General Cricket thread

[anant_s]

@anant_s , he has that eye for talent. Basically gave us generations of players, inspired generations. What a player.

Yes heard this story by Wasim himself on a talk show. That is why fans across the world adore Imran so much. He wasn't just one of the greatest all rounders ever, but a great mentor and an eye for talent too. & i guess we must thank GOD for someone to pick Wasim and Waqar, arguably the fiercest Fast bowling pair of our generation along with Donald and Fannie De Villers & Mcgrath and Gillespie.

PS: Triple PhD! Imran still knows how to charm an audience!

 

[ghazi52]

Cricket in Qalqasht, Chitral

 

[WAJsal]

“You put your right foot here, left foot there, unfold your hands and stand ready for a catch. The ball will come right into your hands and you just grab it,” Fazal told Shujauddin Butt who was asked to field at short square-leg.

Soon a leg-cutter of Wardle’s bat found its way into Shujauddin’s hands who did not have to move a centimetre, and thirty minutes later Pakistan became the first Test nation to remain undefeated in their first-ever Test series on the British shores.

http://www.dawn.com/news/1261458/comment-fazal-mahmoods-magic-is-a-memory-forever

@anant_s , what legend-ness and what class. Unmatched in class...

 

[anant_s]

Unmatched in class...

absolutely! A spin bowler is often equated with a chess player, who thinks way in advance to first get the batsmen out in mind and then on field.
I recall a similar story by Bishan Singh Bedi, perhaps with an Aussie batsman. Kangaroos came to India with a plan to negotiate vicious turn, that was on offer and were padding and sweeping almost everything.
Bedi, bowled 2-3 overs of ball spinning away from batsman and suddenly slipped in one that went straight. The batsman was plum infront leg before, thinking how he was out thought.
Thats the beauty of spin, its almost like reading a griping novel.

PS: Poms cannot play spin. Isn't it?

 

[WAJsal]

Thats the beauty of spin, its almost like reading a griping novel.

Totally agreed. Remember when Ajmal was in full show, he was like an artist in work. Yasir shah has been very devastating too, needs to grow that Shane Warne-killer instinct.

I remember Saqlain telling a similar story against Sachin, Sachin was owing him and reading his Doosras and Off spin. Last day of the test match and Sachin was fighting hard, Saqlain gambled with Sachin fell for it. Pakistan soon won the game. I guess it was the Calcutta Test match, not too sure.

 

[anant_s]

Calcutta Test match,

Chennai test 1999!
Sachin still rates that innings as one of best he played in sub continent. India was on the loosing side despite 137 from Sachin. I recall Chennai crowd gave a standing ovation to Pakistan teams victory lap. Saqlain was on peak of his powers during that time and along Mushtaq Ahmed, the duo formed one of the most formidable spin attacks in Tests and ODI. In my memory, that Pakistan team was one of the strongest unit ever with names like Saeed Anwar, Inzi, W&W, Rashid Latif and all rounder Azhar Mehmood. The team even beat SAF in SAF, something very few teams from sub continent have been able to do.
Fond memories of that time.

 

[WAJsal]

Chennai test 1999!
Sachin still rates that innings as one of best he played in sub continent. India was on the loosing side despite 137 from Sachin. I recall Chennai crowd gave a standing ovation to Pakistan teams victory lap. Saqlain was on peak of his powers during that time and along Mushtaq Ahmed, the duo formed one of the most formidable spin attacks in Tests and ODI. In my memory, that Pakistan team was one of the strongest unit ever with names like Saeed Anwar, Inzi, W&W, Rashid Latif and all rounder Azhar Mehmood. The team even beat SAF in SAF, something very few teams from sub continent have been able to do.
Fond memories of that time.

Forgot Akhtar, Wasim, Waqar ...What class, i have watched highlights of the test match. Sad that we don't get to see much Cricket between the two countries, especially Test Cricket.

Think about inventing a new delivery, 'the Doosra'. Now that is a class above, plus his action was never faulty. Wait let me search some clips.

 

[anant_s]

Wasim, Waqar

See W&W above

Shoaib was fast and almost unplayable at times. But having seen Imran for good part and Wasim & Waqar for most part, dont think Akhtar couldnot reach those heights and more importantly justify his potential. Great fast bowlers right from Lille, Hadley, Kapil, Batham, Imran and later Ambrose,Walsh, Wasim, Waqar, Mcgrath and Donald, the common denominator is their consistency. They didnt have commercial commitment like these days, but the quality was far superior. Compared to that era, cricket looks very synthetic ttoday.

