It is a very different movie. It is full of intellectual humor. It is 87 minute long and there are seriously about 2 humorous moments per minute. Rather than talk about the movie I just want to give some samples. It has jokes about Americans, Indians, doctors, patients, marriage, life, you name it. I just finished directing and editing my second movie “ I am a schizophrenic and so am I” I have a one day reshoot and I need some actors to play reporters. Contact me if interested, at ravigodse@comcast.net.

American:
My son is 8 years old and he is American. When I asked him whether he wants to go to Switzerland, he said, “Switzerland? Who wants to go to that stupid place? Where is it daddy? He is completely an American.
Dr.Donohue: (Looking at the snow) “Looks like it is going to be a white Christmas”
Dr.Ravi: “What about black people? You are saying it to me because I am Asian, right?”
Dr.Donohue,” I don’t care if you are Japanese.”
Dr.Ravi” Japan is in Asia
Dr.Donohue “Since when?”

Indian:
Many people from India would call me and ask me whether white people in America discriminate against me because of who I am and in the same breath ask me whether there are in blacks in my neighborhood.

American and Indian
An American lawyer asks, “Was India in Olympics?”
Doctor, exclaims angrily, “Was India in Olympics, didn’t you see us? We paraded right between Honduras and Indonesia
American Lawyer says, “Are those names of countries?”

Marriage;
How do you find unmarried people? Go stand on the street corner and find everyone that looks happy.
The key to the successful marriage is to say sorry when you are wrong and shut up when you are right.
I committed the worst crime a husband can do. No. I was not unfaithful. I spoke bad things about her father.
Oh, my wife took it well. She spoke about it briefly for 2 hours.
Wife, with exasperation, “You are becoming more and more like your mother.”
Husband, “That’s the first nice thing you have said about me in months!”

Patients and Doctors
Patient “I am having crushing chest pain.”
Doctor “What’s your insurance?”

Patient “My legs are swollen”
Doctor,” Since when?”
Patient “Since I stopped the pills you gave me for swollen legs”

Patient, “My butt is cold.”
Doctor, “What were you doing last night?”
Patient, “Sitting on an ice pack”
Doctor, “That did it.”
Patient, “You are a genius”… This cuts from snow covered Pittsburgh to Africa, with the voiceover saying, “Africa, indeed. When will I realize that if your butt is cold, don’t haul it to warmer weather, just look for the ice pack that is doing it.”

Doctor’s monologues
I know it’s take a lot of money. I can handle it. It’s good to be rich.
I never cared for pricey high heeled shoes but had I put myself in my wife’s, life would be simpler.
Life is too long. Don’t get stuck. Find out what you want to do. Talk to 10 people but don’t listen to any one of them.
I was sleeping comfortably in the arms of person I love the most. (While I am saying this the camera for the first time shows my lovely wife and then dollies to me sleeping with my arms around myself.
Hey, why are you looking so happy? Are you selling Amway?
My novel is all fun. Bottom to finish, all fun.
My friends thought that I looked like Sean Connery and Anthony Hopkins.
I need bad help. Sorry, I need help bad.

Doctor and Bank Manager
Doctor: “Is the interview done?”
Manager: “No. I still have to show you the door.”

Doctor and Psychiatrist
Doctor: “I have this dream to make a movie”
Psychiatrist: “What do you see in that dream? Do you hear voices? Were you ever molested?”
Doctor and other doctors
Dr.Ravi: I lost my stethoscope
Other Doctor: What’s the big deal? Buy 2 more
Dr.Ravi: It took me 2 days to realize that I have lost my stethoscope!

Other Doctor: Congratulations. You were names one of the best doctors in Pennsylvania
Dr.Ravi: “How insulting! They are doing it to me because I am an Asian”
Other doctor: “I don’t get it. How is it is insulting?”
Dr.Ravi; “ONE of the best?”

Doctor and Football (Myron Cope from Steelers acts here)
Dr.Ravi: “I am choked up that such a famous guy will see me. What’s your name?”
Myron Cope,” I am Myron Cope. Take life 10 yards at a time.”
Dr.Ravi” 10 yards?’
Myron Cope: “You understand a little football, right?
Dr.Ravi” Oh yes. I tried to play it in school but I was too big (I am 5’4’’-145 lb), these days I play occasionally and my handicap is not bad.

Dr.Ravi & Mafia guy

Mafia guy: “One bullet to the spleen will teach you a lesson (Points to the right side of the abdomen)
Dr.Ravi “That’s the liver by the way”
Mafia guy, “Shut up. Just because you are educated and rich”
Dr.Ravi.” So you are shooting me because I am an Asian. It is this discrimination. How would YOU feel if they discriminate against.., uh.. Ugly people?”

Dr.Ravi & Book Agent
Agent: “Why don’t you make your movie anti-Jewish?’
Dr.Ravi, “I don’t have a single Jew in my story
Agent, “So you are ignoring them completely. That is Anti-Jewish to me”

As I begin to write this piece I realize that the clock has struck the midnight hour back home, and we are about to celebrate independence once again. Numerous sarkari peons are prepping the famed ramparts of the Red Fort. The Prime Minister is going over his speech with a tooth comb, making last minute tweaks that will ever so slightly refine the rhetoric he wishes to deliver. Crowds are beginning to flock to get a glimpse of the leader of the largest democracy on earth. India has awakened. But here, it is the dead of the night, only to be broken by busy crickets and the occasional rumble of an eighteen wheeler.
There is a reason I bring up the contrasts between the two worlds. Now, more than ever, India is making its effect felt across the globe. And the globe is making its presence felt in India. The world has turned flat, indeed. India is no more a concept to the West. It is no more a place where snake charmers abound, Maharajas fly on magic carpets and lovelorn kings build pointy marble shrines for their dead wives. India is now a country on the map. A real place with real people - a place that can save and make you real dollars. Ka-ching!
Ten years ago, if you asked an American CEO what three words come to mind when you mention India, I’d be willing to bet a chunk of change that the answer would revolve around, “Elephants”, “Gandhi” and “Kama Sutra”. Today, that answer could well be, “IT”, Outsourcing”, “Engineering”. That is the difference. We are making that difference happen day by day, outsourcing project by outsourcing project, engineer by engineer, doctor by doctor, Indian by Indian.

