Parsee Gymkhana to celebrate 130 years of England tour

As Alastair Cook's England team kicked off their battle against India in the ongoing five-match Test series in Rajkot yesterday, two other sides are keen to do battle with their old rivals

Farokh Engineer

As Alastair Cook's England team kicked off their battle against India in the ongoing five-match Test series in Rajkot yesterday, two other sides are keen to do battle with their old rivals.

To commemorate 130 years of the All Parsee team to England (the first of its kind undertaken by an Indian outfit), the Parsee Gymkhana has organised a cricket match between the Britishers and Parsees on November 12 when the '1886 Trophy' will be celebrated. The 30-overs-a-side match will feature 74-year-old Freddy Sidhwa, who is active in UAE domestic cricket and Rony Iranpur, who played for Parsee Cyclists in the Kanga League.

While the Parsees have not decided on their captain, the Britishers will be led by Matt Greenwell. Former India men's and women's captains — Nari Contractor and Diana Edulji - will witness this game. Erstwhile Test cricketer Farokh Engineer, the last Parsee to play for India, will fly down from UK for this event. Khodadad Yazdegardi, the vice-president and cricket secretary of Parsee Gymkhana, told mid-day yesterday: "The Parsees lost 26 games and managed to win only one match on that 1886 tour. We are trying to change history and beat them this time around."

Yazdegardi, the pillar of Parsee Gymkhana's cricket set-up, added: "Engineer was the last Parsee to play for India while Zubin Bharucha was the last one who played for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. Now, there is 15-year-old Aryan Irani, who is in the Mumbai under-16 probables. Let's hope this game creates a lot of interest among young Parsee kids."

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