Tarrant, Sellers, Surti, Harinath: Unsung pioneers who connected Australia and India through cricket

Millions of fans around the globe tune in to watch their favourite star cricket players take the field in stadiums thousands of kilometres away. But behind the razzmatazz are people who might not be household names, but who have spent their lives championing the game. In this episode of Colours of Cricket, hear about the enduring legacies of some of these pioneers.

Rusi Surti was the first Indian Test player to play in the Sheffield Shield Credit: Getty

For many cricket fanatics, especially those from the subcontinent, the name Frank Tarrant may not ring any bells.

Melbourne-born Tarrant was perhaps the first foreign coach of the Indian cricket team and the driving force behind the long-running connection between Australian and Indian cricket.

Following stints in both Australia and England, when Tarrant moved to India during the first World War, his contribution to the game ballooned.

He was a coach to the then Maharaja of Patiala and was instrumental in the first ever Australian tour of India and Ceylon. Tarrant was the Mr Cricket of his day in India.

Another forgotten hero is former Test cricketer Reginald Hugh Durning Sellers OAM, better known as Rex Sellers. He was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) and raised in Gujarat.

Cricket historian and writer Patrick Skene suggests that Sellers was perhaps the first player of Indian ancestry to play for Australia.

The Anglo-Indian was highly respected in South Australian Cricket as a batsman and for his long career as an administrator with the South Australian Cricket Association. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2013 for his service to cricket.

In this episode of Colours of Cricket, we also remember former Indian Test cricketer Rusi Framroze Surti.

The all-rounder was known as “the poor man’s Gary Sobers” because of his ability to do anything on the cricket field. Surti’s performance when he came to tour Australia was so good that both Western Australia and Queensland wanted him on their side.

‘Little Master’ Sunil Gavaskar has fond memories of Mr Surti.

Sitting there and talking, talking cricket with him was always grateful

Sunil Gavaskar

When talking about contemporary pioneers of cricket, Dr Gorur Krishna ‘Harry’ Harinath OAM sits at the top of the list.

Dr Harinath was the first person from South Asia to hold important positions of power in cricket administration in Australia.

He was the head of Cricket NSW for a long time and the first non-Anglo person to join the Board of Cricket Australia.

Considering the reasons for his success, Dr Harinath says he was a part of a club in Sydney and lent his hand for every task.

Whether you clean the tearoom or make some sandwiches, or marking the pitches right, cleaning the pitch during the lunch break. It’s all part and parcel of the team. It’s a team effort.

Dr. Gorur Krishna Harinath

“It gave me a chance to learn the psyche of Australian cricket ... and that was the most important thing. I knew people, players from the grassroots.”

Hear more by clicking play above, or find Colours of Cricket in the SBS Radio app or in your favourite podcast app such as Spotify or Apple Podcasts to catch each episode in the eight-part series.

Hosts: Preeti Jabbal and Kulasegaram Sanchayan

Lead Producer: Deeju Sivadas

Producers: Sahil Makkar, Vatsal Patel, Abhas Parajuli

Sound Design: Max Gosford

Program Manager: Manpreet Kaur Singh

Advisor: Patrick Skene

Colours of Cricket is a collaborative project from SBS Radio's South Asian language programs; SBS Bangla, SBS Gujarati, SBS Hindi, SBS Malayalam, SBS Nepali, SBS Punjabi, SBS Sinhala, SBS Tamil, and SBS Urdu.