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[undercover]

CLR , You are 100% correct ...Thanks .

[CLR James]

Anytime..

[toney]

CLR,
I agree. Today, kids have lot more opportunities to see their stars. Maybe, it was the lack of better TV coverage or maybe it was lesser cricket. But I rememebr most of the series from the 80s and early 90s much better than the later ones. And yeah, the joy of winning is something else. I could probably replay every ball of the Hero Cup in my mind, who needs highlights packages!!

As for your contention about kids not being excited about meeting SRT: I was at Kochi when SRT took his first 5 wicket haul (this was Kochi's first ODI, April 1st, 1998) and my excitement knew no bounds. BTW, I wasnt a kid then by any stretch of imagination

[kban1]

sudzz & ravi:

Kban I guess you are right I referred to the score card, but I clearly remember the catch that he took every one around him had sort lost sight of what was happening around him, the ball came from Imran's gloves and Imran is a tall bloke he was almost blind sighted but still caught the ball and appealed and the replays showed that the ump got it all wrong.

Ok, this makes sense. Yes Imran was given not out on a delivery where we all thought he was out. If thats what you are referring to, yes, of course.

I was looking at it only from the perspective of the actual dismissal.

[sudzz]

CLR,
I agree. Today, kids have lot more opportunities to see their stars. Maybe, it was the lack of better TV coverage or maybe it was lesser cricket. But I rememebr most of the series from the 80s and early 90s much better than the later ones. And yeah, the joy of winning is something else. I could probably replay every ball of the Hero Cup in my mind, who needs highlights packages!!

As for your contention about kids not being excited about meeting SRT: I was at Kochi when SRT took his first 5 wicket haul (this was Kochi's first ODI, April 1st, 1998) and my excitement knew no bounds. BTW, I wasnt a kid then by any stretch of imagination

Toney not quite there...

As a kid for me watching a cricket match was a treat...entertainment meant reading Amar Chitra Katha, Indrajaal Comics, Chandamama, Champak etc.. little later it meant reading Hardy Boys, etc and even later it meant Alaistair McClean, hitchcock etc etc...

Entertainment also meant playing a lot in the hot sun, climbing trees, and the works...No we did not have fancy stuff but we made things happen with what we had.

Today's kids have a overload of opportunities therefore not much time to really let go and relax, life is more regimented in that even a child of 5 has a schedule to follow very rigidly.

We as parents as well dont really have the time to really chuck everything and sit back until the annual vacation. Cell phones, Vpin connections, Internet etc take away so much time that A) you are never disconnected from work and B) Since geographies across which work happens are on 24 hrs therefore work is on all the while.

No Iam not complaining I enjoy it and will continue doing what Iam doing but all Iam saying is life was simpler and therefore even small pleasures were enough to bring immense happiness.

[Libran]

Just to add on....yes...playing in the hot sun ...plucking mangoes from the neighbour's garden, cycling 8 - 10 kms to attend a coaching camp or swimming, an outing was an event in itself..

Now there are cordoned off neighbours', your own pool in the condominium, people with cars to drop their wards off to school and other indoor extracurricular activities...

Partly because of the lack of safety and also because of pollution, saving in time etc.,

But, the freedom of those days, the baptism by fire when you first step on to the road with your cycle, eagerness and looking forward to holidays because none of the friends were intending to take a holiday abroad

I remember my Dad refusing to take me to the stadium in 1974-75 when the first ever Test match in Bangalore
was held...his reason...the stadium is still under construction and it is not safe....I can still fathom the disappointment...and the agony... when friends who went to the stadium went berserk describing it

[LosingNow]

"JW's Indian Summers" book excerpts..
--
Chapter 1 : Welcome to the Real World

On his second job after retirement …

“I moved from building supplies into the bloodstock industry, saddled with the impressive title of Commercial Manager, Wrightson Bloodstock. The main thing I learned there was that you can tell a race horse owner or breeder many things – that his personal hygiene isn’t up to scratch, that his face gives small children nightmares, that his wife’s as much of a run-around girl as his mother was – but you cannot tell him his horse is a dud.


On his third and final (before coaching Kent) job after retirement ..

