Australian Services cricket team in Ceylon and India in 1945-46
Encyclopedia
The Australian Services cricket
team which had played in England in 1945 went home via India
and Ceylon, playing further first-class
matches in both countries.
The Services team was captained by Lindsay Hassett
and included other notable players in Keith Miller
and Cec Pepper
.
The team arrived in India during October and played 8 matches in India. They played a Prince's XI, the four zone teams and three matches against an Indian XI. These three games were played, respectively, at Brabourne Stadium
in Bombay; Eden Gardens
in Calcutta; and M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
in Madras. The first two were drawn and the Indian XI won the third by 6 wickets.
The Australian team moved on to Ceylon in December and played one first-class match versus Ceylon at the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo
. Australian Services won by an innings and 44 runs, largely thanks to a century by Miller.
Arriving back in Australia shortly before Christmas, the team continued its touring ways by playing against each of the Australian state teams, ending with a game against Tasmania in Hobart
at the end of January 1946.
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
team which had played in England in 1945 went home via 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...
and Ceylon, playing further first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
matches in both countries.
The Services team was captained by Lindsay Hassett
Lindsay Hassett
Arthur Lindsay Hassett MBE was a cricketer who played for Victoria and Australia. The diminutive Hassett was an elegant middle-order batsman, described by Wisden as, "... a master of nearly every stroke ... his superb timing, nimble footwork and strong wrists enabled him to make batting look a...
and included other notable players in Keith Miller
Keith Miller
Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
and Cec Pepper
Cec Pepper
Cecil George Pepper was an Australian first-class cricketer. An allrounder, he was the first to complete the double twice in the Central Lancashire League. With the bat he once hit 38 runs off an eight ball over....
.
The team arrived in India during October and played 8 matches in India. They played a Prince's XI, the four zone teams and three matches against an Indian XI. These three games were played, respectively, at 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; 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...
in Calcutta; and M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium is a cricket stadium in Chennai , India, named after M. A. Chidambaram, the former President of BCCI and the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. The stadium was formerly known as Madras Cricket Club Ground or Chepauk Stadium. Commonly known as Chepauk, its first match was...
in Madras. The first two were drawn and the Indian XI won the third by 6 wickets.
The Australian team moved on to Ceylon in December and played one first-class match versus Ceylon at the Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
. Australian Services won by an innings and 44 runs, largely thanks to a century by Miller.
Arriving back in Australia shortly before Christmas, the team continued its touring ways by playing against each of the Australian state teams, ending with a game against Tasmania in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
at the end of January 1946.
External sources
Further reading
- Mihir BoseMihir BoseMihir Bose also referred to as Spermy ,is a British Indian sportswriter and journalist, who was the BBC's sports editor until 4 August 2009.-Early life:...
, A History of Indian Cricket, Andre-Deutsch, 1990 - Ramachandra GuhaRamachandra GuhaRamachandra Guha is an Indian writer whose research interests have included environmental, social, political and cricket history. He is also a columnist for the newspapers The Telegraph , and The Hindustan Times.-Early life and education:Born in Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand, India in 1958, Guha studied...
, A Corner of a Foreign Field - An Indian History of a British Sport, Picador, 2001 - Wisden Cricketers Almanack 1946