by The Professor » Wed Oct 12, 2016 6:59 am
On this day in 1911 Vijay Merchant was born.
Merchant, as might be suggested by his name, was born into a wealthy family in Bombay.
Despite the fact that Merchant's cricketing career lasted 18 years he only played ten matches. This is mainly due to the fact that his career neatly straddled the Second World War. Despite this lack of game time he is considered to be one of the finest Indian batsmen of all time.
He was a consummate professional and was one of the first advocates of having his game filmed to allow him to watch it back and refine his technique. This paid dividends in the 1936 tour of England where he topped the batting with 1745 runs at 51.32.
It seemed that Merchant thrived in English conditions. His second tour of England, eleven years later, he made 2385 runs, average 74, with seven centuries against County teams.
Going out in style, Merchant posted his highest score in his final ever match - 154 v England.
In his 10 Tests, all against England, spread over 18 years, he made 859 runs, and in 47 Ranji Trophy innings he reached 100 on 16 occasions, totalling 3639 runs at the astounding average of 98.75.
He went on to become a cricket administrator, broadcaster, writer and national selector, and charitable advocate of the handicapped. Merchant died after a heart attack in Bombay on October 27, 1987.
"It has been said of the unseen army of the dead, on their everlasting march, that when they are passing a rural cricket ground the Englishman falls out of the ranks for a moment to look over the gate and smile."