My first week with Club Cricket

Having followed Cricket passionately for over three decades, I was experiencing the game at Club level for the first time. Last week’s experience at the 38^th Lala Raghubir Hot Weather Tournament was refreshing. And there was something else which was new too. I was there not as a fan, but in the capacity of a hopeful ‘to-be’ umpire.

In the last week of this Tournament conducted in New Delhi, my initial reaction was one of awe of the infrastructure that this hugely popular Modern School was providing to the students and to the rest of the local sporting community by way of organizing such events. At a school level, providing such facilities in the developmental years of both skills and interests, this was almost all of what a kid and the parents could ask for. Good quality coaches, am told, is not unfamiliar here either as added on by some biased parties.

Feeling my way around in the school for the first time, I came across two full Cricket grounds, a Football field and two Basketball courts before I find my way to the correct venue where Hargopal Cricket Club, Modern School’s own club was taking on RP Academy in the last leg of the league games.

I was an observer and spectator at another league game, one of the semis and the Finals as well. What struck me most was the quality of cricket and the pedigree of cricketers who took part. It was a mix of cricketers trying to find their way back and others trying to break into the International and State teams for the first time. One saw the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Unmukt Chand, Praveen Kumar, Tanmay Srivastava along with a handful other Ranji players and hopefuls taking part in this tournament where only the ground fielding and catching left much to be desired.

The tournament could easily pass off as a mad adventurous activity to be played in the hottest time of the year, the temperature hovering around mid-40s on most days. The only redeeming factor of the 40 over-an innings games was the early morning start of 7.30.  The experienced Cricket writer Vijay Lokapally tells me what an avid fan of Club cricket he is and how the tournament is not said to have had any incident of Heat Stroke in all these years. Well, quite a statistic that, if it indeed is true, and I go by the gentleman’s word.

The tournament has assumed enough significance and glamour over the years for the Finals to be telecast live on National Television, DD Sports. I am told spectators used to throng the Finals in thousands in the previous years but thanks to betting issues faced in the past, the gate was shut for the public this time. True to its stature, the Finals was an enthralling affair going right through to the last over, oscillating between both teams till 3 balls before the scheduled close of the match.

If the tournament and the participating players were of repute, the officials managing the show were not going to be of a lower pedigree. Led by Anil Chaudhary, one of the top BCCI umpires with the experience of standing in a number of IPL games this season, the umpires and scorers were all either BCCI accredited or State empaneled.

The tournament would do well of course, to have a better quality outfield, the lack of a level outfield with tall grass looking up in patches does not augur well for its reputation.

Moving back to the reason why I was pulled to these matches in the first place, I ended the week’s tryst with club cricket with a great deal more of respect and a touch of admiration added on for the Umpiring department. The job involves much more than what a normal spectator picks up - signalling wides, no-balls and judging leg before appeals. If anything, the continued concentration required all through the match irrespective of the end where the umpire is positioned, can be exhausting physically and mentally and makes the job quite demanding.

I completed this leg of my new journey, more enlightened in areas and levels of the game I knew little about. I was convinced, this first stage of acquaintance would be stimulating like none other.