Dattu Phadkar
Encyclopedia
Dattatraya Gajanan "Dattu" Phadkar (12 December 1925, Kolhapur, Maharashtra
– 17 March 1985, Chennai
) was an all-rounder
who represented India
in Test cricket
.
Phadkar was an attacking middle order batsman, a medium pace bowler who could swing the ball both ways and extract life from the wicket, and usually fielded in the slips. He was one of the cricketing heart-throbs of his day.
Phadkar was educated in Bombay in the Robert Money High School and took the B.A degree from Elphinstone College. He represented Bombay University between 1941/42 and 1946/47. At the age of 10, he scored 156 in an inter-school match. On his collegiate debut, he hit 274 which was then a record. He underwent training at Alf Gover
's cricket school.
Picked for the Indian tour of Australia in 1947/48, Phadkar shone more with the bat than the ball. On his debut on a difficult wicket at Sydney
he hit 51 while batting at eight and took 3 for 14. Promoted to No.6, he scored 123 at Adelaide
and added a record 188 for the sixth wicket with Vijay Hazare
. Phadkar went on to top the batting averages and scored at least a fifty in all the four Tests that he played.
Next year against West Indies at Madras
, Phadkar took 7 for 159 which remained his career best bowling. But his efforts at bowling bouncers in this match led to the West Indian bowlers reacting in kind and the defeat of India. In the exciting last Test where India needed 361 and ended up six runs short, Phadkar hit 37 not out.
His other major innings was a 115 against England in 1951/2. When India lost disastrously in England in 1952, he was one of the few players to come out with some credit. At Leeds
where India lost the four wickets before scoring a run, Phadkar and Hazare added 105 for the sixth wicket.
Phadkar played in 13 unofficial Tests. He played all the ten Tests against the touring commonwealth teams in 1949/50 and 1950/51. In the former series where India used four captains, Phadkar led the team in the final Test.
He made his first class debut at the age of 17 and went on to captain Bombay in 1950/51. Against Maharashtra in 1948/49 - a match in which 2376 runs were scored - he hit 131 & 160, and took 3/142 and 3/168. http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/18/18796.html His highest first class score was 217 scored against Maharashtra in 1950/51 out of a Bombay total of 725 for 8.http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/19/19585.html He played in Lancashire Leagure for Rochdale and Nelson.
He was a national selector in the 1970s. MCC
made him a life member in 1968. He worked for Tata & Sons in Bombay and the Railways.
After retirement he ran a kindergarten school with his wife in Behala
, Calcutta called Sunny Preparatory School. His death was due to a brain illness.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
– 17 March 1985, Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
) was an all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
who represented India
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
in Test cricket
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
.
Phadkar was an attacking middle order batsman, a medium pace bowler who could swing the ball both ways and extract life from the wicket, and usually fielded in the slips. He was one of the cricketing heart-throbs of his day.
Phadkar was educated in Bombay in the Robert Money High School and took the B.A degree from Elphinstone College. He represented Bombay University between 1941/42 and 1946/47. At the age of 10, he scored 156 in an inter-school match. On his collegiate debut, he hit 274 which was then a record. He underwent training at Alf Gover
Alf Gover
Alfred Richard Gover MBE was an English Test cricketer. He was the mainstay of the Surrey bowling attack during the 1930s and played four Tests before and after the Second World War...
's cricket school.
Picked for the Indian tour of Australia in 1947/48, Phadkar shone more with the bat than the ball. On his debut on a difficult wicket at Sydney
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
he hit 51 while batting at eight and took 3 for 14. Promoted to No.6, he scored 123 at Adelaide
Adelaide Oval
The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide...
and added a record 188 for the sixth wicket with Vijay Hazare
Vijay Hazare
Vijay Samuel Hazare was an Indian cricket player from the state of Maharashtra. He captained the Indian cricket team in 14 matches between 1951 and 1953...
. Phadkar went on to top the batting averages and scored at least a fifty in all the four Tests that he played.
Next year against West Indies at Madras
M. A. Chidambaram Stadium
The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium is a cricket stadium in Chennai , India, named after M. A. Chidambaram, the former President of BCCI and the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. The stadium was formerly known as Madras Cricket Club Ground or Chepauk Stadium. Commonly known as Chepauk, its first match was...
, Phadkar took 7 for 159 which remained his career best bowling. But his efforts at bowling bouncers in this match led to the West Indian bowlers reacting in kind and the defeat of India. In the exciting last Test where India needed 361 and ended up six runs short, Phadkar hit 37 not out.
His other major innings was a 115 against England in 1951/2. When India lost disastrously in England in 1952, he was one of the few players to come out with some credit. At Leeds
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
where India lost the four wickets before scoring a run, Phadkar and Hazare added 105 for the sixth wicket.
Phadkar played in 13 unofficial Tests. He played all the ten Tests against the touring commonwealth teams in 1949/50 and 1950/51. In the former series where India used four captains, Phadkar led the team in the final Test.
He made his first class debut at the age of 17 and went on to captain Bombay in 1950/51. Against Maharashtra in 1948/49 - a match in which 2376 runs were scored - he hit 131 & 160, and took 3/142 and 3/168. http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/18/18796.html His highest first class score was 217 scored against Maharashtra in 1950/51 out of a Bombay total of 725 for 8.http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/19/19585.html He played in Lancashire Leagure for Rochdale and Nelson.
He was a national selector in the 1970s. MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
made him a life member in 1968. He worked for Tata & Sons in Bombay and the Railways.
After retirement he ran a kindergarten school with his wife in Behala
Behala
Behala is a neighbourhood in South West Kolkata, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Behala was officially known as South Suburban Municipality until it was merged with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation on January, 1984. Now it is broadly spread across Ward Nos.118 and 132 of the KMC and is...
, Calcutta called Sunny Preparatory School. His death was due to a brain illness.