Cricket History

http://www.rajasthan.net/cricket/

The earliest evidence of the game of cricket is from a drawing depicting two men playing with a bat and ball dated 1250 A.D. The game was played in Guild-ford, Surrey (England) at least as early as 1550. The earliest major match was between a team representing England which scored 40 and 70 runs in the two inning and Kent which won the match by one wicket having scored 53 and 58 runs for nine wickets at the Artillery ground in Finsbury, London on June 18, 1744.
The first cricket match on the soil of Rajputana was played in 1887 between Mayo College and Govt. College at Ajmer which incidently resulted in a tie. The former collected 72 and 58 runs in the two ventures to which the Govt. college replied with 79 and 51 runs.
In 1887 a change in the old type under-arm bowling was made and three of the Mayo College boys. viz. Jai Singh of Bamolia, Abhi Singh of Mangal and Bhawani Singh of Fatehpur started practicing over-arm bowling for the first time in Rajputana.Col. Abbott, the then Political Agent at Jhalawar was a very keen cricketer and under his patronage a team was formed at Jhalawar.
At its invitation Mayo College played a cricket match at Jhalawar in January, 1889 and in a low scoring match recorded a victory by 48 runs. This was the first match in Rajputana between two teams of two different towns.In February, 1890 H.R.H. Prince Albert Victor visited Ajmer and a grand function was arranged at Kaiser Bagh where now Victoria Hospital and Savitri Girls College are located. The chief attraction of the function was a cricket match between Mayo College and Ajmer Gymkhana. The former batting first declared their innings closed at 224 runs for five wickets to which the Gymkhana replied with 44 runs for four wickets.The first team from outside to play in this province was the Railway team from Bombay known as the Blue Castle XI which visited Ajmer in 1890-91 and played a match against Mayo College. The home team collected 87 and 82 runs in the two innings. The visitors who had scored 127 runs in the first knock were in great trouble in the second and when stumps were finally drawn they were struggling at 31 for 7 wickets.
At the invitation of His Highness the Maharana of Udaipur, the Mayo College team played a cricket match at Udaipur against an Udaipur XI in October, 1891. The home team scored 31 and 39 runs in the two innings to which the visitors replied with 92 runs. For Mayo college, H .H. The Maharao of Koto had the distinction of capturing all ten wickets of Udaipur in the first innings. This is the first instance of a bowler to have captured all the ten wickets in an innings on the soil of Rauputana.The Jaipur Cricket Club, formed in 1873 could claim the honour of being one of the oldest cricket clubs in India. No records are available of its early activities. It enjoyed the patronage of H.H. the late Maharaja Sawai Ram Singhji. The Mayo College team visited Jaipur in 1891 and played a match against this club which was the first match played here between teams of two different towns. At the invitations of H.H. the Maharaja of Jaipur a Parsi team from Bombay visited Jaipur in December, 1891 when the first match against a team from a different province was played in the pink city.The British army officers at Nasirabad formed their own team and in March, 1892 played a match against Mayo College at Ajmer. The visitors scored 122 runs to which Mayo College replied with 116 runs. Another cricket club of the Railways known as the Carriage and Wagon Recreation Club was formed at Ajmer in 1893. Annual cricket fixtures between Mayo College and Rajkumar College, Rajkot began in 1894.
The most important centre of cricket in Rajputana was Mayo College, Ajmer and the credit for organising the first cricket tournament in this cricket State goes to this institution though it was confined to its different houses. To commemorate the services of Mr. F.J. Portman who did useful work as a teacher and as a cricketer at Mayo College, its students donated a silver trophy known as the "Portman Cup" and the Inter-House tournament commenced in 1904.Apji Govind Singh of Koela, Kota who was known as "Mayo College Jessop" for his hurricane hitting could claim the honour of being the first batsman to reach the coveted three-figure mark on the Rajputana soil. On September 10, 1904 playing for Mayo College against Nasirabad Officers XI on his home ground he played a brilliant unbeaten knock of 142 runs. The hundred came in only 43 minutes and for his unbeaten knock his entire stay at the wicket was for only eighty minutes.Thakur Dan Singh of Lathi recorded the first double century in Rajputana. The occasion was the annual fixture between Mayo College and Aitchision College, Lahore played at Ajmer in 1905-06. Mayo College declared the first innings closed at 415 for the loss of one wicket. The second wicket unfinished partnership produced 334 runs. Thakur Dan Singh remained unbeaten with 203 runs and Chander Sen of Kunadi, Kota remained not with 125 runs. H.H. Maharaja Bhupender Singhji of Patiala played for the visiting team having been dismissed for a duck in the first innings and was not out with 19 runs in the second knock.Himself a cricketer and polo player H.H. Maharaja Sardar Singhji of Jodhpur had his own cricket team which included some fine cricketers of Rajputana and Kathiawar. The Jodhpur-Jamnagar combined team played a cricket match at calcutta against the famous Cooch Behar XI. The immortal Ranji led the Jodhpur-Jamnagar team.H.H. Maharaja of Bikaner built a very spacious and beautiful pavilion at the Mayo College Cricket ground in 1905. H.H. Maharaja Bhawani Singhji of Jhalawar donated a silver shiled of the cost of Rs. 5000/- and a tournament after the name of Sir Elliot Colvin, the then Agent to the Governor General of Rajputana commenced from 1911-12. This tournament is still the premier cricket tournament of the State and has helped many a cricketer to show his prowess with the willon and the leather.For some years cricket became the religion of Alwar. H.H. Maharaja Jai Singhji revived the Maharaja Cricket Club and himself skippered this team. He built a beautiful pavilion in the Mangal Vihar Garden and the wonderful green ground was a delight for all cricketers. Outside teams were invited and cricket became a craze with the people. That distinguished English cricketer frank Tarrent was a member of the Alwer team which in 1915 took a tour to Bombay. It recorded victory in all the eight matches that it played. A mighty hitter H.H. Alwar had a peculiar way of changing bats while batting. He numbered his own bats from number one to ten. Number one bat was of usual weight. As the number increased the weight of the bat also increased. The number ten was the heaviest of the lot and when the Maharaja wanted to lift the ball he would use this bat. Has any other cricketer carried ten bats on the ground for one match? There would be few cricketers in the world today who make use of ten bats even in a season.To commemorate the great patronage of H.H. Alwar, the Rajputana Cricket Club presented a beautiful silver trophy and an All-India cricket tournament commenced at Ajmer in 1924. Unfortunately in the early thirtees it was discontinued.Maharaj Kumar Vijaya Anand, populary known as Vizzy, who led the Indian cricket team in England in 1936 and who was the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in 1954-55 and 1955-56 was student of Mayo College, Ajmer.

