The noted cricket writer Neville Cardus once described Ranjitsinhji as "the Midsummer night's dream of cricket". Perhaps the first great of Indian cricket, the ruler of Nawanagar revolutionised the game and invented the glance off the pads, or as we know it now, the "leg glance".

Since Ranji lived at a time when cameras were not in vogue, much of his greatness has never really been recorded for posterity. But finally, when the British Film Institute on released on Monday what it calls, "the oldest surviving cricket film", we caught a glimpse of a 25-year old Ranjitsinhji practising batting at the nets, while on tour with England in 1897-98 in Australia.

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The video makes for fascinating viewing. Notice Ranjitsinhji's distinctly unorthodox stance and his high backlift, which provided him enough power for his shots. Instead of staid front-foot defensive strokes, he clears his legs and goes for big booming drives, a everyday occurrence among today's slam-bang Twenty20 generation, but a rarity in those days of timeless Tests.

Perhaps Ranji should have been born a century later. Because had he played today, he would have definitely been a smash hit.