How rubber ball would get them all8217;

The former India skipper opined that Evans was the finest 8216;keeper he had ever seen. Umrigar, who played against Evans in the 1952 Test series in England, provided a telling insight into Evans8217;s abilities to The Indian Express.

8220;I remember Evans standing up to fast-medium Alec Bedser on a wet track at Manchester in the 1952 series8230; Such was his command behind the stumps that no batsman could take the liberty of leaving the crease while facing Bedser. He was very energetic,8221; opined Umrigar.

8220;Evans made 8216;keeping look simple,8221; observed Madhav Mantri, who kept wickets for India in that series.

8220;Evans was a bundle of energy. Right from the first ball of the innings till the last, he did not shown any signs of tiredness. That had a stimulating effect on the team.His collection on either side of the wicket was simply classy and some of the catches he took were unbelievable.8221;

One of the highlights of the four-Test series against England, which India lost 0-3, is the Lord8217;s Test, which is remembered as Mankad8217;s Test an innings of 184 and a five-wicet innings haul.

Mantri had an interesting incident to relate about the Test, which India lost by eight wickets. 8220;During the early stages of Mankad8217;s innings, Evans almost claimed him with a huge Bedser inswinger. Mankad missed in his attempt to glance and Evans had removed the bails in a flash. The umpire, who gave the benefit of doubt to Mankad, was to admit later that Evans was too fast for him!8221;

Terming him as a nice fellow, Mantri said, he never appealed without reason.

8220;I think having a wicket-keeper like Evans meant that half the battle was won. Mind you, he was no mean a batsman. A natural strokeplayer, he had the ability to defend too,8221; recollected Mantri. Evans, batting skills were amply evident duringthe 8217;52 series when he tallied 242 runs from four matches averaging 60.50. In fact, he had the second best batting averages after Sir Len Hutton. That too when the English team boasted celebrated batsmen like Denis Compton, Peter May and Tom Graveney. Evans also hit a century 104 in Lord8217;s Test besides notching two fifty plus knocks in the series.

Evans was prolific with the bat against India, scoring 315 runs from seven Tests, with one hundred and three fifties at an average of 52.50.