History - Rajput Supporters of Maurya (Mori) King at Chittor (Chitrakoot)

Interesting read from Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan by Col. James Todd:

The first recorded attack on the Maurya (Mori) Prince of Chittore, which brought Bappa Rawal into notice was sometimes in Hijra 75, about AD 694. This attack was either by Yezid or Md. Bin Kasim. Throghout this period there was a stir among Hindu Nations in which we find confusion and dethronement from an unknown invader, either by sea or through Sind (Pakistan province), sometimes the attackers are referred to as Malencha or Barbarians or Deamons or Magicians. From Samvat 750 to 780 (AD 694- AD724) the annals of Yadus, Chauhans, Chawuras and Gehlotes bear evidence to simultaneous convulsions in their respectice houses at this period. In Ali Hijra 75 (AD 694, Samvat 750) the Yadu Bhati was driven out from his capital of Salpoora in Punjab across Sutlej River into Indian Desert. This is the time when Yezid was Caliphs Lietenant and when arms Walid conquered to the Ganges (Ganga River). At this time Chittore along with Ujjain was the seat of sovereignity of the parmaras of this period, and it became the rallying point for Hindus.
Here we find the following defending Chittore and the Mori Prince:
- prince of Delhi, seat of Tuar(Tanwar/Tomar)
- prince of Ajmer
- the qoutas of Saurashtra and Gujrat
- Ungutsi , lord of Huns
- Boosa, lord of north
- Seo, Jadeja prince
- Johya, lord of Jungeldes
- Aswurya
- Seput
- Koolhur
- Malun
- Ohir
- Hool

and many others (not necessarily Hindus)

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