Raman Subba Row (born 29 January 1932) is a former

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 st ...

er who played for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

Cambridge University , 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 ...

, Surrey and

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

Life and career

Born in Streatham, Surrey, England to an Indian father Panguluri Venkata Subba Rao, of

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Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to t ...

and English mother, Doris Mildred Pinner, Subba Row was educated at

Whitgift School ("He who perseveres, conquers") , established = , closed = , type = Independent school , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head Master , head = Christopher Ramsey , c ...

and

. A left-handed opening batsman and occasional leg-spin and googly bowler, Subba Row was a member of the powerful Cambridge side of the early 1950s and played a few games for Surrey before joining

. Taking over as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1958, he led the side for four seasons and achieved considerable success as a batsman, scoring the county's highest ever innings, 260 not out, in 1955 and then bettering it with 300 against Surrey, the County Champions, at

the Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

in 1958, when he shared a record sixth wicket stand of 376 with

Albert Lightfoot Albert Lightfoot (8 January 1936 – 30 April 2023) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket for Northamptonshire from 1953 to 1970. County career Lightfoot joined Northamptonshire in 1953, and was awarded his county cap in 1961 ...

. Subba Row played in thirteen Test matches for England, opening the batting regularly from 1959 to 1961. He scored centuries in his first Test against the

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the con ...

in 1961, and in his last match against them at the Oval. He was one of the

Wisden Cricketers of the Year The ''Wisden'' Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in 1961. At the end of the 1961 season, he retired rather abruptly and prematurely from

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

at the age of 29, to go into the

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business, joining WS Crawfords advertising agency in Holborn. In later years, he was Chairman of Surrey (1974–78) and an influential figure at Lord's. He also served as Chairman of the TCCB, and as an ICC match referee. There is a conference room named after him in

. He was appointed CBE in the 1991 New Year Honours.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Subba Row, Raman 1932 births Living people People from Streatham People educated at Whitgift School Cambridge University cricketers English cricket administrators England Test cricketers Northamptonshire cricket captains Northamptonshire cricketers Surrey cricketers Combined Services cricketers Commonwealth XI cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen cricketers Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge A. E. R. Gilligan's XI cricketers British sportspeople of Indian descent British Asian cricketers