Down Memory Lane: Capturing the history of cricket in Vizag

Much like any other city in India, Vizag too, loves its cricket. Over the years, youthful lads of the city have spent many an hour batting, bowling or just chasing cricket balls. Be it the beach sands or school compound, it was a frequent sight to see makeshift stumps, a well-worn cricket or tennis ball, an overrated bowler and a line-up of batsmen jostling for the next hit.

The earliest record of a cricket match in Vizag was in 1874, when the 7th Madras Infantry arrived to their new posting in the Fort and established a rivalry with the existing Godavari Volunteer Rifles (later the Vizagapatam Volunteer Rifles and in 1917 called the East Coast Battalion). Their parade ground was the maidan opposite St Aloysius School and this was the venue for their favourite pastime – cricket!

In the mid 1800’s, cricket was a professional sport only played in England and there were no international tests. Arthur Luard was born at Waltair in 1861, the son of Colonel GF Luard of the East Coast Battalion. Luard played county cricket for Gloucestershire, Kent & Middlesex and for the MCC team from 1893 to 1907 making him the earliest First Class cricketer from Vizagapatam.

Maharajkumar of Vizianagram or Vizzy, was an Indian cricketer, cricket administrator and politician who organized his own cricket team, the Vizianagram XI, financially sponsored the game and constructed a ground in his Vizianagram palace compound. Vizzy was named the captain of the Indian team that toured England in 1936. Vizzy and was knighted by King Edward VIII in the King’s Birthday Honours. He was the only cricketer to have a knighthood bestowed on him while an active Test cricketer at the time. Vizzy renounced his knighthood in July 1947, explaining that the knighthood ‘will not be in keeping with the ideals of Republican India’. He was the President of BCCI from 1954–1957, was awarded the Padma Bhushan, in 1958, and was a member of the Lok Sabha from Visakhapatnam in 1960 and 1962.

In the early years, the first Test captains of India were from Andhra — C. K. Nayudu, then Vizzy and after them Ghulatri (Ghulam) Ahmed, the third Andhra and India’s tenth captain. Later, Mohammed Azharuddin was to become the fourth captain of India from Andhra.

The main cricket games played in Visakhapatnam during mid 1900’s were beach, street and school matches played among local youth. Teams from the Army, visiting Navy ships, Port Trust, Andhra University, Vizianagram and Waltair Club had occasional social matches and the only useable cricket ground was the South East Railway grounds at Waltair or the Maharajahs grounds in Vizianagram. The first Ranji Trophy match was played on 26 December 1964 at Waltair between Hyderabad and Andhra giving Vizag its first exposure to Test players and first class cricket. In the mid 1980’s the popularity of cricket in Vizag led to the development of the Municipal Stadium to international standards and One Day Internationals (ODI) were played. Increasing popularity drove the design and construction of a new stadium in early 2000’s for Test and Indian Premier League (IPL) fixtures.

Time and again, Vizag has been proved to give positive results when it comes to the Indian Cricket Team. The ACA-VDCA stadium hosted its first ODI match in 2005. The game is fondly remembered for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s blistering knock of 148. The city has also been a happy hunting ground for the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who played some incredible knocks at the stadium. In 2016, the ACA-VDCA Stadium had hosted its first Test match when India took on England in a riveting contest. Cricket in Vizag did come a long way!

This article on the history of cricket in Vizag has been written by John Castellas whose family belonged to Vizag for 5 generations. Educated at St Aloysius, migrated to Melbourne, Australia in 1966, former General Manager Engineering at Boeing & Qantas Airways, in retirement Lecturers in Aviation Management at Swinburne University and is a Vizag aficionado.