Shute Banerjee: 10 little-known facts about India’s ‘One-Test wonder’

Born on October 3, 1911, Sarodindu Nath Banerjee, or better known as Shute Banerjee, is one of the finest all-rounders of First-Class cricket.

Born on October 3, 1911, Sarodindu Nath Banerjee, or better known as Shute Banerjee, is one of the finest all-rounders of First-Class cricket. A quality medium pacer and an effective batsman lower down the order, Banerjee had everything in him to make it big. An unfortunate cricketer, he never got a chance to play Tests during his prime. On his birth anniversary, Chinmay Jawalekar looks at 10 little-known things about the player who found a place in history for a record last-wicket stand.

1.  Sarodindu, not ‘Sarobindu’: Banerjee’s first name has been rather surprisingly recorded as Sarobindu Nath Banerjee almost everywhere. Though his real name is Sarodindu Nath, the name Sarobindu has remained with the cricket historians and statisticians.

2.  Early days: Banerjee started his career with Aryans Club, before progressing to make his First-Class debut for Maharaja of Patiala’s XII against Nawab of Pataudi’s XII at Patiala. His performance in the match; 30 not out and 11 and 3 for 38, helped him find a place in the Hindus team.

3.  First unofficial ‘Test’: In 1935, playing for Bengal, Banerjee opened both batting and bowling against the touring Australians. He also picked up his first five wicket haul (5 for 53) in the match, and was selected to play an unofficial “Test” against them at Lahore. Though he bowled a mere four overs in the match, he scored 70 batting at three in the second innings.

4.  First India call-up: Banerjee was picked for the Indian team that was scheduled to tour England in 1936. The tour was a disaster for India, both on and off the field. Team’s best player Lala Amarnath was sent back mid-tour and the team was divided into two camps, one supporting the captain Vizzy and the other one CK Nayudu.

Banerjee fared well in the tour matches — finishing with 40 wickets at 29.42 — and was all set to make his Test debut in the last Test at The Oval. On the morning of the Test, Baqa Jilani famously insulted Nayudu at the breakfast table, and was “rewarded” with a Test cap by Vizzy. An unfortunate Banerjee was the 12th man.

5.  The vagabond: Banerjee played for a number of teams during his career, namely; India, Bengal, Hindus, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Nawanagar.

6.  Second tour to England and the record: In May 1946, playing against Surrey at The Oval, India were 205 for 9 in their third practice match of the tour. Chandu Sarwate, the number 10 batsman, was in the middle when Banerjee walked in. Together, in just above 3 hours, the duo added a record-breaking partnership of 249 runs for the 10th wicket. Their partnership is the second best 10th wicket partnership till date, considering all forms of cricket. Also it remains the only time in the history of cricket where both number 10 and number 11 scored a century.

Banerjee was eventually dismissed for 121 while Sarwate remained 124 not out. He later took 5 for 54 in the second innings, thus helping India win the match.

7.  Only Test: Banerjee finally made his debut for India against the West Indies at the age of 37. However, he was well past his prime by then. He scored 5 and 8 in the match and was cleaned up by the speedster Prior Jones in both the innings. His bowling figures in the match read 5 for 127. This remained his only Test for India.

8.  Final years and retirement: Banerjee kept leading Bihar in Ranji Trophy post his only Test. He was being persisted with till 1957-58 season, after which an out-of-practice Banerjee quit Bihar and made a surprise appearance for Madhya Pradesh at the age of 48 the next season. He played a single match against Vidarbha before hanging his boots.

9.  Stats: In the 138 First-Class games that he played in his career that spanned almost 30 years, he scored 3,715 runs at an average of 20.63 with 5 hundreds and 11 fifties. He also picked 385 wickets at 26.68 with 15 five-wicket hauls.

10.  Umpire: Banerjee also umpired in two Ranji Trophy matches, one of which came before his First-Class retirement.

(A self-confessed cricket freak, Chinmay Jawalekar is senior content writer with Criclife. When not writing or following cricket, he loves to read, eat and sleep. He can be followed at @CricfreakTweets)

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