What a shot!” I sprang to my feet as Virat Kohli sent one soaring into the stands. But the stranger next to me was unfazed. “Isn’t it thrilling when Kohli gets going in chasing a big target?” I tried to warm him up. “Have you heard of Ken Barrington?” He popped a counter question even as Kohli was unwinding another huge heave. His query was so out of place that I was stunned. “Wasn’t he a famous English batsman—long long ago?” I ventured.
The stranger nodded. “He has the record of facing India’s Bapu Nadkarni for almost 22 maiden overs at a stretch!” “My God! No runs scored? What dreadful batting!” He smiled. “They called it ‘bulldog determination’. One of the most successful English batsmen, Barrington used his wrists skilfully to stonewall the bowlers if his team was playing for a draw. When chasing a target, he would send the ball rushing to the boundary. He played as the situation demanded. Itwas a treat to watch the flow of the ball from his bat—not the flow of runs. Test cricket in its chaste form.”
“I can’t imagine suffering even two maiden overs,” I smirked. “No wonder Test cricket is staring at a natural death!” “Yes, the days of Tests may be numbered,” he conceded. “But you can’t call it a natural death as the Test is cricket’s natural child, without which it lacks character. T20s and even ODIs have divorced this gentleman’s game from its leisurely ambience.”
“That’s because Indians have taken cricket to their heart,” I quipped. He replied, “Don’t be fooled. The real reason for cricket’s popularity is money. A cricket match has a break after every over, which means a lot more ads can be pushed in than what’s possible in, say, football. So they have spared no effort to make cricket the most popular sport, especially the T20. Tomorrow we may have five overs a side and call it ‘The Fiery Five’!”
“If you are so averse to T20, why do you come to watch it?” I cornered him. He gave a long sigh. “Beggars can’t be choosers. Have you been a chain smoker?” “No, why?” “Cricket, like smoking, is an addiction. When the government dumps more taxes on cigarettes, what does the die-hard smoker
do? He moves, reluctantly, from Wills Flake to the ‘economical’ Charminar. At the end of the day he settles for the humble bidi!”