Manual Called Out To A Foreign Field

Jardine, provide a window into the operations of Empire. The extraordinary life of India's first great slow bowler, Palwankar Baloo, introduces the reader to the still-unfinished struggle against caste discrimination. Later chapters explore the competition between Hindu and Muslim cricketers in colonial India and the extraordinary passions now provoked when India plays Pakistan. An important, pioneering work, essential for anyone interested in cricket and India, A Corner of a Foreign Field is also a beautifully written meditation on the ramifications of sport in society at large, and how sport can influence both social and political history.

Why did India start playing cricket, a primarily English game?

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Why was the bombay quadrangular tournament so important, both politically and sportingly? You will also be introduced to P Baloo. After reading this book, I am of the view that he is the biggest and most unsung hero of Indian cricket.

A Corner of a Foreign Field

Thanks to the author for highlighting his contribution to Indian cricket. Dhruv Suri Certified Buyer 5 Feb, Nice packing, Good book, Awesome delivery time!! The other one is C. Did sports being played on communal lines intensify communal rivalry or did it foster healthy rivalry and brought the communities together? A fascinating work and great writing. Dec 07, Viju rated it really liked it Shelves: There definitely is history to many a game. There definitely is history to the game of cricket. And there definitely is an Indian history to a British sport like cricket.

Ram Guha, in his inimitable style, pens this book linking the mostly unknown first Indian players of the game prior to independence and how the game also took a role, albeit small, in the uprising against the British. Indian history is definitely Ram Guha's strong point and when he combines it with a game he is passionate for There definitely is history to many a game.

Indian history is definitely Ram Guha's strong point and when he combines it with a game he is passionate for, there definitely is a joyous read. For me, cricket was all about the happenings post Hero Cup until I read this book and I am glad I did. Feb 02, Sanjay rated it really liked it. The book definitely lives up to its hype. The amount of background research that Guha has done for this book is staggering! Any lover of cricket and history cannot put this book down.

A classic social history of this wonderful game. The focus and thrust seems to be a lot on Bombay, caste, religion and the politics that shaped up the development of the game in India. It cannot be called a comprehensive history of the game simply because it barely touches other geographical parts of the country. I The book definitely lives up to its hype. It does not discuss the administration BCCI or its efforts at making the game what it is today.

It does not touch upon the domestic system that has given us players like Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Tendulkar or Dravid in the modern era. Nevertheless a fascinating read. May 20, Shom Biswas rated it it was amazing Shelves: Reviewed this for some blog of mine when I was a kid, and the book had just been published in I love social history. I quite like cricket. I had to like the book…. And you know what? Now I am not a greenhorn in the cricketing history of our country.

I did know him as the first in the line of great spinners that India Reviewed this for some blog of mine when I was a kid, and the book had just been published in I did know him as one of the first few truly national figures among Dalits. I had in fact heard of the Triangulars of Mumbai which eventually became the Quadrangulars and then the Pentangulars. I have heard and read of the exploits of CK Nayudu, and the paeans written for him by musty-eyed old cricket writers.

And there were many take homes for me from this book. In a clipped, honest, sturdy rather than poetic style, the writer details for us the whole history of Indian cricket, especially of its pre-test status era.

A Corner of a Foreign Field - Wikipedia

Ah, and would a social historian just give one the facts and figures? Would he stand back from analysing the data that he has collected? Thankfully, Guha does not. His analysis is precise, correct to an extent of assurance most of the times, and I should not really complain, for the only situations where I differed with his views completely in the first three parts of the book was about Calcutta football, clearly not one of Mr. The book is divided into four chapters to indicate the four great social waves into which Indian cricket could be divided.

To start with, the establishment of cricket in the country, and the osmosis of the stiff-upper-lip fish-and-chips sport into the spicy kitchens of India a simple example: The next chapter deals with that bane of the Indian Hindu society, caste. As cricket grows in the country, so does the country develop and try to eradicate the bane of untouchability from within it.