 

[anant_s]

 

[BDforever]

Taskin Ahmed during a sponsor event (me like the suit )

 

[WAJsal]

@anant_s ,http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/1030791.html

 

[anant_s]

Pitch Perfect

The green covering at Lord's in 2014 when India went visiting caused a lot of flutters

Ten years ago, there was a crisis of sorts for Tom Parker, the curator at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The reason for his anguish was dirt, or the lack of it, to be more precise. You read that right. Parker was in distress because the dirt that is used for the pitch at the SCG was running out. It was the same soil that had been used at SCG for over a hundred years. And now, there was a distinct chance that the pitch would never be the same again. The type of soil used was volcanic in nature and was instrumental in SCG having a unique place in Australian cricket. Distinctly remembered to aid the spinners a lot more than any in that part of the world, the Bulli soil was renowned for its high clay content.

Luckily for Parker, they managed to find some, enough to last them another hundred years. The crisis had been averted.

The incident gives an inkling into how the type of soil used is important for a curator and how vital it is to get the right type to create a pitch that is distinct. Over the years, cricket fans have been accustomed to rate the type of the pitch based on just the ground's name - Brisbane is bouncy, WACA is fast, in Headingley there is grass, in the sub-continent it is dry. And we know exactly what type of bowler will be useful on each of these surfaces. We know that grass aids the fast bowlers and the drier pitches aid the spinners. But if we scratch the surface a little more, there can be a better understanding of why pitches behave the way they do. Why does grass aid fast bowlers more than spin? What other factors influence the nature of a pitch?

The answers for that lie with the curators - a unique bunch that sometimes prides itself in being part artists and part scientists. The reason for the former is that they are dealing with highly influential external factors such as the weather, and there are ways in which they overcome the extreme conditions with some out-of-the-box thinking. And almost all of them are required to study the nature of the soil and the amount of clay content that is needed for a particular surface, factors that are also dictated by the weather conditions.

They go on to study the minerals in different types of clay. They study the nature of the grass to be used, the compactness of the soil and further scientific research also tells them the right time to roll a pitch based on the optimum moisture content in it. It is also the combination of these factors that make them an extremely proud bunch.

With pitches being an object of fascination for every cricket aficionado, naturally there is a lot of dissection of its characteristics before every game. Invariably, it also goes on to dictate the combination of every team. Curators are the most sought after people by team members before matches. But they too have a set of guidelines, that they are supposed to adhere to, while preparing surfaces that provide a level-playing field for both teams.

The weight of the roller and the time intervals of rolling play a huge factor in the way a pitch plays

Each format of the game is governed by its own demands. The ICC guidelines vary for each format. For a Test match, the guidelines say that on Day 1, the pitch should be moist with a covering of grass. This naturally aids the seam bowlers and how it does is explained a little later here. On the second and the third day, the pitch should naturally dry off but shouldn't break open so as to allow consistent pace and bounce. This goes on to aid the batsmen. On Day 4, the guidelines state that the pitch should start breaking up. It becomes slower and gradually aids turn. The idea behind such guidelines is that all facets of the game (batting, bowling - both spin and pace) come into play in every game. Of course these guidelines have been challenged routinely in the past and more prominently in recent times but that's a discussion for another day.

What these guidelines also imply include the questions asked previously in this article. So how exactly can these curators mastermind the nature of a pitch and what aids them in this aspect?

The answer - clay and grass. These are the two chief dictators of how a surface will play.

Considering the guidelines, the curators employ various techniques to get the correct nature. The first step is to select the type of clay that has the right minerals, which in turn ensure characteristics such as the compactness of the soil.

In all this, grass plays a big role. Grass in many ways acts as the scaffolding beneath the soil, holding the structure together. But that isn't its only purpose. Grass also acts as a natural drainage system through transpiration. So the amount of watering a pitch undergoes is dependent on the type of grass in the pitch and its water-absorbing capabilities.

While acting as the backbone for curators, grass is also the lifeline of a many-a-fast-bowler, mainly because of its dual role.

Like explained before, grass acts as a binding force to the soil. The presence of a green track also means that the soil beneath is held together strongly. So this also indicates that the surface is hard and even. This aids true bounce. What it also helps with is reducing the percentage of pace lost when the ball hits the surface. The Laws of Friction dictate that any delivery loses pace once it hits the pitch. The percentage of pace lost can be kept to a minimum when green grass acts as a lubricant.

