Down memory lane - Street Cricket

Kids are done with exams in most parts of India, and its that time of the year when all kids want to do is play. Being a 90’s kid, the term “PLAY” in those golden days would only mean one thing to me, CRICKET. Although passing phases of my adolescence and upper teenage life have given me a sound understanding of Sports such as Formula One, Tennis, Badminton and World Football in general, Cricket is the sport I played the most.

Goa does not help you envisage the narrow gullies in chawls around Mumbai, but despite that I have been blessed with “Play cricket in the hot sun childhood”, unlike some of the kids now who are out there wanting to finish the latest God Of War by the time the vacation is up.

We did not have a proper cricket ground as such but Me and some friends would meet up on a public road, set up a tire at one end and a brick at the other, and that was our twenty-two yards. Every player had a bat. In those days that was the “My Precious” type of thing to have. Nobody cared to buy the tennis balls as once lost, it was a loss to the owner. If sometimes the lovely Cosco Tennis Ball was out of our ‘aukaat’, we would still do with the bright red hard rubber ball. To accommodate many players on the road and to have a longer boundary we would play under arm.

Going to the ground on time would be futile as everyone wanted to be invited, nobody liked coming and waiting early. It was like a cascade. Me and the friend would go call the third friend, then us 3 would go get 2 more, and so on, until all would make their way to the road cum pitch like an army. By now the time is already 11:30 am. We never had a fixed time to start or close.
Teams would be divided in different ways based on the number of players. If the total number of players exceeded 10, then two so called best players, would be made captains, and they would take turns in choosing a player each.
In case the number of players is odd, the last unchosen player would play for both teams to balance it out (I was never that person). If there were only 6-8 players in total, we would tap numbers behind the back of one, who would guess which person would be alloted the hidden number. This way the batting order was set, the one batting last would bowl first. The one getting the maximum runs would bat first in he next round and the lowest would bowl first.

The center was the asphalt road acting as the pitch. On either side were buildings. Hitting straight at them is Out and one bounced is 4 runs. If the ball got stuck on the balcony of these buildings then the batsman would have to buy the new ball. Same rule applied if the ball is confiscated by people from the building or lost in an abandoned compound or if the ball cannot be retrieved from a house that has a guard dog. Straight over the light-post was Six runs, behind the keeper past a stone was 4 runs and current out (If the fielder throws the ball and you commit a run-out by touching any part of your body to the wicket) was allowed.

Some friends would give in guest appearances. They would come whenever they wanted without any commitment for the following day. Some would come in full kits. They thought of themselves to be future Ranji trophy players so they would come with pads, gloves, a heavy season bat and the cork ball, though we never used the cork ball as firstly it was too risky with vehicles around and we did not have any protection either. Now in street cricket there are plenty of personalities that you can see whilst playing. There are those who use statistics and are usually good in mathematics in school, they would count the score for both sides. They would remember every delivery, the outcome of those and what actually happened during play. You could discuss with them intricate information about World Cricket such as Strike Rate, Run rate, Economy Rate, basic rules and player positions like Point, Cover, Short Fine-leg etc. Some would bluff out excuses. They would get out but then complain that the ball was bowled too fast, or the over was already up, ball is dead, something went in their eye, it was not a catch as the ball struck the ground before being caught etc. Some liked to bat first and ball first as well. They never liked waiting. They would be the one opening the ball fresh from the plastic and sniff on it. They would also inspect the ball if its worn out or good enough to continue. Usually the youngest of the lot, whom we all think is the weakest, was the umpire or wicketkeeper. This was because he could be happy with a role and we could do away with a liability on the boundaries. Whenever there were vehicles passing by, we had to move the tire away to let the vehicles pass and then resume once they were gone.
Once the morning sessions were done, we would again meet during evenings and be more careful because the ball lost in the dark enters an imaginary black hole where all the cricket balls have gone since we ever started playing.

The writer is someone who simplifies writing based on what the reader really wants to read.  Less  on data but high on content.