– This maverick of TN cricket
S.R. Jagannathan
A cricketing record-holder of sorts was S.R. Jagannathan who passed away recently. Not only was he a cricketer, captain, founder of a club, a club secretary, a selector, Life Member and member of the TNCA Constitution Committee (twice), member of the Executive Committee, an office-bearer and, of course, a King Maker in the TNCA, but he also attended as many as 87 consecutive general body meetings. Quite a record! No one was more dedicated to Tamil Nadu cricket, or the rule book, than he was.
“SRJ” was the grandson of the famed criminal lawyer Dewan Bahadur T. Rangachari and it was perhaps the legal mind he inherited that encouraged him in the litigation he resorted to often, much to the discomfiture of the mighty men he chose to humble. To him goes the credit of Chepauk stadium being named after M.A. Chidambaram, the framing of the Madras Cricket Association’s Constitution in 1952 and its revision in 1990, and the naming of the Western Gate at the stadium after the legendary A.G. Ram Singh.
After his schooling at the MTCM School, he studied at both Pachaiyappa’s and Presidency Colleges, majoring in Geology. He played for the State junior teams, in inter-association and City versus Districts matches, and for the Madras University. He was also among the reserves for the State Ranji Trophy team that was then captained by C.P. Johnstone. His frank speaking, he used to relate, may have cost him a permanent places in the team.
SRJ’s induction into the game came in the late 1930s and he made a mark while playing for Madras University. He was an opening batsman and a leg-break googly bowler. In 1949, while playing against Hyderabad University, he opened the innings at 10:30 a.m. and remained unbeaten at stumps which were drawn at 5:30 p.m. He was at that time responsible for a record opening wicket partnership of 159, with his own contribution being 49. He often fondly recalled his experiences facing up to the likes of G.S. Ramchand and Subash Gupte of the then Bombay University team.
SRJ’s playing days were cut short by a motorcycle accident which severely impaired his movements. He used to joke that the doctor reduced the length of one of his legs.
As early as 1946, SRJ provided places for several district players in Madras teams. For years he supported two clubs in Madras, viz. Egmore Excelsiors and the Eccentrics Cricket Club. S. Vasudevan and R. Madhavan were two of his ‘finds’.
To promote cricket in Tamil Nadu, he launched Straight Bat in January 1997 as a cricket newsletter that focussed on cricket in the State. What started as a five-page newsletter soon grew into a monthly magazine. R. Ramachandran, Founder-Secretary of Hamsadvani, and R. Sundaravadanan joined the venture which also brought out commemorative souvenirs when international teams played in Madras. He funded these publications from his own savings and the help of a few advertisements. Eminent cricket writers like R. Sriman, K.N. Prabhu, Raju Bharatan, K.R. Wadhwaney, Harish Pandya, Rajan Bala, Partab Ramchand, Suresh Menon, R. Mohan and V. Ramnarayan regularly contributed artices for Straight Bat.
SRJ was very generous and would never put a clamp on the number of pages for the monthly and the special souvenirs. Cost never worried him. All that he expected from his contributors was fair writing and meeting deadlines.
“I must confess, without hesitation, that it was SRJ who instructed me to read the TNCA Rules & Regulations and not break any of them during my stint as Hony. Secretary of TNCA,” recalls Prabhakar Rao. He adds, “When the TNCA’s Committee decided to update the Rules & Regulations the year I took over as Hony. Secretary of the TNCA, I had to study three earlier printed Constitution books of TNCA to be able to act as convenor of the Sub-Committee formed by the Executive Committee. SRJ had then told me not to attend the Sub-Committee meetings unless I read the Constitution books more than once because there would be questions asked and clarifications sought by the members which I had to be able to clarify.” SRJ was never a person who could be cowed down on issues pertaining to the progress of cricket. The game was very dear to him and he neither wavered from his stance on principles nor compromised his position.
SRJ could make every General Body member lend his ears to his comments, whether seriously stated or jokingly. He would present a number of resolutions for the benefit of TNCA club secretaries and staff. Almost all the privileges at present enjoyed by the club secretaries are a result of resolutions introduced by him and passed by the General Body.
SRJ’s memory was never short and he would often regale his visitors with anecdotes about his league playing days during the British Raj and post-Independence days, and his experiences as an, administrator and selector. In between he never failed to talk about the nuances of leg-spin bowling and proper batting techniques. He was an institution in Tamil Nadu cricket.
(Compiled by A Staff Reporter from articles by the Editorial Board of Straight Bat, U. Prabhakar Rao and Bhaskeran Thomas.)
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