Clayton Murzello: Mumbai's little book of big deeds

Without doubt the most important book for Mumbai cricketers across all levels is the Dr HD Kanga Cricket League fixture book given to clubs before every edition of the monsoon league Players are either given a copy in their preseason club meeting or at the start of the first match and this book found a special place in the kit bagThis year the Mumbai Cricket Association MCA decided to decorate their fixture book with a photograph of a Kanga match in progress as against the staid cover design of previous years Certain things are changing for the better in Mumbai cricket This must count as an exampleDr HD Kanga League fixture book over the years PicSayed Sameer AbediMadhav Apte who played the League for more than half a century believed that the fixture book concept which began in the late 1950s has shown Mumbai cricket in good light ldquoThe Kanga League is a fantasticallyorganised tournament To ensure the smooth running of so many matches is no joke The fixture book told you where your games were and even the umpires who would officiate a practise discontinued a decade ago I remember going to Pune to participate in their league and it was poorly organisedrdquo Apte recalledWhat is probably most appealing about the fixture book is the lsquoArsquo division records section For a local cricket fanatic the statistics conjure up images of dedicated determined and disciplined players making full use of their ability and competitive nerves for their club Mumbai cricketers take great pride in the fact that they are mentioned in the records section Vikram Dutt the fast bowler is better known in city cricketing circles for his 10 for 20 for Dadar Union against Rajasthan Sports Club in 1982 than for being an Uttar Pradesh Ranji Trophy player Duttrsquos mentor at Dadar Union Vithal Patil cannot be missed in the records section for his 759 wickets ditto BR Iranirsquos 743 for Parsee Cyclists and BaronetIt wouldrsquove been nice had there been a list of centurions in the Kanga League considering how difficult it is to score on the wet and drying pitches but it would be a long list The records section tells us that Ramnath Kenny scored 183 for Dadar Union vs PJ Hindu Gymkhana in 1954 Eighteen years later New Hindrsquos Gopal Koli scored 188 against United Cricketers These are the top individual scorers in the monsoon tournament but other century efforts find mention in the Jasdenwalla Trophy winners for fastscoring Going by the records in the latest fixture book YP Sidhaye has scored the quickest century ndash in 59 minutes ndash for PJ Hindu Gymkhana vs Khar Gymkhana in 1972Those cricketers coached by Ramakant Achrekar would notice that their guru was the 10th batsman to carry his bat through a completed innings He stayed unbeaten on 21 while representing New Hind against Dadar Union in 1969 The last opening batsman to stay not out in a completed innings was Victory CCrsquos Mahesh Gharat against Cricket Club of India in 1995 Is that an indicator of the decline in gritty adhesive batting at the top of the order ProbablyIn the 1990s strangely Karsan Ghavrirsquos name started figuring in the list of hattricks when the feat should be attributed to his late brother Dhanji a leftarm pacer like Karsan ldquoI have requested the MCA several times to make the change but somehow it has not been donerdquo Karsan told me earlier this week Dhanji performed the feat for Sunder CC whose then captain Kiran Ashar recalled with a chuckle ldquoDhanji claimed the first three Dadar Union wickets and went to field at third man When it was his turn to bowl again I was looking out for him but he was not on the field He returned after visiting the nearby paanwalla We dismissed Dadar Union for a low score but rain ruined our chaserdquo The Leaguersquos organisers ought to literally set the record straight in this case and credit Dhanji for his 1977 hattrickTalking of hattricks Anup Sabnis is another Sunder CC player who bagged three wickets in three balls ndash during the 1987 Kanga League against Dadar Parsi Zorastrians While his victims were Anil Joshi Dhananjay Ketkar and Prakash Karkera their teammate Sameer Samant would often proudly tell his friends that he was at the other end when Sabnis wrecked havoc Two years later Samant scored the first century of the 1989 Kanga League When he opened the newspapers the following morning he discovered to his dismay that a lsquoSawantrsquo had scored a tonWhile putting together a piece on Rajasthan SCrsquos 1979 Kanga League lsquoArsquo division victory for this newspaperrsquos anniversary issue a few months ago their former batsman Pradeep Raut recalled how his team dismissed National CC for 12 en route their team triumph but this feat is missing from recent editions Raut produced a 1982 copy of the book to prove that his side had indeed dismissed National for a dozen and the feat must be recorded in the next editionmiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycom