Ground Reality

Sanjay Bangar writes here about the state of the varied grounds used for Ranji Trophy matches. Here are a few intriguing excerpts:

There is a ground in Guwahati where a busy railway track runs right behind the sight-screen. The game has to stop on a number of occasions when a train is passing by as the players don’t want to be disturbed by a moving train when they want to concentrate on the moving ball, nor do the umpires want to miss a faint tickle because of the sound of the train.

The GSFC Ground in Baroda where we played the Ranji final in 2000-01 is located amid thick forestry. Players were often reluctant to go in search of the ball once it crossed the boundary rope because there we had loads of monkeys for company on the periphery and nobody was keen to invite the monkeys’ wrath in case they suddenly found a liking for the red cherry.

I am sure there would be so many more interesting stories in Indian first class cricket which don't reach our ears. And, it is a brilliant idea to get first class 'struggling' cricketers to write columns. This gives the aspirants an estimate of the steep climb before the glamorous peak and some sound-bytes to people like me who are suffering from the writer's block.