As the West grows more aware of our land, we now have added responsibility to be ambassadors to the land that immortals like Gandhi and Tilak left us. We have to adopt a Japanese-like staunchness about our national image. We have to realize that the India we show our Western friends is the closest many of them will ever get to see of it. Be it manners, empathy, gratitude, love, respect or chivalry, we must put our best foot forward and showcase our great nation in the right light. We owe it to everyone who built a dream and then built a nation from that dream.

We are at a crossroads. The last decade has been a blur. Starting with the big IT houses setting up camp in major Indian cities in the late nineties, to the proliferation of call centers and BPO’s in India later in the decade, things have moved so fast and so mercurially that those of us who visit India every few years can feel the changed landscape. However, great progress brings with it a slew of problems – economic, political and social. We need to be wary that we don’t go through the cultural churning that the US went through in the seventies and eighties. We need to hold on to traditional Indian values as we attempt to survive this juggernaut. Economic progress and social progress have an inverse relationship. Luckily we have a better chance of surviving the economic boom than our European or American counterparts because we may enjoy the wonderful side-effects of frog leaping. Allow me to explain.
The West had to work through the transition from LP records, cassette tapes, and then onto CDs and DVDs, whereas there are many second and third world countries that skipped one or more of these steps because technology took so long to reach them that they were hurried onto the next generation of music storage. In a similar vein, we may well have leap-frogged a few generations of decadence and moral breakdown, and be closer to coming around full circle, as the West is currently. Let us hope our economic progress doesn’t inadvertently lead us to be an unhappy or morose people. After all, we are the land that has taught the West for ages, how to be gratified with all that you have. It would be a shame if the progress fueled by Western interests would rob us of that contentment. Time will tell but we can make a difference.

We’ve just begun. We have a long way to go. If we took a Gandhian view on progress, our work would be done only when every Indian village has electricity and running water, every child vaccinated and everyone has enough to eat. A Nehruvian angle would ensure that every IIT has only the best brains in the country, every soldier has the best possible equipment they can rely on and every Indian business house forms a considerable portion of the wealth of the world. We need to work bottom up and top down. Neither one approach by itself will work. This is a perfect opportunity for us to make a difference. Come join hands with us at http://www.silentchange.org and start to make a difference today. We have set upon a long journey and have set our sights high.

Sing our anthem with us…
Now, you are not alone
India is my life
I have come here to change her destiny
Come… walk with me my friend
Now, you are not alone

Let us surpass Pandit Nehru’s expectations when, on this day sixty years ago, he stood on the same ramparts that Dr. Singh will visit today, and told us about the tryst we had made as a nation. He had implored us to “redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially”. Let us make him proud and redeem our pledge not substantially, but wholly and in full measure.

We have that chance. Very few generations get the chance to matter. We are fortunate that we were given a free country, rich with diversity, wealth and intellect, all of which have led us to be recognized by the world again. We haven’t been this high in the food chain for a few centuries now. Join us on our journey of silent change and give back to the land that has given us all. To paraphrase a great leader’s words, we needn’t ask what India can do for us. She already has – life, freedom and the sense to know right from wrong. It is time to ask what we can do for our country.

I give you Panditji’s words that are every bit true today as they were sixty years ago: “A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.”

Jai Hind!

Welcome to PittsburghIndian Blog. Welcoming writers in Pittsburgh to share their opinion, views, reviews on anything related to “Indian” in Pittsburgh.

Gladiators - the name inspires awe, fear, skill, speed, even medieval savagery. These blokes won”t disappoint you. Except maybe, for the last bit. The cricket team that has come to be known as the Gladiators boasts of some of the finest gentlemen you’ll find of the patrons of the sport that is still – in a world of head-butts and ear-chomps - a gentlemen’s game.

The Gladiators have a rich history; probably the richest of them all. Way back in 1999, on a tepid Saturday afternoon, Zeeshan, Kashan, Rahim and Usman thought up of forming a team that could put up a good fight in local tennis-ball tournaments. They put up more than a good fight – between 1999 and 2004 the original gladiators lost only 3 games! They were so successful that they were asked not to participate in further tournaments lest other teams lose interest in participating. One wishes that the rest of the world would have put on that kind of restriction on the mighty Windies in the 70’s and 80’s or the current Australian team. But Alas! In that time, the only team that came close to beating the Gladiators, and did on one occasion, were the Hurricanes, a team comprised of many members from the present day Strikers. The rivalry continues.

As the legend grew, there were others who joined and made the team even more formidable. For instance, the scoreboard at one Gladiator game read 221 in 12 overs. ‘Twas the best of times; soon to be the worst of times.

In the 2005 season, the gladiators were obliterated in the regular season and made it to the semis of the 20-20 tournament, but only just. They were short by many players on their initial games and never really recovered from that mess.

