Early years :
Merchant made his first class debut at 18 playing for the Hindus against the Muslims in the semifinals of the Pentangular in November 1929.
- He batted at number 6 and scored 9 runs.
- He was retained in the side for the finals but this time batted at number 8 and scored 12.
THe Hindus seem to have had enough of him and did not include him again in their powerful side till five years later by which time he had played three Test matches ! But we overtake ourselves.
The next time Merchant got an opportunity to play in First class cricket was three years later in the Moin-ud-Dowlah tournament in December 1932. He scored 157 against the not so strong Aligarh University (Past and Present) and then faded away.
Code:
[B]Match Order Runs[/B]
Qtr- Finals 4 157
Semi-finals 4 5
The Final 6 1
No more first clas cricket for Mr Merchant, the scion of one of India's richest families and then one year later Jardine brought MCC to India.
MCC in India 1933-34
MCC had already played six first class games befpre they faced Bombay at Bombay Gymkhana Grounds. They had won four of them with no batsman standing upto them (only two fifties in four games, except for the players from Punjab. In two games (against Southern Punjab and Patiala) they were good enough to lose just 17 wickets in two games. Wazir Ali and young Amarnath scored a century and a fifty each. Clearly the balance of Indian cricket was different from what it was portrayed by the powerful men who controlled it in Mumbai and the West. It was in this background that Mumbai took the field against Bombay on 8th December 1933.
Bombay v Marylebone Cricket Club
Bombay Gymkhana, 8 Dec 1933
Bombay, winning the toss, decided to bat first. Before the pace of Nichols and Clarke, they lost their first four wickets for 8 runs. In walked 22 year old Vijay Merchant (still Vijay Tackersey - real name) to join Champak Mehta. They took the score to 58 before Verity caught Champak off his own bowling and then MCC proceeded to run through the side.
Young Vijay stood at one end, defending dourly, with the defense that was to become the hallmark of his batting in the years to come. He scored just 19 of the 79 runs that were scored while he was at the crease but he never left it - remaining unbeaten.
In the second innings, Bombay, almost 400 runs behind, promoted Vijay to number four and he came in at 57 for 2. He played another defensive marathon as Bombay played 92 overs to score just 191 but more importantly, lost just five wickets. Vijay was again not out for 67.
Not someone you want to compare with Sehwag 
This may not have been earth shattering stuff but it was enough to get Merchant a call into the Indian side for the first Test that was to be played just five days later at the very same Bombay Gymkhana grounds.
India v England (1st Test) :
Bombay Gymkhana, 15 Dec 1933
Batting first, India were bowled out for 219. The openers, Wazir Ali and Navle, scored 36 and 13. Amarnath, making his debut and batting at one drop, scored a composed 38 to top score. Merchant batted at six and scored 23. Its not known how slow he played but India got their runs in 91.2 overs - slow going even for those days.
In the second innings, more than 200 runs behind on the first, India did marginally better getting 258 in 91 overs. Amarnath played an incandescent knock of 118 in just over three hours with 84 of those runs in boundaries. A star was born. Clearly, but for him the Indian innings would have looked much more laboured. Vijay again batting at number six scored 30.
England won by 9 wickets. Amarnath and Nissar (five for 90 in 33.5 overs in the first innings) were the outstanding performers. Vijay hadn't shattered the earth but had done enough to stay in a weak batting side and surely showed some promise.
Before the second Test an Indian XI played MCC and if they wanted him to play the second Test, one would have thought it appropriate for young Vijay to play that game- particularly since it was played at Eden Gardens, the venue of the second Test. Five Englishmen played for the 'Indian' XI and the pointless match was drawn. Con Johnston (69 not out) and Humphrey Ward (77 not out) were the batting stars for an Indian XI !!
India v England (2nd Test)
Eden Gardens, 5th January 1934
This time England won the toss, batted and put on over 400.
India had a new set of openers (sounds familiar) although Wazir Ali was in the playing XI, Jeoomal and keeper Dilawar Hussain. The latter top scored with 59. Merchant was next with 54 - again at number six, the position he was to hold through the entire series.
With a follow on available for a lead of 150, MCC put India in again. India decided, the first innings top scorer had done his bit of opening and sent Syed Mushtaq Ali to partner Jeoomal. Jeoomal got 43 and his first innings partner, now at number 7, was top scorer once again with 57. Vijay Merchant scored 17.
The four day match was drawn.
Again Vijay had done enough to remain in the side. but no sign of his being an opener. One could never say anything about that though - as in later years. Anyone could be asked to open the innings, except the stars who preferred the comfort of the middle order - typical
Five more first class games followed the second Test. Ms Johnston and Ward got four innings each but none for young Vijay Thackerey. Its interesting to see how many times some players like Nayudu and Amarnath got games against the visitors. Maybe it was more important to be in the payroll of some Maharaja or the other, who hired top cricketers, hired Europeans or at least lavished big purses and gifts on them, owned their own grounds and ste out the red carpets for the visitors. There were matches against the against the Maharaja of Patiala XI, Maharajkumar of Vizianagram XI and Nawab Moin-ud-Dowlah XI. The Viceroy XI and the Europeans side meant fewer opportunities for Indians.
Then came the next Test at Chepauk, Madras, now MAC, Chennai.
India v England (3rd Test)
Chepauk, 10 Feb 1934
England again won the toss and batted first. This time it was the turn of Amar Singh (without his legendary bowling partner Nissar) to do the damage. He took 7 for 86 bowling 44.4 overs ! England managed 335.
Dilawar Hussain was back with Jeoomal (who retired hurt) but this time it didn't work for either and Vijay Tackerey's 26 was the top score in a poor 145. The Young Prince of Patiala was next with 24.
England batted again and left India 451 to get starting in the afternoon of the 3rd day.
India did better than the first innings but not by much. To start with they again brought in Mushtaq Ali to open, this time with Dilawar - it must have been exasperating to be an Indian opener as it has been all through its 70 odd years history. The Prince of Patiala, leading scorers of the first inings, put on 84 for the 6th wicket of which the young prince scored an enterprising 60 - the top score. Vijay got 28.
India suffered their biggest defeat of the three Test series.
Vijay Thackersey had played his first Test Series. Had not yet become an opener (in any form of the game. Had scored 178 runs at 29.7 with one fifty (54 in Calcutta). But he always got starts and always showed a desire to stay at the wicket. His run of scores is in a remarkably tight range - 23 & 30, 54 & 17, 26 & 28. At best a hard working youngster, not a Tendulkar or a Gavaskar by any stretch of imagination, not at this stage at least
Before the MCC left India, they played one final match, this time again at Bombay Gymkhana, probably the reason why Vijay Thackersey again found him in a side game - this time for an Indian XI.
Indian XI v Marylebone Cricket Club
Bombay Gymkhana, 4th March 1934
This time Merchant batted at number four and top scored in the first innings with an unbeaten 89, out of 238. In the second innings he was again unbeaten, this time with 18. Clearly this man would not give away his wicket in a hurry.
But he wasn't an opener and not, yet, a man who scored big hundreds either. That was still to come.
