BOMBAY, 19 April — Friday, April 12 was like any other day in England, except that the plush acrylic and chromium that has replaced the Victorian teak at Lord’s was be brushed bright for the cricket season which opened the next day.

Here at home, the day ushered in the celebration of the spring festival. Perhaps, not many remembered it as the birthday of one the greatest all-rounders the world of cricket has seen — Mulvantrai “Vinoo” Mankad.

And what is the connection between Vinoo Mankad and Lord’s? It was at the hallowed cricket venue that he produced what has undoubtedly been the greatest all-round performance ever in Test cricket. In fact, the Lord’s Test of 1952 has gone down in history as “Mankad’s Match”.

A most complete cricketer, if ever there was one for India, Mankad has great achievements against his name. But what has perhaps not been often mentioned is the immeasurable amount of toil that this bundle of human energy put in during his crowded cricketing years.

A veteran recalled the other day an instance of Vinoo Mankad’s utmost dedication to the game. During the Bombay Test against the West Indies in 1949, Mankad had been on the field for almost two days, doing the bulk of the bowling. When the visitors had finally ended their innings, Vinoo had returned to the pavilion, running a high temperature. He had all but gone to sleep on the massage table.

Came a gentle tap on his cheeks by his skipper Lala Amarnath and a request to open the innings. Out went Mankad without any hesitation and knocked off a quick 40 runs in an hour to “stumps” in his inimitable style. How many of today’s cricketers, the superstars included , would have ventured out in that manner?

Mankad made a great success of his all-round abilities in his very first visit to England when he finished as Wisden’s “Cricketer of the Year”. But his crowning glory came six years later at Lord’s. Before going into that fabulous feat , it would only be proper to highlight a grave injustice that had been done to him by the powers that ruled Indian cricket then.

When the Indian team for the 1952 England tour, under Vijay Hazare, was announced, Vinoo’s name did not figure in the list.This had come as a great shock, as he was the most outstanding performer in the home series against Nigel Howards’ English team.

What had transpired was this. Mankad had written to the board of his availability for the tour. All he had asked for was to be informed well in advance of his selection, as he could either accept or turn down a fabulous offer from his Lancashire League Club Haslingden. Mankad was prepared to play for his country at a personal loss of 5000 pounds sterling — big money those days. But he was not picked. He duly accepted the Haslingden offer and left for England a sad man.

The Indian team did not at all fare well in the earlier matches. It sorely missed a good opener and an apt support for off-spin bowling of Ghulam Ahmed. Frantic calls were made at home for permission to include Mankad, at least for the remaining Test matches.

The same board officials, who had earlier considered Mankad’s request as an affront, now readily agreed to his joining the team in England. But there was a hitch, Haslingden Club wanted adequate compensation to release Mankad from their contract, which the Indian board was unwilling to pay. Finally an unnamed, London-based Indian industrialist put up the money and Mankad joined the Indian team a day before the second Test at Lord’s.

What emerged was a stupendous feat. Mankad was on the field for all but four hours of the match, turning in the greatest all-round display in the annals of Test cricket. He scored 256 runs (72 and 184), as he single-handedly held both the innings. He also bowled a total of 97 overs, capturing five wickets as England won the Test by eight wickets.

As Vinoo Mankad had returned to the pavilion, after being out for 184, a wicket lost more out of exhaustion than anything else, but not before averting an innings defeat for his side, the entire assemblage at Lord’s stood to a man, seers and high priests of the game, to give an ovation reserved only for special occasions.

The next day, while a banner heading described the Lord’s Test as “England vs. Mankad,” a front-page picture, with the Queen of England, had a caption which proclaimed “ What a cricketer.”

Commented The Times: “Mankad’s performance has been something to remember for all times to come. For sheer endurance and skill, it has possessed all the breadth of the plains of his homeland and the heights of the Himalayas.”

Said The Daily Telegraph: “Keith Miller, generally considered the world’s top all-rounder, has never done so much in a single match for Australia, as had Mankad for India at Lord’s . He waged a virtual one-man fight against England. It was a brave, superb, skillful challenge that will be hard to surpass.”

The Daily Express: “What a cricketer this man is — one of the all-time greats who could command a place in any World XI.”

We have and might see many great cricketers, bowlers, batsmen and fielders, but we will never see the likes of Vinoo Mankad again. Yes. What a cricketer! (Vinoo Mankad died in August 1978).