Come 2006, the senior players decided it was time to prepare and recruit quality players to rejuvenated the side. The plan worked to near perfection. In fact, it might have worked a little too well! This summer, with more than eighteen players on the roster, team selection has turned out to be quite tricky since each one is a solid performer and merits a place in the side any given Sunday. The think tank will agree though, that they would rather this embarrassment of riches than the paucity of talent they experienced last year. As I write this, the Gladiators have won four of their six games in the 2006 season - the last three with bonus points. They are a united, spirited and a winning unit. This is their story.

In the summer of 2006 I happened to be fortunate enough to be part of this cricket club in Pittsburgh. I present below a collection of some observations made mostly on the boundary line while two of the lot were battling it out in the modern day arena.

Thursday

It’’s practice day today. I stand behind the 2½ mm wire fence as I watch bowler after bowler rush in with fervor as though this were a real game. As the ball crashes into the fence, the eerily close thwacks makes me less envious of the batsmen who are the intended recipients of these fireballs. I can”t help but wonder what it must take to keep this sort of a tempo up over many torrid weeks of the Pittsburgh summer. The answer is simple – love of the game.

Leading from the front is Zeeshan, the founder of the team and its Captain Courageous. In the mould of Wasim Akram, Zeeshan has a side-on, all-shoulder action that helps him generate speeds of over 80 mph with a six step run-up. With a bat in his hand, he has been known to wallop the ball into the deep forest off the fastest bowlers in the league. I asked Zeeshan once, what would happen, if he were to bowl to himself? He thought for a while, his eyes imagining the impossible, and was quick to come back with, “I’d get bowled”. Funny, that Freddie Fintoff, when asked the same question, had a similar response. It’s strange how most of the great all-rounders in international cricket are better bowlers than they are batsmen. As a captain, Zeeshan has been able to serve a healthy mix of democracy and no-nonsense leadership to cater to the demands of the eighteen players that wish to be in the playing eleven.

Ankur, the regular wicket-keeper and Vice-Captain, fields today in a position unnatural to him - mid-on - largely because the practice premises don’t allow for a man behind the stumps. It’s amazing how this finance whiz from Mellon Bank is able to keep wickets to some of the fastest bowlers in the league without a whine and very little off-field practice. The team joke is that Ankur must be made of rubber for he has been hit many a time only to brush away the ball and be ready for the next one. A thorough team man, Ankur has never shied away from any responsibility thrown at him. In the 2005 season, he opened the innings on many occasions and was force-fitted into the wicketkeeper role when no one was available. Mahendra Singh Dhoni comes to mind when you watch Ankur’s commitment, talent and role in the team. We”re all waiting for the day he arrives at the field sporting a mullet. Ankur is also the score keeper of the league. Every week he diligently records each players stats and scores into the Results Vault. If you”re a player looking to better your stats, now you know of an easier way that playing well on the field! He accepts Visa, Cash and Krispy Cremes.

Batting first up is Ravi, who is also the unofficial batting coach of the team. He has batted anywhere from No. 1 to No. 7 as the situation has demanded. Ravi is a fluent driver of the ball and has been known to hook and pull ferociously. He has a holistic understanding of the game from a tactical and strategic standpoint and likes to be in the thick of things at all times. In the outfield, with the ball in Ravi’s hand, there’s always a chance of a run-out from a super-fast throw. Today he’s on call at the hospital, and briskly checks his pager while batting to make sure his services are not needed elsewhere. A 100% team man, Ravi, is always at hand when a junior player needs a word of advice or encouragement. One reminisces of Gundappa Vishwanath when Ravi late cuts the spinners and rolls his wrists over to the fast bowlers.

Ravi’s batting twin, Satish, stands at long-on today practising some high catches. Satish is the classic top-order batsman - when he’s not milking the bowlers for 6 singles an over, he’s thrashing them around the park. He’s probably the only genuine slip fielder who’s used on a regular basis and often throws down the stumps from that position. Satish has a reserved sense of aggression about him – he’s the most genial person on the field except, of course, if you’re bowling to him. His savage pulls to backward square leg and hoicks over mid-wicket make you wonder how a hitherto gentle soul is capable of such violence. Some say that given the light skip in his step before he adjourns on his run up, to bowl bewildering leg-spin, Satish has a hint of the talented leg-spinner Narendra Hirwani. Personally, I compare his utility to the team as Sachin Tendulkar – the outstanding middle-order batsman who can field in the slips and turn his arm over when the team needs quick wickets.

All padded up and ready to bat next is Rahim. If there ever was a living incarnate of Inzamam-ul-Haq, he is it. The lazy elegance while batting; the reluctant amble to the bowlers end while taking a run; the nonchalant figure while fielding - it’s all there. There is one aspect where he differs though. He’s an extremely useful top spin bowler who has an uncanny angle of attack to the right hander and a deceptive skid off the pitch that has gotten his team key breakthroughs on many occasions. Very often on a balmy Sunday afternoon, you’ll see Zeeshan toss up the ball to Rahim Bhai, as he’s affectionately called by his team mates. In an over or two, chances are that a wicket has fallen and the gentle giant has done it again. Rahim also has one of the sharpest throws from the outfield. It’s sometimes hard to detect him in the field because he doesn’t believe in making a hullabaloo out of his cricket. He shines when he’s asked to and speaks when spoken to – a captain’s dream.

