17/05/2021
It is with great sadness that we learnt of the passing of former Finchley player Raj Jadeja who died in India on May 16, aged 66, due to Covid-19.
Raj’s daughter, Reema spontaneously came along to the ground the same afternoon to lay some roses on the square, to view the many pictures of teams her Dad played in, to sit and eat in front of the pavilion and to think and chat about her Dad with Club Chair, Julian Powe. She was with her close friends Ann and Nireet who spent many years growing up together at FCC.
Raj was Captain of India under 19’s and a truly magnificent cricketer as can be witnessed from the many tributes from Indian greats in the article below from The Times of India.
For Finchley, in 1st XI League and Cup matches he scored 2849 runs at an average of 30.0 and took 233 wickets at 17.5 each. Impressive figures but for someone as talented as he, the figures were perhaps modest. Therein lies the enigma that was Raj; blessed with sublime talent his performances for Finchley sometimes fell short of expectation as he coasted through games. Captain Richard Johns found a solution when he once had the temerity to drop him, and of course Raj roared back with 8-31 upon his return to the 1st X1 the following week. Former Club Captain, Grahame Potter recall Raj as an absolute gentleman. ‘Raj was bowling to me in the net and he could easily have knocked my head off but kindly pitched the ball up and kept doing so even though I was quite enjoying driving him quite firmly. What a gent’.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/news/former-saurashtra-and-mumbai-all-rounder-rajendrasinh-jadeja-dies-due-to-covid-19/articleshow/82676050.cms]https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/news/former-saurashtra-and-mumbai-all-rounder-rajendrasinh-jadeja-dies-due-to-covid-19/articleshow/82676050.cms