When a new ball hits the pitch, the seam is able to dig deeper into the surface than the shiny sides. When the grass blades are kissed by the shiny side, it allows it to go through with minimum loss of pace while the tilt of the seam dictates the direction in which the ball travels after pitching.

On a drier surface, all these aiding factors disappear, rendering many pacers toothless. The best among them resort to fast cutters with the older ball to attain success, but that works just the way it works for a spinner.

A spinner normally doesn't use only the seam position for his deliveries to turn. He uses more of the ball's surface and a similar logic will help him a lot more on drier surfaces that allows the ball to grip far more because there is far lesser grass, which means more friction. The revs imparted by a spinner allow the ball to grip and change direction.

In between these two categories, could be the damp pitch devoid of grass. While the moisture helps in holding the top surface together and smooth, offering even bounce, it also offers some movement. This is because, while the top soil remains hard, there is a tendency for the soil just below to remain a little shaky. So, when the ball hits the turf, due to the movement below, there is also a change in direction of the ball. It isn't rough enough to take spin nor flat enough to deny movement.

Bounce works on the simple phenomenon of elasticity. We've also seen instances of a ball stopping and coming, usually likened to tennis-ball bounce albeit only partially correct. That usually happens on the last two days of a Test, given that the pitch is prepared according to the guidelines mentioned above.

For the sake of better understanding, imagine throwing a ball on water and on hard ground. The ball will land a plop and lose all its velocity and bounce in water. Obviously it goes through much quicker on a hard surface.

Now consider the example when bowling a ball on loose sand. The ball again loses a lot more velocity on such a surface than a hard ground.

The top layer of the pitch, too, in many ways, moves towards the characteristics of loose sand over the course of play. It's for this same reason that a ball tends to lose speed or stops on certain pitches.

All these of course, can be prepared to the desired effects by curators. That's where the nature of the clay used comes into play. This forms the top-most layer of the pitch, the one that is visible to the naked eye. But we'll first move on to what isn't seen.

Most pitches in India are prepared with the help of knowledge passed down through the years. The groundsmen collate their ideas with those mandated by the ICC to try and create pitches that match the conditions. Not always do they come out with a 100 per cent success rate, but the endeavor is almost always the same.

Of course, there are special conditions where a word from the home team might influence preparations, but in almost all cases, it can't be done unless they have had the word at least 10 to 15 days before a match starts at a particular ground.

In Bangalore, a contractor for marriages was called up to erect a tent that would protect the pitch.

But let's dig a little deeper. All pitches in India are mandated to have three layers. The top eight inches will be the soil of the pitch. This is where the clay content comes into play. The second layer, which is four inches deep, contains loamy soil. This is for fertility and determines the grass growth.

The third layer contains more chunky soil and according to the manual of the groundsman in Dharamsala, also contains a tilt which acts as a drain for water.

There are arguments against such a method which mandates three layers. There been various proposals put forward to ensure that a more scientific approach is followed to the construction of the pitch. A lot of steps have also been taken in this direction, mainly pertaining to testing the type of clayey soil and the minerals (Kaolinite, Illite, Vermiculite, Smectite) present in them.

The minerals in turn, determine if the surface is conducive for grass growth as well as its water-retention capacity. In addition, tests also determine if the clay used is of the type that breaks easily or is prone to crack quicker when drying. Cracking is a direct result of drying clay. So the clay is tested for its water-retention capacity and the ideal ones are those that dry out over the course of five days and not quicker.

The Bulli soil used in South Africa and Australia has properties that aid in keeping the surface hard and bouncy.

On the other hand, there is also the use of red soil at the top in sub-continental grounds. Red soil tends to dry up quicker than other clayey soil, leading to cracks that open up big and the reason as to why we often see spurts of dust after a ball pitches.

For a curator to prepare a pitch according to the guidelines mentioned earlier, a big role is played by how he maintains it, how often is the pitch watered, at what intervals is the roller being used, and what the weight of the roller is. These are in turn dictated again by the type of clay used and its characteristics. External factors such as a sudden change in weather sometimes leave the curator red-faced, but there too, many have solutions based on improvisations to keep the pitch as close to its true characteristic as possible. The days leading up to a match are usually spent trying to produce the kind of pitch that can be got according to the variants at that point of time. As years pass by, such maintenance is also mandatory to make sure the pitch stays true to its color. Any mistake, intentional or unintentional, in the procedures needed for the pitch will end up causing it to play way differently than it had before.

