As a child, you pick up cricket. But then, cricket picks you up. Every time you wield the willow or lob the red cherry, you give flight to dreams. The freshly-cut grass looks like blades of steel. The damp pitch looks like a battlefield
To some, cricket is a sport. A game played by overpaid sportspersons who swagger as athletes, in scattered parts of the globe. It’s played between teams, districts, counties, countries; in gullies, parks and grounds; for hours and days. It’s played in different formats… for the joy of a few, and the pleasure of more. To some, cricket is a sport. But to others, it is life.
“There is a widely held and quite erroneously held belief that cricket is just another game”, said Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. Cricket is not just a game played between teams. In fact, it is not played at all. It is felt. It is an emotion. It has its highs and its lows.There is ecstasy and anguish, between everything and nothing. Its complete and yet its forever evolving. It disappoints and deceives, yet lives up to and exceeds expectations. It is in every breath, in every pore, in every smell and shade, in sunshine, and in rain. It is not a game. It is a way of life.
“Cricket to us was more than play; it was worship in the summer sun”, said Edmund Blunden, the English poet, author and critic. Cricket is an experience. Close your eyes and breathe the fragrant air. Feel the warm sun. Smell the damp earth on the pitch. See the chalk markings. Bend down and pat the soil. And then, look up at the stands, filled with faces and forms, noise and colour.
“Cricket is first and foremost a dramatic spectacle. It belongs with theatre, ballet, opera and the dance”, said ClR James, the West Indian-born cultural historian, cricket writer, and political activist who was a leading figure in the Pan-African movement. The gentleman’s game today embraces everyone. Yet, even as it keeps re-inventing itself, it retains its traditional rules and regality. History emanates from the portraits of legends in dressing rooms, elegance beams down from sparkling chandeliers, and tradition weighs in to steady the bat, gripped in nervous hands.
“I first fell under the spell of cricket, as every other small boy will have done, by batting and bowling on the nearest available space the moment I got home from school”, said Geoffrey Moorhouse, the English journalist and author.
As a child, you pick up cricket. But then, cricket picks you up. Every time you wield the willow or lob the red cherry, you give flight to dreams. Then why, each time you walk out to play, do you have butterflies, the size of dragons, in your bellyIJ The freshly-cut grass looks like blades of steel. The damp pitch looks like a battlefield. The stands are a sea of expectant faces, each holding a dream.
A good knock by you today can delight a father enough to agree to send his daughter to university abroad; a well-timed throw for a run-out can make a shy girl jump into her boyfriend’s arms; a smart clean bowled can make a stern boss sign an increment…You hold the power to send billions to euphoria, to unite a nation, to bring peace to warring factions, and to spur an economy…
“Cricket is a most precarious profession; it is called a team game but, in fact, no one is so lonely as a batsman facing a bowler supported by ten fieldsmen and observed by two umpires to ensure that his error does not go unpunished”, said John Arlott, another English journalist and cricket commentator. Take a deep breath. Clear your mind. Focus on the here, the now... the sweet connect between bat and ball…the crowd cheers happily...even the umpire smiles appreciating a good move.
The weight of expectation becomes a shot of adrenaline, pushing you to achieve the best you can — and beyond. The sunshines warmly, the legends in the dressing room smile their encouragement, those awe-inspiring chandeliers light your way. The beat of the drums steadies the thud of your heart. You stop theorising cricket and play from the heart. Instinct takes over. You don’t think. You act.“A cricketer’s life is a life of splendid freedom, healthy effort, endless variety, and delightful good fellowship”, said WG Grace, the cricketing legend.
Cricket teaches us many things. like every sport, it teaches patience, sportsmanship, teamwork, practice, technique and talent. But it also teaches about life and chance — a lucky lBW decision one day takes you on to a hundred, making you a hero but the next day, a doubtful caught behind closes your account at zero. It teaches you to start afresh, every day. It teaches you integrity, ethics and values. Above all, it teaches you to feel the moment and share it with a billion people.
“Dear, lovely game of cricket that can stir us so profoundly, that can lift up our hearts and break them” — this is Neville Cardus, the English writer and critic. There will always be pain, tears and heartbreak for players and fans alike. It is a personal choice. From the troughs of anguish rises the opportunity to soar to ecstasy, to swing from panic to calmness, from doubt to certitude, to take defeat with the hope of abetter tomorrow.The cricket World Cup is here. Come, experience the cricket side of life.