CG Howard's XI cricket team in India in 1956-57
Encyclopedia
An English cricket team managed and selected by Geoffrey Howard toured India in the 1956–57 season. They played two first class matches between 30 December 1956 and 8 January 1957, winning one and losing one.
The tour coincided with the English tour of South Africa, thus no players who were part of that touring party played on this tour. Neither were any of the players that had beaten Australia in the final Test of 1956
. Nevertheless, with the exception of wicket-keeper Jock Livingston
the entire touring party of twelve had previous Test experience, eight of them for England and three of them for Australia.
The hosting eleven, representing Bidhan Chandra Roy
as Chief Minister of West Bengal, turned a first innings deficit around to a win after the tourists' wicket-keeper Livingston and No. 3 batsman Graveney were both forced to miss the second innings due to illness. Seven of the select XI had featured in the 3-Test series who played Australia in October and November, while three of the remaining four had been dropped from the scene in the early 1950s. Nari Contractor
had played in the final Test against Australia and now made 73 not out
on New Year's Eve and continued towards 157 on New Year's Day. On the first day, the tourists' Australian spinners Dooland and Tribe took seven wickets, before Edrich made 58 for the tourists against the hosts' spinners Ghulam and Subhash Gupte
, who shared eight between them. With Livingston and Graveney out, Howard's eleven was 16 for nought overnight on the final day chasing 301 to win, but were bowled out by Ghulam and Vinoo Mankad.
Another strong eleven were fielded by the Cricket Club of India
's President at the club's home, the Brabourne Stadium
in Bombay. The side included four players who had featured in the Test series against Australia and a further five players with Test experience. The tourists had brought in McCool as replacement for the injured Livingston. It was the only time in first-class cricket that McCool kept wicket and he responded by stumping Vinoo Mankad off the bowling of Dooland. Graveney, who had been taken ill during the previous match, now responded with a pair of centuries as the tourists batted the hosts out of the game. The Cricket Club of India's first innings included a fall from 113 for three to 171 all out after Vijay Hazare
retired on 32.
, Alan Moss
, Fred Trueman
and Willie Watson
all returned to the England Test team. Graveney had already played more than 15 Tests for England, though he had been left out of the side for the final three Tests of the 1956 Ashes, but returned to make 472 runs at a batting average over 100 in the 3–0 win over West Indies in 1957
. Trueman established himself as a player in that 1957 series, taking 23 wickets after having been in and out of the team since he was first called up to play Indian cricket team in England in 1952
. Both played major parts in England Test history well into the 1960s, with Trueman becoming the first player ever to take 300 Test wickets. Moss and Watson featured in a few Tests during the final years of the 1950s, but did not make major contributions.
The tour coincided with the English tour of South Africa, thus no players who were part of that touring party played on this tour. Neither were any of the players that had beaten Australia in the final Test of 1956
Australian cricket team in England in 1956
The Australian cricket team toured England in the 1956 season to play a five-match Test series against England for The Ashes.England won the series 2-1 with 2 matches drawn and therefore retained The Ashes....
. Nevertheless, with the exception of wicket-keeper Jock Livingston
Jock Livingston
Leonard "Jock" Livingston, born at Hurlstone Park, Sydney on 3 May 1920 and died there on 16 January 1998, was an Australian cricketer who played most of his first-class cricket in England.-Cricket career:...
the entire touring party of twelve had previous Test experience, eight of them for England and three of them for Australia.
