National sport

Sad to say this,its not hockey any more.Advent of cricket into this country took over hockey's position.Only thing left is ,our government announcing it.My hands felt the touch of a ball today ,after ages and here i am,settled down to write about 'my-used-to-be' passion.I used to breathe cricket till my 10th standard and hoped I would get into the national side,some day or the other.But, as the reality picture unfolded slowly and carefully to my little set of eyes then,I started digesting the fact that I am not born for that.Simply,thats not my purpose on this planet.

Go and ask the children playing under the cool shadows of trees in a suburb place,"Who are you?" Surprisingly ,u wont get any answers like I am a Hindu, Muslim,whatever. They feel that Cricket is the binding force that holds them tight against the shoulder of their good fellas. Thats a beautiful shot unwrapped to see children holding bats and wickets of their heights and fixing them in green fields and get ready to give their shot to the sport.Its always enviable.I bet,everybody wants to get back to their childhood and hold those heavy english willow bats again with pride in their hands.I personally,my self spent endless hours with my friends then,discussing the known statistics at that time,ranging from Kumble's 10 wicket haul to the type of wood with which Kookaburra bats were made. If it was a match against Pakistan that day,unofficial holiday would be declared to schools and offices.

The camera shot of Brian Lara coming onto the field that day against England to finish his remained task of reaching 400 mark was, brilliance revealed! I always admired left handers,because,i m the one too.It didnt take him long time to surpass the disturbed record of his unbeaten 375 by Mathew Hayden(380) and that time,he made his 400.Point to be noted here is even Mathew Hayden is a left handed guy.I always possessed this great respect to left handed legends.Its not that I dont respect Little master or Gavaskar or something.Of course,I worship Sachin Tendulkar.Thats a different point,altogether.One of my close people said,"What people would be thinking about,In India,even after 50 years from now?,Its Gandhi,constitution and Cricket." Absolutely. Same is the case with Pakistan also.In fact,they think about Jinnah in place of Gandhi.

I still remember the days when I used to set up the alarm at early in the mornings ,somewhere around 3.30 am ,to watch the scene of Sachin and Sehwag coming down the pavilion of Lords to bat in the Natwest series.And Tests were absolutely brilliant.I never felt it difficult to watch Rahul Dravid to stop the collapse of Indian batting order with single hand.Hats off to his never ending patience,to stay there,right in the middle of the ground,for entire 3 days,pouring sweat, like water from his helmet with undisturbed persistence to leave off the balls.He is well known for respecting good deliveries and punishing bad ones.I have never seen such a player ,practicing 14 hours a day at regular times even and never feel bored or tired and gets up early in the morning around 4.00 am and drives back to the ground with his pads on,way before than youngsters.His dedication is unquestionable.

I still admire the beauty of this sport in England,especially.People get up from their seats and clap for singles and two's taken and thats why England never fell short of classic players for its team.Check out Paul Collingwood and Kevin Peitersen now,in contemporary times.Kevin has been awarded the most stylish cricketer of the years 08',09' successively.Its feast for his fans to watch out his sexy leg glances and lofty off drives.

And no words left to describe the play of God of cricket,Sachin Tendulkar.And here,I am,exhausted in describing the beauty of the sport. Signing off note is "Kudos to all those cricketers,who made this sport unforgettable and Thank you England,for inventing such a great sport that changed the lives of 1 billion people in sub continent."

It was hated back then ,because it caused wars.Yet,It is loved,always!