Mehallasha Edulji Pavri (10 October 1866 – 19 April 1946 in

Navsari, Gujarat Navsari is the ninth biggest city in the state of Gujarat in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Navsari District. Navsari is situated between Surat & Mumbai. Navsari is a twin city of Surat. It is located 37 km south of Sura ...

, India) was an Indian

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er born to a Parsi family, who played 26 first-class matches between 1892 and 1913. He was India's earliest genuine fast bowlers in its pre-Test era. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast bowler. Most of his first-class cricket was for the

Parsees Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim co ...

, but he also represented an All-India XI and

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several times.

Career

Pavri made his debut on the Parsee tour to England in 1888, gaining recognition by taking 170 wickets at an average of 11.66. The touring team had played 31 matches of which they won 8 and drew 12. Performances in other notable matches include the Parsees vs Lord Hawke's XI in 1890 which resulted in a narrow Parsi victory. The match was considered as the Cricket Championship of India at that time, and Pavri took 2 wickets for 3 runs in 3 overs and 7/34 in 13.2 overs. The Parsis won match by 4 wickets. In another match against Lord Hawke's XI and in a 109-run Parsi win, he took figures of 2/18 and 6/36. He also represented an All-India XI against Lord Hawke's XI in 1892. Pavri was a consistent and prolific wicket-taking attacking bowler, and a decent bat who played in the middle order and had a top first-class score of 69. He was successful in the early years of the Bombay Pentangular Tournament. Outside cricket, Pavri was a doctor who had studied medicine in

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. After retirement from cricket, he not only worked as a doctor but also wrote a book on Indian cricket, ''Parsi Cricket'' (1901) which analysed almost every important aspect of Indian cricket at that time with many suggested improvements.

In popular culture

The 2022 web series ''

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'' starred Basant Mody as M. E. Pavri in a brief appearance.

References

External links

Cricinfo Profile - M.E. PavriM.E PAVRI – THE FIRST GREAT INDIAN CRICKETER1892-93: Parsees beat Europeans to win first ever Presidency Cup
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pavri, M.E. 1866 births 1946 deaths Parsees cricketers Indian cricketers Middlesex cricketers