‘He wanted to keep cricket alive’: Dedicated cricketer and great-grandfather Percy Bulsara dies at 84

Much-loved cricketer and devoted Ely family man Percy Bulsara has passed away at the age of 84.

Percy, who is originally from Bombay, played his first game of cricket aged six and his last in 2018 at 83.

Ever the sportsman, he was playing bowls just two nights before he was taken ill, sadly two weeks before he died.

The great-grandfather lived in Ely with his wife Yvonne and passed away on February 16 after a short illness.

As a young man he represented his school and college in Bombay in swimming and cricket and won numerous trophies over the years. He also played table tennis.

Yvonne said: “Cricket was his passion. He came to UK in the mid 50s playing in Southampton and Ealing in London. When he moved to Hertfordshire he joined a company called Lucas Aerospace, who he played cricket for.

“He also played snooker and started to play for the Hertfordshire league and they called him ‘the legend’. He was well respected and started coaching to give something back.

“He coached youngsters both in Hemel Hempstead and Littleport to keep cricket going.”

Percy last played cricket for Welney Cricket Club one year ago, but before that he was a recognisable figure in clubs across the region.

At Leverstock Green Club, in Hertfordshire, he became club captain and lifetime vice president.

Yvonne said: “For his last game Welney won, he was a bowler in cricket and always impressed when they got him on towards the end.

“When it was the centenary of Leverstock Green Club a couple of years ago they held a special match of young players verse the older ones.

“It started to rain and the young ones thought the match would be called off but Percy said ‘no way’ and they played on and he had a hat-trick.”

In 1987 the family moved to Canada, where Percy was a quality director of a packaging company, and he even found a cricket team to play for there.

“He wanted to keep cricket alive and was well respected by everyone,” Yvonne said.

“When we came back to the UK and moved to Ely the first thing he did was call the Ely Standard and asked about local cricket teams.

“Within three days of moving to Ely he started to play for Littleport Leisure Centre as well as carpet bowls where he won the Norfolk Triples Championships.

On social media, Welney Cricket Club wrote that Percy’s death was with deep sadness and he “truly was a great human being”.

It read: “It is with deep sadness that the club has to announce some terrible news we received over the weekend, former player and club legend Percy Bulsara sadly passing away.”