Playing cricket. ...

So, here we go after a long time - about time for a blog post and something regarding a passion for every Indian, cricket. Given that I'm due off on a trip soonish to the old homestead it's probably right to post this now.

 Living in the driest part of the UK and having long days in the summer allows you the flexibility and freedom to play. Cricket here is played on a ground - (yes, yes I can hear folks saying where else would you play it ..) without 10 other matches happening simultanenously, on pitches and grounds that vary in large degrees with respect to their quality. Oh and yes, cricket here is played with 22 players wearing whites, a cricket ball ( not a tennis ball, cork ball or a rubber ball) though there are times when you start a game with just 8 players with 3 turning up later. There have been occasions when folks have arrived at the wrong ground because they misheard which team was playing at which ground !  Of-course the fickle English weather can play a devastating effect on the quality of the square not to mention the effect  of rabbits and moles on the outfield  (Ask my ankle!) There are some groundsmen who've maintained an absolutely high standard throughout this season (think Gonville and Caius)  while others who've not bothered and instead  have allowed enough grass on the pitch so that it looks more like a tennis court than a cricket pitch (Oh Jesus!) and further others who've just given up (some of the village squares that we played on).

Of-course 20-20 has had an effect, all weekday games are 20-20 while the weekend games can vary between 40 and 45 overs depending on which division of which league you are playing. The 20-20 games are played usually as 15 8 ball overs which makes overweight geezers like yours truly struggle to get past the popping crease after bowling the 4th ball in an over and then curse the innovators ! It is all very civilized - sledging is not something that you do normally nor condone, idle banter usually happens - most folks usually walk and the opposition usually congratulates the bats-person when they reach a major milestone. The best games are when you play an opposition that consists of team-mates from the mid-week games especially if it contains your mid-week captain in it!  This is when the banter could reach some dizzy heights. The mid-week games are played at a very different pace to the weekend ones, the weekend ones demand tons of concentration and sustenance, there was one game we played where both the opposition and us scored less than 120 in 45 overs and the opposition won in the very last over, thus there ends up being a good tussle between bat and ball. Ah and that is a par score in 20 overs during the mid-week games.

However the significant achievement of the year for yours truly was hitting the winning runs in a match that meant we tied joint tops in the mid-week leagues. After years of growing horizontally it was interesting to be able to hit the winning runs in a game nearly 9 years since university !