Another test match for Nari

Nari Contractor last week walked out to bat as it were to face a challenging situation 60 years after playing his last Test match for IndiaAs reported first in this newspaper the titanium plate which was inserted by Dr Chandy at Christian Medical College in Tamil Nadursquos Vellore following Contractorrsquos injury in the West Indies way back in 1962 had to be removed from his head Contractor was first treated and consulted doctors in Barbados Trinidad and New York before the operation at VelloreRemoval of the plate was imperative since his body was no longer accepting itI asked Contractorrsquos former fast bowler son Hoshedar how his father reacted when he was told about the surgery ldquoHe was not worried The family was more worried than him He was pretty positivemdashif it has to be done it has to be donemdashand the doctors were convincing when they explained to us about as to why this has to be donerdquo said HoshedarThe operation went well and Contractor is back at his Colaba home but the pink factor in health is never the same shade after surgery The former India captain is tackling whatever is being thrown at him with his characteristic gritThe plate removal adds another chapter to the fascinating Nari Contractor story Yes the injury suffered through a Charlie Griffith delivery in the Indians versus Barbados game at Bridgetown forms a big part of it but there are other kudosworthy aspects in his playing and postplaying cricket journeyIrsquoll elaborate on one that occurred three years before Barbados 1962 Contractor was up against Fred Trueman Brian Statham and Alan Moss in the second Test at Lordrsquos The first at Trent Bridge like all Tests that English summer ended Englandrsquos wayThe fourth ball of Stathamrsquos first over flew from the famous Lordrsquos ridge and hit Contractor on the ribs Upon falling on the turf he told standin skipper and opening partner Pankaj Roy Tour captain DK Gaekwad was indisposed that he wished to return to the pavilion The breathless Contractor was coaxed by Gaekwad to play the new ball for a few overs so that the No3 batsman Polly Umrigar could have a less difficult time Contractor agreed only to watch Statham get rid of Roy and Umrigar Irsquoll let Contractor describe what happened later quoted from a conversation I had with him in 2014 ldquoTo play against Statham Trueman and Moss on that wicket with the ridge was a tall order I was completely exhausted and was not able to breathe I had fractured two or three ribs At tea our managermdash the Maharaja of Barodamdashasked me to remove my pads and forget it We had lost six wickets by then so I told the manager that after playing so far I would go out and have a go I got out on 81 to legbreak bowler Thomas GreenhoughldquoIn the second innings we lost four quick wickets and as Kripal Singh and Vijay Manjrekar were enjoying a decent partnership Pankaj came to me and said lsquoBrother please go and batrsquo I said lsquoWhat do you want me to do when I am in a plasterrsquo By the time l put my pads on Vijay and Kripal were out I went in at No8 and stayed not out on 11 I rate that 81 as a tough and memorable inningsrdquoWhen Contractor drove Moss for four to reach his half century he had been batting for 190 minutes A little later he according to Yorkshire legend Bill Bowes in the Cricketer magazine ldquoplayed the worst stroke of his innings a real cross bat sweep to leg to be bowled for 81rdquoNot only did Contractor get a standing ovation at the pavilion end of the ground for his knock all the MCC members also stood up in appreciation in the fabled Long Room And Australian cricket legend Keith Miller writing in one of the British newspapers said that Contractor deserved the Victoria Cross awarded for valourIf anyone deserved a hundred on June 18 it was Contractor for his 81 out of Indiarsquos total of 168 He could only play his next match on the tour one month laterIn 1962 Contractor resumed cricket activity within a few months of getting back home after surgery He started off batting with a solar hat at the Cricket Club of India One Charlie Griffith bowled him a bouncer that injured him but another CharliemdashStayers who was one of four West Indian fast bowlers roped in by the BCCI to play domestic cricket in Indiamdashbowled to him at practice for him to get a feel of the pace By the next year he was playing Ranji Trophy cricketSixty years hence at 88 Contractor has passed yet another test and yes he deserves a round of wholesome applausemiddayrsquos 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