Countryside cricket

The Nariman Varvadewala Memorial Cricket Tournament seeks to discover latent cricket talent among all communities in the rural areas, particularly among bonafide clubs, schools and colleges from Palghar district in Maharashtra to Navsari district in Gujarat. "The year 2013 marked the golden jubilee of this Tournament. In the early 1950s, India’s foremost cricket tournaments like the Pentangulars, Quadrangulars and the Ranji Trophy had players from mofussil areas like Nargol and Saronda,” notes Marzban Giara in a write-up on the golden jubilee celebrations held in March 2013 at Atul near Bulsar. Eighteen teams took part and each player was given a participation certificate.

The genesis of this Tournament can be traced prior to 1963 when a few young men from Saronda who lived in Bombay came together to encourage youngsters from mofussil areas to hone their cricketing skills. In 1948, Dr Minoo Fardoonji Sanjana (who was originally from Saronda) of M/S Hering and Kent, a well-known pharmaceutical firm, donated two beautiful silver trophies and the tournament was named "The Hering and Kent Challenge Trophy Cricket Tournament.” In 1963 Rohinton Davierwala of Sanjan presented a silver trophy to conduct another tournament in memory of his friend Nariman Manecksha Varvadewala, a horticulturist and enthusiastic participant of the tournament who passed away suddenly in 1963 at the age of 36. More trophies were gifted later by Manecksha and Davierwala.
"It would be fitting to recall the services of the late Jamshedji Shastri and late Dali Panthaky who were the president and secretary of the Tournament for over 50 years. The success of the competition depended upon their perfect handling and meticulous efficiency,” states Giara. depended upon their perfect handling and meticulous efficiency,” states Giara. The golden jubilee celebrations were organized by the Hering and Kent Tournament Committee with Dara Nariman Varvadewala as president and Ardeshir Davierwala as secretary. Felicitations and mementos were presented to players like Marazban Wadia, Neville E. Wadia (who set up a Guinness World Record in 2009 as the oldest player to score a century in minor cricket, having made 105 runs when he was almost 64 at a senior citizens Twenty20 match in Baroda), Shapur Khandadia and to Bapsy Davierwala.