It’s getting darker and with only a couple more batsmen to go, the bowlers are starting to show signs of some strain. Kashan, Zeeshan’s brother, has been doing a great job putting the ball in the all the right spots on the batting mat. Here is another example of the raw talent that abounds in this team. Built on the Shahid Afridi model, Kashan can be compared to ubiquitous duct tape (”A million uses and counting”). Just as every house needs a bundle of the grey stuff, every team needs one of his ilk. Kashan has seen it all – he’s batted at almost all the positions, shared the new ball with Zeeshan, and thrown down the stumps of many a hapless batsman. Kashan has a keen cricket mind and is not afraid to voice his opinion at the goings-on on the field. Some would say he’s been under-used as a bowler in recent times but that just goes to show the bowling depth of this team. One of the liveliest characters in the dressing room, Kashan does well to keep the spirits of the team high when the going gets tough. Often you”ll find the two brothers discussing tactics on the field in Pashto, their native tongue, leaving everyone else to try and decipher their code. No elaborate baseball-like hand signals needed here, how convenient is that!

The only bowler left with a little juice today is Ahmed. He’s one of the senior most members of this team and is aptly presented the suffix Bhai. Built a bit like Mushtaq Ahmed - no relation though - he’s more in the mould of a Abdul Razzaq - the utility player who can be trusted with key moments in a match. As a bowler, he can be deceptive in the bounce off the pitch and, on occasion, movement off it. Ahmed always has pithy tid bits of advice for his bowlers or batsmen. Hackneyed at times, his pearls of wisdom are always spot on – “Just bowl wicket to wicket“; “Play straight”; “Zyaada zor matt lagaao - Dimaag se khelo” (Don”t play with brute force - Play sensibly). They’re all true and very well timed, in order to get a point across. Ahmed can generally be found patrolling the mid-off area, from where he has access to the bowler’s mind as well as a keen view of the proceedings.

The day’s practice has come to an end and everyone seems satisfied with their performance. A light fielding and catching drill helps the players warm down as well as hone useful skills that can make the difference between victory and defeat. Zeeshan and Ankur pull the team together for a final pep talk. Ravi, Satish and Ahmed chime in on whom to look out for from the weekend’’s rivals. As the team retreats to their homes with talk of the latest trick in the book to avoid their wives’ wrath, the sun falls gently into the far wilderness. The field looks sullen; almost disappointed that its guests have returned home. It’s hard to believe that, not twenty minutes ago, this was a stage of blood-curling cries and swashbuckling heroes. The torch is lit. Let the games begin.

Friday

The big guns meet to decide on the playing eleven for this coming Sunday. They go over the roster of available players and try to finagle a sane balance of bowling strength and batting prowess. Tough work when you consider that there are eighteen solid performers and everyone merits a place in the side. Luckily there are no two identical players in the side so the think-tank goes about making sure that they pick a team to match the opponent.

This time, one of the first few names to be short-listed beyond the core team is Makarand, the sales guru from IBM. He’s had a string of useful appearances at the opening slot although he can bat anywhere in the middle or lower order too. Makarand has a strong throwing arm and is one of the most enthused cricketers in the side. For instance, he has the distinction of standing as an umpire more than anyone else in the PCA this season. He’s an unrelenting batsman who can force the pace when need be and can play the sheet anchor if the other batsman is getting runs or if the team needs to conserve wickets. Makarand is a new recruit of the 2006 season and one of the fittest in the team. His quick-silver footwork and cricket hat remind you of Sunny Gavaskar although he’ll be quick to remind you that his strike rate in limited overs cricket is a lot better than the master batsman’s! Makarand has a deep passion for the game. He owns the best equipment (the only one with two helmets), shows up early for every practice session and contributes in every which way he can. A team man through and through.

The other player who has shined in every chance he’s been given is Amin or King Kesodia, as his email address boasts. The jury is still out about whether he’s a better batsman or bowler. The fact that he’s still very high in the player rankings despite missing four games is testimony to his utility to the team. Amin is the only Gladiator so far who has taken six wickets in an innings. He scored valuable runs against one of the toughest oppositions and is a useful fielder at point. He has a never-say-die attitude and fear is genuinely not a factor for him, in the words of game show host, Joe Rogan, who has people eat animal carcasses on television. With his high leap before delivery and adaptive batting style, one can’t help but think of Imran Khan when Amin takes the field for the Gladiators.

Speaking of which, Imran a.k.a. “Old Faithful”, is the backbone of the Gladiator bowling attack. Every game, he brings down his arm 30 times, with perfect accuracy and steady speed. He’s a tad slower than Zeeshan but makes an able new ball partner from the other end. Imran probably gives away the fewest extras per over and rarely goes for more than 5 per over in his spell. It’s hard work because the new ball tends to have exaggerated movement through the air and off the pitch. With an Aaquib Javed like front-ended action, Imran can also be useful down the order when he flails his arms at the last few balls of the innings. An interesting anecdote that Imran once told me was that he has met Kamran Akmal, while visiting his house for a possible marriage alliance. Unfortunately, the arrangement fell through or he (and by extrapolation, we) would have press box tickets to every Test match from now until Akmal’s retirement.

Ramesh is yet another high utility player included in the side, on the basis of his steady batting as an opener. With the ball, Ramesh can befuddle some of the best batsmen through his deceptive flight. It’s easy to get fooled by his cucumber-cool presence. Under the calm veneer is a gritty, tough-as-nails, cricketer who is glad to pick a fight with the opposing team if he’s been wronged. In the Mohammad Kaif mould, Ramesh is an outstanding fielder in key close-in positions. He’s extremely agile and throws himself at the ball without restraint. He gladly accepted the responsibility of opening the innings and has done well on several occasions.

Mansoor and Usman aren’t available this weekend. They are vital cogs in the Gladiator wheel and will be missed. Mansoor, the only centurion from last year, is a dashing batsman who can change the face of a game single-handedly. Usman, with his handy batting and bowling contributions makes for a high-utility middle order batsman who can take key breakthroughs with the ball. With these two in the side, the Gladiators will be rejuvenated and ready to get into the final stage of the tournament.

