Brave Hearts

Author(s): Kumarpal Desai
Publisher: Eye Care Foundation

Page 35

The Brave Hearts
always diverted to the cricket field. Once his school the 'Lockers Park' played a cricket match against another school named Emsworth House. Little Pataudi played the game with full vigour and it is said that out of the 108 runs that his school team could muster, as many as 100 runs were scored by Pataudi alone and all the other ten batsmen together could score between themselves only 8 runs. When the other team was batting, Pataudi contributed
Iftikhar Ali to the fall of every batsman of the rival team one way or the other either by his bowling or by holding catches or by running them out.
Thereafter Pataudi left Lockers Park and joined the well known school named Winchester College. In the summer of 1958, Pataudi got a chance to play against a team from Sussex County. This team had very eminent cricketers on its roll such as Robin Marker who was the captain, intelligent bowler lan Thomson, and world renowned batsman and spinner Dennis Compton. In the company of such stalwarts, seventeen year old Pataudi showed his prowess in the match and he not only scored a century but snatched a victory for his team.
This young lad from the Winchester College was often seen on the football ground as well as taking part in a prominent tennis competition. However his main interest always remained with the game of cricket just like his illustrious father. In 1959 he donned the mantle of captainship of the school team. During that year he created a record by