Clayton Murzello: The 'cutting' edge of cricket

Dilip Vengsarkars turnedback clock chimed a delightful tune the other day at the Bombay Gymkhana where the Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai SJAM hosted their annual awardsWhile hailing the efforts of sports writers who have spent years covering sport at the grassroots level Vengsarkar remembered his school cricket days Whenever I used to get runs Girish Dixit the photographer used to shoot my picture and the following day I used to head down to the newspaper stall at 5 am to check which newspapers carried my photograph It was great motivation to do well said Vengsarkar urging journalists to spend their time covering school cricketFormer India wicketkeeperbatsman Budhi Kunderan poses with an album of press clippings and photographs on a visit to Mumbai in 1997 PicMIDDAY ARCHIVESSunil Gavaskars first newspaper mention was as G Sunil for his unbeaten 30 at No 10 for St Xaviers school on the Harris Shield debut in the 1960sMumbai sport was well served by local reporters like Albert DSouza and later on Vinod Vasudeo who covered a large amount of interschool and club cricket The more wellknown ones like GK Menon and the late Sharad Kotnis used to treat school matches as seriously as Test matches A Giles or Harris Shield final used to get a large spread in whichever publications sports section Kotnis spearheaded His contribution to Mumbai cricket is immeasurableMenon 90 covered as well as played a beneficial role in the development of the likes of Ramakant Desai and Vijay Manjrekar and he always kept the Shivaji Park Gymkhana flying highSanjay Manjrekar another Mumbai batting hero loves telling his friends how his late mother used to be thrilled to see his name in the Brief Scores section whenever he got a 30plus for whichever local team he represented His album was updated by his mother and sister AnjaliSachin Tendulkar too was mindful of the fact that a score of 30 and above earned you in Mumbai cricket parlance a cutting For a while his brother Ajit maintained a file of Sachins clippingsI remember visiting the late Budhi Kunderan when the former India wicketkeeperbatsman was down from Scotland in 1997 and he posed for a photograph with his album of clippings maintained by his mother When I met him the next time he didnt have it because a magazine that was launched in 2000 borrowed it for a feature on him and misplaced itProbably more than Budhi his younger brother Bharat was furious at the loss as it contained a clipping of Budhi scoring a double century for his school Bharda and the newspaper called it a Bradmanlike effort Bharat was inspired by that clipping and ended up becoming a wicketkeeper and an aggressive batsman himself who represented India on the 196869 schoolboys tour to AustraliaFormer Mumbai offspinner Avadhoot Zarapkar is another cricketer who was left without his album of clippings When the starstudded Nirlon cricket team was disbanded in 1987 Zarapkar applied to Bharat Petroleum and was asked to submit original copies of his clippings He did so reluctantly and his worst fears came true when the secretary to the recruitment officer informed him that his priceless album couldnt be found Zarapkar didnt get picked by Bharat Petroleum Neither did he get back his album which reflected his performances for Bombay University Dadar Union and the Indian Universities team which played against Clive Lloyds West Indies team of 197475Sportspersons dont forget journalists who report on their formative years Gavaskar graciously remembered the media as well when he received the Colonel CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award from the BCCI in 2012 He thanked the media for highlighting my scores and bringing it to the attention of the selectors and the publicScrapbooks also provide great fodder for research And Anandji Dossa the late doyen of cricket statisticians gave the Cricket Club of India a great gift by donating his full collection of clippings each year covered in brown paper and handstitched His press clippings journey didnt start with school cricket but Indias 1932 tour of EnglandAs a teenager he visited Himachal Pradesh for a family holiday As he was savouring his newspaperpacked snack one evening he noticed a report of a match from that tour He went on to chronicle Indian cricket from that year to 2000 Probably these newspaper clippings helped Dossa once correct Wisden the bible of cricket when it came to the number of firstclass centuries scored by KS Duleepsinhji Wisdens onetime count was 50 but Dossa insisted it was 49 And he was rightDossa who often wrote congratulatory letters was as encouraging to young cricketers as the local reporters who Vengsarkar doffed his hat to on MondaySometimes we have to remind ourselves that we are so very fortunate and privilegedmiddays group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycom