From the urchin's street corner version to the casual backyard game, from the soft tennis ball version to the proper gentleman's game on a turf wicket in a lush green field, now, after so many years, I have played it all. And boy, is my heart a-flutter!
I am no great cricketer, but I like to think I can bat and bowl at a decent level and for me just playing the game any which way is like a sip of elixir to a parched mouth. And what better place to find elixir than in the sporting capital of the world - Melbourne, the heart of the best cricketing nation. Boy, am I glad my association with IBM has brought me to this corner of the globe.
It was bound to happen. In Melbourne, you just have to play atleast one sport or game. If you aspire to be counted as anything that is. Involve yourself in some game and you feel the pulse of the place flow in your veins and all of a sudden you have so many friends.
Well, yours truly and his mates were getting bored at home so we got a Table Tennis table and set it up in the courtyard of our apartment. I play regularly (read at least an hour everyday) and the fun it lends to an otherwise monotonous life is fantastic.
What wouldn't have got any more than passing mention if I had had written this piece a few days earlier is the fact that I did play some backyard cricket and some cricket on basketball courts and tennis courts all along. I have been to a few games here including the ICC World XI vs Australia match at the awesome Telstra Dome, the former Docklands Stadium. I have watched Pura and ING Cup games at the lush Junction Oval just across teh road from my apartment.
Then came the announcement about the corporate games in Victoria and I am honoured to be part of the team to represent Philip Morris International in the state level corporate Cricket 8s competition.
Our team now trains two to three days a week during the lunch hour. It is a nice feeling to get those pads on and wield the willow again after a long time. I hope to get going well and put on a good show for my team, fingers crossed.
I remember all too well the electric series I played in when I was in Mumbai and working with Patni Computer Systems Ltd. My good mate Damu captained us wonderfully and we, rank underdogs, almost staged a great upset winning seven matches in a row with our final victory coming of a last ball six! I am sure the kind of adrenaline that flowed then will flow again soon.
I am excited, if you haven't noticed yet. :-) And that is because, a lot of TT notwithstanding, my heart truly beats for cricket. In the land of the greatest batsman of all time, the great Sir Don, I am really excited to get to play good cricket. It might only be 8s and only a weekend competition with a few 'not ptoper' rules, but it is cricket and that is enough for me. I shall always root for the game and cricket will never fail to make my day.
As a closing note to all my readers, I am glad I did write again after a long break. I am back in blogosphere! :-)
I am no great cricketer, but I like to think I can bat and bowl at a decent level and for me just playing the game any which way is like a sip of elixir to a parched mouth. And what better place to find elixir than in the sporting capital of the world - Melbourne, the heart of the best cricketing nation. Boy, am I glad my association with IBM has brought me to this corner of the globe.
It was bound to happen. In Melbourne, you just have to play atleast one sport or game. If you aspire to be counted as anything that is. Involve yourself in some game and you feel the pulse of the place flow in your veins and all of a sudden you have so many friends.
Well, yours truly and his mates were getting bored at home so we got a Table Tennis table and set it up in the courtyard of our apartment. I play regularly (read at least an hour everyday) and the fun it lends to an otherwise monotonous life is fantastic.
What wouldn't have got any more than passing mention if I had had written this piece a few days earlier is the fact that I did play some backyard cricket and some cricket on basketball courts and tennis courts all along. I have been to a few games here including the ICC World XI vs Australia match at the awesome Telstra Dome, the former Docklands Stadium. I have watched Pura and ING Cup games at the lush Junction Oval just across teh road from my apartment.
Then came the announcement about the corporate games in Victoria and I am honoured to be part of the team to represent Philip Morris International in the state level corporate Cricket 8s competition.
Our team now trains two to three days a week during the lunch hour. It is a nice feeling to get those pads on and wield the willow again after a long time. I hope to get going well and put on a good show for my team, fingers crossed.
I remember all too well the electric series I played in when I was in Mumbai and working with Patni Computer Systems Ltd. My good mate Damu captained us wonderfully and we, rank underdogs, almost staged a great upset winning seven matches in a row with our final victory coming of a last ball six! I am sure the kind of adrenaline that flowed then will flow again soon.
I am excited, if you haven't noticed yet. :-) And that is because, a lot of TT notwithstanding, my heart truly beats for cricket. In the land of the greatest batsman of all time, the great Sir Don, I am really excited to get to play good cricket. It might only be 8s and only a weekend competition with a few 'not ptoper' rules, but it is cricket and that is enough for me. I shall always root for the game and cricket will never fail to make my day.
* * *
As a closing note to all my readers, I am glad I did write again after a long break. I am back in blogosphere! :-)
4 comments:
Welcome Back.
---------
I do remember your Patni Cricket match series, captained by Damu alias Rahul Dravid.
---------
All the best for your coming tournaments
Thanks Pal. The tournament was nicely organised. My team won the first match but we lost the next two, pretty closely though. We never had much training as a team, like we did in Patni.
Having said that I think I played my part the best I could. I scored 18 off 8 balls in the first match and something like that again the in the second. I managed to hit a couple of sixes and a few fours to help my team win the first one. I even got a wicket off my one over. On the whole it was fantastic fun!
Hi Rama,
Pleasantly surprised to note that you hit sixes in your super 8's tournament. Never thought you had the strength to hit sixes. Anyway, good going, keep it up.
I am playing winter league at Houston for Cavaliers cricket club. It is one of the best teams in Houston. I go to bat at no.4, and have performed decently in my first 2 outings scoring 35 and 40. Would be playing a team from West-Indies this weekend.
Regards
Damu
Hey Damu, Good to see your comment here. Dont disguise your surprise with a 'pleasantly' in front of it...even I was surprised when I hit the first six and it went way out of the ground...I tried another one for good measure and it went out as well...We were playing with hard balls and with good timing I think you dont need to be an ox to hit a six. Tennis ball is a totally different ball game. Now-a-days, I am playing tennis.
You keep up the good work and I am sure the Cavaliers have found a solid middle order all-rounder, a la Kallis.
Post a Comment