Anthony de Mello, man behind making of Brabourne stadium UNI MUMBAI, NOV 30 It is perfect timing for Test cricket to return to the hallowed turf of Brabourne stadium after a gap of 36 years with the India-Sri Lanka match beginning here from December 2, as sportsmen today celebrate the centenary of the man who made the stadium into a reality, Anthony de Mello. De Mello, the man who built the Brabourne Stadium and the Cricket Club of India, though belonged to a community that took more naturally to hockey and football, ought to be acclaimed as ‘’the father of Indian cricket’’, a credit-title which not many would consider his as a matter of right. This might sound somewhat strange, as the history of Indian cricket would have it that it was the passionate involvement of an Indian princes that helped to nurture the game in a big way. But this royal patronage had enormous foreign support, in form of the British regime and imported players. To de Mello, however, goes the credit of truly ‘’Indianising Indian cricket’’. An odd statement this might be, but remember that the game was controlled by the Britishers, who had frowned on commoners spearheading, or even being a part of the administration. De Mello became the first Indian secretary of the game’s administration in 1928-29, long before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was born and again in 1938-39. It was mainly through his efforts that the BCCI came into being. De Mello also had the distinction of being the BCCI president in 1946-47 and again in 1950-51. A decent player himself, having played for Delhi in the National Championship and for The Rest in the Pentangular, he was also the chairman of the selection committee for quite some years. It was during his tenure as secretary and later president that India visited England twice and the English team came here for the first time to play official Test matches in 1932-33. It was as an able administrator that ‘’Tony’’, as he was fondly known, showed his genius. He managed to get a free allotment of land from the then Governor of Bombay, Lord Brabourne, for his ambitious plans of giving India not only a cricket stadium but a world-class one at that. Little had he realised that he would face such a financial crunch as he did. The attractive offer of life-membership on one-time payment of Rs 100, dangled by him in 1935, had few takers. It was only because of his high contacts with the genteel and a few Indian industrial houses, like Tata’s and munificent donation from the then Maharaja of Patiala and the Governor himself that the Brabourne Stadium and the Cricket Club of India was completed in 1937. The magnificent cricketing venue and the clubhouse indeed became the envy of the world. Lord Brabourne himself was quoted as saying ‘’We may have the Lord’s, that will forever be the home of this great game but going around, you will not find a Cricketing Paradise as this.’’ No cricket venue anywhere in the world had so much to offer. Apart from a big stadium, a clubhouse with the best facilities, one of the best bars and kitchens in town, a dance hall, with a band in attendance, in-house laundry, name it and you would have it. Keith Miller said, on his visit in 1945, ‘’There is nothing like it anywhere.’’ Tiger Pataudi, who made little fuss about some of his ‘’nawabi’’ habits, once said he liked playing at the CCI best. ‘’Where else can you get off your four-poster bed and step straight into the playing arena?’’ With the Brabourne Stadium, De Mello finally settled, each to an ambition fulfilled, there were turbulent times ahead for the greatest cricket administrator that the country has seen. While no one questioned de Mello’s tremendous ability to promote the game and provide the best of facilities, he was not without his detractors. Tony’s rather haughty and, at times, imperious, nature brought him into conflict with some of those who believed that they too could so easily grab a piece of the administrative cake. It was De Mello’s role as a selector that brought him in direct confrontation with those who did not see eye to eye with some of his policies. It is said that when steel clashes with steel, sparks are bound to fly. And so it was, when De Mello was the BCCI president and chairman of the selection committee and Lala Amarnath, the captain of the Indian team. When India failed to win the final Test against the West Indies at the Brabourne Stadium in February 1949 by a mere six runs, the entire blame was put at the feet of the visiting captain, John Goddard, that he had indeed resorted to the most blatant of time-wasting tactics. (Remember those days there were no mandatory overs). However, an earlier clash in the dressing room between De Mello and skipper Amarnath too must have had its effect on the final outcome. When India were set a target of 360 for victory. Tony walked into the dressing room and asked the skipper what his batting order was. Lala, who had already had a few clashes with the BCCI president earlier, bluntly refused to divulge the same. ‘’I demand to know,’’ De Mello said. ‘’You can ask me questions after the match, but now, you please get out of the dressing room and leave my team alone,’’ said a terribly angry captain, who in the same state of mind, put himself down to bat at No 3. De Mello, the man who had done so much for Indian cricket was, however, not a very happy person heading the BCCI thereafter, because it was a house divided against itself. He, however, had a new admirer in India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru invited De Mello to help him organise the first-ever Asian Games in Delhi. It was de Mello who built the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) and the Vallabhabhai Patel Stadium, not only in Delhi (for the Asiad), but also in Mumbai, then Bombay. For a man of his stature and his achievements, De Mello made a rather sad exit from the administration of the game, he had enriched so much. The majority ganged up against him at the BCCI meeting at the Imperial Hotel in Delhi and unceremoniously threw him out as president in 1951, the year the Asian Games were held. A crest-fallen de Mello, as he left the meeting hall, spelt out a vow in full hearing of the gathering ‘’I will never again set foot in any venue where the great game of cricket is played.’’ His exile from cricket saw him write a fascinating book, titled ‘The Portrait of Indian Sport.’ The cover page carried a picture of the man he admired most, Pandit Nehru that too in full cricket gear. De Mello was already a forgotten name when he died in 1961. People will continue to talk of legends, like C K Nayudu, Vijay Merchant and Lala Amarnath. How many do you hear ever mention the name of A S de Mello, the man who did more for Indian cricket than any other person