Touring party
| Name | Age | Style | Domestic team | Tour statistics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mat Match A match is a tool for starting a fire under controlled conditions. A typical modern match is made of a small wooden stick or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by frictional heat generated by striking the match against a suitable surface... |
Runs Run (cricket) In the sport of cricket, a run is the basic unit of scoring. Runs are scored by a batsman, and the aggregate of the scores of a team's batsmen constitutes the team's score. A batsman scoring 50 or 100 runs , or any higher multiple of 50 runs, is considered a particular achievement... |
Bat avg Batting average Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :... |
Wkts Wicket In the sport of cricket the word wicket has several distinct meanings:-Definitions of wicket:Most of the time, the wicket is one of the two sets of three stumps and two bails at either end of the pitch... |
Bowl avg Bowling average Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket.A bowler's bowling average is defined as the total number of runs conceded by the bowlers divided by the number of wickets taken by the bowler, so the lower the average the better. It is similar to earned... |
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| Bill Edrich Bill Edrich William John "Bill" Edrich DFC was a distinguished cricketer who played for Middlesex, MCC, Norfolk and England.Edrich's three brothers, Brian, Eric and Geoff, and also his cousin, John, all played first-class cricket... (c Captain (cricket) The captain of a cricket team often referred to as the skipper is the appointed leader, having several additional roles and responsibilities over and above those of a regular player... ) |
40 | RHB, RFM Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling... |
Middlesex Middlesex County Cricket Club Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the... |
2 | 125 | 31.25 | 0 | |
| Alec Bedser Alec Bedser Sir Alec Victor Bedser, CBE was a professional English cricketer. He was the chairman of selectors for the English national cricket team, and the president of Surrey County Cricket Club... |
38 | RHB, RMF Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling... |
Surrey Surrey County Cricket Club Surrey County Cricket Club is one of the 18 professional county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Surrey. Its limited overs team is called the Surrey Lions... |
2 | 10 | 5.00 | 2 | 59.50 |
| Bruce Dooland Bruce Dooland Bruce Dooland was an Australian cricketer who played in 3 Tests from 1947 to 1948.... |
33 | RHB, LBG Leg break A leg break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. A delivery of a right-handed leg spin bowler. Leg breaks are also colloquially known as leggies or wrist spinners, as the wrist is the body part which is primarily used to impart spin on the ball, as opposed to the fingers in the case of... |
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws... |
2 | 33 | 11.00 | 8 | 28.12 |
| Tom Graveney Tom Graveney Thomas William Graveney in Riding Mill, Northumberland, is a former English cricketer and was the President of the Marylebone Cricket Club for 2004/5. He went to Bristol Grammar School... |
29 | RHB, LB Leg break A leg break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. A delivery of a right-handed leg spin bowler. Leg breaks are also colloquially known as leggies or wrist spinners, as the wrist is the body part which is primarily used to impart spin on the ball, as opposed to the fingers in the case of... |
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire County Cricket Club Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators.... |
2 | 284 | 94.66 | ||
| Jock Livingston Jock Livingston Leonard "Jock" Livingston, born at Hurlstone Park, Sydney on 3 May 1920 and died there on 16 January 1998, was an Australian cricketer who played most of his first-class cricket in England.-Cricket career:... |
36 | LHB, WK | Northamptonshire Northamptonshire County Cricket Club Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the... |
1 | 29 | 29.00 | 0 | |
| Colin McCool Colin McCool Colin Leslie McCool was an Australian cricketer who played in 14 Tests from 1946 to 1950. McCool, born in Paddington, New South Wales, was an all-rounder who bowled leg spin and googlies with a round arm action and as a lower order batsman was regarded as effective square of the wicket and against... |
40 | RHB, (WK) | Somerset Somerset County Cricket Club Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset... |
1 | 24 | 12.00 | 0 | |
| Alan Moss Alan Moss Alan Edward Moss is a former English cricketer, who played in nine Tests for England from 1954 to 1960.... |
28 | RHB, RFM Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling... |
Middlesex Middlesex County Cricket Club Middlesex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Middlesex. It was announced in February 2009 that Middlesex changed their limited overs name from the Middlesex Crusaders, to the... |
2 | 13 | 6.50 | 4 | 25.25 |
| Reg Simpson Reg Simpson Reginald Thomas Simpson is an English former cricketer, who played in twentry seven Tests from 1948 to 1955.-Life and career:... |
36 | RHB, OB Off break Off break is a type of delivery in the sport of cricket. It is the attacking delivery of an off spin bowler. Off breaks are known as off spinners.... |
Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Nottinghamshire, and the current county champions. Its limited overs team is called the Nottinghamshire Outlaws... |
2 | 97 | 24.25 | ||
| George Tribe George Tribe George Edward Tribe was an Australian cricketer who played in 3 Tests from 1946 to 1947, as well as an Australian rules footballer with the Footscray Football Club in the VFL.... |
36 | LHB, SLC | Northamptonshire Northamptonshire County Cricket Club Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the... |
2 | 54 | 18.00 | 11 | 13.45 |
| Fred Trueman Fred Trueman Frederick Sewards Trueman OBE was an English cricketer, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history. A bowler of genuinely fast pace who was widely known as Fiery Fred, Trueman played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1949 until he retired in 1968... |
25 | RHB, RF Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling... |
Yorkshire Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure.... |
2 | 96 | 48.00 | 8 | 25.50 |
| Alan Wharton Alan Wharton Alan Wharton was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire, Leicestershire and England.-Life and career:Wharton was born in Heywood, Lancashire, England.... |
33 | LHB, RM Fast bowling Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling... |
Lancashire Lancashire County Cricket Club Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club and has played at Old Trafford since then... |
2 | 101 | 25.25 | 0 | |
| Willie Watson Willie Watson (England cricketer) William "Willie" Watson, was an English cricketer, who played for Yorkshire, Leicestershire and England. He was a double international, as Watson was also a footballer who played for England's national team.-Cricket career:... |
36 | LHB | Yorkshire Yorkshire County Cricket Club Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure.... |
2 | 102 | 25.50 | ||
30 December–2 January: Bengal Chief Minister's XI vs CG Howard's XI
| Bengal West Bengal West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP... Chief Minister Chief Minister A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government... 's XI |
149 | & | 379/8d Declaration and forfeiture In the sport of cricket a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's innings closed and a forfeiture is when a captain chooses to forfeit an innings. Declaration and forfeiture are covered in Law 14 of the Laws of cricket... |
Bengal Chief Minister's XI won by 142 runs |
MH Mankad 32 GE Tribe George Tribe George Edward Tribe was an Australian cricketer who played in 3 Tests from 1946 to 1947, as well as an Australian rules footballer with the Footscray Football Club in the VFL.... 4/41 |
NJ Contractor Nari Contractor Nariman Jamshedji "Nari" Contractor is a former cricket player. He was left-handed opening batsman whose international career was ended abruptly by a serious injury.... 157 AV Bedser Alec Bedser Sir Alec Victor Bedser, CBE was a professional English cricketer. He was the chairman of selectors for the English national cricket team, and the president of Surrey County Cricket Club... 2/66 |
Eden Gardens Eden Gardens Eden Gardens is a cricket ground in Kolkata , India. It is the home of the Bengal cricket team and the Indian Premier League's Kolkata Knight Riders, as well as being a Test and One Day International ground. It is the largest cricket stadium in India by seating capacity... , Calcutta, India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... Umpires: Sunil Banerjee (Ind India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... ) and Santosh Ganguli (Ind India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... ) |
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| CG Howard's XI | 227/9d Declaration and forfeiture In the sport of cricket a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's innings closed and a forfeiture is when a captain chooses to forfeit an innings. Declaration and forfeiture are covered in Law 14 of the Laws of cricket... |
& | 158 | |
WJ Edrich Bill Edrich William John "Bill" Edrich DFC was a distinguished cricketer who played for Middlesex, MCC, Norfolk and England.Edrich's three brothers, Brian, Eric and Geoff, and also his cousin, John, all played first-class cricket... 58 Ghulam Ahmed Ghulam Ahmed Ghulam Ahmed was an off spin bowler, who captained India in Test cricket. After his retirement, he served for many years as the secretary of BCCI.... 4/68 |
FS Trueman Fred Trueman Frederick Sewards Trueman OBE was an English cricketer, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history. A bowler of genuinely fast pace who was widely known as Fiery Fred, Trueman played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1949 until he retired in 1968... 46* Not out In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress... Ghulam Ahmed Ghulam Ahmed Ghulam Ahmed was an off spin bowler, who captained India in Test cricket. After his retirement, he served for many years as the secretary of BCCI.... 4/38 |
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The hosting eleven, representing Bidhan Chandra Roy
Bidhan Chandra Roy
Bidhan Chandra Roy, M.R.C.P., F.R.C.S. was the second Chief Minister of West Bengal in India. He remained in his post for 14 years as a Indian National Congress candidate, from 1948 until his death in 1962. He was a highly respected physician and a renowned freedom fighter...
