Cricket 1894

406 CiBICKS'SC's A WEEKLY BECORB Ctf THE QAME0 SEPT. 20, 1894 THE EVOLUTION OF CRICKET AMONG THE PARSEES. Considering that another visit of Parsee cricketers may be an event ot the near future, the following account of the development of cricket in that community taken from the Bombay Gazette, may not be without interest. “ It will not ” so, runs the Gazette, “ be amiss to have a peep into the early history of Parsee cricket. Its origin goes back to the early fifties, before the days of the Mutiny, and old men there are still living who were among its pioneers, They saw Englishmen playing the game, and the well-known instinct of their race for imitationand adaptation, stimulated by an innate love of sport, impelled them to go and do likewise. And their early efforts were ludicrously crude. Sticks of any kind, shape, or size stood for stumps, and in default of sticks, an unbrella stuck into the ground, or even a big stone, at a pinob, did duty for the wickets. The ball, with all its angularities, was the product of the ingenuity of the shoemaker in the street ; and the bat, a flat wooden piece of varyiDg width, might have been made, or rather “ rough hewn,” to order, by the carpenter over the way. Bails there were not, anil they were not missed at all. The olub which boasted an equipment of English-made cricket kit was generally regarded with admiring despair, for it was not everybody who could afford the luxury of having these expensive articles. They played on the Esplanade and the Marine Battalion grounds—desolate spots in those days when the Fort, true to the name, was entrenchcd behind its moats and ramparts. It was amidst a variety of difficulties that the ardent votaries of sport had to carry on their pursuit. It was quite an uphill affair in those day. To begin with, the cricket materials, however crude and humble, involved an outlay which was a tax upon their slender means. It was simply out of the question to look to their parents for a subsidy, be it ever so small, because a wholesome horror and contempt of athletics of all kinds was then one of the true tests of respectability. It was an article of their cieed that there was no hope for the y uth who had anything to do with games of any sort, because they had a disastrous effect upon manners and morals. So long, however, as the early cricketers could steer clear of the parental authority, they did not care very much for the obloquy and derision of other members of their community. They had also difficulties of another sort to contend against on the play ground. They came into frequent collision, it is said, with the Mahomedan dyers who carried on their work on the Maidan. The dyers con­ sidered the intrusion of the cricketers as an unwarrantable poaching on their preserve, and so “ frontier question.” arose now and again to vex tho spirit of the rival combatants. Troubles nrose, similarly with soldirrs of tho Marine Battalion, ii an erratic bill happened to hit one of them. There is a well-authen­ ticated anecdote of a cricket ball onoe hit­ ting some big functionary, which threatened to bring the poor players into trouble. Mr. Arnold, a judge of the Supreme Court, whose memory is regarded by Natives with affectionate respect, and who is gratefully remembered chiefly in connection with the historical Maharaja Libel Case, happened to be passing by at the time. He saw that the mishap was not at all the fault of the players, and accordingly wrote a letter, which wai published in the next morning’s papers, full of high-minded sympathy for “ the descendants of Zal and Rustom.” Years rolled on in this humdrum fashion before Parsee cricket took a step in advance of its humble beginnings. English-made articles of the regulation size and shape began, by slow degrees, to be more generally used, and matches were arranged with soldiers from the garrison. Justice compels me to admit that the Parsees had, in those old days, a rather inadequate conception of the ethics of cricket. If everything was fair in love why should it not be so in cricket as well ? If one of them was a good bat, they thought nothing of sending him to defend the wickets for his side, of course in different disguises, more than once ; and the man had a chance of successfully hiding his identity, particularly after lunch, when the soldiers were supposed to be more or less off their guard. Yet even soldiers were not always to be caught napping, as may be seen from the follow­ ing anecdote, which is not to be taken for pure fiction. In a match between soldiers and Parsees, the Parsee who was umpir­ ing for his side gave out one of the bats­ men of the opposite side l.-b.-w. The verdict was more patriotic than just. To put it plainly, it was a palpably false decision. The soldier was indignant—I do not know if the episode occurred after lunch—and he exclaimed “ What 1out ? ” “ Yes,” retorted the plucky little Parsre. The soldier was a big strapping fellow ; the Parsee was a small, squeaking thing. The soldier threw down the bat, and, in a moment, hoisted the son of Zoroaster on the broad <f his back, and carried him clean off the field into the tent. That was a sight indeed 1 The yells and frantic efforts of the captive, who was borne along in triumph, to extricate himself from his ignominous situation were greeted with roars of laughter, which contemporary history says proceeded as much from his own co-religionists as from the comrades of the mighty Samson. With the advance of cricket in popu­ larity the number of clubs was multiplier!, and the Esplanade presented a lively scene in the evening. There was great rivalry between some <f these clubs, and also, I am sorry to add, great jealousy. Two of the leading clubs, which shall be nameless, although they have disappeared long since, had oarned a special notoriety for their perpetual feuds. Each had its following of ardent partisans, wbo were fired by as much zeal and fury for their respective sides as the Montagues and Capulets of old. Whenever matters came o a crisis, stumps and bats, together with walking sticks and umbrellas, were used for other than their legitimate purposes. The writer well remembers a grisly- bearded, fierce-looking man, burly and big like the proverbial Alderman, who appeared on the scene as the champion of one of the contending parties, whenever matters assumed a serious aspect. He rarely, if ever, used physical force. Indeed, he had no occasion to do so, because his e: ormous size and the dan­ gerous warnings which he uttered in tones of husky thunder, were quite sufficient t ) cow down the martial spirit of the enemy. It was long before the players knew the laws of cricket, or even knew if any such laws there were at all in existence. So each player was a law unto himself, and some of the approved notions of cricket were anything but scientific. To sky the ball was then a great performance for the batsman ; the higher up he could send it, the greater the merit; and swiftness was the one and sole object to be kept in view by the bowlers, who had not the ghost of an idea as to what was meant by break or pitch. I remember a renowned trundler of those days, whose delivery was as swift as it was erratic. In a match he was generally kept back as a reserve force, being called into requisition when partnership continued longer at thf wickets than was considered desirable. If he did not take wickets, he was pretty sure to disable the batsman—it was of course an accident due to the chances of war—and that, answered the purpose about as well. Ignorant of the rales of cricket, the cricketers devised their own methods of play, such as what was called “ tip and run,” “ three miss,” “ fair,” and “ double fair.” From the zeal and devo­ tion with which the players cultivated cricket, it may be easily understood that they were extremely jealous of the honour and glory of their respective clubs. At the conclusion of a match, the captain of the vanquished team had, until very re­ cently, to sign a sort of deed of capitula­ tion in the winners’ score book. The captain was naturally unwilling to verify with his signature the re­ cord of his own humiliation, and much bitterness of feeling was engendered, when he employed subterfuges to escape this obligation. But there was acode of honour, even in those days, and public opinion based upon that code was ultimately too strong to enable him to play the artful dodger for any length of time. Although the players were almost wholly guided by their unaided intelli­ gence, till within the last fifteen year?, the age had produced heroes of its own who were the objects of much worship and admiration. Who could have sur­ passed Heersjee Kosta, for instance, in maintaining a stone-wall defence ? Old Heerajee was a remarkable man who equally divided his time between prayers to God and devotion to cricket. A staunch Zoroastrian he was, who, if ever the cap fell off his head, while making a run, would stop short in mid career to pick it up, and restore it reverently to the head, before proceeding to his goal. To him tho risk of losing his wicket was ijothjng before that of eternal punishment N EX T ISSUE OCTOBER 2tj