Cricket's Historians

Test Match status is defined and Overseas Publications multiply relationship between the Europeans living in Bombay and the Parsees ought to read the long essay in detail. In 1901, M.E.Pavri, the best known Parsee cricketer of the period, was the author of Parsee Cricket . This gives a Who’s Who of notable Parsee cricketers, past and present, with statistics and a history of the Parsee game in Bombay, as well as instructions on the playing of cricket. Dr Mehallasha Edudlji Pavri was born in Surat in October 1866 and toured England with the 1888 Parsee side, being the outstanding bowler on that trip. He spent some time in England and appeared in one first-class game for Middlesex. Pavri died in Bombay in April 1946. In 1905 J.M.Framjee Patel was the author of Stray Thoughts on Indian Cricket , which is more comprehensive than Pavri’s book, in that it also covers the European cricket in Bombay. Lord Harris, the former Governor of Bombay, provides the Introduction. One point which is apparent is the difference between cricket played in the Bombay area and that played in the then capital of India, Calcutta. In the latter cricket was a purely European pastime. Framjee Patel captained the Parsee side which beat the English touring team in 1889-90 – a game considered the greatest triumph for Parsee cricket. He went on to organise the first All India tour to England in 1911, but was disappointed when Ranjitsinhji decided not to accept the captaincy. 72