Farokh Engineer - Life and times of India's most dashing cricketer

He had the audacity to attack the best of the bowlers. At the time when the Indian batsmen ducked under the bouncers, Farokh Engineer saw a scoring opportunity against a delivery deemed as “life-threatening” by his peers. Born in Dadar, Bombay, in 1938, Engineer displayed a phenomenal talent with his bat and gloves. In the late 1950s, Engineer started his career with the Indian Starlets and broke into Indian Test team in 1961. Engineer joined Lancashire in 1967. Engineer’s aggressive instincts on the field made him a colourful character. He was instrumental in the revival of fortunes of Lancashire and the Indian cricket team. Indian cricket team became a force to reckon with when Engineer was at the peak of his prowess.

The early life:

On 25^th February, 1938, a baby boy was born to Minnie and Maneksha at Bombay Hospital. They named him ‘Farokh’ which means joy or brightness in Persian. Farokh was a Parsi and there is an interesting history of the Parsis appending their profession as their last name. You hear the surnames Batliwalla, Daruwalla, which are an occupation-related surnames. ‘Engineer’ too is an occupation-related surname. In the late nineteenth century, Farokh’s great-grandfather joined the newly built engineering industry. Hence, the last name ‘Engineer’ was adopted by his family.

During his formative years, three people influenced Farokh’s life – his father (Maneksha), mother (Minnie) and older brother (Darius). His father was a medical doctor – Dr. Engineer (a paradox which made young Farokh laugh). According to Farokh, his father saved many peoples’ lives thanks to his medical knowledge. Maneksha was an intelligent man who loved playing tennis and was a club cricketer himself.

Minnie was a doting mother. Farokh accompanied her to fish market where she told him the little things to look out for in order to find whether the fish was fresh or not. Now we know the reason for Farokh’s street smartness. Farokh was closest to his mother. When Minnie was dying, Farokh was playing at Jamnagar. As soon as Farokh came to know about his mother’s deteriorating health, he rushed to Bombay. The Maharaja of Jamnagar had ordered the Indian Airlines flight to wait for Farokh. Farokh rushed to his mother and held her hand. He was weeping like a little baby. The mother promised Farokh that she will return to him as his first daughter. Those were Minnie’s last words. Farokh was sure that his first child would be a daughter – which was true.

Darius was Farokh’s elder brother. Darius was a very good cricketer and he inspired Farokh to be a cricketer too. The two brothers were avid cricket watchers themselves. On one occasion, Darius took Farokh on his shoulders at the East Stand of the Brabourne Stadium. Farokh saw Dennis Compton fielding there and started calling him. Compton was impressed by the little fellow and gave him a chewing gum to eat. Farokh saved it as his prized possession for many years.

At his school Don Bosco, he was once talking to his classmates. His mathematics teacher Mr. Lobo got angry and fired a duster in Farokh’s direction. Farokh caught the duster much to the delight of his classmates. The art of catching came naturally to mischievous Farokh. His father enrolled him to Dadar Parsi Colony Sporting Club. Farokh learnt the nuances of the game by watching the senior members play. Occasionally, Polly Umrigar made a guest appearance for the club.

Farokh became a regular member of the club mainly due to his wicket-keeping skills. From 1957 to 1961, it was a dramatic rise of Farokh from a club cricketer to a Test cricketer. But Farokh wanted to be a pilot. He had passed his private pilot’s licence at Bombay Flying Club. But his mother did not want Farokh to be a pilot since she was afraid of losing her son. So Farokh continued concentrating on his cricket. His life was simple. Farokh used to attend his college in the morning and by the afternoon, he would take a train from Dadar to Churchgate and go the Cricket Club of India. Farokh often travelled in crowded trains and hung around by the door with his kit bag. But the day he was selected to play for the country, all that changed. The commuters made way for Farokh and gave him a place to sit in the train.

The Domestic and International cricket:

Farokh made his first class debut for Combined Universities against the touring West Indies side courtesy of some fine performances while playing for Bombay University. The West Indies side was like a Goliath. They plundered the Combined University side mainly because of two fiery pace bowlers – Wes Hall and Roy Gilchrist. They injured three batsmen too. Engineer scored 0 and 29 in that game. According to Farokh, getting 29 was like getting a hundred in that game.

Farokh’s next aim was getting into the Bombay team. In those days, it was difficult to be part of the Bombay team because they were the powerhouse of the domestic cricket and most of the star-players were Test cricketers themselves. Bombay had Naren Tamhane as their wicket keeper and he was a regular keeper for India as well. But soon, Budhi Kunderan took his place. Also, Tamhane was not a flamboyant keeper. Farokh used to dive and was more agile compared to Tamhane. Farokh’s batting also gave him an edge over Tamhane. So, Farokh Engineer finally became a regular member of the Bombay team.

