Roger Michael Humphrey Binny (born 19 July 1955, Bangalore

Bangalore

Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

, Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

) is an India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n former cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 all-rounder

All-rounder

An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...

 who is best known for his impressive bowling

Bowling (cricket)

In the sport of cricket, bowling is the action of propelling the ball toward the wicket defended by a batsman. A player skilled at bowling is called a bowler; a bowler who is also a competent batsman is known as an all-rounder...

 performance in the 1983 Cricket World Cup

1983 Cricket World Cup

The 1983 ICC Cricket World Cup was the third edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament. It was held from 9 June to 25 June 1983 in England and was won by India. Eight countries participated in the event. The preliminary matches were played in two groups of four teams each, and each...

 where he was the highest wicket-taker (18 wickets), and in the 1985 World Series Cricket Championship in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 where he repeated this feat (17 wickets).

Binny started his international career on his home ground, the KSCA Stadium

M. Chinnaswamy Stadium

The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium , located in Bangalore, Karnataka, is one of the cricket stadiums of India. Flanked by the picturesque Cubbon Park, Queen's Road, Cubbon and uptown MG Road, this four decade old stadium is situated in the heart of the city of Bangalore. Formerly known as the Karnataka...

 in Bangalore in the first Test

Test cricket

Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...

 of the 1979 home series against Pakistan

Pakistani cricket team

The Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....

. Against bowlers of the calibre of Imran Khan

Imran Khan

Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...

 and Sarfraz Nawaz

Sarfraz Nawaz

Sarfraz Nawaz Malik is a former Pakistani Test cricketer and politician who discovered reverse swing and was instrumental in Pakistan's first Test series victories over India and England. Between 1969 and 1984 he played 55 Tests and 45 One Day Internationals and was Imran Khan's regular new ball...

, he performed creditably in his debut match scoring 46 runs. Viewers still remember the six he scored off an Imran Khan bouncer in the 5th Test of that series. He was a useful swing bowler

Swing bowling

Swing bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as swing bowlers. Swing bowling is generally classed as a subtype of fast bowling.-Physics of swing bowling:...

 and one of the better fielders in the Indian team of that time.

Somehow his Test career floundered, but he came into his own in the next World Cup

Cricket World Cup

The ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...

. The wickets suited his medium-pace, and in tandem with Madan Lal

Madan Lal

Madan Lal Udhouram Sharma is a former Indian cricketer and Indian national cricket coach. He currently coaches Delhi Giants in the Indian Cricket League...

, and led by the inspirational Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj , better known as Kapil Dev, is a former Indian cricketer. He captained the Indian cricket team which won the 1983 Cricket World Cup...

, he helped India win their first World Cup title.

He was the first Anglo-Indian

Anglo-Indian

Anglo-Indians are people who have mixed Indian and British ancestry, or people of British descent born or living in India, now mainly historical in the latter sense. British residents in India used the term "Eurasians" for people of mixed European and Indian descent...

 to play cricket for India http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/current/story/149642.html. His son Stuart

Stuart Binny

Stuart Binny is an Indian First Class cricketer. He is son of former Indian Test cricketer Roger Binny...

 is following in his footsteps and played state cricket for Karnataka

Karnataka cricket team

Karnataka cricket team is a cricket team that represents the Indian state of Karnataka in domestic first class cricket. One of the strongest teams in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group, it has produced many of the Indian cricket team's leading players throughout its existence...

. Roger Binny is currently serving as an Office Bearer at the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). He will be appearing as the in-house cricket expert for national news channel - NewsX, during the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup.

Personal life

He had his schooling first at St Germain's in Bangalore and then at St Joseph's Indian High School where he broke the boys National Record for all of India in Javelin. He played football and hockey at school level. He grew up in Benson Town in Bangalore.

Happily married to his boyhood sweetheart Cynthia, who was his best friend’s sister, Binny has three children: Laura, Lisa and Stuart.