England 5 - India 0

For the first time ever England won all five Tests in a series as India suffered their most humiliating tour. The negativity that had been the 1952 side seemed amplified, and few of the batsmen seemed prepared to take advantage of one of England’s finest summers. Three of England’s victories came with an innings to spare, and the other two were won with plenty in hand. Brian Statham and Fred Trueman consistently upset the Indian batting, and prolific scorers Peter May, Colin Cowdrey, Ken Barrington, and Geoff Pullar punctured the Indian bowlers.

Only the fourth Test provided any real interest, and it was the only one that went into the fifth day. Geoff Pullar (131) and Mike Smith (100) scored centuries for England, and when India batted a second time, wanting 548 to win, Abbas Ali Baig, an Oxford freshman included during the tour, made 112 and Polly Umrigar 118 before they went down by 171 runs.

BATTING & FIELDING
	M	I	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50	0	Ct	St
NJ Contractor (Ind)	4	8	1	233	81	33.29	-	2	1	3	-
KF Barrington (Eng)	5	6	0	357	87	59.50	-	4	-	5	-

BOWLING
	M	O	B	Md	R	W	Ave	Best	5	10	SR	ER
SP Gupte (Ind)	5	199	1198	51	589	17	34.65	4/76	-	-	70.47	49.17
FS Trueman (Eng)	5	177	1066	53	401	24	16.71	4/24	-	-	44.42	37.62

England 3 - India 0

Upset by terrible weather and injuries, India gave a dismal display in the first innings of the first Test at Headlingley, where they followed-on and made 510 to distinguish themselves. Pataudi’s 148 proved to be the only Indian Test century but it was insufficient as England won by six wickets and Brian Close’s men found less resistance in the other two Tests.

BATTING & FIELDING
	M	I	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50	0	Ct	St
Pataudi (Nawab of) jr (Ind)	3	6	0	269	148	44.83	1	1	1	2	-
KF Barrington (Eng)	3	5	0	324	97	64.80	-	3	-	2	-

BOWLING
	M	O	B	Md	R	W	Ave	Best	5	10	SR	ER
BS Chandrasekhar (Ind)	3	169	1019	40	435	16	27.19	5/127	1	-	63.69	42.69
R Illingworth (Eng)	3	154	927	68	266	20	13.30	6/29	1	-	46.35	28.69

England 0 - India 1 - Draw 2

In the third match of this short series, an England batting collapse in the second innings at The Oval gave India their first-ever win on English soil. Such a collapse came hardly as a surprise, because in all the Tests, the home players had shown distinct vulnerability against a three-pronged spin attack of Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Bishen Singh Bedi and S Venkataraghavan.

The first Test at Lord’s had been left ruined by rain with India 38 runs short of a target of 183 runs and two wickets in hand. England had been grateful for John Snow’s highest Test score of 73 in the first innings, after being 71 for 5 to Chandrasekhar and Bedi. Skipper Ajit Wadekar, Gundappa Vishwanath and Eknath Solkar all made solid contributions for India, while Gavaskar’s second innings 53 seemed to create a certain win, until Gifford pegged them back.

Rain saved India at Old Trafford when they were 65 for 3, needing 429 to win. Ray Illingworth and Brian Luckhurst made hundreds, and Peter Lever, at number nine, hit an unbeaten 88.

But at the Oval, the visitors needed only 173 for victory, which they accomplished with six wickets down. After England had led by 71 on the first innings, they crumbled in the face of Chandrasekhar, whose bounce and turn proved mesmeric. He finished with 6 for 38, a performance as India won both the match and series.

BATTING & FIELDING
	M	I	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50	0	Ct	St
AL Wadekar (Ind)	3	6	0	204	85	34.00	-	1	-	5	-
BW Luckhurst (Eng)	3	6	0	244	101	40.67	1	1	-	1	-

BOWLING
	M	O	B	Md	R	W	Ave	Best	5	10	SR	ER
S Venkataraghavan (Ind)	3	149	903	38	350	13	26.92	4/52	-	-	69.46	38.76
N Gifford (Eng)	2	64	387	18	127	8	15.88	4/43	-	-	48.38	32.82

England 3 - India 0

In damp, cold weather, England took full advantage of conditions to their liking and comprehensively defeated India in all three Tests of the series. Despite the batting exploits of Abid Ali, the visitors, with their reliance on spin, could not compete in a contest of seam bowling. At Old Trafford in the first Test, rain fell during the first four days and England, particularly Fletcher with an undefeated 123, found few problems emerging from the cold fingers of Bedi, Chandrasekhar and Venkataraghavan. Seven Indian wickets tumbled for 143 until Gavaskar found staunch support from Abid Ali and completed a gallant century. But after Edrich, on his return to international cricket after two years, reached three figures, India were bowled out on the last day and lost the Test by 113 runs.

At Lord’s, the margin was even wider - a massive win for England by an innings and 285 runs. Omitting Geoffrey Boycott, England amassed 629 - Dennis Amiss 188, Mike Denness 118, Tony Greig 106 and John Edrich 96. Although Gavaskar and Farookh Engineer put on 131 for the first wicket in reply, the follow-on was inevitably forced. India crumbled in 77 minutes and 17 overs for 42 -- The lowest score in Test history at Lord’s. Geoffrey Arnold, 4 for 19, and Chris Old, 5 for 21, administered the slaughter.

India had little taste for the fight in the third Test and conceded defeat again by an innings. Bowled out for 164 and 216 by the England seam attack, they took only two wickets in reply as England declared at 459. Lloyd, in only his second Test, made 214 not out, and he put on 207 for the second wicket with his captain, Amiss, reaching his second century of a one-sided series.

BATTING & FIELDING
	M	I	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50	0	Ct	St
SM Gavaskar (Ind)	3	6	0	217	101	36.17	1	1	1	1	-
DL Amiss (Eng)	3	4	0	370	188	92.50	1	2	-	-	-

BOWLING
	M	O	B	Md	R	W	Ave	Best	5	10	SR	ER
BS Bedi (Ind)	3	172	1034	28	523	10	52.30	6/226	1	-	103.40	50.58
CM Old (Eng)	3	89	534	19	249	18	13.83	5/21	1	-	29.67	46.63

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