The team is set and players ready. Per the namesake movie’s script, the Barbarians are supposed to lose the battle of Carthage – we shall witness on Sunday, who emerges victorious from the Edgebrook broil.

Saturday

Zeeshan gets an urgent call this morning. Shripal calls in sick and Assad is required to take his place in the side. Shripal has been a gallant contributor to previous battles. His 68 against the Strikers still holds as the highest team score for the season. His accurate and incessant bowling can be a useful tool when the think-tank flip their bowling cards to find a bowler to stem the flow of runs. Yet another doctor on the team, he is a hard-hitting middle order batsman, much like Yuvraj Singh. He has been a little injury prone in recent years. Last year, he twisted his ankle on a nasty trough in the field and was out for the rest of the season with a ligament tear. This year, he hurt his head while going for a tough chance in the outfield. When he’s not busy breaking and shearing limbs, he can have the same effect on the best bowling sides of the league. Using powerful shoulders to pull, cut and drive the ball, he can score quickly and demoralize the best of the lot. The Gladiators will miss him for this game but have an able replacement.

That brings me to Assad, the ideal 12th man who has been relegated to substitute duties on more than once occasion but does those duties to perfection. Always ready to help with a smile, he’s a good batsman who can be very handy as a bowler or fielder when needed. Assad is Ahmed’s prodigy who can develop a permanent place in the side with his talent and commitment. He recently won his first cap of the season and, at 16, is the youngest player in the league, ever. Now that’s something!

Assad’’s brother, Mohsin, a tear-away fast bowler, also arrived recently and will probably be called upon for 12th man duties this weekend. Together, the two make a great addition to the team and showcase the bench strength this new Gladiators side boasts of.

With the hiccup of replacing the injured Shripal out of the way, the Gladiators are all ready to take on their next competitor. The results from the day are in. The Strikers squeezed in a close victory against the mercurial SteelZags. The college kids from WVU won a reduced-over match against the talented Blitzers. No team is invincible. No team is a walk over. It’s been a topsy-turvy season with many an upset. What awaits the Gladiators tomorrow?

Sunday

The morning dew leaves the ground lazily on a day that warns of temperatures into the high 80’s. Edgebrook field is no Eden Gardens. It’s hard to find. Bumpy. Very oddly-shaped for cricket. But it’ll have to do for now. It’s a tribute to the players in this league that they happily get by and make the most of what’s available. It’s a lesson that other sports can learn when they complain of bad equipment and fields: enjoy the game and don’t make a fuss of the infrastructure.

The umpires gather for the toss. Zeeshan has the dubious distinction of being the captain to lose the most tosses. Every game I ask him to practice tossing the coin at home and every game he loses the toss. I don’t know what his secret is.

The team huddles one last time to discuss what we”d do in case, heaven forbid, we do win the toss for a change. We can as well do without this vestigial team meeting and ask the other captain to do what he chooses. In any case, the verdict is that given the dew and our deep batting line up, it makes sense to bat now and bowl when the sun is out and outfield dry.

As Zeeshan walks off for the charade of a toss, I remind him, one last time, to call Tails. It seems that most minted coins are heavier on the heads side because of the added metal that forms of the face of the head of state. Therefore statistically, Tails is a better call. In Zeeshan’’s case, this bit of wisdom is wasted, as he will never win a toss. He can call both sides and I”m sure the coin will land on its edge. He has all the probability experts scratching their heads - and tails. He’’s even tried sending others for the toss but the bad luck carries through. This morning is no different.

Zeeshan returns a minute later, sheepish but with a glint in his eye, like a school boy who’s just pranked the headmaster. We lost the toss but the other team chose to bowl. How does he do it? He can’t call right but we end up doing what we want, anyway. I’m not complaining. He’’s quick to remind me that last year the Gladiators won almost every toss but lost almost every game. This reversal of fortunes is welcome to stay.

Sudhir is asked to pad up as he’s the opener for the day. He’s been in good touch and is confident of doing well. He can make sure that we don’t lose a wicket before 10 overs. Really, that’s all an opener’s job is – to see off the new ball and keep the wickets in tact. It sounds easy but it’s hard work with the ball moving around and bowlers fresh. Sudhir’s lanky frame and lucid moves remind me of Dilip Vengasarkar. His supple wrists are useful when he wants a single down to fine leg. When the loose ball presents itself - and it will sooner than later - there’s a spring in his step as he plonks his foot to the pitch of the ball and lets the bat move in a perfectly symmetrical arc. In Ankur’s absence, the team asked him to don the keeper’s gloves in a previous match, and what a splendid job he did. With uneven bounce and a variety of bowlers, he did a great job of collecting the ball and giving away very few extras. As they say, wicketkeepers are born not made.

Coming down later in the order today will be Arun, a soft-spoken lower-order bat who can bowl a few that leave the batsmen. Arun is a clean striker of the ball and can rotate the strike effectively in the slog overs. He scores briskly and before you know it, he’s taken the team total way ahead. Today he’s going to be a useful complement later in the innings when the ball is a little softer and lends itself to spin. Owing to his cheerful nature and outstanding fielding, one can’t help but liken him to Ajay Jadeja. In fact, the adage once used to describe one of cricket’s finest fielders (“2/3rd of the world is covered by water; 1/3rd by Jonty Rhodes”) is quite applicable to Arun.

Our innings goes off well. We put up a score very close to the 200 mark. We certainly need to be able to cross that mark if we are to be considered a good batting side. A win for us is likely. It all depends on how the first 15 overs go.

