Mohammed Nissar & Amar Singh

 

In American slang, they were ‘pistol-pardners’. As partners, they haunted and hunted in pairs. Their weaponry sent tremors down the spine of their victims. Their expertise was beyond compare.

 

Mohammed Nissar was a reticent giant with soul of an innocent child. Amar Singh Ladha was a bohemian, full of bonhomie and laughter. Gripping the ball in massive palms, both looked at the batters from 6 feet plus with benevolent eyes, perhaps expressing sorrow for the missiles they were about to unleash. 

 

In contrasting styles Nissar and Amar complemented each other. While Amar winked and whispered, Nissar was fast and fearsome. They belonged to different provinces, different communities but both knew that they belonged to the same nation. They were proud Indians who believed that to gain self-respect from foreigners one had to show one’s power. 

 

The untimely death of the duo left behind poignant memories. Both were born in the same year 1910. Amar left at 30, Nissar at 53. Nissar played just 6 official Tests; Amar one more. Amar was lucky not to have seen the partition of his motherland; not so Nissar as he died in his homeland with a changed name!

 

Mohammed Nissar was India’s best-ever fast bowler.

He needed neither costumes nor dialogues to enthral the audience. Just a stage was all that he ever required. Whether playing in Tests or in exhibition fixtures, the man was always at his peak form. Motivation he never lacked; hence his skills never betrayed him. The   “Star of India” logo on his cap was sufficient motivation for him to bowl at tottering knees.

 

He was a greatly feared opponent and as respected. People feared him not only because of the ferocity of his pace, which of course he had in plenty, but more so for his destructive skills: vicious in-dipper, rib-cage bounce and nerve-wrecking bumper.

 

Mohammed Nissar was among the great fast bowlers of any era. He was a Royal Bengal tiger whether on the prowl or in pause. Power reeking through those bulging shoulders and massive physique. Glided as a gazelle as he ran in to bowl. Had muscles of iron and wrists of rubber.  His cocked wrist resembled a cobra as the ball leapt and struck. Venom turned the victim blue.

 

For all his proclivities towards violence, the giant had the heart of a child. Never even once at any level of cricket did he aim to maim a batter. Once when goaded by his skipper Wazir Ali to bowl at CK Nayudu's body in a Pentangular championship match, Nissar declined saying that he did not play his cricket that way. It is indeed amazing for a fast bowler of blinding pace to refuse to intimidate batsmen. Unique in cricket history, it is.

 

Nissar was unarguably the first Indian cricketer who would have walked into a World XI. Sir Neville Cardus, the doyen of cricket writers, considered Mohammed Nissar to be the fastest bowler in the world in the 1930s, especially his initial 5 overs.

 

Pace like fire he surely possessed, but more than sheer brute pace it was his vicious in-swing bowled at the rib-cage that had people gasping. His fast break-back at a disconcerting pace would have batters drawing away from the stumps. He had a ferocious bouncer and an accurate yorker to send hapless men to their doom. But all this he achieved without the least show of rancour or vengeance.

 

Nissar did not need to browbeat opponents, never stooped to curse opponents; had no time for vulgar gestures; had no inclination to abuse. He had no reason to take recourse to any kind of gamesmanship. He was very sure of his abilities. He had faith in his own skills; pride in his own methods. Such was his aversion to gamesmanship that he would rather accept failure than twist the fair name of cricket to gain an undue advantage. Yes, in today's perverse terminology he would not be considered a wise man.

 

He was in reality a Rolls-Royce among fast bowlers. No bowler except Ted McDonald – and later Ray Lindwall, Graham McKenzie and Michael Holding – had a run-up as smooth as he had. His 30-yard approach to the bowling crease was sheer poetry: full of rhythm and poise. The massive man was so very nimble on his feet that not a thud could be heard as the silken-smooth movement took shape. The action was a sight for the gods: majestic and handsome.

 

Appropriately enough he made his Test debut at Lord's in 1932 in India's inaugural Test. Within the first 5 overs he gave England an idea of a blitzkrieg that Adolf Hitler would unleash on them in the years to come. Herbert Sutcliffe was beaten by sheer pace as his stumps went flying; Percy Holmes' citadel cart-wheeled as he had no clue to Nissar's poisonous break-back.