The main thing I learned there was that business, friends and family can be a difficult mix. It’s probably no coincidence that for both Robbie (all black fullback) and me Ernest Adams (the food company) was our last stop before going back to our respective sports.


Random quotes..

I also learned that supermarket owners are tough hombres. Some of them made Colin Craft seem like the Dalai Lama.

Having my eyebrows singed by a fire-breathing supermarket manager over a couple of missing cakes gave me an insight into how sheepdogs are made to feel when they fail to follow instructions


Philosophizing..


When you’re caught up in the year-around professional grind it’s easy to forget that, first and foremost, you do it because you love it; it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that you’re one of the lucky ones who gets paid to do what they love.

Familiarity can breed contempt: you can slip into pro’s mindset of getting the job done rather than playing cricket, and lose the passion that propelled you into the county and NZ team.

It is not until you have a real job and you’re sitting in an office looking at the clock and realizing only two minutes have passed since you last looked at it, that you really get it. That’s when you realize you never really appreciated what you had, and you are forced to acknowledge that it left a hole in your life which you have not been able to fill.

What I really missed was competing. It’s pure and basic out in the middle: they’ve got the ball, you’ve got the bat. You are the master of your destiny.

Quoting W.H. Auden “The one necessary prerequisite for all works of art and scientific innovation, no matter how great or small, is an intensity of attention or, less pompously, love”

I’d aspired to a successful second career. I wanted at all costs to avoid living in the past. In a sense, I failed.

To succeed at anything you have to work bloody hard, and if you love don’t love it, the chances are you’ll struggle to do the work

[sudzz]

Just to add on....yes...playing in the hot sun ...plucking mangoes from the neighbour's garden, cycling 8 - 10 kms to attend a coaching camp or swimming, an outing was an event in itself..

Now there are cordoned off neighbours', your own pool in the condominium, people with cars to drop their wards off to school and other indoor extracurricular activities...

Partly because of the lack of safety and also because of pollution, saving in time etc.,

But, the freedom of those days, the baptism by fire when you first step on to the road with your cycle, eagerness and looking forward to holidays because none of the friends were intending to take a holiday abroad

I remember my Dad refusing to take me to the stadium in 1974-75 when the first ever Test match in Bangalore
was held...his reason...the stadium is still under construction and it is not safe....I can still fathom the disappointment...and the agony... when friends who went to the stadium went berserk describing it

KSCA 31 years, Since then how many players made  debut …some of them feel like yesterday. I still remember Venky from the day of his debut to the last day of his international match. When we first saw him in KSCA, he was with his Kinetic Honda scooter …Imagine 6.5 tall figure fitting into Kinetic and he used to sit awkwardly with legs out. He used to live in Hanumanth Nagar area those days …very talkative .. weird jokes.

There was so much competition in the state team but in no time he hit it off with Kumble...Impressed Binny, Patel,Azhar  and the likes... rest is history. He always had good communication skills and knew how to push his case. That helped him and also the relationship he had with Azhar & Kumble . Just look at the competition in the Indian Team those days ..Srinath ,Prashanth Vaidya , S Banerji , Ankola, Bupinder Singh ,Kurivilla , Atul Wassan ,David Johnson ( Dog eater ) …with  Kapil Dev & Manoj Prabhakar still around .

Some of these guys were really bad...I happend to see a old match on Ten sports the other day and this joke calle Bhupinder Singh was bowling...his action was so bad that even in Tilak Nagar v/s Subhash Nagar match he would have been clobbered

[caught and bowled]

I agree lots of things have changed in India for the better and thats something which adds to the qaulity of life in general. However, I probably had values, attitudes etc. in mind
I just meant that life was very simple in India in the 70s and 80s and inspite of lack of material wealth people were contented. I am not so sure if that is still the case...

Not denying what you say...maybe our children will think we were happy and contented....

Attitudes and values...I completely agree...more erosion by the day.
[/quote]

Things like these scare me....

This what I meant of attitudes and values..

