Meeting Adam Gilchrist in Mumbai rounded off the India tour
Namaste...
So, after five tough training days, it was time for our first game against Pune Select. Everybody was raring to go for the test ahead and a few of the boys were struggling with ‘Delhi belly’, so our reaction as a team would be interesting.
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky as Paddy Sadler went out to make his first toss as captain. The call of heads was victorious and he elected to have a bat. Willie Rowan was the only person not taking part as he was unwell - and Matthew Cross, Ross Mclean and Pete Ross were batting for the other side...
We got off to an average start, losing some early wickets, with Freddie Coleman and Craig Wallace keeping things together. Freddie then departed for 40 and more wickets tumbled, leaving us 170-7. Craig passed his half-century when Calvin Burnett joined him at the crease, a man on a mission from the off. With ten overs remaining and a batting powerplay in hand, Craig and Calvin looked to get us to a solid total, and they did this and more. Batting through the ten overs and making exceptional use of the batting powerplay, Calvin made it to 50 off 35 balls and Craig made it to his century in the final over, a great moment for him and a fine display of one-day batting. Calvin also played his finishing role perfectly.
So the momentum was definitely with us as we had our tea which, to Marc Petrie's delight was.... more chicken! The bowlers went out to warm up and we set our plans to stop Pune reaching our total. Early wickets would be the key if we were to restrict our opponents.
And we did exactly as we had planned, with Matthew Parker and Paddy Sadler bowling excellently with the new ball - and Pune were 40-7 before they knew it! Aman Bailwal got a wicket and we got a run out to leave Pune 70-9. With all of us hoping to get the game wrapped up quickly and relax in the evening, Matthew Cross and the Pune number 11 had other ideas. We all knew Matthew's ability and we knew quickly that the number 11 wasn’t a genuine tailender. We were trying everything to get the final wicket, but they didn’t give way, both batters passing 50 before Aman got the final wicket, and Pune ended up 190ao.
Realistically we shouldn’t have been out in the field as long as we were but we had got off the mark at the first time of asking so it was a successful day. The bowlers warmed down and then we all went to the pool for some active recovery.
Then it was on to the evening’s entertainment, which was yet again a quiz but with a slight difference as each team had to choose a specialist subject. The contest was hotting up with ‘Super Sweepers’ leading by a couple of points although ‘TFB’ were on a serious charge after winning the last two quizzes (my pointless knowledge finally proving vital!). And it was ‘TFB’ who were to win for the third successive time with their specialist subject being the film ‘The Shawshank Redemption’.
So on to match day two against the same team, and we were hoping for the same result. Craig Wallace and Ross Mclean were not taking part as both had suffered injuries in the game the previous day, with Oli Hairs and Aman Bailwal playing for the opposition today. As we had batted the day before, Wrighty wanted to see how we would cope fielding in the early morning heat.
Again we got an early wicket, but the domino effect did not take place as it had yesterday and the Pune batsman got themselves into a strong position. However, our bowlers kept at it and we managed to get wickets at regular intervals, with all the bowlers getting in on the act (especially Matthew Parker with 5-for). We also took a few good catches, which helped us restrict Pune to 245, which was a success as we were staring down the barrel of 300 at one point.
The batters got their pads on whilst having their chicken, with a view to getting us a solid base in order to chase down this total.
Our chase never got going and we had lots of soft dismissals and were bowled out for 130, a disappointing display after our performance yesterday. But there were still positives which we will be looking to take as we head to Mumbai.
After our warm-downs, we were invited out to a resort on the outskirts of Pune for dinner. It was nice to be out of the hotel for our dinner, although the menu hardly differed, but was still very good. On our way home, we had some good team bonding with various songs being sung on the bus for the entertainment of our Indian friends who had joined us. Once we got back to the hotel, it was time to pack and get some sleep before our early start in the morning for our trip to Mumbai.
After two strenuous match days, we were greeted with the news we were getting a train to Mumbai, where we would spend the rest of the tour, at 7.45 in the morning. Delightfully, this led to a 6.30 wake-up call. Having fought off (not literally) a few beggars, we made it onto the train and began our four-hour journey. In scenes reminiscent of Slumdog Millionaire, a few of the boys partially hung off the outside of the train. Having got off, the first thing we noted was that Mumbai felt significantly hotter than Pune. Craig Wright, I think, doubting our fitness levels (or maybe it was the fact that most of us turned up late for departure this morning, I can’t be sure), made us do sprints on the street, to the utter bemusement of the locals. One bonus to these gruelling sprints was that, for the 20 minutes we did them, we managed to simultaneously be outdoors and not pestered by beggars, which as we later came to realise was a rarity in Mumbai.
