The Parsis were probably the earliest local community to take up cricket in India. Parsi schoolboys were being coached in 1839 and when they grew up they formed the Oriental Cricket Club in 1848. In 1876, the prominent Parsi player A B Patel formed the Parsi Cricket Club. In 1877, the Parsis played their first match against Bombay GymkhanaThe first Indian cricket team to play in England or anywhere abroad, for that matter, was made up entirely of Parsis. This was in 1886. The Parsis played 28 matches in England – winning 1, drawing 8 and losing 19. They were led by D. H. Patel who is said to have been a dependable batsman and was also a fast underhand bowler. The team, in fact, had only one over-arm bowler, M. Framjee.The Parsis toured England again in 1888. This team was captained by H. D. Kanga, a formidable batsman and a slow underhand bowler, included only two members of the earlier team.This time the Parsis fared much better, winning 8 of their 31 matches and drawing 12.By the 1890s, non-Parsis began to make their presence felt in the cricket fields of India, and the Parsis gradually lost their pre-eminence in the game. Great Parsi players of the 20th century include Polly Umrigar, Nari Contractor and one of the best wicket-keepers India has ever had, Farokh Engineer, who retired from test cricket in 1975.
