Gopalan hailed from the village of Morappakam in Chingleput district, some 50 kilometres from Chennai. His family moved to Triplicane in Chennai when he was young. Gopalan was discovered by C. P. Johnstone, one of the founding fathers of Madras cricket. As was his practice with promising players, Johnstone gave him a job in the Burmah Shell. Gopalan soon switched his allegiance to the Triplicane Cricket Club. He owed his fame in local circles mainly to his performances here.[citation needed]
He was a fast medium bowler who moved the ball both ways. When he was selected to make his first class debut in the Madras Presidency tournament, it was not a popular decision. The crowd barracked him when he did not take a wicket till lunch on the first day, but he went on to take five wickets in each innings. He also impressed against Arthur Gilligan's MCC team which was touring India at the time.[citation needed]
Another performance of some significance were the two matches in 1930 for Madras against the Vizianagram XI which included Jack Hobbs. In the first, Gopalan dismissed Hobbs in both innings; in the second he clean bowled the great man with a leg-cutter that pitched on the leg stump and took the off bail. Against Ceylon in 1933, he took a famous hattrick, the first in Chepauk. This came in his eighth over when he took wickets with his first, third, fourth and fifth balls, hitting the middle stump each time.[2]
When Ranji Trophy was inaugurated in 1934, Madras and Mysore (now Tamil Nadu and Karnataka) played the first match. To Gopalan went the honour of delivering the first ball of the tournament. His only Test match was against England at Calcutta in early 1934.
Gopalan's hockey career was helped by Robert Summerhayes who was to hockey in Madras what Johnstone was to cricket. In 1935, he toured New Zealand with the Indian hockey team which enjoyed enormous success. The next year he was selected for the cricket team to tour England. It was known beforehand that Gopalan would have a small role to play in the England tour because of the presence of Mohammad Nissar and Amar Singh. He might have been picked in the hockey team for the Berlin Olympics but chose to skip the Olympic trials.[3] This turned out to be a terrible decision. The hockey team captained by Dhyan Chand, one of the finest teams in the history of the sport, won the gold medal with little difficulty. As it turned out, Gopalan did not play a Test in England. The tour was marred by internal politics and the team returned in disgrace.[citation needed]
Gopalan's batting improved with time. Johnstone wrote later that it featured a "stance at the wicket with his left toe cocked up in the air. Since it was the stance adopted by England's most famous cricketer, W.G. Grace, he could hardly be faulted on this account. He was then about a No.10 batsman, but by steady application he showed what improvement a bowler who really tries can make in batting and later on played many fine innings".[4][5] The most celebrated of these 'many fine innings' was a 64 against the West Indians in 1949 which featured some thrilling driving.[6]
In 1952, a silver jubilee fund was started to celebrate Gopalan's 25 years in cricket and hockey. An annual cricket match was instituted between Madras and Ceylon (later Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka) for the M. J. Gopalan Trophy. This yearly tournament continued with a few interruptions till Sri Lanka got Test status in the early 1980s. It was revived in 2000 as a match between Tamil Nadu and a Colombo District Cricket Association. This also lapsed after two years. He served as a national selector for a few years in the 1950s.[citation needed]
Gopalan was the oldest living Test cricketer at the time of his death. According to him, he was born in 1906 but the year of his birth was recorded wrongly in the school records.[7]
gopalan, morappakam, josyam, gopalan, pronunciation, june, 1909, december, 2003, indian, sportsman, represented, india, cricket, hockey, personal, informationfull, namemorapakkam, josyam, gopalanborn, 1909, june, 1909chennai, madras, presidency, british, india. Morappakam Josyam Gopalan pronunciation 6 June 1909 21 December 2003 was an Indian sportsman who represented India in cricket 1 and hockey M J GopalanPersonal informationFull nameMorapakkam Josyam GopalanBorn 1909 06 06 6 June 1909Chennai Madras presidency British IndiaDied21 December 2003 2003 12 21 aged 94 Chennai Tamil Nadu IndiaBattingRight handedBowlingRight arm fast mediumInternational informationNational sideIndiaOnly Test cap 18 5 January 1934 v EnglandCareer statisticsCompetition Test First classMatches 1 78Runs scored 18 2 916Batting average 18 00 24 92100s 50s 0 0 1 17Top score 11 101 Balls bowled 114 11 242Wickets 1 194Bowling average 39 00 24 205 wickets in innings 0 