Frederick Robert John Coleman has been known to succumb to disease on tour, and this tour was no different as on the same day he was diagnosed with gastroenteritis, fever and a chest infection by a doctor who - overwhelmed by the appalling state of Freddie - fainted and had to be revived by our hero, our leader, Craig Wright, recovering to prescribe two sheets’ worth of pills.
As a result of this, Freddie could not make it to the IPL match that night, between Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers. One thing this brought home is the energy and enthusiasm for cricket out here, as the noise levels in the stadium bordered on the outrageous. However, as loud as it was, the crowd seemed to find several extra decibels for the innings of Tendulkar. The glitz and the glamour of the IPL, and the packed stadium, suggests it’ll be around for a long time.
Finally, we got a lie-in as we had a scheduled rest day. In what turned out to be a rather intense rest day, some of the boys managed to fit in some market shopping in the morning, which brought various different bartering techniques out to play. We don’t think anyone got hustled, but it is difficult to tell.
After this, we had the pleasure of spending some time with Adam Gilchrist (pictured above) at the Deccan Chargers team hotel, then boarded a boat for ‘Elephanta,’ an island home to the Elephant Caves. After an enjoyable, cooling, boat journey, we were faced with what was effectively a 20-minute hike and a ‘tax’ for entering the cave. We didn’t have a long time before the last boat, so we came to the caves, saw the caves, and left the caves back to our boat and the gentle breeze it brought with it. That evening, we went for dinner at the Sachin Bajaj (head of Global Cricket School) residence, and were delighted to be greeted not by curry but by Domino’s pizza followed by vanilla ice cream!
The next day, we were keenly anticipating our match in Mumbai. Earlier in the tour, the Brabourne and Wankhede had been thrown out as possible venues and, although we knew we weren’t playing at either of these grounds, we were still looking forward to the game. Upon arriving at a park which was a cross between The Meadows in Edinburgh and a rubbish dump, with junk, as well as rocks, all over the outfield. We were advised by our coaches ‘not to dive,’ although one feels it is questionable how many of us intended to dive. Another notable fact about this ground was the overlapping nature of the boundaries with at least 3 other pitches. This ‘slight’ overlap led to some interesting situations, as at one point a deep square leg was effectively at short cover in our game. We struggled to adapt to the conditions and were beaten relatively convincingly, with none of the batsmen performing (although Tom McBride made a very good 41 for the opposition). However, these are the playing conditions in which India’s best players are developed and become successful (indeed Sachin Tendulkar’s first club plays on a square neighbouring the one we played on), so it made us realise we are perhaps a bit spoilt at home.
Throughout the week, the squad had been split into five teams (split upon the lines of which room they were in), and had partaken in several challenges. The finale of this was a Britain’s Got Talent-like contest, which got the creative juices flowing. One team went for poetry, one for ‘singing’, two for a dance and one for a sketch show. This provided us with much entertainment but no immediate result as the coaches withheld announcing the result until our dinner that night.
That night, we went to dinner at the CCI (Cricket Club of India), at the Brabourne Stadium, again courtesy of Sachin Bajaj, and the meal was delicious, if a little bit spicy for many, including our resident Asian. Sachin Bajaj and the whole of Global Cricket School, including Umesh, Rishi, and Viki have made sure our trip was both enjoyable and constructive, so many thanks must go to them for their both their hospitality and expertise. Upon the conclusion of the dinner, some individual awards were presented, such as best tourist and the ‘lost for words’ award. After this, the results of the team competition were announced, and amid rising tension, the ‘Super Sweepers’ (Freddie, Ross, Chubby) were announced as winners, which inevitably led to constant gloating for the rest of the evening.
Waking up in the morning, we loaded our taxis and headed off to the airport, experiencing for the last time the hectic driving style employed by almost everyone in India. It has been a tour characterised by the massive differences between India and Scotland, both good and bad, and I think there was a sense of relief that we were going home. That is not to say we did not enjoy our trip and we certainly learnt a lot from it. One might say we embraced the challenge of touring India.
Aman Bailwal & Keith Morton
5 April 2010
