One Memorable Day.
By Rummuser. Filed in Nostalgia |Tags: Bowling, Cricket, Memories, Winning runs
I had been struggling for three days, to come up with a topic for this week’s LCB when in a flash it came. Why it came is also the reason for this topic. Why it came is that “One Memorable Day” is so special for me that it pops up in my mind suddenly every now and then, so that I can re-live that special day. Every moment of that day is so deeply etched into my memory that, it never fails to lift up my spirits no matter how gloomy they may be at that particular moment.
Here is a sample of what I mean. A poignant piece of writing by a celebrity, who had his special “One Memorable Day”, and has perhaps lost an opportunity to establish a remarkable relationship.
My ‘the’ memorable day was way back in 1980, when I was posted in Delhi by my employers. Every year, our company used to have the annual sales conference in one of our mill locations which were all in rural parts of South India, so that the mill employees could have an opportunity to rub shoulders with the sales guys.
The finale of the conference was the annual Sales Vs The Rest cricket match. It was a fiercely fought and cheered for by the opposing supporters in a noisy festival atmosphere.
All the players from the sales team would come to play the game once a year without any practice but the locals would have been practicing and getting ready for the big day. A clear advantage any way you look at it.
My job in the team was to bowl. I was not expected to bat and score runs. The host team batted first and I did my bit and took three wickets and went to sleep comfortably when the sales team went in to bat.
I was suddenly woken up by my team mates and asked to pad up and do a rescue job at number seven and with twenty runs to score to win. I bravely padded up, and walked up to do the job with much encouraging shouts from our side and friendly booing from the hosts.
Then the Memorable Day happened.
I hit the first ball that I faced for a four. The next one too and the third one for a single. There was a hush from the hosts side and much cheering from ours. My partner faced his first ball and got cleaned bowled out. Two wickets more in hand and eleven runs to win. A fresh over with me to face the bowler, our opponents’ fastest and most experienced bowler. The first ball flew past me in a blur. The next ball was a beauty for a batsman and I was able to despatch to the boundary for a four. Seven runs to win. I was seeing the ball like a football. I was able to take another run and cross over leaving my last but one partner, our wicket keeper, to face the music. Six more runs to win. He patted the next one down the wicket and took a single leaving me to bat. Five more to win and I had to do it. The last ball of the over was bowled and I was able to see it like a football. I stepped out and clouted it over the fence for a six and we won the match.
I have played many matches and none has ever meant more or given me greater joy. It was like a dream come true being selected the man of the match for the three wickets and the winning runs for the sales team. The whole sequence of events, the precise placement of the ball in the strokes, the kind of balls that were bowled, the bowlers, the fielders involved, the sound from the pavilion, the entire atmosphere, are as vivid to me today as I write this as it has been innumerable times, when for no reason at all that memory of that perfect day and the two overs come back to me in flash back.
That was also the last match I played for the Sales Team as, both my hip joints started giving me trouble from December of 1980 and I was never able to get back to playing any games ever again.
This post is the Loose Consortium Bloggers’ Friday post when Ashok, Conrad, Grannymar, Magpie11, Marianna, Maria, Gaelikaa, Helen, Judy , and I write one post each on the same topic. Please visit the other blogs too to have different views on this fascinating subject. This week unfortunately, Marianna will not be posting due to prior commitments.
Friday, November 20th 2009 at 20:47 |
Now I understand your obsession with cricket! Thanks to BBC Radio 4 Long Wave, I almost understand the game.
Rummuser Reply:
November 20th, 2009 at 22:39
With your new shock absorbers, you might like to try playing it. Ireland now has quite a team and they have been giving some good accounts of themselves in the recent past.
Grannymar Reply:
November 20th, 2009 at 22:52
Alas, I never had an eye for a ball in any sport. I think I should stick to making the cricket teas!
Rummuser Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 12:44
Top class idea.
Friday, November 20th 2009 at 21:22 |
While I don’t understand cricket, I do understand tension and excitement at the prospect of winning. I was the pitcher and first baseman for my highschool softball team. I felt the hope and excitement in your play by play. That feeling of euphoria stays with you forever! As I said in my post, “it’s a frame of time embedded in your memory”. I enjoyed this post and felt like I was right there with you!
Rummuser Reply:
November 20th, 2009 at 22:38
Thank you.
Friday, November 20th 2009 at 22:04 |
I must confess to not even understanding American football. While I am confessing, I have a hard time even remembering whether a team is a baseball, basketball, or football team when others are discussing the big game. Judy, in her comment, did such an excellent job of relating to your feeling of euphoria, that I now humbly feel totally inadequate. However, I do understand the feeling of success and the enjoyment of a job-well done not to mention the recognition of team mates.
While walking the dogs yesterday, I tripped over one of them when she suddenly stopped in my path. Fortunately, I rolled right over the top of her, but I am stiff and sore and it has given me new sympathy for anyone with hip problems. Oops, my knees are begging for equal time in the pain issue. LOL
Rummuser Reply:
November 20th, 2009 at 22:30
You should read this.http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/have-you-tripped-over-your-dog/ I have read a later version but am unable to find it just now.
Friday, November 20th 2009 at 22:23 |
Ramana, I am so happy for you (obviously not about the resulting hip pain).