'I have done no wrong'
   By: A Mid Day Correspondent
   November 13, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Twenty-one-year-old Alistair Pereira appeared utterly remorseless after seven labourers died and eight were injured after he rammed his imported Toyota Corolla into them in a fit of drunkenness on Sunday night.

“I don’t think I have done anything wrong, it was just an accident,” Pereira told MiD DAY.

“After partying at Taj Land’s End, my friends wanted to drink some more. We went for a drive,” said Pereira in a flat remorseless tone. “I picked them up from Land’s End in Bandstand and we went to Carter Road. I had some booze in my car. We were taking rounds of Carter Road while listening music when the accident happened,” he said.

First flight

Pereira says his first reaction was to flee. “ As I turned back, my car’s axel broke. When I braked suddenly, the car spun and swerved to the left and hit the wall. I could not run away as I was stuck in the car with Conroy (Jacob) and Craig (Pereira),” he said. Pereira’s other three friends Kurt D’Lima, Marvin Pinto and Ronilla Santamayu managed to escape.

Rude

When the six friends were brought to Bandra holiday court for remanding them to police custody, all, including Pereira wore innocent, pitiful faces.

While in court, Pereira’s friend, Conroy Jacob shrugged his shoulders, as his wailing mother prayed for him. After the judge ordered that all (except Pereira) be released on bail, everyone broke into half-smiles and cold responses. The friends rudely pushed media persons when they sought details.

Girlfriend scared

Alistair Pereira’s girlfriend did not visit him at the police station because she was scared for him. ‘‘She must be shitting bricks. I have not spoken to her, but have learnt about her from my friends,” he said.
 
The accused       
 
Alistair Pereira (21): He helps in  his father’s metallurgical business,   Craig Pereira (18): An HSC student from R D National College, Bandra,    Conroy Jacob (21): Second year BMM student from St Andrews College, Bandra, Kurt D’Lima (20): A student of Champlain College, Mahim  Marvin Pinto (19): A second year student of Raheja College   Ronilla Santamayu (20): Student of St Xavier’s College, Dhobi Talao
 
 
 
 
 
 

[keep-it-cool]

Some of these guys were really bad...I happend to see a old match on Ten sports the other day and this joke calle Bhupinder Singh was bowling...his action was so bad that even in Tilak Nagar v/s Subhash Nagar match he would have been clobbered

Have you attended the night matches at Subhash Nagar?

[sudzz]

Some of these guys were really bad...I happend to see a old match on Ten sports the other day and this joke calle Bhupinder Singh was bowling...his action was so bad that even in Tilak Nagar v/s Subhash Nagar match he would have been clobbered

Have you attended the night matches at Subhash Nagar?

Of course I have...remember the Hindi/Marathi commentary and the so called live coverage etc...do you also remember the man of the match awards-a "button wala chattri".

Man the likes of Chandu Pandit etc used to play and Mithun was the chief guest many times.

[keep-it-cool]

Some of these guys were really bad...I happend to see a old match on Ten sports the other day and this joke calle Bhupinder Singh was bowling...his action was so bad that even in Tilak Nagar v/s Subhash Nagar match he would have been clobbered

Have you attended the night matches at Subhash Nagar?

Of course I have...remember the Hindi/Marathi commentary and the so called live coverage etc...do you also remember the man of the match awards-a "button wala chattri".

Man the likes of Chandu Pandit etc used to play and Mithun was the chief guest many times.

Mithun was the star attraction. Also, Kambli's elder brother used to play for one of the sides, if I remember right.

[Aloo Kashmiri Ul Haq]

