Beyond a Boundary

When I read Ramachandra Guha’s « In a Corner of a foreign field » I thought it did fill in a gap in my understanding of the evolution of Indian cricket. Guha also mentions « CLR James’ classic cricket work 'Beyond a Boundary' about cricket in the Caribbean.

However there are a few differences between CLRJ’s work and Guha’s. While Guha’s excellent work is built mostly on painstaking research, CLRJ’s work is written in the 1st person and derives largely from the author’s own involvement with cricket, CLRJ having been a respectable cricketer in his own right. Guha writes mostly as a cricket historian might. CLRJ writes with the typical literary swagger (if one may so coin the expression) of someone who’s been there, befitting of say a Viv Richards, if one could translate his walk to the crease into words. (Until India was blessed with Sachin, there was not a single cricketer I admired more than Viv. Tragically, I ended up learning only the onside shot! And CLRJ does talk about a cricketer who lifts the spirit of a country, but that shall wait.)

BAB is at once a literary delight, for its numerous quotes from literature, including Hamlet and a cricket-lover’s collectible. CLRJ is gifted with the written word and writes with a flourish. And Indians must have several moments of joy and identification with the book’s description. It’s almost like India, except its displaced in time/space. Although the book barely talks about Indian cricketers (except for Ranjitsinhji, who according to me and Guha too, was as much an English cricketer as he was Indian, since he didn’t seem to do much about the Indian political struggle, despite his royal background), it does have its parallels.

The Queen’s Park Savannah in its time could host 30 cricket matches with no player nudging another! The passionate Indian is instantly reminded of Shivaji Park. The choice of clubs before the young CLRJ while he was a promising cricketer reminds one of the teams in the Quadrangular and Pentangular in pre-independence India. Especially the Shannon club reminds one of the talented Hindu team. When CLRJ describes how he and his friends including Learie Constantine the WI legend argued incessantly about cricket – the facts about their favourite players, their records, whether they drank whisky or rum, one is reminded of one’s own obsession with cricket.

An interesting perspective is provided on the Chinese element in WI cricket. One must read the book to understand how the Chinese have been a part of the WI cricket (since the early days), if not WI itself.

The book is peppered with colourful personalities, not least of which is the fast bowler John, whom CLRJ describes as « could have been named Furioso » had he been an Italian ! Then there’s the expression describing an angry John « … a man who is uncompromisingly angry is one of the most effective works of God ! » There’s the reference to Australia in difficult times, which relied on the Don for reasons to live happily despite the misery of ordinary life crippled with the Great Depression. And did the Don provide ! I was quite touched by this as I think Sachin made a similar difference to a billion sad lives, whose spirits were sagging with the burden of tame performances.

Again CLRJ while describing the beginnings of his movement to England describes his experience thus, « … not to lose focus is the devil’s own job and the devil pays great attention to it !.. »

(Amidst all this, I did find what appears to be a typo – CLRJ refers to « Chambertin » as the man to whom we owe the Olympics to, I thought that was Coubertin. Can someone correct me ?)

Then there is the reference to Roger Bannister’s 4 minute mile being described by Bannister himself as a mental barrier and one that has been broken repeatedly after the feat, being used to demonstrate the difference between approach of ‘safe-playing’ cricketers (Welfare Staters) and the WI approach. CLRJ takes pains to explain why Welfare Staters can’t thrive in the WI.

And then, we come a full circle to his take on crowd trouble in 1960 in particular (although there were a few in 1953, 54, etc). He tries his best to put things in perspective referring to a similar incident in 1903 in Melbourne. The critic of the Indian crowds would do well to gain some historical perspective in this regard.

There are also the references to Worrell’s captaincy in Australia and WI cricket coming of age and CLRJ’s support for the campaign for a black captain for WI, but they are the parts you could find better described elsewhere, perhaps in Worrell’s own account.

If I were to rate this using a metaphor from cricket, I would put it alongside Mark Taylor’s memorable triple century, not as much for the feat itself, as for the man’s respect for Australian cricketing traditions. CLRJ’s work is as much about the game as it is about its traditions and origins in the WI.