Anthony Stanislaus de Mello (11 October 1900,

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

– 24 May 1961,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

) was an Indian

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

administrator and one of the founders of the

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the world ...

Background

Born in Karachi, de Mello was educated in St. Patrick's High School, Sind College and

Downing College Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He started his career in the services of the businessman R. E. Grant Govan in Delhi, and with whom he collaborated in founding the BCCI.

Career

BCCI and the CCI

The BCCI had its origins in a meeting in February 1927 at the

Roshanara Club Roshanara Garden is a Mughal gardens, Mughal-era garden built by Roshanara Begum, the second daughter of the Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. It is situated in Shakti Nagar, Delhi, Shakti Nagar near Kamla Nagar Clock Tower and North C ...

in Delhi between Arthur Gilligan, the captain of the visiting

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

(MCC) team, De Mello, Grant Govan and the

Maharaja of Patiala The Maharaja of Patiala was a maharaja in India and the ruler of the princely state of Patiala, a state in British India. The first Maharaja of Patiala was Baba Ala Singh (1695–1765). Yadavindra Singh became the maharaja on 23 March 1938. H ...

. The decision to form the board was taken at another meeting held at the same place on 22 November 1927 attended by representatives of various provinces and princely states. De Mello travelled with Grant Govan to England to organise tours of India by South Africa in 1929 and MCC in 1930–31. Both tours were eventually cancelled but the BCCI was formally founded at the Roshanara Club in December 1928 with Grant Govan as its first president and De Mello as the secretary. They represented India in the

Imperial Cricket Conference The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the '' ...

in May 1929. De Mello, with Grant Govan, was also instrumental in founding the

Cricket Club of India Cricket Club of India (CCI) is a cricket club in India. It is located on Dinsha Wacha Road, in Churchgate of Mumbai, India. It was conceived as India's counterpart to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). It is considered one of the most prestigious ...

(CCI). Delhi was planned as the headquarters and location of the ground for the club, but it was eventually set up in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. Guha considers this as an attempt on the part of De Mello and Grant Govan to shift the headquarters of cricket in India from Bombay, but a book published by the CCI for the Golden Jubilee of the

Brabourne Stadium The Brabourne Stadium is a cricket ground in Mumbai in Western India, built in the British Bombay era. It was the home ground of the Mumbai men's and women's cricket teams. It can accommodate 50,000 people for sports matches. The ground is owne ...

attributes this to the unavailability of land in Delhi. De Mello played a prominent role in selecting the site and convincing

Lord Brabourne Baron Brabourne, of Brabourne in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1880 for the Liberal politician Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen, the second son of Sir Edward Knatchbull, 9th Baronet, of Mers ...

, the Governor of Bombay, to allot the land for the stadium at a cheap rate.

BCCI President and Secretary

De Mello served as the Secretary of BCCI from 1928–29 to 1937-38 and President from 1946–47 to 1950–51. In the meeting of the cricket board in

Simla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the ...

in the summer of 1934, De Mello submitted the proposal for the national championship and a sketch of the proposed trophy which became the

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

.
De Mello courted controversy later in his career (in 1951; reviewing his time as the BCCI President, ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' called him a 'dictator'). His tenure as the President of BCCI ended with a defeat to J. C. Mukherjee, the President of the

Cricket Association of Bengal Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) is the governing body for cricket in the Indian state of West Bengal. Its headquarters are located in the Eden Gardens stadium, Kolkata. It is a full member of Board of Control for Cricket in India. It gover ...

, by 12 votes to 5, in the Board meeting held at the

Imperial Hotel Imperial Hotel or Hotel Imperial may refer to: Hotels Australia * Imperial Hotel, Ravenswood, Queensland * Imperial Hotel, York, Western Australia Austria * Hotel Imperial, Vienna India * The Imperial, New Delhi Ireland * Imperial Hotel, D ...

in Delhi on 1951-08-05. He had not been in good terms with the Bengal association for some time. When in 1949, De Mello came up with serious allegations against the Indian captain

Lala Amarnath Lala Amarnath Bharadwaj (11 September 1911 - 5 August 2000) was an Indian cricketer. He scored a century on test debut and became the first player to score a century for the India national cricket team in Test cricket. He was independent India ...

, the 'Bengal lobby' had strongly supported Amarnath. Amarnath threatened to sue the board for one lakh rupees but the matter was then settled with Amarnath tendering a qualified apology to the board. De Mello made another attempt at the presidency in 1952 but withdrew on finding that his chances were slim.

Cricketer

De Mello's cricket career as a medium pace bowler was rather inconspicuous.

Duleepsinhji Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji (13 June 1905 – 5 December 1959) was a cricketer who played for England. Playing in the era before the Indian cricket team, he is considered one of India's first great batsmen, alongside his uncle Ranjitsinhji, who also ...

once dismissed him as one 'who thinks he is a bowler but has never found anyone to agree with him on that point.' His greatest success as a bowler came for a Rest of India team against the Vizzy XI in 1930-31 where took the wickets of

Jack Hobbs Sir John Berry Hobbs (16 December 1882– 21 December 1963), always known as Jack Hobbs, was an English professional cricketer who played for Surrey from 1905 to 1934 and for England in 61 Test matches between 1908 and 1930. Known as "The Mast ...

Herbert Sutcliffe Herbert Sutcliffe (24 November 1894 – 22 January 1978) was an English professional cricketer who represented Yorkshire and England as an opening batsman. Apart from one match in 1945, his first-class career spanned the period between the tw ...

and

C. K. Nayudu Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu (31 October 1895 – 14 November 1967), also known as CK, was the first captain of the Indian cricket team in Test matches. He played first-class cricket regularly until 1958, and returned for one last time in ...

. De Mello captained the first 'Rest' team in the

Bombay Pentangular The Bombay Quadrangular was an influential cricket tournament held in Bombay, British India between 1892–93 and 1945–46. At other times it was known variously as the Presidency Match, Bombay Triangular, and the Bombay Pentangular. Presidency ...

Organizer

In 1948, De Mello became the founder-president of the Asian Cricket Conference. He was the president of the

Table Tennis Federation of India The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) is the governing body for table tennis in India. The TTFI was established in 1926, and was a founding member of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF). TTFI's membership includes 32 state unit ...

and a founder of the Table Tennis Federation of Asia. In 1949, he launched the

National Sports Club of India The National Sports Club of India (''NSCI'') is a twin-city based sports club with branches in Mumbai and Delhi, India. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadiumis an indoor sports arena that seats 5,000 people. The stadium was established in ...

, and was an organizer of the 1952 World Table Tennis Championships in Bombay. He was also President of the Bombay Provincial Olympic Association and a key organiser for the 1950 National Games at Bombay. De Mello was the Organising Committee chair for the first Asian Games at

in 1951. As the General Manager of the Gwalior and Northern India Transport System, he helped to modernise Delhi's transport system. He also headed the Jumna Valley Rail and Road Transport Company.

Death

De Mello died following a cancer operation. He was buried in York Cemetery in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

.''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'
article on Anglo-Indians
/ref> He authored the book ''Portrait of Indian Sport'' which was published in 1959.

References

External links

Nascimento Mascarenhas, The Doyen of Indian Cricket
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Mello, Anthony 1900 births 1961 deaths Indian cricketers Indian cricket administrators Delhi cricketers St. Patrick's High School, Karachi alumni People of British India Cricketers from Karachi Presidents of the Board of Control for Cricket in India Anglo-Indian people Roshanara Club cricketers