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Rather, how Dalits make their presence felt in the arena of sports, this serving as just a precursor to their presence at all other segments of society, in spite of all the despicable methods adopted by the higher castes to keep them from the mainstream Hindu folds. It is here that the chief characters of the book, the Palwankar family, are presented to the reader. The third part of the book deals with the most direct intermingling of the freedom struggle and cricket in the country. CK Nayudu, possibly the most dominant Indian sportsperson definitely in the minds of the public in pre-independence Indian sport, comes to us with all his spectacular brilliance as a sportsperson and with his most human flaws.

The fourth part does not deal so much with the cricket as with the fans of the game, and how they underwent the transformation from a genuine cricket-loving race, appreciating good sport and yet wanting their side to win, to rowdy partisans, who want the team to win at any cost; now putting the cricketers on a pedestal as national heroes, now unceremoniously pulling the images down after one shoddy performance.

He presents the facts exactly as they are. Economical with his words, he says what he has to say exactly the way he wants to say it. His analysis is almost always supported with facts and numbers and reliable anecdotes. I was really glad to see that he does not go into comparison between cricketers of different ages, a common bane of sports writers.

He presents the facts as a historian, does his analysis as an analyst, with the help of numbers and vignettes rather than any pre-conceived notion, and is convincing throughout. But if I could say, the bane of this book, and of Guha himself, is the bane of most historians. Very true to the facts in his analysis of history, he never overshoots, neither does he miss any single strand of information in his accurate analysis of Indian cricket before Independence.

The first three parts ring true because of the meticulous research and impartiality of his observation and analysis, And this is precisely where he misses out in the last section of the book, where his personal feelings come in obviously so, for how can you be impartial and observational as a historian to something you have yourself seen with your eyes , making this part more strident, clearly taking sides, the Ramachandra Guha in him comes into prominence with his preferences and dislikes, his political and his social beliefs; the impartial, impassive historian in him gradually sliding into the woodwork.

The voice, economical with words, clipped, with an honest ring to it, becomes shriller, with the analysis becoming more and more the case of one trying to prove his point by hook or by crook. And that has to be anticipated too. Historian or no historian, no Indian, especially someone with so much passion for the game and the country, could be completely impartial in their observations of the two major panacea of the country, cricket and politics.

What comes across the most at the end of this book is the intense love for a game by the author. It is possibly because of this love that he is able to be impartial and honest in his analysis in the first three parts, and even more so, this great love could be sited as the reason which prompts his to sometimes be a bit opinionated in the last part of the book. All in all, a knowledgeable, intelligent, researched read, which thankfully never becomes tedious in its pursuit of the unrecorded and unregistered. I would call it a definite success, Guha did reach where he wanted to in the end.

It, I guarantee, will be quite an enchanting read and a rewarding experience. Aug 21, Sourya Dey rated it really liked it Shelves: This book is good. It is very well researched and contains details of India's earliest cricketing tournaments and heroes. I thought I used to be a cricket lover, but I didn't have any idea of the game's history in India.

Did you know, for example, that an 'Untouchable' named Palwankar Baloo was India's star cricketer in the s? Or that cricket's popularity originally grew in a tournament with teams divided along communal lines? I got to know such a lot from this book and would definitely reco This book is good.

I got to know such a lot from this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in reading about the game.

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On the other hand, I'm docking a star because the book is a bit too well researched. There are places where the author tries to make a point by harping on endlessly about it and providing the viewpoints of a dozen different people. This makes the middle of the book drag a bit, but for the most part, it's very readable. I personally liked the final section on cricket after India's independence the most, although that's probably because I connected with the likes of Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar more than CK Nayudu and Ranjitsinhji, stars though they doubtless were.

I also want to point out that this is not a stats-filled book. If you want accounts of games, great innings and bewitching spells of bowling, this book is not for you. It is an account of the evolution of cricket in India with the freedom struggle, communal tensions, politics and the craziness of subcontinental mobs as backdrops.

