Rusi Modi
Encyclopedia
Rustomji Sheriyar 'Rusi' Modi (born November 11, 1924, Bombay
- died May 17, 1996, Bombay) was an Indian
batsman who played for the Indian National Cricket Team
from 1946 to 1952.
Modi's test career started at Lord's in India's first test in England in their tour of England in 1946. He made his debut in a three-day match(June 22-25 1946), which is best recognized for Sir Alec Bedser's eleven-wicket haul on debut. Incidentally, this test also marked the test debuts of Vijay Hazare
and Vinoo Mankad, who would go one to be recognized players for India.
Rusi Modi was evidently an accumulator of runs, this fact being evident from his test average of 46 and a first-class average of 53, which also weighed a lot on paper when seen alongside his 20 centuries in the latter respect. He also bowled some medium-pace and even grabbed a five-wicket haul, his only one in all formats of cricket he played in.
between 1943/44 and 1944/45, he scored five hundreds in successive innings for Bombay, seven in successive matches. The sequence read 168 v Maharashtra, 128 v Western India both in 1943/44, 160 v Sind, 210 v Western India, 245* & 31 v Baroda, 113 v Northern India and 98 & 151 v Holkar all in 1944/45. His aggregate of 1008 in only five Ranji matches in 1944/45 was a record which stood for over forty years. He made 1375 runs in all first class matches. Modi was only 20 at the time.
Apart from the two double hundreds in Ranji, Modi scored a 215 for Parsees in the 1944/45 season. The next he hit 203 against Australian Services XI, the first double hundred for India in representative matches. Modi considered the finest of all his innings. Modi represented Bombay in the Ranji Trophy, where he enjoyed success, scoring 2196 runs at an average of 81.69.
season, becoming the first ever player to do so, until W.V. Raman passed that mark, scoring 1018 runs, 44 years later. Modi had already earned a reputation for being a heavy run-maker, as his exploits with the bat made up for impressive watching: centuries in seven consecutive Ranji matches for Bombay in the seasons of 1943-44 and 1944-45, three double-centuries in 1944-45(the same season when he amassed over a thousand runs runs), and a fourth the following year against the Australian Services team.
Thus, it was not a real surprise when Modi was selected in the team. When the match started, India found themselves in dire straits as their scorecard read 44-3, when Modi walked in. He immediately flashed at leg spinner Doug Wright
, but was dropped by Wally Hammond
. Thereafter, he played well to score 57*. As recounted by Vijay Hazare in the book 'A long Innings', "Modi nonchalantly gave a thumbs up to the Indian dressing room(after the drop), and proceeded to play some delightful strokes".
Modi enjoyed moderate success in the three-match series, scoring 137 runs from 5 innings at an average of 34.25, but was the fifth-highest run-scorer in the series, behind Vijay Merchant
, Joe Hardstaff Jr
, Denis Compton
, and Cyril Washbrook
. However, he performed better overall, scoring 1196 runs in the tour at an average of 37.37.
In the West Indies tour of india in 1948-49, Modi performed excellently, scoring 560 in five Tests with a hundred and five fifties. The 112 he scored against the West Indies
in the Brabourne Stadium
was his only test century, and it came in his fifth test, and in the second match of the series. Modi was consistent throughout the whole series, scoring excess of 90 thrice in a match.
When made their tour of India in 1948/49, Modi scored . The 112 in Bombay saw him forge an important partnership with Vijay Hazare
, the most important of them being 139, when India chased 361 in the final Test http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/f/17/f17974.html. He was involved in four century stands with Hazare in the whole series.
Thereafter his career was affected by his professional commitments. He played for Bombay till 1957/58 and captained the side against Maharashtra in one match in 1952/53. In ten unofficial Tests, he made 565 runs at an average of 35.31.
's words as being "...tall, painfully thin, grey of face and huddled into an overcoat, tending to tremble...", while noting the difference between the Modi on the field and off it. Six feet tall and very thin, he was quick on his feet and his cover drive was a stroke of exquisite timing and flawless beauty . He was a better player of spin then pace.
in inter-state matches. He took part in intercollegiate tennis and badminton tournaments. Modi wrote several books starting with Cricket Forever in 1964.