as Chief Minister of West Bengal, turned a first innings deficit around to a win after the tourists' wicket-keeper Livingston and No. 3 batsman Graveney were both forced to miss the second innings due to illness. Seven of the select XI had featured in the 3-Test series who played Australia in October and November, while three of the remaining four had been dropped from the scene in the early 1950s. Nari Contractor
Nari Contractor
Nariman Jamshedji "Nari" Contractor is a former cricket player. He was left-handed opening batsman whose international career was ended abruptly by a serious injury....
had played in the final Test against Australia and now made 73 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
on New Year's Eve and continued towards 157 on New Year's Day. On the first day, the tourists' Australian spinners Dooland and Tribe took seven wickets, before Edrich made 58 for the tourists against the hosts' spinners Ghulam and Subhash Gupte
Subhash Gupte
Subhashchandra Pandharinath "Fergie" Gupte was one of Test cricket's finest spin bowlers. Sir Garry Sobers pronounced him the best leg spinner that it had been his pleasure to see. Gupte flighted and spun the ball sharply, and possessed two different googlies...
, who shared eight between them. With Livingston and Graveney out, Howard's eleven was 16 for nought overnight on the final day chasing 301 to win, but were bowled out by Ghulam and Vinoo Mankad.
5 January–8 January: Cricket Club of India President's XI vs CG Howard's XI
| CG Howard's XI | 319 | & | 313/7d Declaration and forfeiture In the sport of cricket a declaration occurs when a captain declares his team's innings closed and a forfeiture is when a captain chooses to forfeit an innings. Declaration and forfeiture are covered in Law 14 of the Laws of cricket... |
CG Howard's XI won by 152 runs |
TW Graveney Tom Graveney Thomas William Graveney in Riding Mill, Northumberland, is a former English cricketer and was the President of the Marylebone Cricket Club for 2004/5. He went to Bristol Grammar School... 153 BP Gupte Baloo Gupte Balkrishna Pandharinath 'Baloo' Gupte was a former Indian cricketer. He was a leg-spinner. He made his debut under Nari Contractor in 1960-61 against Pakistan led by Fazal Mahmood at the Corporation Stadium in Madras . He played three Tests for India between 1960-61 and 1964-65... 4/99 |
TW Graveney Tom Graveney Thomas William Graveney in Riding Mill, Northumberland, is a former English cricketer and was the President of the Marylebone Cricket Club for 2004/5. He went to Bristol Grammar School... 120 BP Gupte Baloo Gupte Balkrishna Pandharinath 'Baloo' Gupte was a former Indian cricketer. He was a leg-spinner. He made his debut under Nari Contractor in 1960-61 against Pakistan led by Fazal Mahmood at the Corporation Stadium in Madras . He played three Tests for India between 1960-61 and 1964-65... 4/77 |
Brabourne Stadium Brabourne Stadium The Brabourne Stadium is a cricket ground in the Indian city of Mumbai. It is located on 90,000 square yards of reclaimed land along Marine Drive near Churchgate railway station in South Mumbai. The stadium is owned by the Cricket Club of India . Brabourne Stadium is India's first permanent... , Bombay, India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... Umpires: RS Mahajan (Ind India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... ) and Ahmed Mansa (Burma) |
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| Cricket Club of India Cricket Club of India Cricket Club of India is located on Dinsha Wacha Road, near Churchgate in Mumbai, India. It is one of the oldest and most well known cricket clubs in India... President's XI |
171 | & | 158 | |
PR Umrigar Polly Umrigar Pahlan Ratanji "Polly" Umrigar was an Indian cricketer. He played first-class cricket for Bombay, and Test cricket in the Indian cricket team, mainly as a middle-order batsman but also bowling occasional medium pace and off spin. He captained the Indian team in eight Test matches from 1955 to... 57 B Dooland Bruce Dooland Bruce Dooland was an Australian cricketer who played in 3 Tests from 1947 to 1948.... 3/38 |
PR Umrigar Polly Umrigar Pahlan Ratanji "Polly" Umrigar was an Indian cricketer. He played first-class cricket for Bombay, and Test cricket in the Indian cricket team, mainly as a middle-order batsman but also bowling occasional medium pace and off spin. He captained the Indian team in eight Test matches from 1955 to... 100 G Tribe George Tribe George Edward Tribe was an Australian cricketer who played in 3 Tests from 1946 to 1947, as well as an Australian rules footballer with the Footscray Football Club in the VFL.... 3/93 |
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Another strong eleven were fielded by the Cricket Club of India
Cricket Club of India
Cricket Club of India is located on Dinsha Wacha Road, near Churchgate in Mumbai, India. It is one of the oldest and most well known cricket clubs in India...