910 wickets in match 0 3Best bowling 1 39 7 57Catches stumpings 3 49 Source ESPNcricinfo 20 May 2020 Gopalan hailed from the village of Morappakam in Chingleput district some 50 kilometres from Chennai His family moved to Triplicane in Chennai when he was young Gopalan was discovered by C P Johnstone one of the founding fathers of Madras cricket As was his practice with promising players Johnstone gave him a job in the Burmah Shell Gopalan soon switched his allegiance to the Triplicane Cricket Club He owed his fame in local circles mainly to his performances here citation needed He was a fast medium bowler who moved the ball both ways When he was selected to make his first class debut in the Madras Presidency tournament it was not a popular decision The crowd barracked him when he did not take a wicket till lunch on the first day but he went on to take five wickets in each innings He also impressed against Arthur Gilligan s MCC team which was touring India at the time citation needed Another performance of some significance were the two matches in 1930 for Madras against the Vizianagram XI which included Jack Hobbs In the first Gopalan dismissed Hobbs in both innings in the second he clean bowled the great man with a leg cutter that pitched on the leg stump and took the off bail Against Ceylon in 1933 he took a famous hattrick the first in Chepauk This came in his eighth over when he took wickets with his first third fourth and fifth balls hitting the middle stump each time 2 When Ranji Trophy was inaugurated in 1934 Madras and Mysore now Tamil Nadu and Karnataka played the first match To Gopalan went the honour of delivering the first ball of the tournament His only Test match was against England at Calcutta in early 1934 Gopalan s hockey career was helped by Robert Summerhayes who was to hockey in Madras what Johnstone was to cricket In 1935 he toured New Zealand with the Indian hockey team which enjoyed enormous success The next year he was selected for the cricket team to tour England It was known beforehand that Gopalan would have a small role to play in the England tour because of the presence of Mohammad Nissar and Amar Singh He might have been picked in the hockey team for the Berlin Olympics but chose to skip the Olympic trials 3 This turned out to be a terrible decision The hockey team captained by Dhyan Chand one of the finest teams in the history of the sport won the gold medal with little difficulty As it turned out Gopalan did not play a Test in England The tour was marred by internal politics and the team returned in disgrace citation needed Gopalan s batting improved with time Johnstone wrote later that it featured a stance at the wicket with his left toe cocked up in the air Since it was the stance adopted by England s most famous cricketer W G Grace he could hardly be faulted on this account He was then about a No 10 batsman but by steady application he showed what improvement a bowler who really tries can make in batting and later on played many fine innings 4 5 The most celebrated of these many fine innings was a 64 against the West Indians in 1949 which featured some thrilling driving 6 In 1952 a silver jubilee fund was started to celebrate Gopalan s 25 years in cricket and hockey An annual cricket match was instituted between Madras and Ceylon later Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka for the M J Gopalan Trophy This yearly tournament continued with a few interruptions till Sri Lanka got Test status in the early 1980s It was revived in 2000 as a match between Tamil Nadu and a Colombo District Cricket Association This also lapsed after two years He served as a national selector for a few years in the 1950s citation needed Gopalan was the oldest living Test cricketer at the time of his death According to him he was born in 1906 but the year of his birth was recorded wrongly in the school records 7 One of the entrances to the M A Chidambaram Stadium is named after Gopalan References edit M J Gopalan ESPNcricinfo Retrieved 20 May 2020 Madras vs Ceylon CricketArchive Retrieved 20 May 2020 Gopalan M J Hockey was my first love Sport and Pastime 21 August 1965 p 35 Johnstone looks back Indian Express 21 March 1965 S Muthiah The Spirit of Chepauk East West Books 1998 ISBN 81 86852 13 1 South Zone v West Indians CricketArchive Retrieved 20 May 2020 Ramchand Partab Is MJ Gopalan the oldest living Test cricketer ESPNcricinfo Retrieved 20 May 2020 External links editM J Gopalan at ESPNcricinfo Sportstar obituary News report announcing the institution of Gopalan Trophy usurped Preceded byLindsay Weir Oldest Living Test Cricketer31 October 2003 21 December 2003 Succeeded byDon Cleverley Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title M J Gopalan amp oldid 1190213955, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
