Who was the first Indian-born captain of England?
(12 November 2001)

Probably by virtue of colonial ties, quite a few English captains can point to India as the country of their birth. The late Michael Colin Cowdrey, born in Bangalore in 1932, led England in 27 Tests over a period of 10 years. Current English captain Nasser Hussain, all set to return to the land of his birth at the helm of his team, was born in Madras in 1968.

The first such captain, however, led England for only three years and 15 Tests; he won nine of them, however, and lost only one. He also captained the first MCC side to visit India, although they were to be the last three matches he played at the international level.

His most prominent claim to fame, or perhaps infamy, was the strategy he adopted during the Ashes tour of 1932/33. Bombay-born Douglas Robert Jardine, in tactics that he termed leg-theory but that came to be popularly known as Bodyline, directed his pace battery to aim fast short-pitched deliveries right at the body of the batsman, supported by a packed leg-side field. Primarily intended to restrain Donald Bradman's prolific scoring, Bodyline, coupled with Jardine's own aloof manner, earned the captain much hatred and criticism.

Jardine himself, however, was a fine batsman; averaging 48 at the Test level and slightly less in first-class cricket, his ability came to the fore, ironically enough, against a barrage of short-pitched bowling from West Indian bowlers. Bruised and battered, he made 127. He has come to be recognised since as an innovative captain and a courageous batsman; his win-at-all-costs attitude, which spurred him to adopt Bodyline, remains the only blot on his record.

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