All of these add up in giving us the variety of pitches that we see across the world, each bringing with it, its own set of challenges for the players. A number of them thrive on the craftsmanship of the curator while the very best transcend the work done on it to create their own legacy. Curators have often faced the ire of teams when pitches aren't produced to their liking. There is never a pitch perfect for everyone, but the endeavour to better it is still an ongoing process.

http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/81700/pitch-perfect


@WAJsal @BDforever @Arsalan

 

[Arsalan]

What will they have for us in Birmingham
I suspect an all out effort for another dry pitch with little support for bowlers. England will be thinking that they got to us by choking our bowling at Old Trafford and it will be the best approach again.

 

[anant_s]

Kanga League - The romance and relevance of Mumbai's toughest

Aayush Puthran

Madhav Apte (left) is a colossal figure in Mumbai cricket. He played Kanga League till the age of 70, from 1948 to 2002, scoring 5046 runs - the most in the tournament's history. © BCCL


"Virat Kohli jaakar patta wickets mein century banata hai. Usko aakar Kanga League mein pachas maarne bolo, maan jaaonga (Virat Kohli goes and scores centuries on flat tracks across the world. Tell him to come and score a 50 in Kanga League, I will accept that he is a good batsman)."

The statement from Laxman Chavan, who had previously served as Ramakant Achrekar's assistant, might seem as an exaggeration, but there is a hint of truth to it. Kanga League, the only monsoon cricket tournament in the world, offers one of the toughest conditions for batsmen, where the ball can stop, shoot, skid and swing - all in a day's play.

"When I was preparing to go and face Raju Kulkarni or Vikram Dutt, the mindset was this - 'Kya hoga? Marega na?' (What will happen if I get hit? At worst, I'll die. That's it, right?). But if I go and show them that I'm scared, then I'm not a cricketer. This is the kind of attitude that was built by playing Kanga League," Austin Coutinho, a former Kanga League pacer, admits.

Seeped deep in history, Kanga League has manoeuvred itself in upholding the grassroot legacy of Mumbai cricket from the times when tree-lined tram lines ran in the city to what Madhav Apte calls 'that ugly looking Fashion Street' occupying a place outside the maidans. "Between Cross Maidan and Azad Maidan there was a tram line with trees on either sides. It was like a boulevard," Apte, an octogenarian who played Kanga League till the age of 70, recalls from his early days in cricket.

The tournament doesn't offer the most convenient conditions to play cricket - bowlers step over puddles in their run-up, while fielders and umpires have mud splashing on their faces when the ball bounces in front of them. Time and again, rain-break forces players to get back into their tents and sip some hot tea and biscuits in anticipation of play resuming. Yet, like most things in Mumbai monsoon, through Kanga League, cricket too gets its touch of romance.

"It is impossible to talk about Kanga League and not be romantic about it," H Natarajan, a former journalist, quips.

Cricket, as a sport, found roots in India when the Parsis tried to match the British in their practices in the late 19th century. Even as the sport remained a luxury of the elite, selfish/selfless efforts of rich kings across the country ensured that India too found an identity in the world of cricket. Nonetheless, outdoing the English in their conditions, always remained the big dream.

To realise this dream, the tournament was started in 1948 on the insistence of Vijay Merchant, who believed that playing on uncovered wickets was the best way to prepare for conditions in England.

"Vijay Merchant's first thought was how could a young Bombay cricketer get the experience and flavour of playing on wet wickets or conditions that were similar to what one would experience in England. To experience wet wickets and drying wickets was quite unfamiliar to Indian conditions. There was hardly any Test cricket during the war years. In that sense, the average Indian batsmen was not really exposed to wet wickets, turning wickets or drying wickets. To experience such conditions, the ideal time were the monsoon months," Apte explains.

During the monsoon months, the nature of pitch changed by the hour. When the clouds would hover above the sky, the ball would swing. After it rained, the pitch would be damp, and thus the ball would come slowly to the batsman. However, it is in the drying phase when the conditions became most difficult for batsmen. The ball could shoot, stay low, cut or seam after pitching. "The drying wicket is the most dangerous wicket in the world," Coutinho exclaims. When the pitch would become dry, batting would be easiest. Even with Test batsmen in the side, often totals of 50-60 runs became the norm on wet wickets in Kanga League.

