With her hypnotic beauty and engrossing history, Egypt has fascinated tourists from across the world for centuries. The Pakistani tourists to England for the historic 1954 tour were no different. Scheduled to play Gezira Sporting Club in Cairo, they abandoned the match midway to give in to the irresistible attraction of the Pyramids and Sphinx. Abhishek Mukherjee re-lives April 23, 1954.
Those were the days, the 1950s. When The Ashes rivals visited each other, a halt at Ceylon was inevitable. West Indians visiting Oceania would touch base at Fiji. Pakistan, en route to their historic tour of England, made their way through the famous creation of Ferdinand de Lesseps.
Egypt was, and for many, still is, synonymous to the Pyramids and the Sphinx, which have stood the test of time. The spellbinding beauty of the Nile, the cascades of sand, and sensuous human incarnations of Hathor pale in comparison to the mind-boggling creations by the great Pharaohs of the yesteryears. For the Pakistanis, most of whom were making their first trip outside Pakistan (and India), it was their best chance to see something they had only read of in history books.
The match against Cairo’s Gezira Sporting Club was expected to be a no-contest, and rightly so. Though the Pakistanis were infants in world cricket, they had already won the second Test they played (against India at Lucknow).
Despite that, Pakistan took the Egypt match seriously, for they included a full team, including the likes of Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Fazal Mahmood, Hanif Mohammad, and Imtiaz Ahmed.
The locals were allowed to field a team of 15 (against an XI of the tourists). It was a single-day single-innings match. Of the Gezira cricketers, Abdou Hassanein was the only local, though it must be admitted that the initials of FEW Lee (whose full name remains unknown) has an element of amusement.
Richard Stanbury
The only one in the Gezira side to be taken seriously was Richard Stanbury, the sole First-Class cricketer of the side. Born in Madras, Stanbury lived in India till he was eight. His last days in India were spent in Vellore, where his father was Superintendent of Police. Richard's son Mark later told me that "they were some of the happiest years" of Richard's life.
Richard later went to Shrewsbury School and Magdalene College, Cambridge, from where he obtained a degree in the Classics. He kept wickets for Somerset twice in the mid-1930s. He was appointed District Commissioner of Sudan Political Service, from which position he was invalided out in 1950. He was posted to Cairo, where he was nearly lynched by a mob and was saved only because he had mastered Arabic by then. He also met his wife Geraldine during this period. Four years after his transfer he was the biggest name of the Gezira CC when they took on the formidable opposition.
The weather was good, for Ra and Horus prevailed over Set that day. Thoth and Ma’at joined hand with Ra; Bast and Sekhmet declared the contest open; and play got underway.
The Pakistanis batted first, and Hanif and Alimuddin set off at a brisk pace. Shaaban removed Hanif for 37, while Alimuddin retired out once he reached 52. Though Imtiaz (14) and Maqsood Ahmed (25) did not make the occasion count, Ebrahim Ebbu’ Ghazali (52 not out) and Aslam Khokhar (29 not out) took the score to 218 for 4 in 45 overs. Kardar declared at this point.
The Pakistanis were in a hurry, for they had to travel from Cairo to Gaza. Thankfully, they had in their side Fazal, who was perhaps the best man for the occasion. He removed Kerr Pearce early, but Narriman and Stanbury defied Fazal and Maqsood — before the great man ran through.
The floodgates opened after Narriman fell. Maqsood went wicketless, which prompted Kardar to get Ikram Elahi on. Fazal’s balls came off the pitch like vicious minions of Osiris, making it impossible for the locals for play. Ikram got rid of Duke, but at the other end Fazal was on a rampage, taking 7 for 28 with his fast cutters.
Khalid Hasan (5 for 11) joined in with his leg-breaks, but two things stood between the tourists and a one-sided victory: they needed to take 14, and not 10, wickets; Stanbury, in what was almost certainly his last go at cricketing glory, held firm at one end.
The minute hand of the clock ticked on as Stanbury and Borman dug in. Fazal and Khalid were breathing fire as the dark shadows of Anubis and Nephthys hovered across the sky.
The Pakistanis had Gezira down at 52 for 13, but they had managed to send down only 25 overs in the process. The time to choose between a seemingly insignificant match and a firsthand experience of sighting perhaps the greatest examples of architecture had come — Kardar’s men opted for the latter.
What followed?
- Pakistan’s subsequent tour of England is remembered mainly for their historic 24-run victory at The Oval to draw the series. Fazal, with 6 for 53 and 6 for 46, was the undisputed hero.
- Stanbury never played another chronicled match. He was later transferred to Bahrain and then to Buenos Aires. Following retirement, he kept on travelling, settling down to become a fruit farmer in Portugal. He came back to Sussex, where he ran a business of imported Portuguese pottery.
- Egypt is not an ICC member. However, she has produced a Test cricketer: Athanasios John Traicos, a Greek by origin, was born in Zagazig, Egypt. He later played Tests for both South Africa and Zimbabwe, and currently stays in Australia.