 

The gin and tonic brigade in pin-stripes and top hats in the Lord’s Long Room went open-mouthed in disbelief. They had come to watch the slaughter of innocents. Had not just 10 days back this same Yorkshire pair of Sutcliffe and Holmes scored a world record score of 555 runs against Essex, they asked themselves. Who is this colonial upstart to wreak havoc on British Rule?

 

Nissar added three more wickets in that debut innings and immediately came to be respected as among the top fast bowlers of the world. No other cricketer has ever received such universal admiration and status so very early within the first day of his Test debut. Yes, no other cricketer ever, not even Trumper, Bradman, or Sobers received instant confirmation of their exceptional abilities.

Only Nissar, the lion-hearted Indian, came to be rated as among the best on the very day he made his debut in Test cricket.

 

On that tour he was consistency personified. He scalped 71 victims. Had a strike rate of one wicket every 6th over, which, by any standard, is superlative striking-power. But in Nissar's case we must not forget that most of his wickets came from bowled and leg-before-wicket decisions as he was very badly let down by his close-in fielders. But never was Nissar known to have expressed displeasure at his butter-fingered fieldsmen.

 

Back in India he faced Douglas Jardine’s men once again. At the Bombay Gymkhana ground he had another 5 wicket haul and at Eden Gardens just 2 wickets as catches went down galore in the slips cordon. Those days so very few Test matches were played that even at one’s peak, one got hardly any opportunities. Hence any comparison with the moderns is obviously misleading. The great pacer's career did not extend beyond a mere 6 Tests.

 

His last tour abroad was again to England in 1936. Again he was his usual outstanding self. At the Lord's in tandem with the magnificent Amar Singh he had England on the mat for 147 all out. Nissar (17-5-36-3) and Amar Singh (25-11-35-6) conclusively proved that they were the leading fast bowling combination in the world at the time.

 

At Old Trafford he had 2 wickets in the only innings and then in the final encounter at Oval he was at his magnificent best with 5 wickets off 26 overs. Uprooted the stumps of Hammond and Leyland. Halved the stumps of Worthington. Had Allen and Verity fending risers to wicket-keeper Dilawar Hussain. That was his swan-song in Test cricket. Wonder if any other fast bowler began his life and finished as well with 5 wicket hauls.

 

Although his Test bowling average of 28.28 is very impressive, more so his strike rate in unofficial Tests and first class matches which are 16.51 and 19.02 respectively, yet there is every fear that the magnificence of his endeavour may be submerged in the mass of statistical data.

 

Nissar was born at Hoshiarpur in Punjab in 1910. Learnt his cricket in the tough school of Patiala, where for the first time he was introduced to flannels for cricket instead of the flowing salwars that he wore.

 

 Did wonders for the Muslims in the Quadrangulars and the Pentangulars as well as for Southern Punjab in the Ranji Trophy. Graduated from the Government College at Lahore and was gainfully employed by Bengal Nagpur Railway.

 

His untimely death in 1963 at 53 cast a pall of gloom all over the cricket world for he was a much-respected, much-loved cricketer all through his life.

 

India has produced many outstanding batters, spinners, all-rounders, wicket-keepers but no greater fast bowler than the one and only Nissar. He still remains our all-time best genuine fast bowler at the world stage.

 

****

 

AMAR SINGH was surely India’s first world-class all-rounder.

If his run-up was short, so was the tenure of his life. If his action appeared ungainly, so was his casual approach to life.

 

 But there was nothing untidy about his bowling. Immaculate in accuracy and disconcertingly penetrative in pace and guile. In Walter Hammond's view Amar Singh "came off the wicket like the crack of doom."

 

In his brief career he had established himself as one of premier pace bowlers of the world. The tall, dark, sinewy man from Rajkot was an athlete in every movement of his. His lithe grace and easy manner made him highly popular wherever he played the game.

 

Amar Singh was destined only to be a fleeting comet. He arrived on the cricketing scene all on a sudden and after a fleeting moment of brightness went into the unknown at the youthful age of just 30. Not much has been fathomed about his early life. Little that is heard is that his elder brother Ladha Ramji, the burly fast bowler of the Hindu teams of the 1920s, brought him over as a raw, callow youth to play local cricket in the state of Kathiawar in West India.

