A Flash Outside the Off Stump

A Flash Outside the Off Stump

1911 was a pivotal year in Indian cricket as it marked the first time that a truly representative India side toured abroad. This episode tells the story of that tour and of the remarkable man who was India’s best player of the tour, Palwankar Baloo. As an untouchable, Baloo’s struggle for recognition in the game had wide social implications at a time when India was trying to forge a national identity. By coincidence, 1911 was also the year in which the Indian national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, was composed. This episode looks at how cricket and the anthem became two pillars of Indian identity. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

A Flash Outside the Off Stump

Newly installed as Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, Ranjitsinhji had hoped to find his troubles behind him, but he was to find himself in the wars both figuratively and literally. This episode tells of his off-field financial woes in the years leading up to the 1st World War, his service in the war, how an act of bravery in Yorkshire was to result in tragedy for the great batsman. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

A Flash Outside the Off Stump

Ranji was still capable of playing as well as ever in the years 1901 to 1904 but his form became erratic as outside influences caught up with him. He was dogged by money worries and was increasingly drawn in to intrigues about the Nawanagar succession. His England career ignobly petered out although he was still able to excite crowds with his displays of batting prowess but events off the field were catching up with him. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

A Flash Outside the Off Stump

The story behind the first West Indies tour to England in 1900. Cricket had been played in the Caribbean for many years and in the second half of the 19th century inter-colonial matches began to be played between the various British colonies. The 1890s saw three visits by English touring sides which triggered the creation of a representative XI for the combined West Indies, but the different levels of racial integration evident in the cricket in the various colonies meant that the selection of players was to be a controversial issue. Eventually the West Indies sent a party of 15 comprised of 10 white and 5 black players including Lebrun Constantine, father of Learie, and Charles Ollivierre who stayed behind after the tour to become a stalwart of the Derbyshire side and the first Afro-Caribbean player in county cricket. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

A Flash Outside the Off Stump

As the nineteenth century drew to a close Ranji enjoyed a successful domestic season in which he consolidated his position as Sussex captain and the leading batsman in county cricket. Times were changing, on the field and off it, and this episode takes a brief look at the experiences of players like Hampshire’s Charlie Llewellyn and Derbyshire’s Charles Ollivierre (pictured) and British attitudes towards people of other races at the end of the Victorian era. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.