Lives in Cricket No 22 - Jack Mercer

52 The following day, Christmas Eve, Jack was one of the party who attended the Calcutta races, before joining Mr Russell and other members of the Calcutta Cricket Club for their Christmas Day celebrations. A day at the Royal Calcutta Turf Club then followed before a second unofficial Test against another All-India XI at the Eden Gardens ground. Once again, Jack took the new ball and claimed a couple of wickets before Bob Wyatt led the tourists to a four-wicket victory. The following day, the MCC party headed by ship to Burma where they were hosted by members of the Rangoon Gymkhana Club, besides spending time at the local Turf Club where they watched pony races and took part in another lavish dance. The matches in Burma were relaxed affairs, and in the opening encounter, perhaps buoyed by their conviviality, Jack recorded his tour-best figures of six for 39. From Rangoon, it was back to Madras by the S.S.Ethiopia and further dinners and balls, plus a visit to Madras races, where the tourists dined, to their great delight, on rare roast beef, pheasant and salmon. Fortified by this fine fare, Jack opened the bowling against an Indian XI and with his first delivery clean-bowled M.C.Sivasankaran. However, the home side recovered as the MCC bowlers delivered a series of short spells in the high temperatures. During their stay in Madras the tourists were also entertained at the local A passage to India The MCC side which (with help from occasional co-optees) played 34 matches, without losing, in seventeen weeks in a tour of the Indian sub-continent in 1926/27. Standing (l to r): M.L.Hill (wk), M.W.Tate, J.Mercer, W.E.Astill, G.F.Earle, G.Geary, G.S.Boyes, G.Brown. Seated: J.H.Parsons, A.E.R.Gilligan (capt), Sir Leslie Wilson, R.C.Chichester-Constable, A.Sandham. On the ground: R.E.S.Wyatt, P.T.Eckersley.