In the first-ever Test played, in March 1877, Australia had a player born in British India, Bransby Cooper, from Dhaka. A hard-hitting batsman, who once put on 283 runs with W.G. Grace in England, he made 15 and three in that Test.
Cooper is remembered today mainly as an answer to a trivia question, but a man born in Melbourne a few years later, Frank Tarrant, has a deeper historical connection with Indian cricket. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the winners of a Test series between the two countries honours two giants, each with an intimate connection with the other’s country. Tarrant deserves recognition too.
He was an all-rounder, probably the finest never to have played Test cricket. In the words of Wisden, he “swapped Melbourne for Marylebone” playing for Middlesex where he achieved the season’s double (1000 runs and 100 wickets) eight times. He once took ten wickets each in five matches in a row. He also played for his native Victoria, and significantly, had a third career in India.
