Introduction To Cricket
One of the Europeans, a Mr Tross, encouraged the young Baloo to bowl to him in the nets. His skill at slow left-arm bowling was enough to encourage other members to bat against him for practice, in particular the fine batsman Captain J.G.Greig. In time, he was bowling to them regularly, his bowling important practice for the club members. Despite bowling for hundreds of hours, Baloo later lamented that not once did any of the club members offer to allow him to bat—a role then considered the preserve of the aristocratic classes.(Guha 2002:90). An undocumented story states that he was paid 8 annas by JG Greig every time he dismissed him. Baloo thus perfected his bowling, spending hours in the nets bowling to the Europeans.
A Hindu club in Pune challenged the Europeans to a cricket match, creating a dilemma over whether or not to include the obviously talented Baloo in their side. The (high-caste) Brahmins in the Hindu side were against it, but some Telugu members argued for his inclusion, as did Captain Greig. This seemed to settle the matter, for Baloo was invited to play with the Hindu Club.
On the field, Baloo played cricket as an equal, but off it he was segregated from the Europeans and the higher caste Hindus during rest and meal breaks. While his team-mates dined inside the pavilion on fine china, Baloo was left outside to eat and drink out of disposable clay crockery. Despite this treatment, he bowled well and took plenty of wickets, leading his club to several victories almost single handedly.(Guha 2002:93)
Over the next few years, Baloo slowly earned the respect of his Hindu club team-mates. As his standing in the Poona cricket community grew due to his obvious talents, these barriers broke down and he was eventually accorded the right to gather with his fellow players off the field.
In 1896, Baloo chose to move to Bombay with his family – at least partly because of the severe plague which broke out in the region, but also because of the greater opportunities for cricket in the larger city. There he served with the Army and played for the newly formed Parmanandas Jivandas Hindu Gymkhana club. The captain of the Gymkhana cricket team wanted Baloo's bowling skills, but had to overrule the protests of several other players who objected to Baloo's caste. When he left the Army, Bombay Berar and Central Indian Railways gave him a job, allowing him to play for their corporate cricket team as well as the Gymkhana.
Read more about this topic: Palwankar Baloo
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