In 1961, England toured India. Chairman of Selectors, Lala Amarnath chose Engineer over Kunderan for his superior keeping skills. Farokh was all set to debut on his home ground – The Brabourne Stadium. But disaster struck. On the eve of the Test match, Engineer was practising his shots against short bowling. One of Raj Singh Dungarpur’s deliveries hurried on to Farokh. Being a compulsive hooker, Farokh played the shot with his eyes closed. The ball took the top edge of his bat and hit him on his right eye. Farokh was out of the Test match. Thus, Kunderan played at Bombay but scored only five runs.

Engineer was fit for the second Test at Kanpur and made his debut. He scored an important 33 and played for the remainder of the series.

Engineer was part of the Indian team that toured West Indies in 1962. He played three Test matches out of five and lost out to Kunderan. West Indies won the series 5-0 (a clean sweep). Engineer was out of the team for three years. In 1964-65, both Engineer and Kunderan were sacked and K. S. Indrajitsinghji was selected as a wicket keeper. But he failed to make any impact in the team and Engineer made his comeback into the side.

What a comeback:

Engineer made a comeback in the Indian team against New Zealand in 1965 at Corporation Stadium, Madras. He scored 90 in that game, batting at No. 9. Engineer had a string of low scores in the four innings that followed.

The high point in the Test career came when West Indies visited India in 1966. The visitors were fresh from 2-1 victory over Australia and 3-1 series win against England. Out of the 10 games India had played against West Indies, they had lost eight and drawn two. Kunderan played the first two Test matches. Then he was dropped. Farokh replaced Kunderan in the third Test at Chepauk, Madras. Engineer never got a settled batting number. He had batted at nine, eight, three and even seven. At Chepauk, he was batting at No.2. Engineer attacked the West Indies bowling straight away. By lunch on day 1, India had scored 125 runs without losing any wicket. Engineer was batting on 94. When the second session started, Engineer brought up his first hundred with a six. Engineer was out on 109 but he had laid a solid foundation. Chandu Borde too scored a ton in that innings and India scored 404 in their first innings. India had set the target of 322 for West Indies. They lost seven wickets for 193 runs. India had almost won their first Test match against the mighty West Indies.

Brand Ambassador:

Engineer became a household name now. There were lot of commercials waiting to sign him as their brand ambassador. He was offered a contract by Brylcreem. The sales of the cream went up and Engineer was known as the ‘Brylcreem Boy’.

One of the UK tabloids offered him handsome money to endorse for them. Engineer had to be without his shirt on and carry his daughter Tina on his shoulders.

Engineer had become cynosure of all eyes after Madras ton. Many English counties wanted Engineer as part of their team. India was to play England in England. Engineer’s life was about to take another turn.

India’s tour of England (1967):

India played a series of county games before the Test matches began. India locked horns with Lancashire on 3-5 June, 1967. Farokh took three catches and scored 38 in the second innings. Lancashire offered a contract to Farokh and he signed it. Soon, the club found a house for Farokh at Timperley, a suburb in south Manchester. A car was given to him in order to commute from his house to the practice ground. Farokh did not have a driver’s licence. He had applied for it and failed in his first driving test. Subsequently, he studied hard, memorised the ‘Highway Code’ and managed to earn a licence.

Farokh got used to the Manchester life. Occasionally, he watched a game of football which featured either Manchester United or Manchester City. He mastered the route to Old Trafford. On one occasion, he told Clive Llyod about his driving skills and how he knew the roads by-heart. Llyod trusted Engineer. In fact, Engineer had forgotten the road leading up to the ground. Fortunately, the duo reached minutes before start of the county match.

The fortunes of the club changed with Engineer’s arrival. Clive Llyod, David Llyod and Engineer were the Test players and they smashed the county attacks. The club membership mushroomed since Lancashire played attractive and exciting cricket. Lancashire won the Gillette Cup and was the champion side in the Sunday League. The Benson and Hedges Cup proved unlucky for them however.

Engineer became a revered figure in Lancashire. Engineer has a Lancastrian wife Julie. Lancashire was Engineer’s second home. The love, warmth and the fan following of people made Engineer a proud man.

India’s away wins in New Zealand and England:

When India toured New Zealand in 1968, they won the first overseas Test series by a margin of 3-1. Engineer was successful with the bat, scoring 321 runs in four Test matches. His wicket-keeping against the spin quartet spoke volumes about his importance of his presence in the Indian side.

Engineer was excluded from the Indian touring party when the team visited West Indies in 1971. Pochiah Krishnamurthy was in the side as a keeper. This was, according to Engineer, petty politics coming in the way. Certain officials manoeuvred the team combinations for their selfish interests. Engineer was made the sacrificial lamb. Krishnamurthy averaged 5.5 in the Test series and his keeping skills were also not up to the mark.

