Mankading, Gandhi and the Empire. An extract from Arunabha Sengupta’s Elephant in the Stadium
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Jason Gillespie's debut: The only aborigine male to play Test cricket for Australia
Jason Gillespie made his debut on 29 Nov 1996. He remains the only Australian male Test cricketer of aborigine descent.
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Harold Gimblett and Learie Constantine: Not quite racism
During a match that started August 25, 1945 at Lord s, an exasperated Harold Gimblett uttered a racist comment at Learie Constantine. As Abhishek Mukherjee elaborates, it ended in good-natured camaraderie, complete with a nice epilogue.
Read MoreBina Das: The girl who shot at Jackson
Bina Das, the girl who shot at FS Jackson, was born on 24 Aug 1911.
Read MoreSutcliffe, Hammond and Knighthood
Hammond and Sutcliffe never received knighthood
Read MoreNelson Mandela: From Don Bradman to the World Cups
Nelson Mandela was born on 18 July 1918
Read MoreMoeen Ali and much ado about his beard
In 2014, the British media, particularly Michael Henderson of The Telegraph, had taken issue with Moeen Ali proclaiming that his beard was like a uniform, a label representing the Muslim faith. Rather curiously, the chief argument against Moeen has been that as a member of the national team he could represent only one thing — the country he played for. It was then that Arunabha Sengupta wrote this defence for Moeen Ali and his personal choice for DNA India. Later in 2018, when Moeen published his autobiography ghosted by Mihir Bose, this article was referred to and reproduced almost verbatim in the book.
Read MoreMbeki, Pahad and the 1966 West Indians
13 June 1966. The day Thabo Mbeki and Essop Pahad got drunk with the West Indians
Read More50 years of Stop The Seventy Tour Campaign: New book to relive the drama
New book to relive the drama of the STST campaign
Read MoreThe Locust Scare - Stop The Seventy Tour
May 11, 1970 … The Locus Scare
Read MoreApartheid, Roy McLean and Vinoo Mankad
Vinoo Mankad, Roy McLean and Apartheid
Read MoreThe Sharpeville Massacre: Cricket and Apartheid
Mar 21, 1960 Sharpeville Massacre and how it affected cricket
Read MoreSuffragettes burn downn the pavilion of the Nevill Ground, Tunbridge Wells
On April 11, 1913, the picturesque Nevill Ground of Tunbridge Wells was subjected to arson by militant suffragettes. Arunabha Sengupta looks back at the fire that destroyed the pavilion and resulted in significant financial loss.
Read MoreDo you think I am a homosexual? Martin Crowe's question to a journalist
March 6, 1993. Martin Crowe was at the end of his tether, battling discontent in team, injuries and ailment, and severe criticism in the press. He stormed in to answer questions in a press conference, and started off by asking several. And one of them was about as direct and bold as cricket ever gets. Arunabha Sengupta recalls the fateful day at Wellington.
Read MoreRobin Jackman’s South African connections lead to cancellation of a Test between England and West Indies
February 28, 1981.The Test match to be played between West Indies and England at Georgetown, Guyana, was cancelled because the visiting team had been reinforced by the arrival of Robin Jackman, a bowler with South African connections. Arunabha Sengupta recalls one of the many apartheid related controversies to take place in cricket.
Read MoreGeorge Cecil Ives: Writer, Poet, Criminologist, Reformer and the pioneering First-Class cricketer to come out of the closet
George Cecil Ives, born October 1, 1867, was a poet, writer and penal reformer … fate also made him the first ever First-Class cricketer to admit to homosexuality. Abhishek Mukherjee documents the curiously interesting character.
Read MoreEngland and Zimbabwe play at Lord’s in a political hot potato of a Test match
May 22, 2003. The England-Zimbabwe Test match at Lord’s got underway amidst controversy and protests.Arunabha Sengupta looks back at the day when ECB feared severe demonstrations against the Mugabe regime as the hosts took on the cricket side from a country torn apart by civil and political unrest.
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