John Glennie Greig (24 October 1871 — 24 May 1958) was an English first-class cricketer and cricket administrator, British Army officer, racquets and tennis player, and Roman Catholic priest.
Greig's military career spanned from 1892 to 1921, beginning with his commissioning into the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment and eventual transfer to the British Indian Army. In British India, he held the appointments of aide-de-camp and military secretary to the Governor of Bombay. He would later serve with the 107th Pioneers during the First World War.
As a cricketer, his first-class career spanned from 1893 to 1922, with Greig predominantly playing for the Europeans cricket team in India and Hampshire in England. In 125 first-class matches, he scored over 6,500 runs and took nearly 140 wickets. He was considered the leading "white" player of the time in India, and in 1898 he made the first double-century to be scored in first-class cricket on Indian soil. Greig was head of the committee which selected the Indian team which toured England in 1911, the first by an All-Indian team. During his time in India, he was also credited with discovering Palwankar Baloo while he was engaged with the Poona Gymkhana. The cricket historian Vasant Raiji likened Greig's contribution to Indian cricket to that of Ranjitsinhji's to English cricket. He would later serve Hampshire in an administrative capacity as its secretary from 1921 to 1930 and its president in 1945 and 1946.
Greig was also a competent racquets and tennis player, who won the Western India Tennis Championships. Later in his life, he would be ordained as a Roman Catholic priest and was appointed to be the first resident priest in Ringwood, Hampshire.
Early life and military career
Greig was born in British India at Mhow in October 1871. He was educated in England at Downside School, before proceeding to the Catholic seminary Ushaw College. However, he did not at this stage enter into ecclesiastical duties, instead attending the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. He graduated from there into the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment as a second lieutenant in November 1892, with promotion to lieutenant following in December 1894.
Greig transferred to the British Indian Army in October 1895, where he was attached to the Indian Staff Corps. He was appointed aide-de-camp to the Governor of Bombay in February 1902, and was shortly thereafter promoted to captain in November 1901. He vacated his aide-de-camp appointment in December 1902, but was reappointed in June 1904. In October 1907, Greig was appointed military secretary to the incumbent Governor of Bombay, Sir George Clarke. He was promoted to major in November 1910, and was made a Companion to the Order of the Indian Empire in the 1911 Delhi Durbar Honours. He would serve Clarke's successor, Lord Willingdon, as his military secretary. Prior to the First World War, he spent time serving on the North-West Frontier Province. Following the end of the war, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in July 1919, and retired from active service in November 1921.
First-class cricket career
Early career in India and England
left|thumb|200px|Greig is credited with discovering [[Palwankar Baloo (pictured) during his membership of the Poona Gymkhana]]
Greig's cricket began while at Downside and Ushaw College's. with Greig having a particularly successful 1896–97 season, in which he scored 259 runs in his two Bombay Presidency Matches, making three half centuries and a highest score of 98. From the early 1890s, Greig was a leading member of the Poona Gymkhana, where he was affectionately known as "Junglee" (a play on his first, middle and last names). He is credited with discovering Palwankar Baloo during his time at the Gymkhana. Greig would often turn up an hour before other members and accompany Baloo in the nets, where Baloo would bowl at Greig, with him encouraging Baloo by reputedly paying him eight annas each time he dismissed him. Greig sought to overcome the caste system which held Baloo back, with the leading Hindu club in Poona (whose membership was formed of conservative, higher-caste Hindus) reluctant to allow Baloo, who was lower-caste chamar, to play for them. Greig intervened, suggesting to the press that the Hindus would be foolish to deprive themselves of Baloo's bowling talents.
Greig made two first-class appearances upon his return to England in 1898, playing for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against Oxford University, and for A. J. Webbe's personal eleven against Cambridge University. In the 1899-1900 Bombay Presidency Match against the Parsees, he recorded his maiden first-class century, making 184 runs opening the batting alongside Archie Douglas; this was the highest individual score made in India to that point.
Returning to England on leave in 1901, Greig began playing for Hampshire in the County Championship. His reputation in India was such that Ranjitsinhji wrote a letter of introduction for him to Hampshire, writing "Greig is a better batsman than I am, and is an excellent bowler as well". His first season for Hampshire was a success, with Greig scoring 1,277 runs at an average of 41.19; he made five centuries, Alongside his eighteen appearances for Hampshire in 1901, he also played for the MCC and for the Gentlemen in the Gentlemen v Players fixture.
Returning to India following the end of the 1901 season, Greig played two matches against the Parsees in the 1902–03 Bombay Presidency Matches, becoming the first player to make 1,000 runs in the Presidency Matches, in addition to playing for Bombay against a touring Oxford University Authentics team at Bombay in November 1902, He returned to England on leave in 1905 and made nine appearances in the County Championship and played against the touring Australians. Despite playing a large part of his first-class cricket in India, Greig was described as "no lover of Indian cricket" by the political scientist and author Ronojoy Sen. This was exemplified in a match between the Europeans and the Hindus in the 1916–17 Bombay Quadrangular Tournament, when he was adjudged out stumped by native umpire Mukundrao Pai. Greig disagreed with his decision, and was ordered from the field by Pai for quarrelling and disagreeing with his decision. Upon his return to the pavilion, Greig's protests against the decision continued and led to the game being delayed for thirty minutes. The subsequent controversy, which was covered by extensively by the press in India, resulted in the Hindus impressing on the British authorities the need for neutral umpires, with subsequent games having a member of the Muslims or Parsees teams officiating when the Hindus and Europeans played.
Following the war, Greig returned home to England in 1920, where he made four appearances for Hampshire in the County Championship. a post he would hold until 1930. As a bowler, he took 72 wickets for the Europeans at a bowling average of 14.47, taking four five wicket hauls and ten wickets in a match twice. In the field, he took 44 catches for the Europeans.
Raiji considered his contributions to Indian cricket as of a same class as that of Ranjitsinhji to English cricket.
Racquets and tennis
In addition to playing cricket in India, Greig also partook in racquets and tennis tournaments.
Ecclesiastical duties and death
Greig studied to become a Roman Catholic priest in 1934 at Beda College in Rome. He was ordained as a priest in 1935, and in 1937 he was appointed the first resident priest in Ringwood, Hampshire. In 1947, he was made an honorary canon of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth.