The Parsis and Indian cricket
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
History
Parsi cricketers led the way for us!
Qamar Ahmed Dawn, Mar 24, 2012
The Parsi community were the first ones in the subcontinent to fall in love with the English game and then popularise it in the length and width of the country.
Played by the sailors, tradesmen and mariners of the East India company, cricket traces its history in the subcontinent as long back as 1721 when on the west coast of Cambay near Bombay (now Mumbai) and in Kutch the Englishmen were seen indulging in it.
The Parsis settled in these areas having migrated from Iran nearly a thousand years before being well suited because of their cool and quiet temperament very similar to the Englishmen.
Therefore, they were the first to adopt the game which later was picked up by the Hindus and Muslims as East India Company spread its wings and British Raj took over which resulted in the soldiers of the army posted in garrison towns making it even more popular.
Inspired and encouraged, the Parsis then formed the Oriental Cricket Club in Bombay in 1846 and then a Parsi Cricket Club backed up by one A.B. Patel to play regularly against the Europeans.
That of course gave them the idea of touring England, the mother country of the game with which they had fallen in love with.
The first two teams from India, therefore, to leave the shores in 1886 and in 1888 to tour England consisted of only Parsi players.
The one in 1886 was led by one Dhanjishaw H. Patel, an underhand bowler, and also in the team were three Parsis — Pestonji Dinshaw Dastur, Dinshaw D. Khambatta and Burorji P. Balla — from Karachi.
Their tour was a huge failure for the fact that they were not trained and experienced to play against the English bowlers and batsmen. In 28 matches on the tour, they lost 19, drew eight and won only once against the Normanhurst team.
What is important of course is that this team played two very important matches, one against MCC at Lord’s which they lost by an innings and 224 runs and in which W.G. Grace took 11 for 44 runs and scored 63 before being caught by Balla, the Karachi cricketer. I suppose Dastur, Balla and Khambatta remain the only Karachiites to have played against Grace.
The other important match that they played was at Great Windsor Park against the grandson of Queen Victoria Prince Christian Victor in which his brother Prince Albert also played.
Not forgetting of course the match against Lord Sheffield XI in which Alfred Shaw, the man who bowled the first ball in Test cricket in 1877 against Australia also played.
Dastur of Karachi, whose highest score on tour was 89 against North Riding at Middlesborough in Yorkshire, also had the honour of leading the batting averages of the tour.
Writer Qamar Ahmed managed to discover through Iqbal Umar, a former president of Karachi Gymkhana, the 79-year-old grandson of Khanbahadur Pestonji Dastur. Darius Dastur, the grandson, was delighted when Qamar Ahmed told him of his grandfather’s achievements which he did not seem to know.
He moaned the fact that he did not even have his picture in the family. He was over the moon; even more happy when Qamar Ahmed presented him the group photo of the 1886 Parsis in England.
Balla’s and Khambatta’s families sadly still remain untraced.
In 1926, Dastur’s son Manek Dastur also played at Karachi Gymkhana against Arthur Gilligan’s MCC team scoring 32 and 38 for Parsis and Muslims and 1 and 61 for All Karachi before he died in a motorcycle accident at Macleod Road (now I.I. Chundrigar Road) trying to avoid a Makrani pedestrian.
Karachi Parsi Institute (KPI) formed in 1893 could also boast fine cricketers one of which Rusi Dinshaw toured India with Pakistan team in 1952 but did not play in Tests.
A.H. Mehta was even on the staff of Lancashire at Old Trafford but failed to qualify as their main player. Jamshed Khudadad Irani played for India.
Other fine Karachi cricketers were S.K. Irani, S.R. Mavalvala, Rusi and Homi Mobed the nephew of Minochehr Mobed who was one of the umpires with Daud Khan when Pakistan beat MCC in 1951 in an unofficial Test at Karachi Gymkhana by four wickets to gain Test status.
Minochehr Mobed had played in the Sind Pentangular in 1919 and his nephew had toured England with Pakistan Eaglets.
Not forgetting the services of Bomi Khambatta, Jagus and Jamshed Markar, the diplomat and cricket commentator who as ambassador, high commissioner and Pakistan envoy to UNO excelled in his job.
The contribution to test teams
India’s first Test team in 1932 included two Parsis (Colah and Palia).
In the first two Tests in the West Indies in 1961-62,when four players were part of the team (Contractor, Umrigar, Surti and Engineer)
The complete list
Colah, Soli
Contractor, Nari
Engineer, Farokh
Irani, Jamshed
Jamshedji, Rustomji
Meherhomji, Karshed
Modi, Rusi
Palia, Piloo
Surti, Rusi
Tarapore, Keki
Umrigar, Polly
Women’s cricket
Edulji, Behroze
Edulji, Diana
Some profiles
Famous Parsi Cricketers Who Played For India
Madan G Singh, 2011-12-13 Madan G Singh
Contractor, Nariman Jahangir: He was a left handed opener who had a classical style. He was also captain of India against Ted Dexter's team which toured India in 1961-62. Contractors record as an opener was just average, but he had a solid defense and the Australian captain Richie Benaud praised him during the Aussie tour of India in 1959. Contractor also hit a century at Bombay. However Contractors technique failed him on the fast wickets of the West Indians and he was hit by a ferocious delivery from Charlie Griffith and only emergency surgery saved his life. Contractor recovered and continued to play for Bombay but his potential was never fully realized as he totaled just over 1600 runs at an average of 31.
Engineer, Farrukh: During the MCC tour of India in 1962 a wicket keeper batsman made his appearance. People now talk of Dhoni, but I would say Farrukh was a cut above most wicket keeper batsmen. He was a flamboyant player who attacked the bowling from the word go. One cannot forget his innings in the third test against the West Indies in 1966. Engineer opened the batting and soon the West Indies terror pace men Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith were pasted all over the ground. Runs flowed like water and Sobers the West Indian Captain was worried. Farrukh was nearing a century before Lunch, when an alarmed Sobers adopted dilatory tactics to deny Farrukh a century before lunch. He was 94 not out at lunch and eventually made 109. Farrukh hit over 2000 runs in test cricket and was also a polished keeper behind the gloves. His keeping to the spinners was exceptional. Farrukh retired from the game and moved to England.
Modi, Russi: not to be confused with the Russi Modi who was chairman of Tata steel. Modi played very few matches, but during the West Indies tour of India in 1948, Modi along with Hazare played many a stellar innings. He totaled 560 runs in that series. But he faded away and was for long the chairman of the CCI.
Umrigar, Polly: One of the foremost Parsi all rounder. During the fifties and early sixties he was India's best batsman. The fact that he scored over 3600 runs at a batting average of 42 is proof enough of his calibre when most other batsmen averaged just 35( Pataudi, Borde etc). He was also the first Indian to hit a double century in test cricket with an innings of 223 against New Zealand during their tour of India in 1956. If Umrigar had a weakness it was genuine pace and as such he was not much of a success in England against Fred Truman during the 1952 tour. But later in his career he got over this weakness and during the 1958-59 tour of West Indies to India, faced Hall and Gilchrist with courage.