And, despite or perhaps due to all that, this book manages to be quite compelling. Dec 31, Manthan Joshi rated it really liked it. A typical Guha novel! The book never goes dry in any of the parts. A smooth flow, with the tiniest intricacies and attention to detail about every event described. After reading this, you start appreciating all the people and the factors that have contributed to the popularity of cricket in India.

The book wonderfully potrays all the characters, including heroes like CK Nayudu and Sachin Tendulkar and unsung heroes like the Palwankar brothers! A must read for a sports history enthusiast! This is a book for Cricket lovers and for those readers who are waiting to latch on any stories, that reveal a great deal about that India - which had its soul directed towards Freedom!!

Feb 20, Arundhati rated it it was amazing. Definitely the most lucid, engrossing, and incisive book on cricket by an Indian author. The history of cricket in India and not of Indian Cricket, as Guha points out by a man who knows his history and his cricket. It doesn't get much better than this. Fascinating narration by Guha on the history of Indian cricket. The chapters on pre-independence and early independence kept me hooked.

Jul 27, Matthew Gaughan rated it it was amazing Shelves: This is a brilliant history of cricket in India and Pakistan , a superb book about why we play and watch sport, and an excellent introduction to the history of India itself. Jan 15, Chandrashekar rated it it was amazing Shelves: Cricket and Bollywood perhaps are the only two things in India which has an all India character. These are the two things which makes people from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Dwarka to Shillong sit up the entire night if need be, to watch a match or to catch a glimpse of their favorite star.

And when Lagaan happened in , it was serendipity. It will dismantle popular perceptions about the growth and development of cricket in the Indian imagination. Not even A small amount of speculation, or non-facts are allowed to creep into the book. The book is so thoroughly researched. This side of Indian cricket history most of the fans are familiar with. The book invariably starts with how and why cricket, the game, came to India. Guha at the outset makes it clear that the British did not have any intention of spreading the game here. On the other hand they believed that the natives could never pick this complex game based on skill, stamina both physical and mental in a thousand years.

They played the game to get away from the boredom, the heat and to reduce the frustration of being away from home. The native, though confused in the beginning started to imitate his colonial master like he always did and this is how the game came to India. The first ones to gain some kind of a proficiency in this sport surprisingly were the Parsis. They established the first indigenously set up cricket organization in India and it was named The Young Zoroastrian Club in The British and the Parsis dominated cricket in India for the next few decades before the others caught on.

The origins of Indian cricket and the origins of cricket in India are shown as two different things and neatly explained in the initial chapters of the book. The focus of Mr. Guha then shifts to the long forgotten, first true great Indian cricketer, Palwankar Baloo. The social profile of P. Baloo and his consequent emergence as a great Indian cricketer is an interesting story. Palwankar Baloo, a Chamar made his cricket his own thanks to the indulgence of John Glen Greig who was for a long time the best white cricketer in India.

Guha says that like all colonial Generals or their subordinates of the time, Greig wanted to play cricket to get rid of boredom and frustration of being away from his true home and in Baloo, he found an able ally who could bowl to him for hours and with great skill. Baloo also gained immensely from this exercise his stats almost lost now portray a great deal about the great men.

Cricket has its fair share of critics. But Cricket, the game and cricket, as a way of life is too ingrained in the Indian blood to fade away in the near future. The emergence of IPL and and the kind of attention it has received both from the business houses and from the neo audiences only prove his point. The criticisms for the book from my side are few and far between. These are the parts where the book tends to lose its intensity and interest. The book also, in large parts tends to focus on individuals who played cricket rather than the game of cricket itself. Though Palwankar Baloo and his talented brothers deserve the plaudits accorded to them in this book, it does in parts tend to take the focus away from what the book is about i.

Maybe the story of Baloo and his brothers needs to be told in a new book fully dedicated to them. Guha also tends to exaggerate the impact of Indian cricket on the larger society in some instances. The instance where Mohammad Azharuddin allegiance to Indian cricket was questioned because he was a Muslim does bring out the communal underpinnings of the game of cricket but by going on to state that his century against the Pakistanis made him the biggest hero of Indian cricket is a bit of an overstatement.

