Parsis at the pitch

One hundred and thirty years after the first series of matches between the Parsis and British cricket teams was played in England, the Parsee Gymkhana (PG) committee tried to relive the 1886 excitement by organizing a match in Bombay with the sponsorship of HSBC, Spenta Corporation and Glenfiddich. Chasing a total of 269 runs made by the PG team, the British Business XI were all out for 201 at the 30 overs each match played on the PG grounds on November 12, 2016.
Lifting the trophy, the captain of the PG team Kaizaad Wadia told the spectators that although they knew they were "the favorite side, it was tough out there. We had to heave and slog. We would like to thank Khodadad Yazdegardi (PG vice president and cricket secretary), the British team captained by Matt Greenwell… the wives of the players and everyone who came to cheer.” When they put a bottle of Glenfiddich on the table as a prize, the Englishmen should have known that the PG team comprising all Parsi players aged over 40 years will do anything to win it, noted an observer. For the match, Greenwell had brought together a youthful team of British expats working in India. Besides the Bombay players, two had come from Delhi and one each from Madras and Calcutta. Binaisha Surti served as commentator and anchor for the day.

Jubilant Parsee Gymkhana team receiving trophy from Farokh Engineer

Kaizaad Wadia and Matt Greenwell

Players and officials line up for the match

The man of the match was Mac Spencer who scored 37 runs and took three wickets for 24 runs. Kersi Pavri of the PG team took four wickets for 20. The highest run scorers were Wadia who retired at 50 and Maneck Daruwalla who retired at 54. The eldest in the team included 74-year-old Freddy Sidhwa, the chairman and managing director of Seven Seas Group in Dubai who not only played sportingly but had also flown in former Indian team wicket keeper Farokh Engineer from London whose presence through the day added to the glamor quotient. As Engineer joked, the PG team had a well planned strategy, starting the morning play after offering spicy akoori on toast! "Fiercely proud of being a Parsi and an Indian,” he added, "I do hope one or two youngsters from the community will come up in cricket. Occasions like these would serve as an encouragement.”
Describing Engineer, the popular cricketer, as "a ladies’ man,” 86-year-old Hoshang Dadachanji of the Parsi Cyclists cricket team revealed some little known facts about Engineer who was "so punctual that he hardly came five minutes before the toss of a match.”
Former Test cricketer Nari Contractor shared some interesting nuggets regarding Parsi cricket starting with the first Parsi team of 1886 which played 28 matches in England, losing 19, drawing eight and winning one. The loss would invariably be attributed to the partiality of the British umpires! "The seeds of Indian cricket were sown at that time,” said Contractor who was proud to report that in the 1930s the Indian team had four Parsi cricketers — Phiroze Palia, Sorabji Colah, Rustomji Jamshedji, Khershed Meherhomji. The four Parsis on the 1962 Indian team were Polly Umrigar, Rusi Surti, Engineer and Contractor. He was hopeful "the community will achieve great success…and continue to contribute to the success of this country.”
Yet another popular Parsi face of Indian cricket, Diana Edulji, erstwhile captain of the Indian women’s cricket team who enjoys a record of having taken 120 wickets was felicitated on the occasion with the PG conferring on her its honorary membership, the first woman to be so honored. Thanking the Gymkhana "for this great honor,” Edulji commented that having just retired, she will surely use the facilities of the Gymkhana and looked forward to supporting cricket. Also felicitated with flowers on the occasion was 94-year-old former cricketer Rusi Cooper, and Noshir Tantra who was introduced by Rony Iranpour of Los Angeles.
Earlier the president of the Gymkhana Mehli Golvala jested how "they had engineered the victory” in 2016 by appointing two Parsi umpires, Jehangir Umrigar and Rohinton Mistry, and "never allowing the British team to settle down.” Giving credit to the PG office bearers and staff, particularly Yazdegardi, for organizing this event, Golvala stated, "Let’s make this an annual event.” Plans are being finalized to vie for this trophy in London next year. The first warm-up match will be played in July 2017 in Sheffield, the venue of the first match between Parsis and the British team in 1886, revealed Yazdegardi.
Stuart Milne, chief executive officer of HSBC India and president of the British Business Group in India "congratulated the Parsi team and the gallant losers.” On behalf of Spenta Corporation and his father Aspan, managing director Farshid Cooper commended the teams "for braving the match after pulao dal.”
As urged Prof Ratnakar Shetty, general manager, game development, Board of Control for Cricket in India, "History has to be repeated over and over again.” Prof Dr Unmesh Khanvilkar, joint honorary secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) noted, "The Parsi community has played a very important role in cricket” and was hopeful the next time they would grant entry to MCA "to play a few games with you all.”
In his vote of thanks Yazdegardi acknowledged the support of the principal sponsors, the players of both the teams, and the cricket legends and office bearers of other gymkhanas, each of whom was dutifully welcomed by PG honorary secretary Adi Pardiwalla.