After Zeeshan’s fiery first spell, I am brought in as first change. The team needs a breakthrough as the openers are beginning to settle down. I’m going to try to use a wicket-to-wicket line and deceptive bounce to lure the batsman to play across and get out lbw or caught after taking the top-edge. As a bowler I’m always looking to get under the skin of the batsman and keep them guessing as to what I’m going to try next. Earlier in the day I didn’t get to bat since our line up did such a great job but I’m hoping to connect a few in the coming matches to take my team to that elusive 200 runs total. Given my sling action and wild antics as a lower-order batsmen, some have suggested that I be compared to the likes of Ajit Agarkar. Last year my brother, Riaz (who drove all the way from Toronto), made us the only team to field two sets of brothers in the same match. He’s a solid Dravidesque middle-order batsman - with the concentration of a monk - and can be a handy bowler in crunch situations.

With six overs to go, the batting team needs 73 runs with 2 wickets in hand. It’s quite obvious that we’ve arrived home safely. Yet another feather in the cap of this spirited team.

It’s funny how the match whizzes by you without really registering until you start the long drive home from the ball park. By the time you pull into the garage, your body sends you gentle signals of the abuse it has taken over the last 5 hours. You don’t regret it. Unless you’ve lost the game. But then there’s always next Sunday.

Monday

It’s the day after the victory. We wait anxiously for the results to be published on Results Vault to analyze our team’’s performance and see how the others faired over the weekend. Emails buzz about as players congratulate and admonish each other on the goings-on of the weekend. With more than 120 players in the league, one can”t help but think of the Monday man-hours lost to cricket analysis in Pittsburgh. The corporate world can”t wait for the season to end, so it can be productive again.

Epilogue

The Gladiators are a well-respected lot and can beat the best teams on their day. They’re off to a good start this season and are well set to get into the playoffs. One can only hope that this gifted team can come together one final time to beat their rivals and take home the ultimate prize.

Like the movie, the Gladiator story is inspirational - one of glory and despair. As a tribute to the mettle of this talented crew I steal the words of Antonius Proximo, that cricket coach masquerading as a Roman trainer, in the movie that inspired this team, “Gladiators- I salute you.”

Written by Irshad Raihan, Marketing Manager for IBM by day; CMU student by night; Gladiator by weekend. Check out http://irshadraihan.blogspot.com if you have hours of browsing time to kill, like he does.

It very much became part of their life. Cricket hero’’s are considered as demi-gods in some countries like India, the place where I came from.

The morale of a nation rises and drops with the fortunes of its team on the field. For a country which spans a vast and varied terrain and a breathtakingly diverse culture, it may be difficult to imagine many events or activities which bind the nation together as one. The game of cricket is one such activity where over a billion people can truly participate in unison by supporting and cheering on the national team. Today, cricket is played widely all over the world. Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe are among the other principal cricket playing nations.

I remember playing cricket almost anywhere, everywhere. A flat piece of wood, three wooden sticks stripped from a near by tree are used as cricket bat and wickets respectively. Most of the game’s biggest starts have started their careers with this form of cricket. Smashed windows are a frequent part of daily life in any neighborhood where the game is played on the streets.

After I came to Pittsburgh, USA, I found few Indians playing cricket in baseball grounds with tennis ball. Passion on cricket drove me to join them with my friends and enjoy playing the game, even with tennis ball. Slowly more people joined us. We formed a team and used to play friendly matches against two other teams. One of the other team used to play in tennis ball tournament conducted in CMU. Our team tried to get an entry into the tournament.

CMU organizers conduct matches in football field. It is purely a tennis ball tournament and had short boundaries. Soft drink crates are wickets and organizers came up with some rules other than the rules followed in cricket. It is 12 over match tournament. Because of the ground availability problems, organizers use to conduct 3, 4 matches in schedules allocated time. It was a wonderful experience to play in that tournament. CMU students/organizers were doing a wonderful job in conducting such tournaments every year.

That is when our passion to play cricket with real cricket ball grew more. We thought it would be nice to play with cricket ball wherever it is possible. Our thoughts became reality with the efforts of some people whom I would like to mention here and thank them for providing this opportunity. Shailesh Bokil, Paul Mackay, Sai Pinnamaneni, Reg Henry etc etc. Without their efforts we wouldn’t have played cricket in Pittsburgh.

Today there is an association, PCA (Pittsburgh Cricket Association), a website (www.pittsburghcricket.com), and a tournament every year in summer. PCA is non-profit association. PCA will collect money from the teams interested to play and conduct the tournament. Last year PCA conducted a tournament successfully with 5 teams (SteelZags, Strikers, PittPunters, Ocenas XI and Gladiators). Each team interested to play in the tournament should register with PCA and pay the tournament fee. PCA will then, book the ground, make all other necessary arrangements for the tournament. It is collective effort from the members of all teams participated in the tournament. The umpiring is done by members of all the teams.

The tournament is round robin. Each team played thrice against other teams. A team will secure 4 to 6 points based on score. All the points will be totaled in the end. The top 4 teams will go to semi-finals. All the matches are 30 over matches played over weekends. All the matches are played at Texas field in South Park.

Last year Strikers and PittPunters reached finals and Strikers won the tournament. Tournament details, scores are available at www.pittsburghcricket.com.

Pittsburgh cricket is entering into second year and the schedule for this year is already out and can be viewed at Pittsburgh cricket website. The number of teams playing in the tournament increased from 5 to 7 this year. The two new teams are LumberJacks from UPITT and WVCCU  from West Virginia.

