Farokh Engineer
Personal information
Full name
Farokh Manecksha Engineer
Born (1938-02-25) 25 February 1938
Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India
BattingRight-handed
RoleWicket-keeper-batsman
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 102)1 December 1961 v England
Last Test23 January 1975 v West Indies
ODI debut (cap 3)13 July 1974 v England
Last ODI14 June 1975 v New Zealand
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1959/60–1974/75Bombay
1961/62–1974/75West Zone
1968–1976Lancashire
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 46 5 335 160
Runs scored 2,611 114 13,436 3,008
Batting average 31.08 38.00 29.52 23.31
100s/50s 2/16 0/1 13/69 0/12
Top score 121 54* 192 93
Catches/stumpings 66/16 3/1 704/120 159/31
Source: CricketArchive (subscription required), 15 December 2023
Signature

Farokh Manecksha Engineer pronunciationⓘ (born 25 February 1938) is an Indian former cricketer. He was a wicket-keeper-batsman, usually an opening batsman, who represented India in 46 Test matches from 1961 to 1975. In first-class cricket, he played for Bombay from 1959/60 to 1974/75, for West Zone from 1961/62 to 1974/75, and for Lancashire County Cricket Club from 1968 to 1976. He was the first-choice wicket-keeper for the Rest of the World team which toured England in 1970 and Australia in 1971–72.

Engineer is the last male member of the Parsi community to have played for India,[1] although Arzan Nagwaswalla was selected for the international squad in 2021.[2]

Early life

Education and beginning of cricket career

Engineer was born 25 February 1938 into a Parsi family in Bombay.[3][4] His father Manecksha was a doctor by profession, while mother Minnie was a housewife. Engineer studied at the Don Bosco High School in Matunga and (as did Ravi Shastri) went on to the Podar College, also in Matunga.[5] Engineer became a student at the University of Bombay and, in 1958/59, played cricket for both their team and the Indian Universities team. He joined Bombay in 1959, though he continued to play for the Universities until 1961/62.[6]

Flying and Denis Compton

Engineer's love for sports came from his father who played tennis and was himself a club cricketer. His older brother, Darius, was also a good club cricketer and inspired the young Farokh to take up the sport.

Engineer initially wanted to be a pilot,[1] right from his childhood days, he was passionate about flying. He qualified for a private pilot's license at Bombay Flying Club and used to fly Piper Cherokees or Tiger Moths quite low and would often dive under bridges. His mother did not want him to be a pilot, and so he continued concentrating on his cricket.

He was a mischievous kid, and once during a lecture in class he was talking to his classmate, Shashi Kapoor. His professor threw a duster at him, and to everyone's surprise, Engineer caught the duster.[7]

His brother Darius took Farokh to the East Stand of the Brabourne Stadium, where he saw Denis Compton fielding and started calling to him. Compton was impressed by him and gave him a piece of chewing gum which he saved as his prized possession for many years.[8]

His father enrolled him in Dadar Parsi Colony Sporting Club where he learnt the nuances of the game from the seniors and later became a regular member of the team.[3]

Test career

  • NOTE: Pending rewrite, all content has been moved to workspace because of sourcing and POV issues.

Engineer made his Test debut in 1961/62 and played for India 46 times to 1974/75. He also played in five ODIs, all in 1974/75. He scored 2,611 runs in Tests, including two centuries with a highest score of 121. He took 66 catches and completed 16 stumpings.[9]

Lancashire

"He finds both cricket and life fun; he laughs easily and his jokes are often very funny but he can be grave. His appeals are as loud as anyone's yet off the field he is quietly spoken. As a batsman or wicketkeeper he is aggressive, yet he is a man of consideration and courtesy. There has always been a quality of generosity about his cricket and his way of life".

Farokh – The Cricketing Cavalier by John Arlott[10]

In 1968, when English cricket allowed its county clubs to sign overseas players, Engineer joined Lancashire alongside West Indies batsman Clive Lloyd. He spent nine seasons there, until he retired in 1976.[11] Lancashire had not won a major honour since 1950 but, while Engineer and Lloyd played for them, they became a highly successful limited overs team, winning the Gillette Cup four times and the John Player League twice.[3]

Engineer was playing for Lancashire in 1970 when he was selected as wicket-keeper for the Rest of the World team, captained by Garfield Sobers, which played five unofficial Tests against England that summer. Engineer also played for the Rest of the World cricket team in Australia in 1971–72.[3] He enjoyed life in Manchester and, having married a local lady, decided to settle there after his retirement from playing.[3] Lancashire granted him a testimonial in 1976, his final season, which raised £26,519.[11] He became a vice-president of the club in later years.[3][12][13]

The Bollywood film 83, released in 2021, was about India's first Cricket World Cup in 1983. It depicts Engineer, resident in England at the time, as one of the TV commentators. The film features Boman Irani as Engineer and is directed and produced by Kabir Khan and Anurag Kashyap respectively.[14][15]

References

  1. 1 2 Chaudhry, Ijaz (26 July 2012). "I was born to be a one-day player". Cricket Monthly.
  2. ↑ "In pictures. Parsi cricketers who have played for India". The Hindu. 9 May 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "18 facts about Farokh Engineer". Zoroastrians.net. 29 February 2016.
  4. ↑ Shiamak Unwalla (30 July 2015). "12 Parsis who played Test cricket for India". Cricket Country.
  5. ↑ "Notable Alumni. Don Bosco High School". Don Bosco High School, Matunga. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  6. ↑ Teams Farokh Engineer has played for. CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 December 2023. (subscription required)
  7. ↑ Kumar, V. Rishi (5 May 2015). "Farokh Engineer – still firmly on the front foot". Hindu Business Line.
  8. ↑ Surti, Binaisha (6 June 2016). "A Few Good Men... Farokh Engineer". Parsi Times.
  9. ↑ Farokh Engineer. CricketArchive. Retrieved 16 December 2023. (subscription required)
  10. ↑ "Farokh – The Cricketing Cavalier". MaxBooks. 27 August 2021.
  11. 1 2 Farokh Engineer. CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 December 2023. (subscription required)
  12. ↑ "Dhoni reminds me of myself". Rediff on the Net. 10 May 2006.
  13. ↑ "A glimpse of Farokh Engineer's journey from England to India". Circle Of Cricket. 7 June 2017.
  14. ↑ "Boman Irani joins Ranveer Singh's '83' clan as Farokh Engineer1". Free Press Journal. 27 August 2019.
  15. ↑ "Boman Irani to play Farokh Engineer in '83'". Business Standard India. 27 August 2019.
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