Falling down aplenty - 1952

A young and inexperienced Indian outfit was sent to England in 1952 to face a side whose fortunes were going through a revival that culminated in regaining the Ashes the next year. The result was a disaster for the visitors. Three of the four Tests were lost by margins that brooked no argument ­ seven wickets, eight wickets and an innings and 207 runs - and the final Test too would surely have been lost but for the fortunate intervention of rain. The record was particularly poor in the first-class games too. Out of 29 matches, only four were won, five lost and 20 were drawn.

Quite clearly, then, the batting was the main problem. Brought up on perfect pitches back home, the young batsmen lacked the skill and technique to come good in alien conditions. The weather was another factor that went against the tourists, for it was a wet summer.

The disappointment was especially acute because, during the 1951-52 season, India had put up a fine showing against England at home. The series was drawn, and in the process India registered her first victory in Tests. But the truth of the matter was that the visitors were without the services of players like Len Hutton, Denis Compton, Godfrey Evans, Jim Laker, Alec Bedser and Peter May.

In England, in familiar conditions and back to full strength, the hosts were obviously going to be a different proposition. Neither Lala Amarnath nor Mushtaq Ali was picked, while Vinoo Mankad was omitted from the tour after a misunderstanding over selection procedures. A disagreement over terms meant that even as India made their rounds of England with no conspicuous success, their leading cricketer was playing for Haslingden in the Lancashire leagues. Ultimately, after hectic parleys, manager Pankaj Gupta obtained his release for three Tests after the first Test had been lost.

Mankad straightaway made his presence felt, but there is little doubt that the team would have benefited immensely had he been a full member of the side. His presence itself would have been a tonic for the many youngsters in the team, and it is a fair to assume that the side's overall record would have been much better.

Indeed, such was the woeful record of the team that some of the shattering setbacks were of the kind that have not been experienced since. In the first Test at Leeds, there occurred the infamous collapse when India lost their first four wickets without a run on the board. In the third Test at Manchester, India were dismissed twice in one day, something that remains unique in Test cricket. In the final Test at the Oval, India lost their first five wickets for six runs.

Quite clearly, then, the batting was the main problem. Brought up on perfect pitches back home, the young batsmen lacked the skill and technique to come good in alien conditions. The weather was another factor that went against the tourists, for it was a wet summer. The Indians found the pace of Fred Trueman and the swing of Alec Bedser too hot to handle. In his debut series, Trueman, with his disconcerting pace, presented a fearsome sight.

Years later, in his autobiography, Trueman was to recall, "I really strafed those Indianwallahs in 1952. By the time I had finished with them, I had their curly hair up in spikes." No exaggeration this - the Indians were really scared of Trueman. The Yorkshire speedster was at his most devastating at Manchester when he took eight for 31 off 8.4 overs as India were shot out for 58 in less than two hours. In the four Tests, Trueman took 29 wickets at an average of 13.31.

There were a few crumbs of comfort for the Indians. The batting of Vijay Hazare was an object lesson in how to bat in unfriendly and adverse conditions. In first-class matches, he scored 1,077 runs at an average of 30.77, but it was his batting in the Tests that was the apotheosis of courage. Time and again he rescued the side with technically sound batting and headed the figures with 333 runs at an average of 55.50.

But Polly Umrigar was a puzzle. Outside the Tests, he was a commanding batsman, as illustrated by his tour figures of 1,688 runs at an average of 48.22 with five centuries, three of them double hundreds. In the Tests, plainly in distress against Trueman, he was a sitting duck, as shown by his meagre aggregate of 43 runs from seven innings. Vijay Manjrekar, another technically qualified batsman, just about lived up to his reputation. He scored 1,059 runs on the tour at an average of 39.22, and his finest hour came when he made a gallant 133 at Leeds in his first Test innings in England. But the remaining six innings brought him only 29 runs.

More was expected from players like Pankaj Roy, CD Gopinath, Dattu Phadkar, Dattajirao Gaekwad, GS Ramchand and Hemu Adhikari. But they were technically exposed in the English conditions. Roy, who was the batting find of the winter with two hundreds in his debut series, had five ducks in seven Test innings, including four in a row and a pair. His tour figures were a disappointing 788 runs at an average of 21.88.

In contrast, the bowling, for all its limitations, was never really collared. Ghulam Ahmed was easily the best of the lot, picking up 80 for the tour at 21.92. The tall off-spinner also headed the Test figures with 15 wickets at 24.73. All-rounders Dattu Phadkar and Ramchand too had their moments, picking up 53 and 64 wickets on the tour, while RV Divecha (50) and Hazare (44) lent a helping hand.

There were many highlights in the Tests ­ Hazare's courageous batting, Hutton's technical skill that saw him get two hundreds, Trueman's devastation, Ghulam's penetrative bowling, particularly in the first Test, the 222-run fourth-wicket partnership between Hazare and Manjrekar at Leeds, Evans' buccaneering batting that almost got him a hundred before lunch at Lord's (he was stranded on 98).

But there is little doubt that the star feature of the series was Mankad's incredible performance at Lord's. Coming into the Test side after a stint of league cricket, he top-scored with 72 and 184 in both innings and sent down 73 overs to take five wickets for 196. His tireless stamina, aggressive batting and skillful bowling in a losing cause saw critics groping for adjectives. It remains one of the greatest feats in the history of Indian cricket.