This, I feel deserved at least a few passages or paragraphs in the book. Despite these minor drawbacks, the book without a doubt has to be one the greatest and most comprehensive sports books written by an Indian author. It not only shows the history of cricket but also in a way showcases the history of our nation as cricket is a game that has always been close to the hearts of most Indians and is in a way linked to the story of the sub-continent. The book is a winner through and through.

Mar 26, Anoochan rated it liked it. This book was on my To Read list for a long time! Guha talks about the advent of Cricket in Mumbai and traces its growth in the politically fraught times of pre-independence India. Guha's love for the game and his love for History are both evident in the book and it is a surreal read for those who want to understand why the game become so popular in India. The book also pays rich tribute to some of the forgotten greats of Indian Cricket. What made me give only three stars to the book was because This book was on my To Read list for a long time!

What made me give only three stars to the book was because it became somewhat of a rant in the latter parts. Guha is an opinionated person and his political views took the fore in what was otherwise a pretty nice book. Jul 12, Ankit Modi rated it really liked it. This book is a detailed account of how Cricket became India's love child. It has stories about unsung cricketing heroes like Palwankar Baloo and C. A must read for every Cricket fan in India. Dec 20, Kurishin rated it it was ok. Perhaps my expectations were too high given the accolades this book has received.

If you are looking for an investigation into why cricket has become so popular in India, you won't, in my opinion, find that here. If you were wondering who won the Quadrangular and who might have scored a century, then this is your book. I had to skim large portions, not finding them relevant to a larger picture. Apr 05, Omkar Mankame rated it really liked it Shelves: A wonderful book that takes you down the memory lane. An authentic account of Cricket in India of the early days and how it all began.

The stories are fabulous and the information is incredibly detailed. May 08, Arun rated it it was amazing Shelves: Though not a cricket fan myself, cricket has been an integral part of me by virtue of being born in a country called India. Guha's work takes us through three centuries of cricket in India through the lens of race, caste and nation. Mar 24, Arjit Anand rated it really liked it. The book gave me more than a peek into the history of the game in India and the linkage to political and social scenario in the country with the game is the constant theme of the book.

A pleasant reading for anyone who loves cricket and politics. Jul 14, Uday Bhaskar rated it it was amazing. Would suggest this to a cricket fan. Got to learn about some of the pre-independence era greats of the game from the subcontinent who I never heard of.

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Also he explains well of how the game evolved in the country, and got shaped by and shaped history. Jan 10, Sameer Vk rated it it was amazing. History of Cricket in India. Nov 12, Arvind Balasundaram rated it liked it. This book is a nice account of the history of India's obsession with the game of cricket, since the days the British landed on Indian shores. Ramachandra Guha provides interesting facts and details around the evolution of the game and the principal characters responsible for the frenzy and mass hysteria associated with cricket in the subcontinent today.

The reader becomes aware of now forgotten pioneers like the Baloo family, notably Palwankar Baloo and Palwankar Vithal, as well as early legends This book is a nice account of the history of India's obsession with the game of cricket, since the days the British landed on Indian shores. The reader becomes aware of now forgotten pioneers like the Baloo family, notably Palwankar Baloo and Palwankar Vithal, as well as early legends like Lala Amarnath, Vinoo Mankad, the legendary C.

Nayadu, Vijay Hazare and even D. Jardine, of Bodyline fame, and his birth and intimate connections with India. Guha also paints a historic picture of the format and religious undertones which made the game popular among the masses, notably the Quadrangular and the Pentangular tourneys featuring the British, the Parsis, the Hindus, the Muslims, and the Others, who were pitted against each other, providing an underlying theme for cricket fanatics, Mumbaikars, religious fundamentalists, and nationalist leaders to exploit as they saw fit.