Last but not least, with the efforts of Reg Henry, PCA co-coordinator, Pittsburgh Post Gazette covered about cricket in Pittsburgh in an article with some photographs. That helped to get more publicity about cricket in Pittsburgh. PCA already have couple of sponsors and are looking for more sponsors for the game.

Are you ready to watch some cricket this year…..

Scoring Runs

Whenever a batsman hits the ball during a delivery, he may score runs. A run is scored by the batsmen running between the popping creases, crossing over midway between them. When they both reach the opposite crease, one run is scored, and they may return for another run immediately. The fielding side attempts to prevent runs being scored by threatening to run out one of the batsmen.

If the batsmen are attempting to take runs, and a fielder gathers the ball and hits a wicket with it, dislodging one or both bails, while no batsman is behind that wicket’’s popping crease, then the nearest batsman is run out. Specifically, the batsman must have some part of his body or his bat (provided he is holding it) grounded behind (not on) the crease.

The batsmen carry their bats as they run, and turning for another run is accomplished by touching the ground beyond the crease with an outstretched bat. The batsmen do not have to run at any time they think it is unsafe - it is common to hit the ball and elect not to run.

If the batsmen run one or three (or five! rare, but possible), then they have swapped ends and their striker/non-striker roles are reversed for the next ball (unless the ball just completed is the end of an over).

In addition to scoring runs like this, if a batsman hits the ball so that it reaches the boundary fence, he scores four runs, without needing to actually run them. If a batsman hits the ball over the boundary on the full, he scores six runs. If a four or six is scored, the ball is completed and the batsmen cannot be run out. If a spectator encroaches on to the field and touches the ball, it is considered to have reached the boundary. If a fielder gathers the ball, but then steps outside or touches the boundary while still holding the ball, four runs are scored. If a fielder catches the ball on the full and, either during or immediately after the catch, steps outside or touches the boundary, six runs are scored.

The batsmen usually stop taking runs when a fielder is throwing the ball back towards the pitch area. If no fielder near the pitch gathers the ball and it continues into the outfield again, the batsmen may take more runs. Such runs are called overthrows. If the ball reaches the boundary on an overthrow, four runs are scored in addition to the runs taken before the overthrow occurred.

Runs scored by a batsman, including all overthrows, are credited to him by the scorer. The number of runs scored by each batsman is an important statistic.

If, while running multiple runs, a batsman does not touch the ground beyond the popping crease before he returns for the next run, then the umpire at that end will signal one short, and the number of runs scored is reduced by one.

Ways of Getting Out

Here is a full list of the ten different ways of getting out. But first, a few necessary definitions:

The wicket is said to be broken if one or both of the bails have been dislodged and fallen to the ground. If the bails have fallen off for any reason and the ball is still in play, then breaking the wicket must be accomplished by pulling a stump completely out of the ground. If the wicket needs to be broken like this with the ball, the uprooting of the stump must be done with the ball in contact with the stump.

The field is notionally split into two halves, along a line down the centre of the pitch. The half of the field in front of the striker is called the off side, the half behind is called the leg side, or sometimes the on side. Thus, standing at the bowler’’s wicket and looking towards a right-handed striker’’s wicket, the off side is to the left and the leg side to the right (and vice-versa for a left-handed striker). The stumps of the striker’’s wicket are called off stump, middle stump, and leg stump, depending on which side they are on.

When a batsman gets out, no matter by what method, his wicket is said to have fallen, and the fielding team are said to have taken a wicket.

Now, the ways of getting out:

Caught: If a fielder catches the ball on the full after the batsman has hit it with his bat. However, if the fielder catches the ball, but either during the catch or immediately afterwards touches or steps over the boundary, then the batsman scores six runs and is not out. Bowled: If the batsman misses the ball and it hits and breaks the wicket directly from the bowler’’s delivery. The batsman is out whether or not he is behind his popping crease. He is also out bowled if the ball breaks the wicket after deflecting from his bat or body. The batsman is not out if the wicket does not break. Leg Before Wicket: If the batsman misses the ball with his bat, but intercepts it with part of his body when it would otherwise have hit the wicket, and provided several other conditions (described below) are satisfied. An umpire must adjudicate such a decision, and will only do so if the fielding team appeal the decision. This is a question asked of the umpire, usually of the form “How’’s that?”” (or “Howzat?””), and usually quite enthusiastic and loud. If the ball bounces outside an imaginary line drawn straight down the pitch from the outside edge of leg stump, then the batsman cannot be out LBW, no matter whether or not the ball would have hit the stumps. If the batsman attempts to play a shot at the ball with his bat (and misses) he may only be given out LBW if the ball strikes the batsman between imaginary lines drawn down the pitch from the outside edges of leg and off stumps (ie. directly in line with the wicket). If the batsman does not attempt to play the ball with his bat, then he may be given out LBW without satisfying this condition, as long as the umpire is convinced the ball would have hit the wicket. If the ball has hit the bat before the hitting the batsman, then he cannot be given out LBW. Stumped: If a batsman misses the ball and in attempting to play it steps outside his crease, he is out stumped if the wicket-keeper gathers the ball and breaks the wicket with it before the batsman can ground part of his body or his bat behind his crease. Run Out: If a batsman is attempting to take a run, or to return to his crease after an aborted run, and a fielder breaks that batsman’’s wicket with the ball while he is out of the crease. The fielder may either break the wicket with a hand which holds the ball, or with the ball directly. It is possible for the non-striker to be run out if the striker hits the ball straight down the pitch towards the non-striker’’s wicket, and the bowler deflects the ball on to the wicket while the non-striker is out of his crease. If the ball is hit directly on to the non-striker’’s wicket, without being touched by a fielder, then the non-striker is not out. If the non-striker leaves his crease (in preparation to run) while the bowler is running up, the bowler may run him out without bowling the ball. Batsmen cannot be run out while the ball is dead - so they may confer in the middle of the pitch between deliveries if they desire. Hit Wicket: If, in attempting to hit a ball or taking off for a first run, the batsman touches and breaks the wicket. This includes with the bat or dislodged pieces of the batsman’’s equipment - even a helmet or spectacles! Handle The Ball: If a batsman touches the ball with a hand not currently holding the bat, without the permission of the fielding side. This does not include being hit on the hand by a delivery, or any other non-deliberate action. Obstructing The Field: If a batsman deliberately interferes with the efforts of fielders to gather the ball or effect a run out. This does not include running a path between the fielder and the wicket so that the fielder cannot throw the stumps down with the ball, which is quite legal, but does include any deliberate attempt to swat the ball away. Hit The Ball Twice: If a batsman hits a delivery with his bat and then deliberately hits the ball again for any reason other than to defend his wicket from being broken by the ball. If the ball is bouncing or rolling around near the stumps, the batsman is entitled to knock it away so as to avoid being bowled, but not to score runs. Timed Out: If a new batsman takes longer than two minutes, from the time the previous wicket falls, to appear on the field.