Brief scores:
Pakistanis 218 for 4 decl. (Alimuddin 52, Ebrahim Ebbu’ Ghazali 52*) drew with Gezira Sporting Club 52 for 13 (Fazal Mahmood 7 for 28, Khalid Hasan 5 for 11).
http://www.cricketcountry.com/artic...-sphinx-330113/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
Those were the days, the 1950s. When The Ashes rivals visited each other, a halt at Ceylon was inevitable. West Indians visiting Oceania would touch base at Fiji. Pakistan, en route to their historic tour of England, made their way through the famous creation of Ferdinand de Lesseps.
Egypt was, and for many, still is, synonymous to the Pyramids and the Sphinx, which have stood the test of time. The spellbinding beauty of the Nile, the cascades of sand, and sensuous human incarnations of Hathor pale in comparison to the mind-boggling creations by the great Pharaohs of the yesteryears. For the Pakistanis, most of whom were making their first trip outside Pakistan (and India), it was their best chance to see something they had only read of in history books.
The match against Cairo’s Gezira Sporting Club was expected to be a no-contest, and rightly so. Though the Pakistanis were infants in world cricket, they had already won the second Test they played (against India at Lucknow).
Despite that, Pakistan took the Egypt match seriously, for they included a full team, including the likes of Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Fazal Mahmood, Hanif Mohammad, and Imtiaz Ahmed.
The locals were allowed to field a team of 15 (against an XI of the tourists). It was a single-day single-innings match. Of the Gezira cricketers, Abdou Hassanein was the only local, though it must be admitted that the initials of FEW Lee (whose full name remains unknown) has an element of amusement.
Richard Stanbury
The only one in the Gezira side to be taken seriously was Richard Stanbury, the sole First-Class cricketer of the side. Born in Madras, Stanbury lived in India till he was eight. His last days in India were spent in Vellore, where his father was Superintendent of Police. Richard's son Mark later told me that "they were some of the happiest years" of Richard's life.
Richard later went to Shrewsbury School and Magdalene College, Cambridge, from where he obtained a degree in the Classics. He kept wickets for Somerset twice in the mid-1930s. He was appointed District Commissioner of Sudan Political Service, from which position he was invalided out in 1950. He was posted to Cairo, where he was nearly lynched by a mob and was saved only because he had mastered Arabic by then. He also met his wife Geraldine during this period. Four years after his transfer he was the biggest name of the Gezira CC when they took on the formidable opposition.
The weather was good, for Ra and Horus prevailed over Set that day. Thoth and Ma’at joined hand with Ra; Bast and Sekhmet declared the contest open; and play got underway.
The Pakistanis batted first, and Hanif and Alimuddin set off at a brisk pace. Shaaban removed Hanif for 37, while Alimuddin retired out once he reached 52. Though Imtiaz (14) and Maqsood Ahmed (25) did not make the occasion count, Ebrahim Ebbu’ Ghazali (52 not out) and Aslam Khokhar (29 not out) took the score to 218 for 4 in 45 overs. Kardar declared at this point.
The Pakistanis were in a hurry, for they had to travel from Cairo to Gaza. Thankfully, they had in their side Fazal, who was perhaps the best man for the occasion. He removed Kerr Pearce early, but Narriman and Stanbury defied Fazal and Maqsood — before the great man ran through.
The floodgates opened after Narriman fell. Maqsood went wicketless, which prompted Kardar to get Ikram Elahi on. Fazal’s balls came off the pitch like vicious minions of Osiris, making it impossible for the locals for play. Ikram got rid of Duke, but at the other end Fazal was on a rampage, taking 7 for 28 with his fast cutters.
Khalid Hasan (5 for 11) joined in with his leg-breaks, but two things stood between the tourists and a one-sided victory: they needed to take 14, and not 10, wickets; Stanbury, in what was almost certainly his last go at cricketing glory, held firm at one end.
The minute hand of the clock ticked on as Stanbury and Borman dug in. Fazal and Khalid were breathing fire as the dark shadows of Anubis and Nephthys hovered across the sky.
The Pakistanis had Gezira down at 52 for 13, but they had managed to send down only 25 overs in the process. The time to choose between a seemingly insignificant match and a firsthand experience of sighting perhaps the greatest examples of architecture had come — Kardar’s men opted for the latter.
What followed?
- Pakistan’s subsequent tour of England is remembered mainly for their historic 24-run victory at The Oval to draw the series. Fazal, with 6 for 53 and 6 for 46, was the undisputed hero.
- Stanbury never played another chronicled match. He was later transferred to Bahrain and then to Buenos Aires. Following retirement, he kept on travelling, settling down to become a fruit farmer in Portugal. He came back to Sussex, where he ran a business of imported Portuguese pottery.
- Egypt is not an ICC member. However, she has produced a Test cricketer: Athanasios John Traicos, a Greek by origin, was born in Zagazig, Egypt. He later played Tests for both South Africa and Zimbabwe, and currently stays in Australia.
Brief scores:
Pakistanis 218 for 4 decl. (Alimuddin 52, Ebrahim Ebbu’ Ghazali 52*) drew with Gezira Sporting Club 52 for 13 (Fazal Mahmood 7 for 28, Khalid Hasan 5 for 11).
http://www.cricketcountry.com/artic...-sphinx-330113/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
