been adopted as heir before being set aside without an enquiry, and that Jassaji was illegitimate. The Government of Bombay rejected the appeal but Ranjitsinhji was able to use his contact with Rajinder Singh to meet the Viceroy, Lord Elgin. Consequently, the Government of India began to investigate and under Elgin's successor, Lord Curzon, Ranjitsinhji's application was sent to Hamilton in London. Eventually, after Ranjitsinhji had returned to England, Hamilton also rejected the claim, but Simon Wilde believes the support he received from the princes and British officials, and the failure of anyone to point out that his adoption by Vibhaji was never carried out, must have encouraged Ranjitsinhji that his claim was viable. Having done all he could in India for the moment, he returned to England in March 1899. Record breaker Returning to England at the beginning of the 1899 cricket season, Ranjitsinhji immediately resumed playing cricket. However, his approach to batting had changed during his absence, and he showed greater determination to succeed. His health seemed improved and financial assistance from his supporters in India gave him respite from monetary worries. Having gained weight, he was more noticeably muscular and could drive more effectively than previously. After an uncertain start on a series of difficult pitches for batting, he informed the selectors he would not play in the first Test against the Australians, who were touring England once again. He was selected anyway and after scoring 42 in the first innings, he hit 93 not out in the second which ensured England drew the match after losing early wickets on the last day. His tactics were unorthodox as he took risks to ensure that he faced most of the bowling, even though he was batting with recognised batsmen. However, as the innings progressed, he rediscovered his batting touch. During June, he scored 1,000 runs: he scored four centuries, including a score of 197 which saved the game against Surrey, the eventual County Champions. He scored runs against the strong bowling of Lancashire and Yorkshire, and in August embarked on a sequence of 12 innings in which his lowest scores were 42 and 48 which enabled him to score 1,000 runs in August; no one had previously scored 1,000 runs in two separate months of the same season. In total, he scored 3,159 runs at an average of 63.18, becoming the first batsman to pass 3,000 first-class runs