's President at the club's home, the Brabourne Stadium
Brabourne Stadium
The Brabourne Stadium is a cricket ground in the Indian city of Mumbai. It is located on 90,000 square yards of reclaimed land along Marine Drive near Churchgate railway station in South Mumbai. The stadium is owned by the Cricket Club of India . Brabourne Stadium is India's first permanent...
in Bombay. The side included four players who had featured in the Test series against Australia and a further five players with Test experience. The tourists had brought in McCool as replacement for the injured Livingston. It was the only time in first-class cricket that McCool kept wicket and he responded by stumping Vinoo Mankad off the bowling of Dooland. Graveney, who had been taken ill during the previous match, now responded with a pair of centuries as the tourists batted the hosts out of the game. The Cricket Club of India's first innings included a fall from 113 for three to 171 all out after Vijay Hazare
Vijay Hazare
Vijay Samuel Hazare was an Indian cricket player from the state of Maharashtra. He captained the Indian cricket team in 14 matches between 1951 and 1953...
retired on 32.
Tour aftermath
From the touring side, Tom GraveneyTom Graveney
Thomas William Graveney in Riding Mill, Northumberland, is a former English cricketer and was the President of the Marylebone Cricket Club for 2004/5. He went to Bristol Grammar School...
, Alan Moss
Alan Moss
Alan Edward Moss is a former English cricketer, who played in nine Tests for England from 1954 to 1960....
, Fred Trueman
Fred Trueman
Frederick Sewards Trueman OBE was an English cricketer, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history. A bowler of genuinely fast pace who was widely known as Fiery Fred, Trueman played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1949 until he retired in 1968...
and Willie Watson
Willie Watson (England cricketer)
William "Willie" Watson, was an English cricketer, who played for Yorkshire, Leicestershire and England. He was a double international, as Watson was also a footballer who played for England's national team.-Cricket career:...
all returned to the England Test team. Graveney had already played more than 15 Tests for England, though he had been left out of the side for the final three Tests of the 1956 Ashes, but returned to make 472 runs at a batting average over 100 in the 3–0 win over West Indies in 1957
West Indian cricket team in England in 1957
The West Indies cricket team toured England in the 1957 season to play a five-match Test series against England.England won the series 3-0 with two matches drawn...
. Trueman established himself as a player in that 1957 series, taking 23 wickets after having been in and out of the team since he was first called up to play Indian cricket team in England in 1952
Indian cricket team in England in 1952
The Indian cricket team toured England in the 1952 season. The team played four Test matches, losing three of them and drawing the other one. In all first-class matches, they played 29, winning four and losing five, with the rest drawn.-The Indian team:...
. Both played major parts in England Test history well into the 1960s, with Trueman becoming the first player ever to take 300 Test wickets. Moss and Watson featured in a few Tests during the final years of the 1950s, but did not make major contributions.