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In a different league
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In the past, many youngsters pursued their passion for cricket on shoestring budgets and sheer enthusiasm. But today, they have access to world-class equipment made available because of generous sponsorship. A look at Chennai's die-hard cricket lovers...
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THE CENTRAL Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Adyar, reverberated with the sound of willow-striking leather some time back during a historic cricket match. Playing in the fifth division of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association League, Besant Nagar's Amar Cricket Club piled up an enormous score of 450 for 5 wickets declared in 47 overs against Sounder Cricket Club, which in reply, mustered 279 all out in 49.2 overs.
Chennai has its die-hard fans, who evince an interest and follow the outcome of the TNCA league matches. Sometimes when the home team plays lowly placed Goa at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, the number of spectators at the Ranji Trophy game would be less than the throng around the MAC "B" ground on the western side of the hallowed Chepauk, where perhaps, a modest Triplicane Sports Club would be pitted against Prithvi CC!
A little earlier in time, when the lovely Marina ground was not relegated to the status of a public urinal, dozens of cricket fans, old and young, could be seen occupying their favourite places in the gallery which is now a skeleton. The Triplicane spectators would not owe allegiance to a particular team but would passionately analyse the ongoing performances augmenting their encyclopaedic memories. And woe betides the hapless fielder who dropped a sitter and trooped disconsolately to the deep positions near the boundary line.
The timeless appeal of the TNCA league matches is precisely the healthy mix of the participants of different age groups. Depending on the munificence of the older players' endowment to the kit or in footing the lunch bill of the players, the men who have seen younger days on the field would still be permitted to take up battle for the team. It says much for the cricket loving public of Chennai that they travel reasonably long distances on holidays to catch the action on playing fields which are less in number now, "development'' swallowing up neighbourhood playgrounds. These very grounds threw up incredible talent to grace National, Zonal and State teams. The same Amar CC which hit the headlines last week for that 450 for 5 declared used to play on a "Commons" in Besant Nagar which now houses the imposing Rajaji Bhavan. Former Indian skipper Krish Srikkanth played for Amar CC in his younger days.
Diwakar Vasu played for Amar CC in the 1980s when the club won five championships almost consecutively as it streaked up from the league entrance tourney (Srinivasaraghavan Memorial) to the second division of the TNCA league. Earlier, two other private teams of Mylapore had reached the first division from scratch — Globe Trotters SC and Grand Prix CC. Chennai cricket enthusiasts would recall the stirring performances of the young L. Sivaramakrishnan, W. V. Raman and W. B. Chandrasekar of these teams.
The outlook of youngsters those days radiated cricket and studies, necessarily in that order! And, they haven't done badly in life. For, those days, cricket was a way of life. The straight bat and all that, in the case of Amar CC, taught the youngsters to fend for their passion.
Perhaps this stood the young players in good stead for life. From that glorious reign in the 1980s, as many as 12 Amar players moved abroad for their livelihood. First among them was W. R. Madhavan (gold medallist from the College of Engineering, Guindy) and was quickly followed by the rest. The Amar brand was to set a scorching pace in the batting department and the top order displayed `Srikkanthesque' tendencies. Several big hundreds were scored then and Amar CC watchers in Chennai would relish the flurry of strokes from a certain R. Visveswaran, now a senior lawyer in Chennai and also counsel for the TNCA. He thumped a magnificent 173 at the Marina in 1984 and now at the CLRI ground, he played a small part in that massive record-breaking Amar total of 450 for 5 decl. in 47 overs.
But now, the men of the moment, perhaps for all time in Amar CC are the two batsmen who took the score from 10 for 1 (when Visveswaran was out) to 379 for 2. It was the 370 run partnership between Amar Shetty (190 with 10 sixes and 18 fours) and skipper K. Subramaniam (181 with 5 sixes and 24 fours), which powered the team to that all-time high score in a completed TNCA league match in the 50 over format. This sensational 370 runs were made in just 170 minutes! Amar Shetty is just 22 years old and he works for Foster Wheeler while the 24-year old Subramaniam helps his father run a construction business.
TNCA sources said that this is the highest total ever in Chennai's 50-over-basis completed matches barring an instance of a match, which was conceded by the opposition on being confronted with an even higher score! Official confirmation is awaited but it can be stated with assurance that the 370 run stand for any wicket is the highest ever in the TNCA league.
Interestingly, an Amar old timer, Giridhar Bail scored 20 runs out of 450 for 5, last week. This was obviously also conveyed in the ticker tape as the e-mails sped to distant lands, making those souls yearn for being in league again, hand in glove with their mates in dear ol' Chennai! Meanwhile, thanks to generous sponsorship from Nagaraj Mylandla's FSS, youngsters of Amar CC now play with world class cricket equipment, a far cry from those days when the team made do with shoe-string budgets and passion.
M. Srinath Narayan
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