Still groggy from my regulation eight hour comatose, I picked the phone to check calls and messages. The first text read “Fancy going to watch the Ashes at Edgbaston, mate?’’. If you are familiar with the elixirs that Jeeves concocts to cure stubborn hangovers of his young master, Bertie Wooster, you would know what I am talking about. It had a similar effect on the torpid miasma that still had my brain under its clutches. The lethargy disappeared with the same speed of the proverbial snowflake in hell. “When, what price are the tickets?” I franticly keyed back. “I already got the tickets, mate. Coming to pick you up in ten minutes” was the reply. My friend, a cricket devotee, bought two tickets for ₤150 to go along with his girlfriend who providentially changed her mind at the last minute with the reason of not understanding the game! Well to cut the story short, we chucked a couple of brollies, as the crystal gazers at the meteorology predicted that the rain gods would unleash their wrath (Funny they should predict a rain especially when the monsoon season in England these days is called summer) as they did the previous day, into the car and sped in the general direction of Birmingham.
Here I must tell you a couple of things. Having witnessed only the frenzied excitement that surrounds anything even distantly related to Football and general apathy and ignorance displayed by many I met, I was convinced that cricket is close to dead in England. I could not be more wrong! I will not try to bore you about the scores, individual performances, series progression etc. There are countless educated perspectives in the press offered by experts. What I want to bring o you is the sport played in the stands for it is where the game is nourished and kept alive.
My cynicism, and quite a few other preconceived notions, about cricket’s bleak prospects in England exploded like the red cherry just then hammered to the boundary by Freddy Flintoff the moment I entered the stadium. I always imagined, based on the matches I have seen on the TV, that only a handful of tweed clad elderly and the middle aged would be attending ,politely applauding now and then and slipping back into filling the Crossword puzzles and playing Sudoku. Well, the place was filled to the capacity 21,000 and abuzz with excitement. Frenzied and furious activity everywhere- fans shouting, cheering, singing, scribbling.The crowd could not be more eclectic- the octogenarians, the young, the children, ladies, brown, black and even Chinese! Who would have guessed that our neighbours took interest in cricket? However conspicuous among the crowd were a couple of islands of yellow and green-Australian fans who came all the way from the Down Under to cheer their team.
And an island of Yellow and Green
Action
Freddie Flintoff sweeps for four to hit half-century (Was it his last in Test cricket?)
Australian innings
Katich gets caught
Ponting dances to Swann's Song
And then
( I really can't believe I captured it. It's going to stay with me till the end)
There were plenty points purveying adult beverages to keep the spirits flowing. The Brummie fan is known for his lusty approach to alcohol and they were living upto their renown. Stalwart men everywhere were carrying copious amounts of beer to their seats to down with their mates. Not to be outdone, Ishan and I fetched three pints of Strongbow cider and a pint of orange juice and settled down into our seats.
An environmentally friendly glass
Right next to us sat an octogenarian couple who watched every ball bowled with keen interest and an occasional appreciative comment or applause. Next to them was a pair of Aussie fans dressed in shorts, floral shirts, worn out sneakers and baggy greens. Behind us sat a bunch of hardcore Brummie fans with seemingly endless supplies of beer and witty comments. To the front sat a youth, dressed in a pink shirt and purple trousers, in his twenties, much vocal in his cheering and aided by cider in his hand.
We know that the Ashes rivalry is at least a hundred and twenty seven years old but I had little idea about how deep this sporting rivalry runs between the two sides. With each ball played the native crowd roars a cheer in unison or bursts into a witty ditty to taunt the Aussies. One starts “If you’re one-nil stand-up, if you’re one-nil stand up (with reference to the series lead by the English)” and the entire stadium is on its feet singing save for the Aussies. How about “You’ve been a Pommy colony, you’ve been a Pommy colony” or “You are weaker than New Zealand, You are weaker than New Zealand”? When Siddle is whipped for a boundary, the crowd chants “That’s a nice one Siddle, do it again Siddle”. When Mitch Johnson was moved to deep fine leg and the very next ball was hit for a boundary, the crowd in my stand informed him “You moved, Mitch”. All he would do was take his cap off and smile.
Then there were the masqueraders, dressed in various garbs- Darthwader and his minions from Star Wars, The entire Marvel Comics characters were there-Batman and Robin, Superman etc etc. Once when the guy in Robin’s garb began to run across the stands with a cardboard sword in his hand, the Health & Safety police, so typical of the current trend, grabbed hold of him, rolled the said sword like a Danish cinnamon whirl and set him loose. Not to be subdued, the lad held the curled sword aloft and did a victory lap cheering and taunting.
Darthwader comes to greet the Aussies
A reminder to Aussie history.(Bad..tut tut.LOL)
But, I think the most interesting things were happening right next to me. There was an ongoing battle of wits between the Brummies and the Aussies- the Aussies cheering and waving their flag every time a wicket taken or even when a bowler is hit for a four.
The Brummies would then taunt them “Where did you get those mop sticks, mate? Put them back at the hotel when you go, mate”. Or “Is that a baggy green or a baggy brown, mate?”. What impressed me the most was the way the two Aussie guys kept their cool amidst the taunts, wait for an opportunity or an opening and then move in with a quick thrust of wit and back to focus on the game. They would not retort word for word, when they do humour was their choice of weapon and they used it very effectively. When the youth in pink and purple taunted them, the Aussie said “They wear purple pants these days, do they?”. Not a single word hence forth from the guy in the front!
However, not all the spectators approached cricket the same way. The elderly couple next to me were not very pleased with some of the comments and would now and then remonstrate gently. When Ponting stepped into bat, I joined the crowd to boo him. When the old lady looked at me with disapproval I told her, “I never liked him”. “But, it’s not cricket, love”. “Yeah, but……
If you think this is all about rivalry, mutual taunting and one-upmanship, you are as mistaken as I was. I was thinking to myself that if I were in their place it would come to punches and probably I would get killed. And then one of the finest examples in sporting spirit was witnessed and duly recorded that day. When the play stopped for tea, the Aussies prepared tea and poured it into a large plastic trophy, stuck half a dozen of straws, stood up and offered “Fancy some tea ladies and gentlemen?”. Suddenly, there was bonhomie, banter, smiles and handshakes everywhere. Then, one of the guys in the front row produced a pack of cream-biscuits and offered them to the Aussies in return for a sip of the tea. “Here we go, mate. These biscuits go very well with the tea, mate”.
The rivals shake hands and share a sip of tea.
Biscuits,mate!
Once the tea was over and the play commenced, it started again- “You can pass the swine-flu, mate. But, you can’t win the match, mate”.
When the day was finished, and I reflected over the match, I think I enjoyed the match in the stand than the one on the field. Isn’t it a fine example of what sporting rivalry should be? I honestly learnt a couple of things that day.And you know what? Not a single drop of rain that day!
And ladies and gentlemen, It should be clear to us that the future of English cricket is not as bleak as we suspected.It's secure in the hearts of English cricket fans as strong as the Indian cricket lovers.And that's the best comparison I can make.
Hope you enjoyed and thanks for looking.
Best-
Vikram
It was indeed a special day for me.