Unfortunately, I am unable to grasp anything to do with cricket so my appreciation of your memorable day is as negligible as my ability to throw anything any distance, never mind hitting it.
However, I love the evocative British expression “It just ain’t cricket”.
U
Rummuser Reply:
November 20th, 2009 at 22:37
Never mind. It is still cricket that you took the pains to comment.
Friday, November 20th 2009 at 22:48 |
I do not know cricket from @@@@. I can see how it can be a very satisfying thing when two enemy camps play a ‘friendly’ game. Managements are very clever people. They use such methods to allow for some bad feelings between departments to be brought out and exhausted. And people like you will give everything to play hard to win for their side. The game is played by the management, and they are the only winners.
Rummuser Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 12:50
I am too old and most of my regular readers too are, to accept language such as the @@@@ word edited out by me. Please refrain from using these.
You have an unusual approach to the whole idea for the annual match. I see the merit but, you do not have the full information. When I played that match, I was part of “The Management”. It is my unaltered opinion that the game, much looked forward to by everyone was a great team building exercise and really did serve a useful purpose. Along with me, other “Management” people also played from both teams.
If I may venture to ask, why do you come across as such a negative person? You have not answered my question about your blog too!
Murphy Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 21:00
I am sorry if I offended you and your readers. The word is quite common now here and most people do not take offense. I am not negative. I just have a point of view which I write about. I will let you know when the right time comes about my blog.
Saturday, November 21st 2009 at 01:06 |
That day really deserves to be your memorable day. What I like about memorable days is that you do not choose them, they automatically make themselves memorable. This post prompted me to think about my own memorable day. I will be writing about it very soon.
Rummuser Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 12:44
Yes, Lizwi I look forward to that. I have not seen you around for a some time. All well with you?
Saturday, November 21st 2009 at 01:22 |
I don’t understand cricket, but then I do not understand football, either. Never mind, if you played your last game you certainly went out in a blaze of glory!!!
Rummuser Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 12:43
That I did and that is why it keeps coming back to me!
Saturday, November 21st 2009 at 02:52 |
Having such a day to be the last of a sport was indeed memorable. Thanks for showing me a bit of the game. I played alot of sports in the day, but the best ones were small town league games.
Rummuser Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 12:43
Thank you Brighid.
Saturday, November 21st 2009 at 06:17 |
A former boss of mine from my Irish days, a retired IFS officer who served as Ambassador in several countries, is a big cricket enthusiast like so many of his fellow countrymen. In fact, when I ‘found’ him on the internet recently and mailed him to renew our acquaintance, almost the first question he asked me was ‘are you a cricket maniac?’ The truth is, you cannot live in India and ignore cricket. It is so much a part of the national consciousness. I also feel that it is a very unifying factor.
Your story was wonderful. A great read.
Rummuser Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 12:42
Thank you. There is a different twist to the game as mentioned by a new reader Murphy. You might like to read that and my response.
Saturday, November 21st 2009 at 19:20 |
I like the way the cricket players stop for a “spot of tea” even on the 4th day when the match is still not over. Games can take days!
Great story Rummy!!!!
Rummuser Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 21:03
There are three official versions of the game Maynard. A twenty overs per side one, a fifty overs per side one and the king of all, the five day test match. It is an acquired taste.
Saturday, November 21st 2009 at 21:09 |
Thanks for the summary–I still like the “spot of tea”!
Sunday, November 22nd 2009 at 04:05 |
Your memory is a lot better than mine! Glad it was such a great day and that you can still remember all the details.
Rummuser Reply:
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:24
Jean, you are teasing me. Your memory, from what I see in your blog, is amazing.
Sunday, November 22nd 2009 at 07:04 |
Crickets are still thing which we feed to lizards, but it would have been fun to be there with a camera. I presume this was before you jumped out of the window?
Rummuser Reply:
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:23
I admire your memory Looney. Yes, this was just before I had to jump out of the window.
Sunday, November 22nd 2009 at 09:41 |
Rummuser, I wish I understood anything you said in this post. I know nothing about cricket; never even seen it played. Still, sounds like you had a historic moment, and those are always memorable.
Monday, November 23rd 2009 at 04:31 |
Lovely…. I hated the game at school…but I also hated soccer. I’m one of those people who has hole in his bat or racquet. I make a great shot only to see the ball behind me and not where It was meant to go!
This passion for cricket in India is amazing. I have face book friends who are part of it and it does seem to be a unifying factor. It also joins people across the world.
My sons both joined a cricket club when young. Tristan amazed us …got a ball smack in the mouth. right incisor broken..tears and then back in to carry on batting. Not like me at about the same age…ball between the eyes, well just above. Spent the next ten summers avoiding cricket at every opportunity.
Interesting how there are at least two sporting memories with this subject.
Rummuser Reply:
November 26th, 2009 at 18:11
Yes, Conrad and I seem to have had similar backgrounds about sports.
Monday, November 23rd 2009 at 11:31 |
Your list of talents seems grow in size everyday sir! Kudos to you
Rummuser Reply:
November 26th, 2009 at 18:10
You have seen nothing yet Ashok. Keep reading and all will be revealed.
Monday, November 23rd 2009 at 19:34 |
Nice post. It is every boy’s dream of hitting a six and winning the match off the last ball.
For Aericans who do not follow cricket, it is equivalent of throwing a Hail Mary for a touchdown in football and winning a playoff game.