by Sumit Gangopadhyay

It is not just Merry Christmas. It is quite a festive day in the history of cricket as well.

In 1892, while Lord Hawke’s team was touring India, they had docked in Bombay. On Christmas Eve, they lost to the Parsees. That was the first time any Indian side had defeated a foreign team in a first-class encounter. Thus, it turned out to be a landmark day for Indian cricket.

The following evening, December 25, 1892, the English team was invited to celebrate Christmas by none other than Lord Harris, the Governor of Bombay. There were two ladies present at the banquet held at the Yacht Club. The first was the wife of Middlesex cricketer George Frederick Vernon and the other was an expat British woman. They were involved in an animated conversation. Suddenly the local lady turned towards the cricket team members and said, “You have crossed oceans to play in India, I am delighted by your enthusiasm towards cricket. Our Governor too seems very fond of the game, else he would not have invited you in this way.” Then turning towards the host, she asked, “Do you take any interest in the game, Lord Harris?”

Later, Lord Hawke wrote in his autobiography: “For colossal ineptitude, seeing the circumstances, I have always regarded this as unsurpassable.” Lord Harris, of course, turned out in 224 first-class matches and led England in all the four Test matches he played, including one in Australia.

Translated by Arunabha Sengupta