Memories: Cricket in my boarding school (1987-1990)

Let me share some childhood cricket memories from my boarding school days that have stayed with me. It is sad that I have not played any form of cricket for the last 4 years. (Dang, folks at Nintendo should come up with a popular Wii Cricket game already!)

1. Love for batting: I was at the runner’s end. It was an easy single, but he refused to run. He loved batting too. On the last ball, there was another easy single. To his surprise, I was more than wiling to run. He looked at me in gratitude and started strolling gleefully for a run that would have let him keep the strike for another full over. Did he think I was a fool?? I waited till he was halfway through the pitch, and sprinted back to the runner’s end. He was stranded and was run out!! He was a big guy. Now he was a furious big guy charging at me, shouting expletives (B***, M**$%#), threatening to beat me to a pulp. Luckily he stopped just a few inches short, shouted a few more expletives and went away. I won :)


2. Specialist Batsman: I started my career as an intimidating fast bowler. They said I ran faster than I bowled. Realizing my physical limitations, I became a guileful leg spinner (twirling the ball like Quadir at the start of my run-up). My variations included the ‘slow one’ and the ‘super slow one’. They said I bowled lollipops. Finally I had to become a specialist batsman. Being a specialist batsman, it kind of sucked to bat at number 10. I always prayed that my teammates batting ahead of me get out really early so that I at least get to bat. But apart from that life was good; I got to name our team (“Golden Team”)!

3. Extraordinary umpires: There were some weird characters that preferred watching the game as umpires, rather than playing it. Apparently, if the umpires raised one finger, the batsman was signaled out. However, the umpires could raise two fingers to signal ‘not out’. Umpires routinely used the two finger signal as a tease or when they changed their mind last second. They had a fairly elaborate decision making progress. Two examples:

Umpire: Maa kasam kha ki tune ball nick nahi kiya
Batsman: As a principle main kabhee Maa kasam nahi khaata, but teri kasam khaa sakta hun…
Umpire (raising one finger): OUT

Umpire (asking a passerby): Do you think he is run-out?
Passerby: Yeah, he didn’t make it to the crease. He is clearly out.
Umpire: Idiot!! How can you see from there?? NOT OUT (and raises two fingers and then turns around and shows middle finger to the passerby)


4. Politics and Revenge: The guy who owned the bat, wickets and pads was the captain of the Golden team. He was a particularly bad player, but liked to open the batting and bowling. He was also the coach, the selector and the commissioner of the team. Next year, one of the players got his own bats, wickets and pads. Almost instantly, the entire team deserted the old captain and formed a new team under the new captain. They named their team the “Platinum Team”. I stuck with the Golden Team (after all, I named that team), became the vice captain because of my loyalty and recruited new members. After months of practice, we finally challenged the Platinum Team for a grudge match. I still remember that game in incredibly vivid detail. I took three wickets with my lollipops, one stunning diving catch and scored 25 runs of the 81 total we scored. We won :)