Some Childhood Memories of the Great Game

chillibreeze writer — Abhishek Purohit

The greatest game ever invented by mankind, where action and emotion both unfold haltingly, as if giving you time to brace yourself for the myriad twists, turns, melodrama, nay the very tapestry of life that unfolds through its kaleidoscopic lens. Wow, that’s some heavy praise! But seriously, it has never ceased to amaze me how a simple game of bat and ball can enthrall so many. It is only in India that cricket can be experienced in its entire glory – the game is woven into the very fabric of India and its people.

It is said that cricket is much more than a game; it is a way of life. Well, let me go a step further and say that for an Indian boy, wherever he is, be it a village in Rajasthan or a lane in suburban Mumbai, cricket is life. He grows up with the game, watching it, discussing it, getting into fights over it, and...well, playing it.

Given the lack of open spaces in India, youngsters get their first lesson of enterprise while searching for space to play the game. I remember having played cricket near a river in my mother’s village. Now here, the leg side boundary used to be the river itself. So a pull shot in the air towards midwicket was a strict no-no. Firstly the ball would get stuck in the sands on the river bank. So there was little chance of scoring a boundary. And even if some adventurous hitter managed that feat, he would have to retrieve the ball from the river, which would be a bit too adventurous even for him.

Nearer home, we sometimes used to play in a small space in a corner of our building’s parking lot. Now this space was around six feet wide and two car lengths long. Maruti 800s mind you. Enough for a bowler to aim a short-pitched delivery at your throat. Many of us sharpened our defensive skills in that cramped arena.

We also had a playground of a modest size. To destroy our happiness, the society decided to install children’s play equipment - slides, swings, see-saws and whatever in general took up space - on the leg side boundary, in a long arc from mid-on to square leg. Now what? A mate came up with an idea. Why don’t we simply banish play on the leg side? As we stared dumbfound, wannabe Laxmans in particular, he elaborated. As it is, our off-side play is really sad. Why not develop it? Be positive guys. Make the most out of it. So it was decided. No ugly leg side hoicks. Only off side drives and cuts would fetch runs. But our bowlers found a new way to save runs. Bowl a devilish Ashley Giles line outside the leg stump. It will turn. If the chap doesn’t hit, it will crash into his pads and waste a delivery. The onus was on the batsman now to make something happen. Various methods were tried. Some kept it simple. Back and across, expose the stumps and swing hard. If it hits it’s a six. If it doesn’t, well you’ll hear the sound of crashing stumps. Now there were some purists like me. How ugly! We weren’t going to defile our game like that. We were going to play inside out, like VVS against Warne. We tried. We played inside the line of the ball to hit it to the off side. Exactly like VVS. And got bowled in the process. Not quite like VVS. We gave a new meaning to the term ‘inside out’. Play inside the line and get out.

Then there was the guy who dished out what we called the ‘Midwicket Treatment’. An outrageous tear away fast bowler, he would bowl a delivery just short of a good length way outside the off stump. And our eternal leavers, like Dravid, would shoulder arms theatrically to let the ball go. Time and again, one delivery would cut back in sharply at great speed and hit the unsuspecting batsman bang in the middle. The ‘Midwicket Treatment’. And you thought only leather balls hurt. I dare you to try the Midwicket Treatment with a wet rubber ball cutting in from outside off. Let me tell you, it hurts. I should know. For I was one of those theatrical leavers.

Editor's note: Most articles submitted to Chillibreeze go through a selection process. Only 30 percent of submitted articles are accepted for publication on the Chillibreeze.com featured article list. All accepted articles are edited and proofread for glaring errors of punctuation and grammar. Sentence structure is changed in certain cases and sometimes, entire sections are rewritten. If you notice any errors that have slipped through the cracks, do let us know! (Email us at info at chillibreeze dot com).

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in May, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

More on Chillibreeze.com

Other popular articles on Chillibreeze

Indian Roots of English Words
Antioxidants and Cancer – The Link
Umbilical Cord Blood Banking: Why? What? How?
Aromatic Adventures with Indian Spices
The Fertile Plains - Business of Surrogacy in India

Out of 5 “chilies”, our editorial team gave this article...

—About our writer:

Abhishek writes for chillibreeze.

>> Read more articles written by Chillibreeze writers:

More resources for Writers on Chillibreeze.com

Chillibreeze offers Indian writers the opportunity to work on customer projects. We are also India’s biggest writer network and a one-stop shop for Indian writers and editors. The writers’ section on Chillibreeze offers freelance writers and editors a variety of tools to advance their careers. Resources for writers include:

Assessment of your writing, editing and proofreading skills

Writing courses

Expert Feedback on your article

An opportunity to promote yourself on our website

Top websites for Indian writers

Tips and resources for Indian freelancers

Book Publishing services

And more………………..

Explore our writers’ section using the links on our left-hand side menu. IMPORTANT! Don’t forget to