He served as the ADC
to the Bombay Governor Raja Maharaja Singh and later became a highly placed executive in the Associated Cement Company
. He died of a cardiac arrest while in the Cricket Club of India
pavilion at the Brabourne Stadium
.
Modi was clearly weak against stump-to-stump bowling, getting bowled
seven times, while he also was caught
out seven times. These two dismissals account for a high 87.5 percent of his total sixteen dismissals in tests.
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
- died May 17, 1996, Bombay) was an Indian
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....
batsman who played for the Indian National Cricket Team
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....
from 1946 to 1952.
Modi's test career started at Lord's in India's first test in England in their tour of England in 1946. He made his debut in a three-day match(June 22-25 1946), which is best recognized for Sir Alec Bedser's eleven-wicket haul on debut. Incidentally, this test also marked the test debuts of 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...
and Vinoo Mankad, who would go one to be recognized players for India.
Rusi Modi was evidently an accumulator of runs, this fact being evident from his test average of 46 and a first-class average of 53, which also weighed a lot on paper when seen alongside his 20 centuries in the latter respect. He also bowled some medium-pace and even grabbed a five-wicket haul, his only one in all formats of cricket he played in.
First-Class Career
Modi started his first class career with a century on debut at the age of 17 in a Bombay Pentangular match. In Ranji TrophyRanji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between different city and state sides, equivalent to the County Championship in England and the Sheffield Shield in Australia...
between 1943/44 and 1944/45, he scored five hundreds in successive innings for Bombay, seven in successive matches. The sequence read 168 v Maharashtra, 128 v Western India both in 1943/44, 160 v Sind, 210 v Western India, 245* & 31 v Baroda, 113 v Northern India and 98 & 151 v Holkar all in 1944/45. His aggregate of 1008 in only five Ranji matches in 1944/45 was a record which stood for over forty years. He made 1375 runs in all first class matches. Modi was only 20 at the time.
Apart from the two double hundreds in Ranji, Modi scored a 215 for Parsees in the 1944/45 season. The next he hit 203 against Australian Services XI, the first double hundred for India in representative matches. Modi considered the finest of all his innings. Modi represented Bombay in the Ranji Trophy, where he enjoyed success, scoring 2196 runs at an average of 81.69.
Test Career
In the wet summer 1946, when India toured England, Modi was somewhat a veteran in the domestic circuit, having made his debut five years earlier and was selected in the Indian team on the back of some impressive performances like scoring 1008 runs at an excellent average of 201 in the 1944-45 Ranji TrophyRanji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between different city and state sides, equivalent to the County Championship in England and the Sheffield Shield in Australia...
season, becoming the first ever player to do so, until W.V. Raman passed that mark, scoring 1018 runs, 44 years later. Modi had already earned a reputation for being a heavy run-maker, as his exploits with the bat made up for impressive watching: centuries in seven consecutive Ranji matches for Bombay in the seasons of 1943-44 and 1944-45, three double-centuries in 1944-45(the same season when he amassed over a thousand runs runs), and a fourth the following year against the Australian Services team.
Thus, it was not a real surprise when Modi was selected in the team. When the match started, India found themselves in dire straits as their scorecard read 44-3, when Modi walked in. He immediately flashed at leg spinner Doug Wright
Doug Wright
Doug Wright is an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2004 for his play, I Am My Own Wife.-Early years:Wright was born in Dallas, Texas...
, but was dropped by Wally Hammond
Wally Hammond
Walter Reginald "Wally" Hammond was an English Test cricketer who played for Gloucestershire in a career that lasted from 1920 to 1951. Beginning his career as a professional, he later became an amateur and was appointed captain of England...
. Thereafter, he played well to score 57*. As recounted by Vijay Hazare in the book 'A long Innings', "Modi nonchalantly gave a thumbs up to the Indian dressing room(after the drop), and proceeded to play some delightful strokes".
