter that ended on even keel

As part of the build up to the ensuing India-Australia Tests, CricInfo runs a series of articles on the previous tours made by Australian sides to India. In the first such piece, the author examines the fortunes of Jack Ryder's Australian team which visited India in 1935-36 to play four unofficial `Tests'.

In the winter of 1935, the Maharaja of Patiala funded a venture to bring a team of Australians to India. Frank Tarrant, an Aussie who had played first class cricket in India for many years, made a trip back home to enlist players. But he had to overcome several obstacles, not least of which being the Australian Board's studied policy of non-cooperation. The national team were touring South Africa during the same period, so there was no question of getting the regular Test stars, and the Australian Board did not want the Sheffield Shield to be devalued by an exodus of players to India.

But the ACB's refusal to allow top draws like Bill Woodfull, Bill Ponsford and Alan Kippax to tour, although they had all retired from first class cricket, was baffling. In the end several other grizzly-haired veterans on the wrong side of 40 were roped in. Jack Ryder was captain and the 'Governor-General' Charlie Macartney, Bert Ironmonger, Sammy Love, 'Stork' Hendry, RK Oxenham, Lisle Nagel and Harry Alexander were the Test players in the touring party. The BCCI met in Bombay in August 1935 and gave the go-ahead to the trip. Commencing in Rajkot on November 5, the tour was to comprise of 22 matches, including four Tests.

A week before the first Test at Bombay, the Nawab of Pataudi, who had already been appointed captain on the following summer's tour of England, announced that he was not fit enough to play. There were murmurs of protest as the Yuvraj of Patiala, still a relative greenhorn, was given the captaincy ahead of CK Nayudu.

The Yuvraj walked in at 66/4 on the opening morning and proceeded to belt five massive sixes off slow bowlers Oxenham and Mair in a short sweet innings of 40, although it was believed that his father and tour sponsor, the Maharaja of Patiala, had arranged for them to deliver a few gift balls. India fell away to 163 and despite Nissar bowling magnificently to take 6/72, the Aussies took control on the strength of Ryder's 104. Remarkably it was the only century of the four `Test' series. The spinners wreaked havoc once more in India's second innings and Australia eventually ran out winners by nine wickets.

Before the second Test at Calcutta, the visitors were forced to follow-on in a tour game against Central India, skippered by CK Nayudu. CK led by example with a five wicket haul in the first innings and almost inevitably replaced the Yuvraj as captain at Calcutta. On a wicket badly affected by overnight rain, India never recovered after being devastated for 48 on the first morning. Australia made only 99 in reply but still closed out a thumping eight wicket win after lunch on the second day. Forty-nine year old Macartney did not have great success as a middle order batsman but the Indians found his left arm spinners a bit too wily for their liking.

It was the last time CK was to captain India. He dropped out of the next `Test' at Lahore, preferring instead to turn out for Central India in the Ranji Trophy, and was dropped for disciplinary reasons from the final `Test'. Wazir Ali proceeded to lead India to victory in the final two `Tests', himself making 76 and 92 at Lahore as Australia failed to negotiate the wiles of Nissar and Baqa Jilani to go down by 68 runs.

The Aussies lost again to Moin-ud-Dowla's XI at Secunderabad in the run-up to the final Test. Vizzy did the captain's honours again and after Lala Amarnath had hammered 144 to enable India the luxury of declaring at 413-5, the Australians collapsed in both innings to lose by a massive innings and 115 runs. The visitors, now quite exhausted by the strains of playing to a packed 13 week schedule, were beaten by 33 runs in the final `Test' at Madras. In a low scoring match where no one crossed fifty, Nissar proved too hot to handle and his eleven wicket haul gave him 32 victims for the series.

So the honours ended level at 2-2, not much to cheer about for India considering the potpourri of ageing and callow heads that made up the opposition. But nor did the hosts play at full strength, Nissar being the only one to turn out in all four Tests. A staggering 29 players were used in the `Test' series, used primarily as an experiment to test out prospective candidates for the tour of England in 1936.