This article is an assessment of me by myself through the mirror of the great game of cricket. Why cricket?? Because that's one game I love and more importantly, the only one game I can claim to be good at (Comparison reference: my neglect and hence (in)ability in all games/sports bar cricket). I remember (or atleast I am reminded by my parents), that one of the first things I learnt to speak and enact was how a four or a six is signalled. And from then on, my enthusiasm for the sport has only grown. Not to forget, I have been caught doing a fiersome bowling action without a ball or playing a copybook cover drive with my imaginary bat countless number of times.
Before I came to Goa, the only place I played cricket was on the terrace of our home in Indore, with a plastic ball worth Rs 2/- which we would retrieve from any part of the world, underground( from the gutters) to overground ( from others' terraces and roofs). Now, one great thing about this game is that its rules can be mended to suit any Indian conditions. So, we had rules like declaring a person out when the ball went down the terrace as not many people were grateful enough to throw the ball when we shouted from the terrace, making innocent looking faces at them and requesting them to throw back the ball, and then we had to go down to get it ourself. Such useless usage of effort required stern punishment and hence, hitting the ball out of the terrace was the most menacing way of getting others out. The game has various Indianised versions, suited to meet constraints of space and abilities. So, if you can't bowl overarm, you can bowl an underarm. And when you wanted to finish a game fast, you had rules like 'one tip-one hand' etc.
When I came to Goa, we had a huge football ground in our colony, lush green with well maintained Australian grass. So, we made the best possible use of it-we played cricket there! There were few guys of my age who could spare time out of their tuitions every evening for a game of cricket, but I couldn't live without it. So, I started playing with the elder guys, all college going guys ready to spend their field playing and smoking. Most of these guys were great to me and they encouraged me a lot. So my craze grew. Then, in sixth standard came a great opportunity. Our school made a cricket team, the actual cricket I mean, with the leather ball and all. And I made my way to the top of the batting line up through the sheer hard work of me being able to come in the evening for the practice regularly and more importantly, because of the lack of players! that started another innings in my love for the game. Soon, many pairs of socks were sacrificed in my home garden to hang a leather ball ( or the cheaper cork ball) in it, suspending it using a nylon thread from the Cable TV wire that went to our neighbour's house. A new SG bat was bought and from then on, the only indication that Pranay was in the colony was that of the echoing sound of the ball hitting the bat at any point of the day. Not to mention, the vertical motion of the ball caused interference to the cable TV reception of our neighbors, but they soon learned to cope up with it!
Now, I was made the opening batsman of the school cricket team, mostly because all this practice had given me a rather good technique. Moreover, with my inability to force the pace of the game, no other position would have suited me either (I always found it easy to hit the swinging fast ball than the spinning slow ball). Then, we had some inter-school tournaments, at which we had an average record. I mostly gave solid starts, a rather euphemistic way of saying a slow and boring start, with lots of technique and a lot less runs). I was once offered to join the Goa under 16 camp. But we rejected it as the place was too far and anyways cricket was a hobby but not a career path. Anyways, then I had an unsuccessful stint as the school cricket team captain, something that makes me realise of my inability to lead people effectively.
Then, I entered college and the college cricket team. This time because we had 50 over games and they needed someone who could play that long. My docile and 'correct' technique almost suited the portfolio and hence here I was, opening for my college team as well. I still feared the ball though, more in fielding. I had bad dreams of me dropping simple high catches and catching the flat ones with a heroic dive through days and nights. This fear was not there with the hard tennis ball though as years of socializing with it and our Australian grass ground had made me love fielding. I always was on the lookout of a dive or a slide, to make a rather easy stop or catch appear flamboyant! Even now, though I have overcome most of my worst fears, my habit to dive on mud, stone or grass continues to leave MF Hussain designs on my knees and elbows.
Representing the college team was a great honor for me, one way to prove in college that I was not only a maggu but had some other facets to my persona as well. So I went on, playing with enthusiasm and regularity, though with little improvisation and effectiveness. That's something about my life, I have been enthusiastic about things I have done, but for some reason have rarely been up to my expectations at it. Playing for the college team, I made some good thirties and twenties, but never a big one, as after a good start, I always tended to relax, waiting for a drinks break or for the over to end and that led to a lapse in concentration and I got out. This taught me that success was about perseverance, about continuing till the very end, about relentless concentration. My inability made me dejected, but I was not going to give up that easily my love for the game. So, I continued with my slow and technically correct batting. I was always one of the best in the nets but never the best in the match, as there, the criteria was not about blocking, but scoring runs.
After college, the game found me again in our company, and I was at it again, as the opener for my Company team now. But here they play only 20-25 overs. The need was more of attacking rather than my style of play. This required a change in attitude, improvisation and skill addition, stepping out of your comfort zone(quite literally, while charging down to a spinner). These are again a few lessons I have learnt out of cricket. Relying on your past laurels is not enough in any field. One needs to constantly try and get better, take that extra risk and that bigger challenge to achieve something great. I continued to fail.. but now I am trying to improvise and take the risks. Its tough to remove cricket from life. Now, I did not do anything amounting to cricketing greatness, but I sincerely wish to imbibe some these noble thoughts in my cricket and in my life!
