A fast bowler that wasn't

As a 11 year old, I did fancy myself as a tare away fast bowler in the mould of Jeff Thompson and Dennis Lillie. I could not see the wickets at the other end. I could only see a human figure at the far end and would go for it. More often than not , it would be the man or his wickets that I hit. Either way, my captain was happy.

Cricket has been an obsession with me from early childhood. I see the game as a mystery thriller that captures your imagination right from page 1 till the final paragraph. Once you begin, the game tends to draw you in and fully engage you with a plot that is tantalisingly unpredictable, characters that are exciting and action that has its fascinating highs and lows.

A cricketing experience puts one through all conceivable human emotions, right from happiness, excitement to anger, frustration and disappointment. It is an experience that transports one into a simulated World of fantasy that very often seems to be very close to reality.

The England-Australia series of 1972, saw the emergence of the dynamic Ian Chapel as captain of Australia. His positive, aggressive approach of taking on the adversary head on was inspiring. He not only inspired a bunch of out and out losers but transformed them into World beaters. His philosophy of facing the problem rather than running away from it has been very meaningful and real to me.

My dream of becoming a fiery fast bowler had to be consigned to the file of childhood fantasies as I grew older and began to realise the physical limitations of being visually disabled. However the passion for the sport remained.

Many years later, I was woken up by the loud noise of children playing cricket in the ground just outside my window. I heard a shrill voice scream out”Kapil Dev moves into bowl to Azharuddin, outside the leg stump, Azhar flicks through mid wicket, four runs.” Obviously the stars were missing. But the passion , the skill , the thrill and the enthusiasm was certainly there in ample measure. A small white plastic ball that rattled while in motion, underarm bowling and audio signals and the blind boys were well on their way with their game of cricket.

The playing field is a powerful learning arena. As the former West Indies opening batsman, the late Conrad Hunt once told me” On the cricket field you learn to Dream, develop the Desire, imbibe the discipline, Dedication and the Determination to succeed.” This is the “Mantra” to success.

The National Cricket programme for the blind that was launched from 1990 and the 1998 World Cup cricket for the blind was an effort to provide the blind with the platform to experience and imbibe the 5 Ds. More importantly on a personal note it was a huge outlet for all that pent up passion of years of a tare away fast bowler who was kept out of the game.




George Abraham