The view southwest across Parker’s Piece towards the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs in Cambridge. It was here in the late 1880s that Ranji, a student at Trinity College, began his ascent to the very top of English cricket, turning out for the Cassandra Club (among others) under the tongue-in-cheek pseudonym of ‘Smith’.
ONE of the best stories of the Indian Prince is vouched for by the Cambridge journalist who collaborated with ‘Ranji’ in writing his Jubilee Book of Cricket. When ‘Ranji’ was at Cambridge he went on a tour with the Cassandra Cricket Club.* A member of an opposing side inquired of some of the visitors if ‘that dark chap could speak English?’ They, speedily foreseeing possibilities, replied seriously that he knew a few words, such as ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ and ‘How’s that?’
When the unconscious ‘Ranji’ went to the wickets, to his great astonishment he heard some lively criticisms of his batting. He made a characteristically huge score, and every now and again some one of the fielding side would ejaculate, ‘Here, isn’t it time this fellow went out?’ Once, when the ball struck ‘Ranji’ in the chest and doubled him up, the fielding captain audibly hoped that it would ‘knock some of the steam out of the beggar.’ At the subsequent luncheon, when Ranjitsinhji rose to toast genially the home side, several faces were seen to change colour.*
The Cassandra Club was a Cambridge-based cricket team that played its home matches on Parker’s Piece, some twenty-five acres of open ground in the city centre (it was here that the rules of football adopted by the newly-formed Football Association in 1863 had grown to maturity). The Cambridge University team at the time was extremely strong, so in order to attract the notice of the selectors, Ranji played immense amounts of cricket, appearing for several clubs (often under the pseudonym of ‘Smith’) and on one occasion played three matches simultaneously, scoring a century in each. He was rewarded in 1893, when he represented Cambridge in the Varsity Match against supreme rivals Oxford.
Journalist A. G. Gardiner (‘Alpha of the Plough’), an admirer of Ranji’s batting, would also have admired his way of dealing with discourtesy. See Give the Wall.
Précis
As K. S. Ranjitsinhji walked to the crease in one of his first cricket matches in England, his impish team-mates confided to the opposition that he knew very little English. Thus reassured, they subjected him to relentless ‘sledging’. Afterwards, Ranji offered them a gracious toast and they realised with horror that he must have understood every word they said. (59 / 60 words)
