One fine morning, in the 1940s, the people of Tripunithura woke up to find the coconut trees in ‘Ottolli Parambu’ missing! The next few days unfolded something never before seen in the royal headquarters of the erstwhile Kingdom of Cochin.
Well, the princes of the royal family were playing cricket, at what is now renowned as the Palace Oval.
While the British had begun playing the sport in Ernakulam and Fort Kochi earlier, the coconut trees sacrificed in the royal town had a greater say in the integrated development of the Gentleman’s Game in Kochi, and indeed Kerala.
The royalty’s passion for the game led to the then Diwan of Cochin, C G Herbert, gifting land for the formation of a proper cricket ground at ‘Ottolli Parambu’. Matches in the early years were of two days, with the friends of royal family members joining in. In due course, the Princes’ Club - where the royalty spent their leisure time - was renamed the Tripunithura Cricket Club (TCC).
The second World War too played its bit in turning Tripunithura into a cricket hub. For the Maharaja’s College Ground and the Durbar Hall Ground in Ernakulam, which used to host matches of two or three days, became unavailable during the period.
In 1951, history was made as the first ever limited overs cricket tournament in India - Pooja Cricket Tournament - took off. It also set the stage, perhaps, for the first ever one-day limited overs cricket match in the world. It was K V Kelappan Thampuran, the first secretary of the Kerala Cricket Association, who put forward the concept of a limited overs one-day match, although a two-day match of 60 overs each had already been played in England.
Cricket soon became a social symbol in Tripunithura, attracting the general public in large numbers to the Palace Oval. The short boundaries, which had spectators sitting on the perimeter walls, allowed for a riveting experience. Fans got to appreciate the nuances of a player’s style and technique from close quarters. And there was no escaping for the cricketers. Praise, or abuse – as when a fielder dropped a catch, flew into their ears all too quickly.
The role TCC and the Pooja tournament played in the evolution of cricket in Kerala cannot be stressed enough, feels P Balachandran, a former player, long-time club secretary and coach.
“In the early years, it was about making the game popular. Later, player promotion became the watchword. As there were no inter-district matches back then, the Kerala teams were selected on the basis of performances in the Pooja tournament. Several young players got breaks because of their efforts here,” points out Balachandran, adding that the highpoint of the game in Tripunithura was from the 1970s to the beginning of the 1990s when the best players in the country, from Gundappa Vishwanath to Rahul Dravid, came visiting.
Over the years, TCC has produced several cricketers who have played for Kerala with distinction, helping the team to victories across the state. These days, the club is focusing more on grooming youngsters, says current secretary Saby John, also a former player.
“Other clubs have moved to a professional line where they take players from outside. But our focus is at the academy level. We play tournaments with our own players, to give opportunities to rising talent. In fact, several TCC players have gone on to do well for other teams,” says Saby.