Hyderabad Blues

V Ramnarayan

A captain departs (Sep 11^th, 2003)
Ramchand was a polished, dapper gentleman with a keen sense of humour, excellent taste and a genuine interest in people.

A murderer of off spin (July 22^nd, 2003)
Nagesh Hamand was an excellent tactician and an astute captain, says V Ramnarayan.

A fine keeper and a good man (July 4^th, 2003)
P Krishnamurti was for a while India’s top wicket-keeper, good enough to play all five Tests in the 1971 tour of the West Indies.

MLJ: his best and his worst (June 21^st, 2003)
An eye for detail and unusual memory marked every shrewd move M L Jaisimha made as captain of Hyderabad for nearly two decades, says V Ramnarayan....

Bobji and Joe (June 9^th, 2003)
Two Marredpalli lads, who played brilliant, uninhibited cricket.

The rainmaker (Feb. 22^nd, 2003)
There was a popular theory in the seventies that the Moin-ud-Dowla Gold Cup was Hyderabad’s answer to drought.

Man for all seasons (Feb. 12^th, 2003)
Man Singh's reputation in Hyderabad cricketing circles was next only to that of M L Jaisimha.

The Mumtaz magic (Feb. 6^th, 2003)
A mystery bowler, untamed in university cricket of the sixties, and a puzzle to the best of batsmen.

Great India bowler (Jan. 17^th, 2003)
My teammates spread the word about my potential in cricket circles, and that is how Syed Abid Ali, the Hyderabad and India all rounder came to hear about me, says Ram Narayan.

Farewell innings (Dec. 16^th, 2002)
None of us knew it then, but that was Pataudi's last innings at Chepauk. At the end of that season, he announced his retirement from first class cricket.

Buggy and his brothers (Dec. 02^nd, 2002)
To my amazement, Abbas stopped tutoring me during that match; he must have thought I had come of age. His delight at my success in that match and throughout the season that followed was heartwarming.

Caught redhanded(Nov. 9^th, 2002)
One bouncer was particularly nasty and Saleem got a handle to it while trying to protect his face. The ball popped up in a gentle arc some ten feet above the batsman's head.

The tracksuit episode (October 28^th, 2002)
I was getting dressed to go to the ground, and I was wondering how the Hindu could so blatantly disregard the all round strength of the local team.

Hyderabad's MCC and all that (October 13^th, 2002)
An unusual feature of Hyderabad league cricket was the extent of participation by school and college teams. Nizam College, which has produced several outstanding cricketers over the decades...

To Hyderabad via Anakapalle (September 30^th, 2002)
The State Bank of India team that season (1971-72) was perhaps the strongest outfit in Hyderabad, closely followed by State Bank of Hyderabad, led by the redoubtable all rounder, Syed Abid Ali.

A journey back in time (September 16^th, 2002)
It is largely based on my memories of my affair with Hyderabad cricket as it was played and experienced in those hazily remembered times.