It’s been approximately three years since I held a cricket bat in my hands, two years to the day since I threw a spin ball smack into the middle of a stump and much too long since looking at a game live, or on the television. I am doomed. See, back in the day when I my permanent residence was Dominica, I lived for rainy days when we played cricket in the through the downpour with our mothers screaming at us if we caught a cold.
I existed solely for pick up matches and Sunday afternoons when my dad and his team competed with opposing villages for the title of head honchos. Of course back then they substituted tea for shots for rum, were drunk by the first inning and never completed a single game. Still, those memories keep me sane on the bitter cold American evenings and early mornings when I cannot sleep because the sound of engines drive me insane.
Yesterday I spoke to my little sister who rubbed in my face the fact that she was about to play cricket with the boys on the beach. It serves me right doesn’t it? I mean I practically ran away from home to come to the US without thinking of the consequences. True, I have made a little life here for myself but what is life without cricket? It’s like telling a hardcore football fan to give up his life’s passion; like keeping a whale from the water…that’s not fair right!
And so today I wanted to remember all the great things about the game. Wooden stumps collapsing from a hit, LBW’s called before they are even made, village children playing in the dirt and rain, the spirit of togetherness and eleven players all dressed in white.
Which brings me to the subject of white uniforms; everyone wants to know why cricketers wear white? Well it’s for the simple reason that the ball is red and therefore white is the best dress for visibility. In a white background, the ball can be seen clearly by the man about to hit that cricket ball into history. I myself like to think that it’s because we are purists. The game of cricket is so pure that we do not want to sully it by wearing anything but white.
So the next time you feel the need to make fun of the game of cricket, or laugh and the wonderful men and women who drink tea during breaks, think of the millions more people out there who are staunch supporters of the art. Yea I said art because that’s what it essentially is. Cricket is a blooming art form that many have tried but few have mastered.
Think Sir Jacob Hobbs, Adam Gilchrist, Sachin Tendulkar, Sir Garfield Sobers, Vivian Richards, Don Bradman and all the other cricket greats who have made the game both remarkable and memorable.
To be quite honest there isn’t another game like that of cricket (not in my book anyway). And the next time you are lucky enough to visit England, Australia, Pakistan, India and any of the 700 and some Caribbean Islands, feel free to ask where you can play a pick up game. Not only are we willing to share our art form with you; it’s always nice to indulge a stranger in a spot of tea.
Adios...and good playing.
