The magic of the Masters

The forthcoming veterans tournament for which Sachin Tendulkar is ambassador, will do well to emulate the 1995 BSI World Masters that was hailed as an incredibly successful event held in Mumbai

The just-launched International Masters League to be held on these shores from November 17 got me recalling the 1995 Bhopal Sugar Industries World Masters Cricket Cup which to many like me, was the best event for retired international players (the tournament allowed current first-class players above the age of 35).

Greats from Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka descended in Mumbai in March 1995 and played all their games at the Brabourne Stadium, where India and West Indies played the final on March 12.

The India XI had seven players who figured in the 1983 World Cup final against the West Indies (Kapil Dev, Mohinder Amarnath, Syed Kirmani, Madan Lal, Yashpal Sharma, Roger Binny and K Srikkanth) while the West Indies had five from their 1983 playing XI—Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Joel Garner, Larry Gomes and Jeff Dujon. Dilip Vengsarkar would have played the 1983 final had he not been injured by Malcolm Marshall in a previous game against the Windies. Vengsarkar smashed a hundred in the final much to the delight of the 40,000-strong Brabourne crowd. Vengsarkar also had crafted a century a week earlier against South Africa. Unlike that knock against the Proteas, the century in the final went in vain as West Indies surpassed India’s 251-6 in 45 overs with seven wickets to spare in the 41st over. Gordon Greenidge, who was dismissed for one by Balvinder Singh Sandhu in 1983, smashed 114.

Sunil Gavaskar led India in three games of the tournament and was mighty impressed by West Indies’ performance. “The West Indians were deserving winners and truly the Masters and they showed just why these players were champions when they played and for that matter why they are champions even now. The fierce pride in their team and the motivation to stay at the top is worthy of emulation. There is simply no question that the West Indians are the masters of the game.”

Karsan Ghavri bowled his brand of left-arm spin and Syed Kirmani excelled with the big and small gloves. When he took one of his great catches, his teammates rushed to him with the words “Eid Mubarak.”

The Mumbai fans also got to watch South African batting masters Graeme Pollock and Barry Richards.

It was a memorable tournament for the media as well. We got an opportunity to interact with an array of former stars.

Derek Underwood, who passed away last April, remembered his 1976-77 and 1981-82 tours of India and couldn’t resist being part of the Masters tournament because it was a great opportunity to catch up with past players. “That was most appealing and that’s how I landed up here,” the left-arm spin great revealed.

Apart from the several cricket stars I interviewed, I was particularly thrilled to sit down for a chat with Patrick Eagar, the well-travelled cricket photographer. “It’s great to be shooting these guys [BSI World Masters participants]. I almost grew up with them,” Eagar told me. He obliged me with his Top 5 batsmen and bowlers he had captured over the years—Garry Sobers, Vivian Richards, David Gower, Mohd Azharuddin, Ian Botham, Shane Warne, Abdul Qadir, Michael Holding, Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, who incidentally was also part of the BSI World Masters without doing much.

The South African team also had Omar Henry, who became the first coloured cricketer to play for South Africa in 1992-93. It was Omar’s first tour of India and it was an experience which he hasn’t forgotten. “I had read a lot about the passion for cricket in India, but what I saw made me fall in love with India,” Henry told me on Wednesday. There was an unforgettable moment for him on the field as well. “I was batting with Pollock against India. S Venkataraghavan beat him six times. At the end of the over, Pollock tells me that he wants to face Venkat again so I have to give him the strike. Pollock faces Venkat again and what I saw was a masterclass of batting and bowling—one premier batsman up against a master of his craft. It was mesmerising. I had never batted with Pollock before,” Henry recalled.

Pollock stayed unbeaten on 79 in an unsuccessful run chase while responding to 280 as Henry ended up with 31 not out in South Africa’s total of 218-6.

The tournament left a lasting impression on everyone connected with it. Chandrakant Patankar (94 next month), who was Secretary, Sports of the Cricket Club of India then, is proud to possess a big frame of all the signatures of players from the six participating teams. It serves as a reminder of the quality of players who  formed a great cricketing congregation. 

This event was held during Mumbai’s victorious 1994-95 Ranji Trophy campaign and the past masters, who practised at the nearby Wankhede Stadium were often keen to be near the nets in which Sachin Tendulkar batted.

There is a Tendulkar connection to the forthcoming Masters League too. This time he will be watching closely—both as captain of the Indian team and ambassador of the league. Meanwhile, old is set to be gold again.

mid-day’s group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance. He tweets @ClaytonMurzello

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The views expressed in this column are the individual’s and don’t represent those of the paper

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