Modi enjoyed moderate success in the three-match series, scoring 137 runs from 5 innings at an average of 34.25, but was the fifth-highest run-scorer in the series, behind Vijay Merchant
Vijay Merchant
Vijaysingh Madhavji Merchant , real name Vijay Madhavji Thakersey was an Indian cricketer. A right-hand batter and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, Merchant played first class cricket for Mumbai cricket team as well as 10 Test matches for India between 1929 and 1951...
, Joe Hardstaff Jr
Joe Hardstaff junior
Joseph Hardstaff junior was an English cricketer, who played in twenty three Tests for England from 1935 to 1948...
, Denis Compton
Denis Compton
Denis Charles Scott Compton CBE was an English cricketer who played in 78 Test matches, and a footballer...
, and Cyril Washbrook
Cyril Washbrook
Cyril Washbrook was an English cricketer, who played for Lancashire and England. He had a long career, split by World War II, and ending when he was aged 44. Washbrook, who is most famous for opening the batting for England with Len Hutton, which he did fifty one times, played a total of 592...
. However, he performed better overall, scoring 1196 runs in the tour at an average of 37.37.
In the West Indies tour of india in 1948-49, Modi performed excellently, scoring 560 in five Tests with a hundred and five fifties. The 112 he scored against the West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
in the Brabourne Stadium
Brabourne Stadium
The Brabourne Stadium is a cricket ground in the Indian city of Mumbai. It is located on 90,000 square yards of reclaimed land along Marine Drive near Churchgate railway station in South Mumbai. The stadium is owned by the Cricket Club of India . Brabourne Stadium is India's first permanent...
was his only test century, and it came in his fifth test, and in the second match of the series. Modi was consistent throughout the whole series, scoring excess of 90 thrice in a match.
When made their tour of India in 1948/49, Modi scored . The 112 in Bombay saw him forge an important partnership 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...
, the most important of them being 139, when India chased 361 in the final Test http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/f/17/f17974.html. He was involved in four century stands with Hazare in the whole series.
Thereafter his career was affected by his professional commitments. He played for Bombay till 1957/58 and captained the side against Maharashtra in one match in 1952/53. In ten unofficial Tests, he made 565 runs at an average of 35.31.
Personality
Described in John ArlottJohn Arlott
Leslie Thomas John Arlott OBE was an English journalist, author and cricket commentator for the BBC's Test Match Special. He was also a poet, wine connoisseur and former police officer in Hampshire...
's words as being "...tall, painfully thin, grey of face and huddled into an overcoat, tending to tremble...", while noting the difference between the Modi on the field and off it. Six feet tall and very thin, he was quick on his feet and his cover drive was a stroke of exquisite timing and flawless beauty . He was a better player of spin then pace.
Trivia
Modi was good at table tennis and represented MaharashtraMaharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
in inter-state matches. He took part in intercollegiate tennis and badminton tournaments. Modi wrote several books starting with Cricket Forever in 1964.
He served as the ADC
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to the Bombay Governor Raja Maharaja Singh and later became a highly placed executive in the Associated Cement Company
Associated Cement Companies
ACC Limited is the largest producer of cement in India based in Mumbai. It's registered office is called Cement House. It is located on Maharishi Karve Road, Mumbai. The stock price of company contributes in calculating BSE Sensex.The management control of company was taken over by Swiss cement...
. He died of a cardiac arrest while in the Cricket Club of India
Cricket Club of India
Cricket Club of India is located on Dinsha Wacha Road, near Churchgate in Mumbai, India. It is one of the oldest and most well known cricket clubs in India...
pavilion at the Brabourne Stadium
Brabourne Stadium
The Brabourne Stadium is a cricket ground in the Indian city of Mumbai. It is located on 90,000 square yards of reclaimed land along Marine Drive near Churchgate railway station in South Mumbai. The stadium is owned by the Cricket Club of India . Brabourne Stadium is India's first permanent...
.
Modi was clearly weak against stump-to-stump bowling, getting bowled
Bowled
Bowled is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is covered by Law 30 of the Laws of cricket.A batsman is out bowled if his wicket is put down by a ball delivered by the bowler...
seven times, while he also was caught
Caught
Caught is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. Being caught out is the most common method of dismissal at higher levels of competition...
out seven times. These two dismissals account for a high 87.5 percent of his total sixteen dismissals in tests.