Jaffer Jr gets out on 498 in under-14 Giles Shield match, rues missing 500

Most people looking at the number 498 on the scoreboard would assume it’s the team score. Make no mistake.

That’s the number of runs scored by Armaan Jaffer, 13, of Rizvi Springfield High School in Bandra against IES Raja Shivaji, Dadar, during an under-14 Giles Shield match at the Cross Maidan on Wednesday. It is the highest score by an Indian in a school match.

Armaan, nephew of Mumbai skipper and India Test player Wasim Jaffer, hit 77 boundaries during his 490-ball essay, which ensured his place in the record books.

“It feels nice to score 498, but 500 would have been better. However, I am happy to break the record. It was not easy, but I kept my nerves till the end,” Armaan told DNA.

Though the feat is laudable, an increasing number of cricketers in recent years have amassed an unimaginable amount of runs in a single innings in school cricket.

This is a departure from the late ’80s when Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli’s record unbeaten 664-run partnership in a Harris Shield semi-final was believed to be a rare accomplishment.

Sachin scored 326 not out for Shardashram against St Xavier’s High School, Fort, in that game, while Kambli scored an unbeaten 349.

Sachin followed that with another triple hundred in the finals.
In the last few years, however, 300s and 400s have been scored regularly in school cricket. B Manoj Kumar (320) and Mohd Shaibaz Tumbi (320) of St Peter’s High School in Hyderabad added 721 runs in 2006/07 to break the record set by Sachin and Kambli.

Only recently, Nagpur’s Ali Zoren Khan, 15, made an unbeaten 461 for NCA against Reshimbag Cricket Club in October. Armaan’s schoolmate Sarfaraz Khan scored 439 in a Harris Shield match in 2009.

Coaches attribute the high scores to better facilities and the hunger for runs among the kids.

“Playing a long innings is not a cakewalk. One can’t just go out there and score 400 and more. They are talented kids and that’s why they have scored,” said Raju Pathak, Rizvi Springfield coach.

“Today’s kids are getting good exposure. They have all the facilities. They are getting many tournaments to play. Then there is the media. They know that if you score big you will be in the limelight. Today’s kids are mature,” former India coach and Mumbai Cricket Association joint secretary Lalchand Rajput told DNA.

Rajput, who looks after junior cricket in Mumbai, also had a word of praise for the coaches. “One cannot take away credit from their coaches. There are different levels for coaching. The coaches teach kids to play longer innings and never be satisfied with the runs they score,” he said.

India’s junior selection committee chief Abey Kuruvilla feels the scores are a result of the youngsters enjoying their cricket. “The players have played well and are enjoying their batting, hence you see these scores,” Kuruvilla said.

HS Bhor, Mumbai School Sports Association cricket secretary, pointed out that kids nowadays get to spend more time at the crease because of a change in format.

“Earlier, the Harris and Giles Shield were one-day matches. Only the semi-finals were played over two days,” Bhor said.

“We changed the format in 2000/01. We have two groups — Elite and Plate Division. All matches, including the league stages and semi-finals, are a three-day affair while the final is a four-day match. Hence, one can take his time and score. However, one cannot take away the credit from the batsman.”