Sudzz,
I put the Youngest Member of the DG tag and I haven't been scared from posting it's just that there are fewer anti-Pakistan posts these days 
and you guys got nostalgic and mentioned how kids today do not have adversaries (sp?) not true I will narrate one of the more recent incidents
March 2003 - my 3rd month in the US. It was India vs. Pakistan (the first game after two years i think) and Cineplus (those who live in the tristate area might know what I am talking about. It's a theatre that until a year or so back showed only Hindi movies) was to show the game. A couple of friends of mine told me about their plans to go to the movie theater and told me that it would cost around 20$. In order to save those 20$ I used to walk everyday from my high school to home for about 2 miles and save 1$ each way.
Then the big day arrived but alas we didn't have transportation. So we took the last bus to the theater at about 10.30 pm, reached there at 11. The game was to start at 3 am. 4 hours my friends and I were waiting outside the theater because the SOB manager wouldn't let us in. Mind you for FOBs even March is pretty cold (i think the night temperature was around 25-30 F) In between we tried get into the Pathmark nearby but again no luck. Then it was finally 3 am and we got in the queue but were told that the doors wouldn't be opened because the theater guy had sold a little too many tickets and that there weren't enough seats for everyone. That caused people to go crazy and the cops were called. A few pepper can bottles were used. Then finally they let us in after opening up more screens.
Funny thing was that there were a few Pakistani supporters but they all pretended to be Indian supporters because they didn't want to be alienated I guess.
Wont go into the description of the game. We all know how Tendiya was at his best.
You might wonder how did the viewers celebrate the win, well Indians so had to do it in style, a lot of us smashed Snapple bottles on the concrete outside.

[dhruvdeepak]

My 'Indian Summers' Review (long delayed)
-----------------------------------------

John Wright's memoirs of his 5 year stint as India's coach is a brisk, easy read. He comes across as an honest, diligent man, who wanted nothing but the best possible team for the millions of Indian fans for whom cricket is their only escape from the harsh truths of everyday life. The book takes us from the beginnings - his last days as a Test cricketer, to his frustrations of a life away from cricket, and finally to his new role as coach, first for Kent and then for India. The book is replete with anecdotes, memorable little gems that keep the pages turning. His straightforward, kindly approach to writing this book leaves the reader believing that there is much to be said for the nice guy that doesnt finish last.

His tale begins with the reality check of being forced to work a 9-5 job. He realizes after a few unfulfilling years that he cannot live a life away from cricket. The boredom, the inconsequential nature of his job, the longing to be back on a cricket field takes its toll on him.
"What I really missed was competing. It's pure and basic out in the middle: they've got a ball, you've got a bat. You're the master of your own destiny. You lose yourself, disappear into a zone that's impossible to replicate in everyday life...You strive to achieve a state of total concentration in which everything you know, and think you know, about the game is distilled into two or three key thoughts. Having got to that plane of intense focus, you then have to switch off at the last moment and let your instinct take over."

John Wright goes back to Kent, where Graham Cowdrey (son of colin Cowdrey) tells him that a vacant coaching post is available. For him, it is a return of sorts to where it all began. It was in Kent that he made a name for himself and staked a claim for a spot in the New Zealand team. It was as if his mind, switched off for a number of years, had suddenly come out of hibernation. He was buzzing with ideas. I suspect John also enjoyed being the center of focus again. Being the person he is, he took well to his new status.
"My name and standing had changed overnight. I was now 'Coach' and judging by the way players sought my advice and hung on my every word, it seemed as if I'd suddenly become the fount of all knowledge. I resisted the temptation to believe that."

Coaching Kent was a harsh initiation to the job, but it prepared him well for his stint with India. All the negatives one would imagine of working with the BCCI -  were there at Kent as well. The board always had a couple of gents who didnt think much of him. They were the ones that questioned him the most. This strengthened his resolve. Over his four seasons of coaching the team he developed a method which was to stand him in good stead in the years to come.

After being approached to coach the national teams of both England and New Zealand, and then summarily being cut from the list for both, he got back to focussing on Kent. In 2000, Rahul Dravid played for Kent. Several senior Indian players were pushing the BCCI to hire a foreign coach. When Kent played Lancashire (for whom Ganguly was playing), Wright had a chat with Ganguly about this as well. Colin Cowdrey (responsible for getting him the job at Kent) had a good friend in the BCCI, Raj Singh Dungarpur. This was to prove important to Wright's chances, facing competition for the job from Geoff Marsh and Greg Chappell. What also helped was that Bob Simpson (who had priorly worked with the Indian team, and was in touch with Dungarpur) had backed Wright as the man for the job. So began Wright's wondrous journey through the politics, fanaticism, chaos, passion and peace that is India.

To be continued...

[LosingNow]

bump.....