 

In England Amar Singh was a man possessed. He would swing and cut the ball either way at a disconcerting pace much to the bewilderment of the professional, hardened English county cricketers.

 

In his debut Test at the Lord's, Amar Singh gave glimpses of the genius that lay dormant within his massive frame. In tandem with the fiery pace of Mohammed Nissar at the other end, he formed as lethal a combination we ever possessed. He returned figures of 2 for 75 off 31.1 overs and 2 for 84 of 44 overs. The 4 wickets included the legendary names of Herbert Sutcliffe, Walter Hammond and Leslie Ames. In the 2nd innings, while fighting for a lost cause, he scored 51 and was associated in an 8th wicket stand of 74 in just 40 minutes against Bill Voce, Bill Bowes, Freddie Brown, Wally Hammond and Walter Robbins.

 

After Amar Singh’s return from UK in 1932 he made his debut for Western India in Ranji Trophy as well as for the Hindus in the Quadrangular Tournament in 1934. He was the spearhead of the Hindu sides in the 1930s. Against the Europeans in his first match for the Hindus he had figures of 6 for 42 and 4 for 50. For bonus, he hit a breezy 90 to enable his team to inflict a crushing innings defeat on the Europeans.

 

By now, of course, he had built a reputation as an outstanding bowler. He never relied on frightening pace but concentrated on movement and accuracy. His powerful wrists allowed aim to give the bill a firm tweak. Coming as it did at his medium fast pace, the batters the world over experienced a horrifying encounter. His leg cutter was deliberately a little slower with the flick of his fingers which very few bowlers have been able to master over the years.

 

When the maharaja of Nawanagar decided to field a team for the Ranji Trophy in 1936- 37 among his first acquisitions was Ladha Amar Singh. Amar was now a full-time professional cricketer in the best sense of the term 'professional’. He helped Nawanagar to win the Ranji championship in that very year with the assistance of Albert Wensley, the Sussex pro and a young 19- year old named Vinoo Mankad.

 

During the off-season Amar Singh would go over to England to play in the Lancashire League for Colne. In England his magnificent performance gave him an awesome reputation. His carefree life-style and his easy manner made his as highly popular in the leagues as he was with the Indian crowds.

 

The next Test he played was on Indian soil. Once again against Jardine's England in 1933-34. As a bowler of world class he was, as usual, in his elements. 14 wickets he captured in just 3 Tests. At Madras he had an analysis of 7 for 86 in 44.4 overs and 1 for 55 in 25. Promoted to no.4 from no.11, he hit an explosive 48 to cement his growing reputation as one of the premier cricketers in the world.

 

So popular was he that in 1936 his Lancashire League club Colne permitted him to play the Tests for India in England during his league assignments. Again he was India's premier bowler with 10 wickets in 3 Tests.

 

Bohemian Amar Singh, the flamboyant character that he was, never believed in predictability. He made the ball talk in whispers. Swinging the red cherry either way was passé for him. When the mood beckoned he would cut the ball off the seam and then suddenly decide to bowl a genuine leg cutter. Just to keep everyone guessing he would actually bowl medium paced finger spin as well! Never bothered to mark his run-up as Keith Miller and Salim Durani would often do years later. Would bowl in various styles too!

 

Amar Singh was a man of the soil. No pretensions inhibited him. He was a natural sportsman. Full of life and bursting with freedom. Shackles of seriousness disturbed him. He could not fathom why cricket should be played with rancour and the will to win at any cost. To him cricket always remained game to be enjoyed. A spectacle to entertain others.

 

Amar Singh, free and careless, became a victim because he could not and would not compromise with what nature had bestowed on him.

 

With Mohammed Nissar, the maverick Amar Singh Ladha formed India's finest fast bowling combination ever. In the 6 Tests together they did extremely well to be ranked among the best in the world. Unfortunately death at the age of 30 broke the partnership in 1940.

 

Today when our fast bowlers work in harness and cause discomfiture to the opponents we feel that the spirit of the great duo is on them. This is the best possible homage the country can pay to those two magnificent soldiers, now resting in peace in the Elysian Field.