Through the 1920s the Bombay Quadrangular — between teams chosen on the religious and ethnic lines of the city's communities (Hindus, Parsis, Muslims, Europeans) — was the most important annual cricket competition in India and the principal showcase for the country's emerging Test players.
Indian cricket had been organised through the Bombay tournaments since 1892, with religious and community sides reflecting the social structure of British India. The format was politically controversial even at the time but produced the most competitive non-British cricket in the world before the Ranji Trophy.
The Bombay Tournament had begun in 1892 as a fixture between the Parsis and Europeans. By the 1900s it had become the Triangular (Hindus added) and from 1912 the Quadrangular (Muslims added). Through the 1920s it was the most-watched cricket tournament in India, drawing crowds of 30,000 to the Bombay Gymkhana for the major matches.
The star of the 1920s tournaments was C.K. Nayudu of the Hindus. His 153 against the visiting MCC in December 1926 had been made in the same conditions and against the same Bombay backdrop. Nayudu, the all-rounder Vijay Hazare, the wicketkeeper J.G. Navle, the Parsi batsmen Bahadur Kapadia and Naoomal Jaoomal, and the Muslim opener Wazir Ali — the entire generation that would form India's first Test side in 1932 — was largely produced by the Quadrangular.
By the late 1920s the Quadrangular had become the Pentangular (with The Rest added) and continued until 1945-46, when the BCCI's growing first-class structure and post-Independence political concerns led to its discontinuation. The Ranji Trophy, beginning in 1934-35, was the formal national first-class competition that succeeded it.
1912: Quadrangular established with addition of Muslims
1923-1929: Hindus dominate under C.K. Nayudu's captaincy
Dec 1926: Nayudu's 153 v MCC at Bombay Gymkhana
Late 1920s: Pentangular formed with addition of The Rest
1934-35: Ranji Trophy launched as national first-class competition
1892
Bombay Tournament begins (Parsis v Europeans)
1912
Quadrangular established
1920s
Peak years of the Quadrangular
1934-35
Inaugural Ranji Trophy
1945-46
Pentangular discontinued
“It was at the Quadrangular that we learned the trade of cricket; the Test status that followed was earned on those grounds.”
The Pentangular continued until 1945-46. After Indian independence the BCCI rapidly built up the Ranji Trophy as the national first-class competition, and the religious-community basis of the Bombay tournaments was discontinued. Many of the Bombay Quadrangular's leading players became India's founding Test cricketers.
The Bombay Quadrangular of the 1920s was the principal organised platform for Indian cricket in the decade and the breeding ground for the players who would form the country's first Test side in 1932.
The Bombay Quadrangular is the historical ancestor of the Ranji Trophy and the IPL. Its production of competitive Indian cricket through the 1920s, against the limited first-class infrastructure of the period, was the foundation of the country's Test status.
Yorkshire v Essex
1932-06-16
On 15-16 June 1932 Herbert Sutcliffe (313) and Percy Holmes (224*) put on 555 for the first wicket against Essex at Leyton, breaking the world first-class record for any wicket and adding a layer of folklore — including a scoreboard that read 554 for several minutes and a hastily reversed declaration — that has clung to the partnership ever since.
Australia v England
1933-02-14
With the fate of the Bodyline series in the balance and England 216 for 6 chasing 340, Eddie Paynter checked himself out of a Brisbane hospital where he was being treated for acute tonsillitis, taxied to the Gabba in pyjamas and a dressing gown, and batted for nearly four hours to score 83. England drew level on first innings, won the Test by six wickets and the series 4-1.
Australia
1934-09-25
Days after the 1934 Oval Test, Bradman fell seriously ill with appendicitis that progressed to peritonitis. With antibiotics not yet available, he was given little chance of survival; his wife Jessie left Adelaide on a sea voyage to England prepared for the worst. He recovered after weeks of intensive nursing in a London nursing home and returned to first-class cricket the following Australian summer.