Deemed "Lancashire legends,” erstwhile wicketkeeper of the India cricket team Farokh Engineer and former West Indies captain Sir Clive Lloyd were honored with stands named after them at the Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester on the opening day of the fourth Test between India and England on July 23, 2025.
"Indeed a huge honor as no other Indian cricketer has been so honored… at one of the most iconic grounds of the world,” 87-year-old Engineer conveyed his sentiments to Parsiana. He considered the honor "right up there with my Padma Shri (won in 1973) and the Lifetime Achievement Award I received from the Board of Control for Cricket in India last year. My lifelong inspirations, my mum Minnie, my dad Manecksha and my brother Darius would have been extremely proud. Huge gratitude to my Dadar Hormuzd as always.” While both his parents played tennis, Farokh’s father who was a doctor by profession additionally played cricket at the club level as did Farokh’s brother.
Top: Farokh Engineer (far l) and Sir Clive Lloyd at the Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester
where a stand (above) was named after them
Informally referred to as the B Stand earlier, the newly named stands at the Old Trafford Stadium are next to the media center. The upper tier is dedicated to Lloyd and the lower one to Engineer. Lloyd and Engineer became folk heroes in Lancashire in the 1970s when the Red Rose county became known as the "kings of one-day cricket.” When Lloyd and Engineer made their debuts with the Lancashire Cricket Club, it had not won a major honor since 1950. Within a few years of their joining, the Club lifted the Gillette Cup four times and the John Player League twice. As Lancashire’s wicketkeeper, Engineer played 175 matches for the county from 1968 to 1976, scoring 5,942 runs, taking 429 catches and recording 35 stumpings.
Engineer and Lloyd were among the first group of former players to be inducted into the Club’s Hall of Fame in 2020. Andy Anson, Lancashire Cricket chair, said: "We are constantly looking for ways to better honor and celebrate our past, and we felt it was more than fitting for both Sir Clive and Farokh to have a stand bearing their names. Both players were my cricketing heroes when I was growing up watching the Club, I vividly remember that they both played during my first visit to Old Trafford in 1971. I have incredibly fond memories.”
Engineer played in 46 Test matches for India from 1961 to 1975. He also played in five One Day International games in 1974-75. According to Wikipedia, he scored 2,611 runs in Tests, including two centuries with a highest score of 121. He took 66 catches and completed 16 stumpings. He was the first-choice as wicketkeeper for the Rest of the World team which toured England in 1970 and Australia in 1971-72.
In his expert comments at the India vs England Fourth Test at Old Trafford, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar mentioned that had Engineer been playing for the Indian Premier League he too would have been valued at a phenomenal amount like current wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant who was bought for Rs 27 crore by Lucknow Super Giants last November, as reported on ndtv.com.