What started in 1948 as an experimental league, went on to become the nursery of Mumbai's 'khadoos' batting. The fact that Mumbai began producing Test batsmen by 'a conveyor belt' only went on to validate the importance of Kanga League. "We call them (Mumbai batsmen) khadoos because they used to go and bat on absolutely horrible drying wickets. Playing in those conditions it is not only about the technique, it is also about the mental aspect. When are you going to bat on such wickets, you are ready to face whatever comes. You get tough mentally," Coutinho points out.

While there were a few Shield tournaments played in the city for some time, it was Kanga League which gave impetus and structure to Mumbai's club cricket competitions. Before the tournament, clubs in Mumbai mostly played friendlies, with secretaries of two clubs deciding amongst them a date and venue for the match. Sunday cricket, till then, was nothing more than a pastime.

Milind Rege, former Mumbai captain, felt that it was the four months of cricket that players in Mumbai played during the monsoon which gave them a 'headstart in national tournaments', making them the strongest side in Indian cricket. It is the numbers that back his argument. In 26 seasons of Ranji Trophy from 1951 to 1977, Mumbai became champions on 22 occasions. It was followed by five more appearances in the tournament final in the six-year period from 1979-1985, winning thrice.

But the beauty of Kanga League wasn't just in the challenge it posed, and the technique that it helped players developed. In not many other tournaments could local cricketers get a chance to play alongside international stars. Till the late 1980s, almost all Test cricketers from Mumbai would turn up for their clubs and play in the Kanga League.

In 1979, Sunil Gavaskar returned from England having scored 221 at the Oval and directly went to play for Dadar Union in a Kanga League match. India's next Test - against Australia - was to start in two days in Chennai. Even Apte, who was working in Malaysia for 15 years, would request the captain of Jolly Cricketers to include him in the side for Kanga League matches every time he would come to India. "I would schedule my visit to India in such a way that I could play Kanga League matches.'

With international stars playing, crowds of over 5,000 would turn up. Even for matches that wouldn't have a single international cricketer, around 200 to 300 would gather. "Earlier, the digressions of entertainment weren't as many as there are today. On Sundays, people would either go to cinemas or a theatre. Those who were interested in sports, would end up in the maidans," Apte recalls.

Clayton Murzello, Mid-Day's sports editor, adds that there was more interest in the league than it being just another form of entertainment. "When a club like Dadar Union or Shivaji Park would get a new player, a crowd would gather only to see who that player was and how does he play. There used to be hype around new players."

What also made Kanga League interesting from the spectators' point of view was the uncertainty of the result. With weather playing an important role, often on Saturdays, captains of cricket clubs in Mumbai would take more interest in the weather forecast than some in the meteorological department. The uncertainty of the conditions and toss created topsy-turvy results, adding to the excitement of it all. Chancing upon this excitement, Apte floated an idea to Seshrao Wankhede, the then president of Bombay Cricket Association: "I had suggested that like football leagues, we could have gambling for Kanga League and bet on the results of matches. Since the results were unpredictable, it would add to the excitement. He liked the idea, but under the gaming rules, it could not go through."

The deal about Kanga League went on to grow so much that it became the tournament from where Mumbai selectors would make their Ranji Trophy picks. Murzello points out, "If someone scored runs in Kanga League, they used to get picked for Bombay. At the end of Kanga League, the list of 30 probables were announced."

"But it changed over the years," he adds.

The tournament offered one of the toughest conditions for players. A graduating player was considered ready for the rigours of higher-level cricket. © BCCL



The change Murzello was referring to was the growing insignificance of Kanga League; a tournament which was a darling of Mumbai cricket, lost its relevance by the turn of the millennium. Crowds stopped coming to the maidans, media coverage went down drastically, selectors didn't consider the performances in the tournament seriously for Ranji Trophy selection, and above all, players didn't feel it would help their career anymore.

There are many views and versions of when and how the downfall of Kanga League began. But as it stands today, the relevance of it remains questionable. "My suspicion is that Kanga League became irrelevant for the players when sponsorship and money started coming in, and the cricketer's calendar was filled with a spread of corporate and other shield games. Today there are 65-odd club tournaments being played in the city. It would be very difficult to pinpoint how and when did it happen," Apte reckons.

Coutinho, on the other hand, has a more accurate noting, "The turning point was when Sachin Tendulkar stopped playing Kanga League. He was playing Kanga League when he was a youngster. Once he started playing for Mumbai and India, he stopped playing club-level cricket."

