Cricket World Cup! Glued to TV watching sensational matches. Dusting off an old photo album, reliving memories of crazy cricketing days.
Sunday’s – teams passionately gathering for usual round of matches. Pitched opposite 3-5 good city teams, great team spirit. Games full of enthusiasm, excitement even envy, at well-groomed school pitches. Parents knowledgeable about cricket rules acting as neutral umpires?!
All players were unsurprisingly boys! Worked super hard to prove worthy in selections. Happiest with a break-through. Dad played formal cricket, great coach for brother, me. Practised with tennis, cork, rubber balls. A tough, painful training regime.
Stumps sometimes a mix of twigs, chairs, schoolbags, bricks. Run-out decisions tricky though! Finally, we were gifted with high quality gear – bats, pads, gloves, shoes!
Brother and I played super in sync as an opening pair. Very complementary styles of play. He was great at calculated, defensive, elegant shots. Tackled spin brilliantly. My natural flair was spontaneous wrist-work, an open stance with pace bowlers. Good with yorkers, bouncers. Playfully aimed to hit each ball beyond ropes! Most disappointed when bad light, rain stopped play.
Assumed guys would be friendlier, kinder when targeting me. Wasn’t so lucky! Competitive spirit won over feminine excuses. A lot of cuts, bruises, stitches! Faced merciless sledging, as well.
Little sparkling stars! Fantastic, fun. We still play matches at the farm, when in Delhi.
Nostalgic…