Dadabhoy Rustomji "Dady" Havewala (sometimes spelt Havewalla) (27 November 1908 – 21 July 1982) was an Indian cricketer who played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

from 1934 to 1941. Havewala became famous in India before he played first-class cricket. In the final of the Times of India Shield in

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

in December 1933, he scored 515 (with 32 sixes and 56 fours)''

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'' 1983, pp. 1245–46. as well as taking 11 wickets. It was the highest score in Indian cricket until 2013, when

Prithvi Shaw Prithvi Pankaj Shaw (; born 9 November 1999) is an Indian cricketer who has played for the Indian cricket team in all formats. In domestic cricket, he plays for Mumbai and has previously represented Delhi Capitals and Northamptonshire. Under hi ...

made 546. When Havewala was around 120, a ball bowled by the opposing captain G. N. Lalljee hit the stumps and deflected without dislodging the bails. After reaching 200 he wanted to retire but was asked by his captain to slog and get out. Havewala started to hit out and some of his sixes landed among railway wagons in the Marine Drive yards. He reached his 300 after around a further twenty minutes, and ended the day at 453

not out In cricket, a batsman is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batsman is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at ...

. A large crowd attended the match on the next day, when Havewala was caught at deep mid off from a mishit. Havewala made his first first-class century in 1935–36, playing for

against

Western India Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of western states of India, Republic of India. The Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative divisions of India, Adminis ...

in the

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...

. Earlier in the season he had scored 71 against the touring Australian side, prompting

Charlie Macartney Charles George Macartney (27 June 1886 – 9 September 1958) was an Australian cricketer who played in 35 Test matches between 1907 and 1926. He was known as "The Governor-General" in reference to his authoritative batting style and his flam ...

to write, "I have seldom seen finer hitting than that by Havewalla." Havewala made another century in 1937-38 for Maharaja of Patiala's XI against the strong touring English team Lord Tennyson's XI, and was selected to play for

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in the last two matches of the series India played against Lord Tennyson's XI. He made 44 in the first match, India's second-top score in an innings victory. In later seasons Havewala's batting form declined and he played as a pace bowler.

References

External links

Dadabhoy Havewala
at CricketArchive *
"Dadabhoy Havewala: First Indian to score 500 in a senior cricket match"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Havewala, Dadabhoy 1908 births 1982 deaths Indian cricketers 20th-century Indian sportsmen Mumbai cricketers Parsis cricketers People from Valsad district