The Joys Of Cricket

There is no greater joy than a good game of cricket, and the game has several different types of joys associated with it. There is the joy in appreciating the sheer skills of the performers of course. There is also the joy of witnessing an intense mental battle of courage and patience between batsman and bowler, which needs to be won before the physical skills can put away the winning blow.

Then there is the joy of watching a game in the company of your closest friends. To share the highs and the lows, the ecstasies and despairs over snacks and drinks. But there is one more joy - the joy of "being" at the place where the match is played.

December mornings and you are transferred mentally to the great stadia of Australia - bathing in sunshine, lovely bouncy pitches, wonderful concrete jungles. May afternoons and you are at the home of cricket - a damp, dull day, the ball moving about, the ultimate test of a batsman's technique - you can almost feel the chill and dampness in the atmosphere. As you can feel the lovely sunshine, if it is late August at the Oval.

And of course it is an altogether different experience watching a match in the West Indies. You almost feel like putting on your swimsuit and bask in the sunshine on the beaches. The non-stop music (the Trinni Posse et al), the beautiful people (esp. the Carib beer cheer leaders) - you find yourself virtually vacationing in a Caribbean island.

Since moving to this country (which God-damn-it, can't appreciate cricket) I miss out on most of these joys. I still get to see the occasional match with friends and follow cricket all over the World closely via Cricinfo, but somehow that feeling of being one with the game, of being "there" is missing. Hence, it is great to read some lovely articles like this and this which take you there.