An Ode To Cricket

A binding religion in India. Idolizing the players who bring so much joy with their own style, drawing inspiration and trying to emulate them, is just an unwritten law that almost everyone follows. The fascination for most of the kids growing up was wanting to wield the bat and smack the ball a long way. It was the same for me too, a 90’s kid, courtesy Sachin Tendulkar & co. who made me believe that was all required to win a match. That the batsmen were good people, trying to score runs and the bowlers were bad people, stopping them from scoring the runs. Man, I’m just laughing at it now. At the same time, I’m afraid that’s the perception building around the game even now. Let’s not get into that debate for now. It’s time for some gratitude to the sport that has travelled with me as I grew up.

For an 8-year old, all that was required to play the game was a friend, a small plastic bat, a plastic ball, a small chair, and a small space. For people wondering what’s the need for a chair, is that it serves as the stumps when it’s kept turned around. That’s the scope for evolution in cricket at different levels. It can be interpreted in your own ways, according to one’s own imagination. I never thought a good fluffy pillow or a suitcase in the place of stumps, can be great while playing indoors until we actually did! Well, cricket can’t be confined to big grounds.

With the obsession for the game growing manifolds, wanting our team to win all the games comes in naturally irrespective of who is contributing the most. For instance, it became unacceptable when the invincible Aussies beat the Indian team in our own backyard. That was the phase when I was deeply, madly and unconditionally in love with the game. I had imagined that, it was their bowling that was troubling our batsmen and our’s not doing that to them. Thanks to Milo for having provided the beautiful stumps and a cosco ball, I had decided to avenge the defeat. I’m pretty sure it was a holiday morning since I had woken up early. Took out the stumps and the ball, headed straight to the ground nearby. It was inside the colony and was empty as I entered. Planted the stumps with the support of nice sand and a metal pipe which ran across the ground. As I went to my run up, I had imagined Hayden was batting at the other end. The kind of excitement mixed with anger when I bowled him is unexplainable. In came Ponting, and I kept bowling. I kept on bowling till the 10 wickets fell. There was a sense of relief and satisfaction as I headed back home having let out the steam.

Soon after, cricket became the means to make friends. Having sailed through 5 schools before entering middle school, in different spaces, it was cricket which helped me easily bond with new people. It was a free period at school if I remember right, when the teacher decided to conduct a sports quiz. When questions related to cricket were asked we were all excited. I was sitting beside this person who was answering enthusiastically. Eventually we both started guessing the question to be asked along with the answer and answered the same in harmony when it was asked. Safe to say we have got each other’s back since then. We had a team then, which absolutely enjoyed playing the game and also had a lot of fun. We still do. Just the frequency of playing has reduced understandably over time. For someone who’s not so great at socializing, a game of cricket did it all.

Coming into college, there was this crazy bunch who blindly loved playing the game. Be it morning, noon or evening, we just went and played on. The Velachery ground, what we would call as VCG, was the ground where there were clusters of people playing all over. When we used to start playing around 8 a.m. it would be full. As time went on, people there left slowly. When it was 1 p.m. we would be the only group still playing under the mighty sun. We would play with random teams and we hardly won any. The satisfaction of playing the game was the lone purpose.

Playing cricket in whites is a different feeling altogether. Sweating out in the nets was always intense and fun, but we rarely played matches. Not representing any team was quite hard to take. Not that I was good and didn’t get any chances, but a longing to be in a team. It was a love hate relationship with cricket. That was when the opportunity to play for a company came up at times. Myself and a few others from our academy happily filled their elevens primarily to bowl. It was exciting to just go out and play without paying any match fees. Quickly moving forward, there were times when I went wicketless for 8 solid games spread over a period of few months. Guilt of not making impactful contributions arose. Rightly so, I missed a few games. It’s not some big international match. But, when someone respected and provided an opportunity, it felt like I was ruining their trust in me. During the course of those 8 matches, the only thing that drove me was enjoying my teammates’ performances. Although I may have been in a bad phase personally, it was good to feel happy for my teammates. So much so, this mindset helped me to cope with my first arrear as the results came the same day my friend had secured his first 5-fer in a game.

The break from the game in whites was hard. Even more when it was from any form. The occasional games with friends became more memorable for we didn’t know when we’ll be back playing together. Settling in work, pushed myself slowly to get back to the academy. Meantime, it was such a joy playing in intra office tournaments and bonding with new people. There was a new bunch of boys coming up in the academy and we had a team to play matches. The opportunity to play a match was easier than before which the newcomers hardly realized. Few of us seniors were upset when boys were not as involved while on the field. The fortune of getting to play a match is something we’ll get to know only after playing for a while I believe.

All these years, there were always these mini milestones that I set for myself. The only one that I actually achieved was, a player of the match, in my last played match. It was neither for a 50+ score nor for a 5-wicket haul which I thought would present me a chance to get that award. Instead, it was for a solitary wicket and a meagre 22 runs scored to see the team cross the line, chasing a paltry score of 98 when the team was collapsing. The intention was to win the game for the team which was the sole purpose and never for a moment thought of what I’ll get at the end of the match. Arriving to this mindset subconsciously, is what this lovely game has taught me over time. Now, I don’t want this to be my last ever match. Hope the game graces me to be with it for some more time. Perhaps, atleast till I hit my first six!