When India toured England after their triumph against West Indies, Engineer’s inclusion in the team was expected. He had the experience of playing in the county circuit for four seasons. In the first Test match at Lord’s, India needed some quick runs to win the match. Engineer told captain Wadekar that it is a good idea for him (Engineer) to go at No.4. Engineer scored a 40-ball 35 and India inched closer to the target. But rain ruined the game for the visitors. The next Test at Farokh’s adopted home ground, Manchester was drawn as well. At ‘The Oval’, India played their final Test match of the series.

England scored 355 in their first innings. India were struggling at 125 for five. Engineer scored a brilliant 59. He was out hooking John Snow. Thanks to Bhagwat Chandrasekhar’s six for 38, India dismissed England for 101. They needed 173 runs to win with one and a half days left. India finished the penultimate day with 76 for two. On the third morning, they lost Wadekar without adding any runs to the total of 76. Dilip Sardesai and Eknath Solkar were out in quick successions and India still needed 40 more runs. Engineer then took the attack to England bowlers. India managed to win the match by five wickets and won the series.

The last lap:

Farokh’s next series was against England in 1972-73. In the fifth Test at the Brabourne Stadium, he registered his best score of 121. India had lost the first Test at Delhi but won the Calcutta Test where Farokh scored 75 out of 210. In the third Test at Madras, India was bolstered by the presence of MAK Pataudi. The fourth Test at Kanpur was drawn. India wanted at least a draw to ensure a series win.

Engineer’s 121 in the final Test came in 280 minutes. India scored 448 in their first innings. England bettered it by 32 runs. In their second essay, Farukh and Gavaskar took India’s score to 102 for no loss at the end of fourth day’s play. The match was drawn.

The 1974 series against England in England was an unmitigated disaster. Farokh was the most successful batsman in the series but then the team was in doldrums. India was bowled out for 42 in 17 overs at Lord’s. In the last Test match at Edgbaston, India did leather chasing as Engineer’s Lancashire colleague David Llyod scored 214 not out. India lost the three match series 3-0.

Engineer’s last Test series was at home against West Indies. Engineer was out in an unlucky fashion in the first innings of the first Test. When Farokh on-drove Andy Roberts, Viv Richards standing at short mid-on took evasive action and turned around. The ball was lodged in between Richards’ legs. In the second innings, Farokh was hit above the eye while keeping wickets.

India lost the second Test at Delhi, although Engineer scored 17 and 75 in that Test. India then won the next two Tests at Calcutta and Madras. Engineer played his last Test match at the newly laid Wankhede Stadium. It was a horror end to his career. Engineer recorded his first pair in Test matches and West Indies won the match by 201 runs. Farokh felt his time was up in Tests. The Bombay match, his 46^th of his career, was his final Test match.

Taking guard in the commentary box:

Farokh was a guest commentator in the BBC Test Match Special. He covered many games with Christopher Martin-Jenkins and Brian Johnston. When India was winning the cricket World Cup at Lord’s in 1983, Johnston jokingly asked Engineer if Mrs. Gandhi (Indian Prime Minister) would give a public holiday after India lifts the cup. Engineer said that Gandhi was an avid listener of Test Match Special and she would indeed declare a public holiday. Indira Gandhi was listening to the commentary and she did declare a public holiday!

Family Life:

Farokh named his first daughter Minnie (after his mother). Tina, Roxanne and Scarlett are his other three daughters.

Miscellaneous:

Engineer was a fine leg spin bowler. He had once dismissed Colin Cowdrey with a googly. Cowdrey played Engineer as a part-time bowler but Engineer was a very good leg spin bowler. In one of the practice matches played on a matting turf, Engineer took a seven-for and bowled much better than Robin Hobbs, the leg-spinner who played Test cricket for England.

When Engineer hooked Wes Hall for a six, Hall’s mother asked to her son, “Who is this brave young Indian batsman called Engineer? Can you bring him to meet me?” Engineer met Hall’s mother and she told Engineer that not many people have hit her son.

Engineer was selected for the Rest of the World side against England and Pakistan in 1970 and Australia in 1971-72.

When India won the first World Cup match against East Africa at Leeds in 1975, Engineer was awarded the Man-of- the Match for his attacking half-century.

Farokh was a gentleman cricketer who always played according to the spirit of the game. He was an entertainer and provided laughter often when the chips were down, because he was such a jovial character. Because of these qualities, Farokh Engineer will always occupy a special place in the memory of the true cricket lovers.

Reference:

Farokh Engineer – From the Far Pavilion By John Cantrell.