Vijay Merchant

Vijaysingh Madhavji Merchant , real name Vijay Madhavji Thakersey (October 12, 1911 - October 27, 1987) was an Indian cricketer. A right-hand batter and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler, Merchant played first class cricket for Mumbai cricket team as well as 10 Test matches for India between 1929 and 1951. Behind his limited Test appearances, he dominated Indian domestic cricket - his batting average of 71.64 is the second highest first class average in history, behind only that of Don Bradman. He is regarded as the founder of the Bombay School of Batsmanship, that placed more importance on right technique, steely temperament, and conservative approach rather than free flow of the bat, a tradition broken and remoulded only after the arrival of Sachin Tendulkar.

His international career included two tours of England upon which he scored over 4,000 runs. English cricketer CB Fry exclaimed "Let us paint him white and take him with us to Australia as an opener." His brother, Uday, also played first-class cricket.

Besides cricket, he was also associated with the Hindoostan Spinning & Weaving Mills (Thakersey Group)

Domestic Cricket

Merchant was born in Mumbai, then Bombay, into a wealthy family in 1911. He was an "outstanding college cricketer" who captained Sydenham College, Bombay while studying there; his success for Sydenham...
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