The fact that a lot of first-class cricketers chose to hone their skills in England and Africa during the early part of the century also cannot be overlooked. Financially more rewarding offers came their way, and Kanga League had become just another club tournament that could've been done away with. "There is no way that newer generation of players could have missed playing the Kanga League. It was a tournament they never had an emotional connect with," Rege notes.

However, with memories flooding back, and the Mumbai side undergoing a transition phase; playing a brand of cricket hitherto unseen, it prompted old-timers to demand a revival of Kanga League. With several former cricketers occupying important positions within the association, the Cricket Improvement Committee of MCA suggested several measures to make the tournament more significant.

Given the change in monsoon patterns, a lot of matches were abandoned. One of the recommendations of the committee was to push the tournament-start date to mid-August. The move didn't quite work out as pushing the dates meant more matches were played on drier wickets, which killed the basic concept of the tournament. After a two-year trial, it was brought back to a July-start.

The second one was to 'force' cricketers to play the Kanga League. "Last year we made one rule - every player has to play four to five matches before the start of the season. We have instructed every club that their prominent players should be playing at least four matches. So it gets slightly upgraded," Vinod Deshpande, member of MCA's managing committee, said.

While former Mumbai cricketers and cricket lovers would love to see the tournament brimming with life, and the association is making an effort to do so, the big question is - Does it make sense to put in all the efforts and revive Kanga League?

Dadar Union was one of the most dominant teams in Kanga League They won the title five times in the 70s and four times in the 80s. This is a picture of the side with the Purshottam Shield. Sitting (from left): Ramnath Parkar, Milind Rege, Suresh Tigdi, Vasu Paranjape, Vithal Patil, Daya Dudhwadkar. Standing (from left): Subhash Patne, Shashi Nayak, Sashi Tigdi, Dilip Vengsarkar, Avinash Karnik, Jitendra Bhutta, Urmikant Mody, Subhash Bandiwadekar. © BCCL


One of the reasons why first-class cricketers have chosen to avoid playing in the Kanga League, apart from a packed schedule and growing insignificance, is because of the unsafe playing conditions. The fact that players are more informed about the possible dangers to their bodies has led them to pick and choose their club tournaments.

Amol Muzumdar isn't too pleased with their discomfort and says. "If players are worried about getting injured, then they might as well put their bats down."

Coutinho joins the bandwagon to rubbish the concerns and says, "If the batsman is scared of getting injured, we were bowlers, we had to bat. We used to get bowled out for 30-40. Bowlers had to bat. Can you imagine Vikram Dutt, Kishor Rabadia or Raju Kulkarni bowling to me on a wet wicket, without a helmet or a proper thigh guard or anything?"

The fact that playing on uncovered wickets can open up possibilities of serious physical harm is not an unknown fact. With the awareness levels increasing, the association, organisers and umpires have put player's safety ahead of cricket. Apte, whose Kanga League career spanned 55 years - from 1948 to 2002, feels that it is the cushion of protective gears that has pampered the players.

"We have all played, right up to Sunil (Gavaskar), fast bowling under all kinds of conditions and without any protective gears, without any helmets and no regulation on bouncers. If we were hit on the head, there was very little chance of survival. Since there was no protection in our times and physical hurt was a reality, the batsmen were more alert and watching the ball more closely because they didn't have the comfort of being protected," he says.

Arvind Apte, Madhav's brother, was once hit by Wes Hall's bouncer when Mumbai played against the touring West Indian team at the Cricket Club of India in 1951. "Arvind ducked into what he expected to be a bouncer, but he was hit on the head. The ball didn't glance out, it went towards point. Obviously he was hurt. He was taken in to the pavilion, not carried. But he came back to bat and scored a glorious 50," his brother, who was batting at the other end, recounts.

"Why should they be scared? They are using all sorts of protective gears," Rege questions the concern of modern-day cricketers. He further adds that it is also the over-cautious attitude of the umpires which has resulted in Kanga League matches losing its sheen.

"Attitudes of umpires have changed. When we played, the match would take place irrespective of the fact whether it was a good wicket or a bad wicket. When you played a forward shot, the umpires would get mud on their face, but they never worried about it. They just wanted to go ahead with the game.

"But today because of too many innovations in the game, too much thought process has been going on. People have started thinking about the conditions, whether the pitch is dry or not? Kanga League is meant to be played on a wet wicket only, you don't have to wait for the wicket to get dry. Today, umpires wait for the pitch to dry, check the outfield. Earlier, there was nothing like that."

