The Chennai Cricketing Culture
Hi,
I am a new resident of chennai (An year old). Me being a Cricket Freak, One thing that caught my I eye in Chennai was cricket. Before coming to chennai i had quiet a knowledge of the cricketing culture of chennai, but i really felt it only after i happen to stay in the city. The culture i refer here is not the culture of India Vs Pakistan cricket test match or the CSK vs MI IPL T20 match, but what makes it very much successful in Chennai. The cricket which runs through the veins of the chennaiites makes it possible.
Much of cricketing activity cannot be seen on the weekdays.On weekends if u happen to move out of ur house and walk on the streets for atleast half an hour u will atleast see 10 to 15 boys either gearing up for the matches or coming back fully tired after finishing matches. Here the question arises where do these youngsters get to play. The answer is simple. Any open space which is very small is not small enough to stop them playing and any open space which is very big is not seems like a crowded bazaar.
Another astonishing thing about the interest shown by the youngsters for their love of cricket is the distances they travel just for playing cricket. The Place I go to play is some where near the Chennai trade centre in nandambakkam. To play there yougsters reach there from as far as tambaram in South to Triplicane and parrys in East. Its almost 10 to 15 KM distance but youngsters easily reach there.
The most impressive thing about this bunch of young cricketers is that the time difference between the first person reaching the ground and the last person is only half an hour and we can start playing cricket very early. This iam saying because when ever i have tried playing cricket any where no one reaches there on time. They will say 6.00 am and when we start playing it would already be 8.00am. But in chennai if the time is 6.00 we can be sure of starting playing atleast by 6.30 to 6.45 am.
These people have a great knowledge of the balls they use to play. The local tennis balls specifically manufactured for cricketers of this genre. They see the company name and they can say how much bounce the ball will generate, how far it will go if one hits it, is it better to hit air born shots or gound shots with the different balls. They can also say if the ball is out of shape or is best for use. They have atleast 3 or 4 spare balls incase the balls disapper in the nearby ditch or house or gone out of shape, u are not short of balls.
This cricketing culture is a living culture and the youngsters play it only for their love of the game. Be it a busy work day on saturday, be it night show with frnds (who do not play cricket), be it they have some important hosusehold work, be it some school homework for these youngsters everything comes after the sunday cricket.
Dedicated to the chennai local tennis ball cricketers
Muzakkir G M Bijli
I am a new resident of chennai (An year old). Me being a Cricket Freak, One thing that caught my I eye in Chennai was cricket. Before coming to chennai i had quiet a knowledge of the cricketing culture of chennai, but i really felt it only after i happen to stay in the city. The culture i refer here is not the culture of India Vs Pakistan cricket test match or the CSK vs MI IPL T20 match, but what makes it very much successful in Chennai. The cricket which runs through the veins of the chennaiites makes it possible.
Much of cricketing activity cannot be seen on the weekdays.On weekends if u happen to move out of ur house and walk on the streets for atleast half an hour u will atleast see 10 to 15 boys either gearing up for the matches or coming back fully tired after finishing matches. Here the question arises where do these youngsters get to play. The answer is simple. Any open space which is very small is not small enough to stop them playing and any open space which is very big is not seems like a crowded bazaar.
Another astonishing thing about the interest shown by the youngsters for their love of cricket is the distances they travel just for playing cricket. The Place I go to play is some where near the Chennai trade centre in nandambakkam. To play there yougsters reach there from as far as tambaram in South to Triplicane and parrys in East. Its almost 10 to 15 KM distance but youngsters easily reach there.
The most impressive thing about this bunch of young cricketers is that the time difference between the first person reaching the ground and the last person is only half an hour and we can start playing cricket very early. This iam saying because when ever i have tried playing cricket any where no one reaches there on time. They will say 6.00 am and when we start playing it would already be 8.00am. But in chennai if the time is 6.00 we can be sure of starting playing atleast by 6.30 to 6.45 am.
These people have a great knowledge of the balls they use to play. The local tennis balls specifically manufactured for cricketers of this genre. They see the company name and they can say how much bounce the ball will generate, how far it will go if one hits it, is it better to hit air born shots or gound shots with the different balls. They can also say if the ball is out of shape or is best for use. They have atleast 3 or 4 spare balls incase the balls disapper in the nearby ditch or house or gone out of shape, u are not short of balls.
This cricketing culture is a living culture and the youngsters play it only for their love of the game. Be it a busy work day on saturday, be it night show with frnds (who do not play cricket), be it they have some important hosusehold work, be it some school homework for these youngsters everything comes after the sunday cricket.
Dedicated to the chennai local tennis ball cricketers
Muzakkir G M Bijli
Comments