Empire Cricket Booklet

•

INDIAN CRICKET IN NATAL

Ottomans, formed in October 1911, joined as a new club. Teams were formed on the basis of commonalities, mirroring local neighbourhood, religious and class identities, especially differences of hierarchy between traders and indentured Indians. Traders were considered by the state, and considered themselves 'Arab' because most were Muslim and wore Middle Eastern garb. Differences among Muslims also reflected in the composition of teams. Ottomans was made up of Urdu-speaking traders and their shop assistants from Rander in Gujarat. In Natal, they were known as Miabhais. 46 Ottomans was formed at the home of Shiaku Peerbhai (S. P.) Butler. 47 S. P., who had come to South Africa in 1896, opened a retail store in West Street and was later joined by his wife and three brothers, Ahmed, Rahman and Karrim. All were prominent in Ottomans as players and officials. The club's main benefactor was A. H. Kazi, who was born in Rander in 1876 and came to Natal at the age of thirteen. He was educated in Rander and Boys Model School in Durban. He owned a retail store in Field Street as well as several branches throughout Natal. Most Ottomans' players worked for Kazi. Like other employers, he provided board and lodging for shop assistants who were usually young and single. 48 Ottomans was established to occupy their leisure time and prevent them from becoming involved in vices such as gambling. Ottomans had a strong Muslim identity. Thus, for example, the local Muslim community was jubilant when Muslims beat Parsees in Bombay in 1913. The Durban Ottoman Cricket Club dispatched a cable message to the Islam Gymkhana of Bombay conveying Durban Muslims' 'congratulations to the distinguished winners'. 49 Ottomans was consistently the most successful team, winning the Peters Cup six times and the Pandays Shield three times between 1911 and 1926. The secretary of the Union felt that Ottomans was successful because it was the only team 'that consistently practised'. In comparison, the secretary of Pirates blamed his team's failures on lack of practice: 'The members did not turn up to practice regularly last season, and that was the cause of their defeat, as it is evident that the upkeep of a team mainly depends on it'. 5 ° Kazi built a practice net behind his store in Field Street where shop assistants, with little else to do, practised during evenings and on weekends. Ottomans thus had an

Cricket Club, for example, was formed in September 1901 by educated Christians at a meeting at St Aidan's School, while the City Players Indian Cricket Club was formed in October 1901 by Reverend John Thomas, headmaster of the Wesleyan School. These teams represented Anglican and Methodist Christians respectively. 42 A third team, Durban United, represented educated Hindus. Its most prominent members were V. N. Thumbadoo, N. K. Singh and Billy Subban. 43 They were known as Pirates of India from 1902. A 1903 photograph of Mayville Indian CC carries the inscription 'First Indian Cricket Team in Durban', though it is unclear when the team was formed. Team members included both Hindus and Muslims, such as P. Mothi, Ajam Haffajee, B. Ramsuk (vice-president), Peerbhai Ally Buckus (vice-captain), M. Mahabeer (captain), N. Budhoo, D. J. Soaker (secretary), and V. Chilly. Patrons were G. M. Peters and Shaik Emamally. Following an awards evening, a local newspaper reported that 'for entertainment, songs were sung in Hindi, English and Dutch', and the gathering ended 'at midnight with the singing of the National Anthem'. 44 Mayville was reconstituted into Greyville in 1906 as many educated Indians settled in that area. The exodus of young sportsmen to the Transvaal for work in the hotel industry after the South African War led to the stagnation of cricket in Durban during the first decade of the twentieth century. 45 By 1910, many pioneering teams had disappeared. Pirates of India (Pirates), Greyville, Natal Government Railways (Railways), Higher Grade School (School) and Overport were affiliated to DDICU. In virtually every area that cricket was played among Indians, there was bound to be a club called 'School'. This reflected the close identification of students with their alma mater in a context where educational opportunities were desired but scarce, and often non-existent. Bernard Sigamoney expressed this poignantly when he wrote in the 1949 Christopher tournament programme that 'the Higher Grade School was the greatest Ray of Hope of Indian Life in South Africa in the year 1899 - it was the Rising Sun with all the hope of a Life-Saver to the teeming thousands of Indians in South Africa'. Education was highly prized and schools had great affinity for Indians.