Rain breaks allowed players to constantly have discussions over a cup of tea and fostered healthy banter. © BCCL


Another thing that added to the charm of the league was the presence of Test cricketers. Dattu Phadkar, Polly Umrigar, Ajit Wadekar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Bapu Nadkarni, Vinoo Mankad and many more - all honed their skills in the tournament even while they were playing Test cricket. Apart from the youngsters playing alongside them and the spectators, who would come to watch the match, it was also a treat for players of the neighbouring clubs to have them around.

As much as club rivalries was a big deal - the most celebrated of the lot being between Dadar Union and Shivaji Park - the camaraderie between players is often less spoken about. Frequent delays to match starts and breaks during the day due to rain, allowed players to constantly have discussions. With an umbrella to protect them, or those who could shield themselves under the tent, a cup of hot tea was all that was needed for the banter to begin.

"Today players want to play in top-class conditions, nobody wants to play in the maidans. They want conditions where there is a pavilion, there is bottled water and things like that. Times have changed. If players haven't seen what a particular thing was, they won't miss it," Rege says.

The rain breaks also allowed senior cricketers to share anecdotes about the past with the aspiring cricketers. With time, the storytelling process stopped, and with it the rose-tinted history of Mumbai cricket also took a beating. "When I talk to players of A Division and I ask them about players playing five years ago, they don't know them anymore. That's a very sad thing that's happening in Mumbai cricket now," Coutinho admits.

The reason for the practice of storytelling to stop is because players are constantly changing clubs for financial and other reasons that could help their case in getting selected for the Mumbai Ranji side. Club loyalty has become a thing of the past. While fringe Mumbai players are enticed to play for clubs owned by members in the association, many others buy into more financially-rewarding prospects.

"It hurts me to hear that players switch clubs for money," says Apte, expressing his disappointment over the current state of affairs. "I'm told that kids are paid Rs 5,000-10,000 to play a Kanga League match because the owners of the club want to be the champions. I would shudder to think that cricketers from my generation would switch clubs for money. I suppose it's good for the player and the club, but not for the sport and the player's character."

Apte himself had played for CCI for a year. But the reasons weren't monetary. "It was because CCI had nearly gone into B division the previous year. Vijay Merchant, who was at that time the chairman of the club, told Madhav Mantri and me, 'Our CCI is going down, and you guys are playing for other clubs. Why don't you guys play for us for only one year so that it stabilizes?' So we played for CCI for a year. Otherwise we were wedded to our respective clubs."

Rege too, isn't too pleased with dying club loyalties, but he feels the players aren't to be blamed for it. "Club loyalties are not there anymore. Today, the attitudes of the youngsters have changed, they aren't willing to spend time in the reserves. Sunil Gavaskar, Ramnath Parkar, everyone spent time in the reserves. Youngsters today are not going to waste their Sunday doing nothing. There is nothing wrong in it, we have to change with times."

He even goes on to explain the rationale behind it, "Players get paid to play these days, jobs are not there. If a player gets paid by a club to play a few matches, he goes there. Financially he needs help."

Beyond just club loyalties, there is also a practice of corporates buying clubs. Thus forcing the players, employed with a certain company to play for a certain club or vice versa. "This is something that is very bad happening in Mumbai cricket," Coutinho states.

Often during Kanga League matches, the ball gets hidden among uneven tall grasses. At times, the fielders pretend that the ball is hidden and throw it when the batsmen look for an extra run. © BCCL


The changing weather patterns have resulted in more matches getting washed out. It is a helpless state for the organisers to be in, one would admit. Lesser matches are being played in a season, and more are getting called off. But this isn't just because of the natural conditions, a few rules have also been altered over the years to pave way for this situation. Earlier, players would stay put in their respective tents and umpires would wait till as late as 4:30 PM to call off the match. Now, a match gets called off by 2:30 PM. If that isn't enough, often matches get called off a few days in advance.

Coutinho feels the growing disinterest in Kanga League has seeped even into a few groundsmen and organisers. "Groundsmen are no longer interested in making wickets. Earlier, by the first week of July, wickets would be ready. In May, these guys used to dig up the pitch, put the mud and everything was ready. Now if you go and talk to the groundsman, they tell, 'Sir itne baarish mein kidhar wicket banne waala hai? Match nahi hoga' (How do we prepare wickets with all the rain. There is no possibility of a match). So one or two matches go because of groundsmen.

"Secondly, some committee members cancel matches because they see a bit of water on the ground. People who are uninterested in Mumbai cricket don't want Kanga League to happen, because they feel it is a lot of work," he adds.

