A keen sportsman, like many in his family, Himmatsinhji was introduced to cricket during his education in England, where he boarded at Malvern College in Worcestershire.[1] By his last year at the college, 1916, he was considered good enough to open the batting (and occasionally keep wicket) for the school team, with his best score an innings of 84 runs against Cheltenham College.[2] Later in the season, he captained a combined Public Schools team against a team from the Royal Horse Artillery. The match, played at Lord's and umpired by Himmatsinhji's brother, Digvijaysinhji, included six other (future and former) first-class cricketers: for the Public Schools, Lionel Hedges and Nigel Atkinson, and for the Artillery team, Edward Lee, Graham Doggart, Frank Orr, and Peter Remnant.[3] Himmatsinhji remained in England until at least the following year, when he played a charity match for an Indian XI against an Australian XI, for the benefit of war widows and orphans.[4]
Having returned to India, Himmatsinhji played several matches at first-class level during the 1930s.[5] His debut came for a Viceroy's XI against the Roshanara Club in February 1932, where he kept wicket but scored a duck in his only innings.[6] Himmatsinhji's remaining matches came for Rajputana representative sides, predecessors of the current Rajasthan cricket team, including a match against the touring English team during the 1933–34 season and a match against a touring Australian side led by Frank Tarrant during the 1935–36 season. He also twice played at Ranji Trophy level, during the 1936–37 and 1937–38 editions of the tournament.[5][7] Himmatsinhji's two highest first-class scores, innings of 20 and 39 runs, came during the first of these matches, which Rajputana lost to Central India by 125 runs.[8] He played his last match at first-class level in the following season's tournament, again against Central India, and recorded a pair.[9]
Military career and later life
In World War I, Himmatsinhji received a temporary commission in the British Indian Army and saw service in Mesopotamia. Two of his relatives also served overseas during the war – a cousin, Savaisinhji Devisinhji, was wounded in African campaign, while a brother, Dajirajsinhji, was killed in action in France in 1917.[10] By the end of the war, Himmatsinhji had been promoted to captain. On 26 March 1919, Himmatsinhji received a substantive commission in the British Indian Army as a second lieutenant, with date from 21 September 1918.[11] He was promoted to lieutenant on 21 September 1919,[12] and to captain on 26 March 1924.[13]
His brothers, Pratapsinhji and Digvijaysinhji, with their uncle, Ranjitsinhji, the Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, regularly vacationed together at Ballynahinch Castle, his residence in County Galway, Ireland.[14] In 1930, the three brothers were recalled from the Indian Army to take up roles in the armed forces of Nawanagar, with Himmatsinhji named Commander-in-Chief.[15] As a result, Himmatsinhji relinquished his British commission on 14 June 1931.[16] However, his time in this position was short. Ranjitsinhji died in April 1933, having named Dijvijaysinhji as his heir.[17]
^Rajputana v Central India, Ranji Trophy 1936/37 (East Zone) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
^Central India v Rajputana, Ranji Trophy 1937/38 (East Zone) – CricketArchive. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
^Wild, Roland (1934). The Biography of Colonel His Highness Shri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji, Maharaja Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, G.C.S.I., G.B.E., K.C.I.E. London: Rich & Cowan Ltd. p. 181.
