All grace, class and soft hands

The way former Mumbai stumper Sharad Hazare bid goodbye to his family and friends on Monday was akin to his cricket They were well aware of his health issues but he surprised them by departing on his birthday Likewise teammates knew how brilliant he could be behind the stumps Yet the alacrity he displayed to deny stepping out opposition batsmen a chance to make their ground would be unbelievableIt is not known how many firstclass players died on their birthday but renowned facts and figures man Steven Lynch tells me that 1943born West Indian allrounder Keith Boyce passed away similarly on October 11 1996Also Read Enact Lokayukta law or step down from power Hazare tells Maharashtra governmentIn his Ranji Trophy cricket years 196869 to 197677 Hazare kept wickets beside a cordon of India greats while on the maidans and gymkhana grounds he was one wicketkeeper promising stumpers wanted to learn fromHazare came into the Mumbai team replacing Vijay Karkhanis for the 196869 Ranji Trophy game against Saurashtra at Rajkot to kick off a distinguished career which would encompass six national championship titlesmdash196869 196970 197071 197172 197273 and 197576 Hazare was a part of Irani Cupwinning Mumbai teams in 196970 197071 and 197273ldquoWe Mumbai were invincible We never thought we could be beatenrdquo Hazare told me in 2008 But there were jittery times Like at Baroda in 197172 when Mumbai were reduced to 81 for eight by the hosts ldquoI remember the lambasting we got from our manager Vijay Manjrekar at lunch No one touched any food that afternoonrdquo he said Typical of the man Hazare didnrsquot speak about the fact that he topscored for Mumbai in that first innings with 33 and the vital partnerships he had with Abdul Ismail and Padmakar Shivalkar to help Mumbai post 129 During their 33run stand for the ninth wicket Hazare asked Ismail to hang around while hersquod tackle Mumbai wreckers Narayan Satham and Anthony FernandesMumbai went on to win by 284 runs to undo the fine work done by Baroda pacers Satham 674 and Fernandes 454 It was an incredible match Twenty wickets fell for 171 runs on the first day with Mumbai bowling out their opponents for 42Two seasons before that Hazare came close to playing a Test He was included in the 14 for the fifth and final Test against Bill Lawryrsquos Australians at Chennai ldquoFarokh Engineer was down with fever and I was sure to play Somehow he played the Test and I was never called again despite doing well in domestic cricketrdquo he saidHazare was also in contention for a place in the Indian teams that toured West Indies and England But the selectors opted for P Krishnamurthy and Rusi Jeejeebhoy in the Caribbean while Farokh Engineer and Syed Kirmani were part of the England tourAlso Read Domestic cricket giants bid adieuHazare was naturally disappointed but Sudhir Naik who led Mumbai to Ranji Trophy glory in 1971 noticed how Hazare didnrsquot allow that blow to affect his glove work Naik didnrsquot have to worry about his rsquokeeper giving away extra runs to the opposition and Hazare kept brilliantly on a Day Five Brabourne Stadium pitch that turned in the Mumbai v Maharashtra finalTest player Kiran More who was Tata Sports Clubrsquos wicketkeeper after Hazare told me on Tuesday that it was fascinating to watch Hazare behind the stumpsmdashall grace class and soft hands ldquoI learnt a lot by just watching lsquoSKrsquo although we had a few sessions together as wellrdquo said MoreLike several Mumbai firstclass cricketers Hazare was a school cricket stalwart He represented Maratha High School where he captained players like Eknath Solkar and Ramnath Parkar He was coached by Vinoo Mankad at the LR Tairsee nets and found a sort of base at the PJ Hindu Gymkhana He was proud to play for them throughout his career save two years when Cricket Club of India invited him to be part of their teamHazare was always proud of what he achieved His 81 catches and 29 stumpings in 44 firstclass games is a remarkable record That he couldnrsquot set foot on a Test match field caused him to shed tears while watching cricket on television at times He didnrsquot sound boastful when he uttered ldquoI can keep wickets in my sleeprdquo during my 2008 interview with him It came from a humble man who cherished some memories too Among the tangibles is a card printed by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association which had his name among the 14man Test squad for the 196970 Chennai TestAlso Read Hope Windies can be that force againAnd while his son Siddharth will ensure that piece of memorabilia is safe what will also stay is the memory of Sharad Kaluram Hazare a man whose tiny frame gave it all be it in front or behind the wicketsmiddayrsquos group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stanceHe tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper