Parsi Khabar

Parsi Khabar
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Edited by: a r Z a n on March 26, 2012
Sports
WHILE we celebrate Pakistan’s sensational victory in the Asia
Cup against Bangladesh at Dhaka we must also not ignore the
fact that the game that we are passionately in love with owes
much to the pioneering work initially taken up by the Parsi
community who 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.
By Qamar Ahmed | The DAWN
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Parsi Khabar
At the Wadiaji Atash Behram in
Mumbai India.
Image courtesy: Shirrin Kumana
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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 ago 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
Image courtesy:
Shirrin Kumana
Ervad Nadarsha Navroji Aibara:
In the second half of the
nineteenth century there was an
35,119 people like Parsi Kha
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Ruttie & Bella:
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Banaji Limji Agiary, Mumbai’s
oldest fire temple, turns 306: Banaji Limji Agiary, the oldest
Fir... bit.ly/1HplmP0
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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.
Keen as I was to trace these Karachi men who pioneered
Karachi cricket I managed to discover through Iqbal Umar, a
former president of Karachi Gymkhana, the 79-year-old
grandson of Khanbahadur Pestonji Dastur only a few months
ago. Darius Dastur, the grandson, was
delighted when I 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. When I told him that I have it in my collection, he
was over the moon; even more happy when I presented him
the group photo of the 1886 Parsis in England.
Balla’s and Khambatta’s families sadly still remain untraced.
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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.
As cricket established its roots, India produced great Parsi
cricketers like Polly Umrigar, Nari Contractor and Farukh
Engineer, Rusi Surti to name a few.
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.
Let us therefore pay them a huge tribute for their contribution
and wish them a ‘Happy Nauroz’.
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Scdave65 • 3 years ago
Dearest Dinkoo thnx for sharing......and how can we
forget AFST TALYARKHAN...the Eminent
Commentrator who used to give Commentry NON­
STOP and only one and used to write in Times of
India too.....Poly Umrigar..Nari Contractor....Rusi
Surti.....Hoshi Amroliwalla...I have seen ALL these
Playing and meet personally AFST in Brabourne
stadium...and last GR8..Anandji Dossa..the Ever
Ready Reckoner of Cricket.......GBU jsk Long live
PARSI...Long Live Gujarat....Long Live Bharat.......
Sanatkumar Dave......Findlay..ohio..usa.......(
26.3.12......12.08PM).....
1 △ ▽
• Reply • Share › Delkash • 3 years ago
This same picture was displayed on a "timeline"
showing the development of Cricket at the recently
held ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Dubai.
Not sure if it is part of a permanent installation at the
ICC Headquarters in Dubai. An ex­Pakistani cricket
player who played with Parsi Cricketers in Karachi
sent me this picture on his recent trip to the T20's in
Dubai.
FEZANA
FRASHOGARD
Parsi Navjotes
and Marriages: A
critique of our
conduct
The day of the
Gospand
The World
Zoroastrian
ZOROASTRIANS
NET
Symphony
Orchestra at XVII
Ervad Nadarsha
Navroji Aibara
NAZC 2014
Subsidy for
Ruttie & Bella
Banaji Limji
Young
Agiary, Mumbai’s
PARSI
CUISINE
FRAVAHAR.ORG
Stories of Parsi
Gahambars
The Baloch
according
Chikoos, Aamras
and Parsi food
to Ferdowsi
The
Chicken Farcha
ZAGNY
absolute
dualism of
Rostam Nameh
13d:Sohrab
Zarathushtis to
Attend the 6th
oldest fire
temple, turns 306
Fundraiser:
Lladro
Mani
When
Ending the
debate on Organ
World Youth
Congress
ACTIVIST’S IDEA
OF COMPOSTING
Lithophane
Votive
Abadan was
Capital of
Donation
Navroze Mubarak
BODIES FUELS
Fun Foods From
the World
The Perils of
Organ Donation
– Norouz Pirouz
Baad 2015
BIG PARSI
DEBATE
Udwada
A Chinese
ceramic
XVII NAZC 2014
Keynote Address
Playing a Parsi
by Parisa
Khosravi: Follow
winemerchant
Your Dreams and
Passions
Les trois
princes de
Zoroastrian
Delegation To
Serendip
Deliver Panel
Discussion At UN
Headquarters
figure of a
Sogdian