A cricket team from England organised by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) toured India from 5 October 1951 to 2 March 1952. During this tour England team also played first class matches in Pakistan and Ceylon. In the Test matches, the side was known as "England"; in other matches, it was known as "MCC".
The Test series was drawn 1-1, with three matches being drawn.
Background It was reported in April 1950 that the MCC would tour India, Pakistan and Ceylon in the 1951–52 season. The squad would play games over three and a half months in India, over a month in Pakistan and over fifteen days in Ceylon.
The English team
Nigel Howard (captain) Donald Carr (vice-captain) Don Brennan Tom Graveney Malcolm Hilton Don Kenyon Eddie Leadbeater Frank Lowson Cyril Poole Dusty Rhodes Fred Ridgway Jack Robertson Derek Shackleton Dick Spooner Brian Statham Roy Tattersall Allan Watkins
The manager was Geoffrey Howard. The team was announced in late July 1951. Poole replaced Jack Ikin, who was injured, before the team left. Leadbeater replaced Rhodes, who was forced to return home with an injury, early in the tour.
Many of England's leading players made themselves unavailable for the tour, and the resultant team was widely regarded as a "second team".Leslie Smith, "M.C.C. Tour of India, Pakistan and Ceylon, 1951-52", Wisden 1953, pp. 773–809.Mihir Bose, A History of Indian Cricket, Andre Deutsch, London, pp. 177–80. Eight of the touring team – Howard, Carr, Leadbeater, Kenyon, Poole, Rhodes, Ridgway and Spooner – had no Test experience, while none of the team had played more than nine Tests. Only Statham and Tattersall had toured Australia and New Zealand in the Test series of 1950–51.Reg Hayter, "M.C.C. Team in Australia and New Zealand, 1950-51", Wisden 1952, pp. 783–835.
Test matches
1st Test
2nd Test
3rd Test
4th Test
5th Test
This was India's first Test victory, after 20 years and 25 Tests.
References
External links Tour home at Cricinfo England to India 1951-52 at test-cricket-tours.co.uk