At a dinner, last night, in honour of the Indian Cricket team, who are shortly to leave for England for England, his Highness the Nawab of Bhopal, President of the Cricket Board of Control said:
“Gentlemen, do not let my getting up from my chair to-night frighten you for knowing as I do what very strenuous time lies ahead of you, it is not my intention to inflict a long speech on you. All I want to do is first to bid you sincere welcome to my state and then to thank you for the very great pleasure you have given me by accepting my invitation to be my guest. I am indeed delighted to see you all in my capital and hope you will take away with you pleasant memories of your very short stay with us. I also take this opportunity of congratulating you all on the honour that your country bestowed on you by selecting you to play for India in England. Let me assure you that both as individuals and as a team you have not only the best wishes of your countrymen but also their confidence in you. We are sending a team to England consisting of those in whose hands the honour of Indian cricket and our reputation for good sportsmanship are quite safe. Above all it is a source of great satisfaction to be able to feel that you will all live together in harmony as a happy family and that your country’s name and reputation will always be your first consideration. You are going to England as ambassadors of goodwill and understanding and I can say from personal experience that England will receive you in the same spirit. It has to be remembered that we all stand for the honour and glory of the Empire which can only be achieved by the supreme effort of fellowship so that, separated though we are by occasions, we may be bound closely through generations that are to come by mutual sympathy goodwill and understanding. It is your good fortune that you have Maharajkumar of Vizianagram as your skipper who besides being a good cricketer is also a great sportsman and possesses all those qualities which should command your loyalty and support both on and off the field. I have no doubt that he will inspire you to do great things and to play cricket in the widest sense of the word. If you all combine and hold a straight bat which individually you all know how to do and at the same time be modest in victory and cheerful in defeat you will place yourselves for all the time on the pedestal of glory and whether you win or lose, victory shall, in each case, be yours and India will be proud of you.
Viceroy’s Message
Let me now on behalf of us all wish you ‘bon voyage’ and best of luck. I have also a personal message from the Viceroy which I should like to road out to you.
“This is a short note to ask you to convey to our cricket team which is off to England in a few days my warmest good wishes and my sincere hope that they will have the most successful tour. I shall be over in England myself before long but in the meantime wish ‘Vizzy’ and his men every possible good luck. Bid them to keep a straight bat and beware of the new l.b.w. rule and I hope they will bring back the Ashes to India.”
Gentlemen, I ask you to join me in drinking to the health of our guests. May their visit to England be a great success and may they return to us safe and sound.”
His Highness, thereafter proposed the toast for the team which was drunk with much applause.
Vizzy’s Reply
The Maharajkumar of Vizianagram replying said: “I am most grateful to you, Sir, for your generous remarks and fatherly advice. Please convey to His Excellency our warmest thanks for his kind message. We have enjoyed your proverbial hospitality to our hearts content. You have given us a treat. Sir, I do hope and pray that we shall prove worthy of your choice. Your advice and guidance shall always stand us in good stead. You have given me a fine set of men and it shall be our united endeavour to play as one man and as one unit. I am confident we shall play the game and be true ambassadors of goodwill both on and off the field.
A Great Sportsman
Gentlemen, His Highness is India’s finest polo-player and a cricketer of renown for not so very long ago he skippered the Aligarh ‘Varsity side. Had it not been for his multifarious activities and state duties, he would have, to-day, been skippering India. May I also say that His Highness is the greatest democratic ruler of the present day. I am voicing the feelings of you all when I say that India is fortunate in having you at the helm of her cricketing affairs. I must congratulate your Highness on selecting Major Brittain Jones as our manager. He is a sportsman of the highest order and personality. He has taken up the appointment at considerable personal inconvenience, for he has India’s cricket at heart. Last but not the least, my warmest thanks to Mr. deMello who has organized the tour and it is a feather in his cap. I would like you all to join me in drinking to the health of His Highness the Ruler of Bhopal.”
The Maharajkumar also presented the Nawab of Bhopal with Visianagram Cricket colours and after proposing His Highness’ health, the entire company sang “He is a jolly good fellow.”
Nissar and Baqa Jilani arrived just in time to the welcome speech of His Highness. Mehromji was unable to attend owing to fever. Nayudu, Mushtaq Ali, Merchant, Hindlekar, Gopalan and Ramaswami are arriving today.