Deshpande, who has previously served as the secretary of Kanga League, says that during his tenure, efforts were made to have a match in the worst of situations. Despite all the brickbats coming its way, the association is trying. At times in vain, but it is trying nonetheless. Their latest upgrade is providing league standings and equations after every match to all the clubs and the media. The practice wasn't in place before this year, often leaving teams slightly clueless of how to go about their season.

Despite all the efforts to revive the tournament, the association has also undone some of its good work.

Murzello points out with some sharp criticism, "The Mumbai players have gone to Karnataka to play in the KSCA invitational tournament. If you want to give importance to Kanga League, then you don't schedule anything else. If you want the players to get practice for Ranji Trophy, then don't talk about Kanga League. Forget it."

The fact that Kanga League performances are not considered as seriously for Ranji Trophy selection as it was a few years ago is a fact not denied by Rege, who is the chairman of Mumbai's senior selection committee. "One of the reasons Mumbai's club cricket has taken a backseat is because the 20-25 boys who are there in the Mumbai squad are too busy playing elsewhere. Either they are going to England or they are busy playing other local tournaments."

Muck and water on the ground have now become a matter of inconvenience, rather than joy; where victory was once as sweet as an international triumph. © BCCL


It is fairly established that the packed schedule of international and first-class cricketers has left them with little time to get back to playing Kanga League. Even for local cricketers in the city, the spread of tournaments is quite vast and the league doesn't do much to add to their cricketing ambitions. But, despite all the drawbacks in place, will the tournament be relevant if it is revived?

In modern times, when pitches across the world are becoming flatter, is the technique developed by playing Kanga League of any use for a cricketer who makes his progression to playing for the state side or the national team? Fans' demand for big hits are ever-increasing, and given the commercial interests of the cricket's governing body, it is highly unlikely that flatter pitches will be out of fashion. The demands for batsmen have changed - from the need to develop a technique to adjust to different conditions to developing a technique that will help utilise different vacant areas in the ground.

While Coutinho admits that the technique developed while playing Kanga League isn't relevant any longer, he believes the tournament toughens a player mentally, before adding: "Who is asking the player to prepare for Ranji Trophy through Kanga League? Kanga League is preparing him for something else, it is preparing him to be a khadoos cricketer. It is not making him a technically better batsman."

It is while questioning the relevance of Kanga League that emotions can override practicality. The tournament holds a special place in Mumbai cricket, and no one can express that better than Apte, who played 55 seasons of Kanga League. He believes, "If there is something that has survived, there is no point in dismantling it. What would somebody gain by dismantling it? Is it doing some harm? No. Then what's the point? I sincerely hope that Kanga League continues as a tournament, because it is now almost 70 years old."

While it is true that Kanga League is doing no harm to cricket, Rege looks at it from a different perspective. "At the moment it doesn't seem to be that Kanga League is important for Mumbai to win or not to win because players have adjusted to that kind of a life. It was certainly a tournament that was important, but it has lost its sheen. No doubts about that."

Sunday monsoons are no longer awaited with glee in the Mumbai maidans. Muck and water on the ground have become a matter of inconvenience, rather than joy; where victory was as sweet as an international triumph.

Open spaces outside the maidans have been encroached, crowds have disappeared, so has the media coverage. Today, Kanga League has become just another tournament in the city, where players end up playing in order to move up the ranks in the cricketing ladder. But sadly, even the selectors aren't taking the performances as seriously.

It was meant to help cricketers develop a good technique to play in English conditions, and ended up offering much more than what it was supposed to. Above all, it has been etched in Mumbai's rich cricketing folklore.

Back in late 1940s, something special happened to Mumbai cricket, and the sport in general - it was the birth of Kanga League. But today, you can't help but think of the lines penned by Anand Bakshi:

Kuch reet jagat ki aisi hai
Har ek subah ki shaam hui
Tu kaun hai, tera naam hai kya
Sita bhi yahan badnam hui

While the romantics are still alive, the romance has long died.



© Cricbuzz

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As kids i too have memories of playing on extremely dry grounds using a hard tennis ball (Tiger balls), with no protection at all. In winters, these conditions led to painful injuries but that pain was the basis of enormous joy of learning and winning against opponents.
Do you guys too have similar memories of playing in terribly testing conditions as kanga League?

@WAJsal @Arsalan @BDforever

 

[WAJsal]

I was waiting for a tribute on becoming number 1 team in test, @anant_s ,@Areesh ,@Arsalan ...