Though Madhav Apte was a well-known erstwhile Test cricketer of the 1950s, he enjoyed special status on the maidans of Mumbai. That's because of his love affair with the Dr HD Kanga Cricket League which he played for 54 years — from the inaugural year in 1948 — till the 2002 edition.

Apte, who passed away yesterday morning at the age of 86, started playing the league at 16 and figured mostly for his beloved Jolly Cricketers club. Several present at Apte's funeral at Shivaji Park yesterday were Apte's Jolly teammates, including Anil Deshpande, who captained them to their third 'A' division triumph in 1980. Memories came flooding through inevitably. Deshpande recalled how Apte used to call him from Malaysia (a country he often visited on business) to inform him of his availability.