When I first came to America, we would play cricket in the parking lots with a ‘taped tennis ball.” Soon, we found out there were actual leagues in America. We would drive two hours to Los Angeles, the hub of cricket in Southern California, play for eight hours and drive back another two hours. Those were our weekends, cricket, cricket and cricket. And of course, the Monday morning blues would be acerbated by the sore muscles and the.
Back in India, cricket was steps away from home, one the street. We would put the wickets right in the middle of the street and let vehicles find their way around it like they would an adamant cow sitting in the middle of the road.
Indians live and breathe cricket. Indians are traditionally not a very sporty nation. The number of Olympic medals India has won in its history can probably be counted using just your fingers and toes. But Indians love their cricket and they are bloody good at it. The game that comes closest to cricket is baseball. But an Indian would never be able to replace cricket with baseball. I went to a baseball game once and sat there and watched. Nothing happened for nearly an hour and a half. Towards the end, someone hit the ball out of the park and people clapped. Then, it was over. Cricket, on the other hand can go on for days, the longer format being five whole days - without ever getting boring!
First I will admit to never having been to India or America. I went to France once for 10 days but that was 29 years ago, and I went to Dublin once for a day BUT.... I find these insights in camparing two foreign countries interesting and while never enthralled with cricket, I struggle to see what happens in baseball. I did watch cricket with my dad as a pup and understand the game - it's just a bit too slow for me as I prefer motor racing or cycling. Fascinating blog though. Thank you.
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