Diana Edulji Explained

Diana Eduji
Female:true
Fullname:Diana Fram Edulji
Birth Date:26 January 1956
Birth Place:Bombay, Bombay State, India
Batting:Right-handed
Bowling:Slow left arm orthodox
Role:All-rounder
International:true
Country:India
Testdebutdate:31 October
Testdebutyear:1976
Testdebutagainst:West Indies
Testcap:3
Lasttestdate:19 February
Lasttestyear:1991
Lasttestagainst:Australia
Odidebutdate:1 January
Odidebutyear:1978
Odidebutagainst:England
Odicap:6
Lastodidate:29 July
Lastodiyear:1993
Lastodiagainst:Denmark
Columns:2
Column1:WTest
Column2:WODI
Matches1:20
Matches2:34
Runs1:404
Runs2:211
Bat Avg1:16.16
Bat Avg2:8.79
100S/50S1:0/1
100S/50S2:0/0
Top Score1:57
Top Score2:25
Deliveries1:5098
Deliveries2:1961
Wickets1:63
Wickets2:46
Bowl Avg1:25.77
Bowl Avg2:16.84
Fivefor1:1
Fivefor2:0
Tenfor1:0
Tenfor2:n/a
Best Bowling1:6/64
Best Bowling2:4/12
Catches/Stumpings1:8/–
Catches/Stumpings2:9/–
Source:ESPNcricinfo
Date:25 April
Year:2020

Diana Fram Edulji (born 26 January 1956) is a former Indian Test cricketer.[1] Born in Mumbai to a Parsi family,[2] she was drawn to sports at an early age. She grew up playing cricket with a tennis ball in the railway colony where she lived. She then went on to play basketball and table tennis at the junior national level, before switching to cricket. At a cricket camp hosted by former Test cricketer Lala Amarnath, she honed her skills. Women's cricket was becoming more popular in India at the time . Diana went on to play for the Railways and then the Indian national cricket team where she was a successful slow left-arm orthodox bowler. She played her first series in 1975. In 1978 she was made the captain of the team. She remains the third highest wicket-taker in Tests.[3]

In 1986 Edulji was refused entry to the Lord's Pavilion while captaining India on their tour of England. She quipped that the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) should change its name to MCP ("male chauvinist pigs").[4]

Unofficially, Edulji became the first bowler to take 100 Women's 'Test wickets', but some of these Tests were later deemed unofficial. As per the official record, she took 63 Women's Test wickets, which is the highest by an Indian player, and the third highest of all time, after Mary Duggan and Betty Wilson.[5] She holds the record for delivering the most balls by any woman cricketer in Women's Test history (5098+).[6] She finished with 120 international wickets, which was the highest by a women's cricketer at the time of her retirement.

Diana received India's then greatest sports honour, the Arjuna Award in 1983. The Government of India awarded her the civilian honour of Padma Shri in 2002.[7] In the same year, she was felicitated by Castrol for her contribution to Indian women's cricket. She was the first Indian women's cricketer to be awarded a benefit match. She was appointed in BCCI administration panel by the Supreme Court of India on 30 January 2017.[8] She became the first woman to be appointed to the BCCI selection panel. In 2023, she was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.[9]

References

Further reading

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: 'BCCI a male chauvinist organisation' Edulji. 28 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170828194250/http://www.espncricinfo.com/women/content/story/1117594.html. 28 August 2017. live.
  2. News: 2021-05-09 . In pictures. Parsi cricketers who have played for India . en-IN . The Hindu . 2023-04-25 . 0971-751X . 25 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230425191619/https://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/in-pictures-parsi-cricketers-who-have-played-for-india/article34519324.ece . live .
  3. News: Records. Women's Test matches. Bowling records. Most wickets in career . ESPNcricinfo. 2018-11-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20181129184618/http://stats.espncricinfo.com/wi/content/records/283977.html. 29 November 2018. live.
  4. Book: Hopps. David. Great Cricket Quotes. 29 April 2006. Robson Books. 978-1861059673. 143.
  5. Web site: Records. Women's Test matches. Bowling records. Most wickets in career .com . 2022-11-24 . ESPNcricinfo . 17 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200817095206/https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/283977.html . live .
  6. News: Records. Women's Test matches. Bowling records. Most balls bowled in career . ESPNcricinfo. 2017-05-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20190323190856/http://stats.espncricinfo.com/one-day-cup-2013-14/content/records/283767.html. 23 March 2019. live.
  7. Web site: Padma Awards . Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India . 2015 . 21 July 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151015193758/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf . 15 October 2015 .
  8. Web site: Diana Edulji, the Cricketer Trusted to Run BCCI. 30 January 2017. 31 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170611075226/https://www.thequint.com/sports/2017/01/30/diana-edulji-the-cricketer-trusted-to-run-bcci-board-of-control-for-cricket-in-india-supreme-court-vinod-rai-guha. 11 June 2017. live.
  9. Web site: Virender Sehwag, Diana Edulji, and Aravinda de Silva join ICC Hall of Fame. 13 November 2023. Livemint. 13 November 2023. 13 November 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231113084305/https://www.livemint.com/sports/cricket-news/icc-hall-of-fame-virender-sehwag-diana-edulji-and-sri-lankan-de-silva-become-latest-inductees-11699860288506.html. live.