These methods of getting out are listed in approximate order of how commonly they occur. The first five are reasonably common, the last five quite rare. The last three methods are almost never invoked.

If a batsman is out caught, bowled, LBW, stumped, or hit wicket, then the bowler is credited with taking the wicket. No single person is credited with taking a wicket if it falls by any other method.

Officials

The game is adjudicated by two umpires, who make all decisions on the field and whose word is absolutely final. One umpire stands behind the non-striker’’s wicket, ready to make judgements on LBWs and other events requiring a decision. The other umpire stands in line with the striker’’s popping crease, about 20 metres (20 yards) to one side (usually the leg side, but not always), ready to judge stumpings and run-outs at his end. The umpires remain at their respective ends of the pitch, thus swapping roles every over.

If the technology is available for a given match, a third umpire is sometimes used. He sits off the field, with a television replay monitor. If an on-field umpire is unsure of a decision concerning either a run out or a stumping attempt, he may signal for the third umpire to view a television replay. The third umpire views a replay, in slow motion if necessary, until he either reaches a decision or decides that he cannot make a clear decision. He signals the result to the on-field umpire, who must then abide by it. If the equipment fails, the replay umpire signals no decision. The replay umpire cannot be used for any decisions other than run outs and stumpings.

Whenever any decision is in doubt, the umpire must rule in favour of the batsman.

If the ball hits an umpire, it is still live and play continues. If it lodges in an umpire’’s clothing, then it is dead.

The game is also presided over by a match referee, who watches from outside the field. The referee makes no decisions of relevance to the outcome of the game, but determines penalties for breaches of various rules and misconduct. In professional games, these penalties are monetary fines.

Arguing with an umpire’’s decision is simply not tolerated. Anything more than a polite question to the umpires is heavily frowned upon and could attract a penalty from the referee. The most serious misconduct in a cricket match is of the order of a rude gesture to an opponent or throwing the ball into the ground in disgust. Such gross misbehaviour would attract large fines and possibly match suspensions. Penalties for physical violence can only be guessed at, but would possibly be a career suspension.

Extras

Extras are runs scored by means other than when the ball is hit by a batsman. Extras are not credited to any batsman, and are recorded by the scorer separately. The total number of runs for the innings is equal to the sums of the individual batsmen’’s scores and the extras. There are four types of extras: no balls, wides, byes, and leg byes.

The bowler must bowl each ball with part of his frontmost foot behind the popping crease. If he oversteps this mark, he has bowled a no ball. The umpire at that end calls “no ball”” immediately in a loud voice. The batsman may play and score runs as usual, and may not be out by any means except run out, handle the ball, hit the ball twice, or obstructing the field. Further, if the batsman does not score any runs from the ball, one run is added to the batting team’’s score. Also, the bowler must bowl an extra ball in his over to compensate. A no ball is also called if any part of the bowler’’s back foot is not within the area between the return creases.

If the bowler bowls the ball far to one side or over the head of the batsman, so making it impossible to score, the umpire will signal the ball as a wide . This gives the batting team one run and the bowler must rebowl the ball. The striker may not be out hit wicket off a wide ball.

If the striker misses a ball and the wicket-keeper fails to gather it cleanly, the batsmen may take runs. These runs are called byes and are scored as extras.

If the striker, in attempting to play a shot, deflects the ball with part of his body, the batsmen may attempt to take a run. Such runs are called leg byes . If the striker did not attempt to play a shot with his bat, leg byes may not be taken. The umpire adjudicates by signalling a dead ball if the batsmen attempt to run when, in his opinion, no attempt was made to play a shot.

Batsmen may be run out as usual while running byes and leg-byes. If, while running either form of bye, the ball reaches the boundary, four byes (of the appropriate type) are scored.

The Bowling Action

The bowling action itself has to conform to several restrictions. The bowler’’s arm must be straight when the ball is bowled (so no “throwing”” is allowed). The ball must be bowled overarm, not underarm.

The difference between `bowling” and `throwing”: When you throw the ball, the elbow is cocked and used to impart energy to the ball by straightening. When a ball is bowled, the elbow joint is held extended throughout. All the energy is imparted by rotation of the arm about the shoulder, and possibly a little by wrist motion. For a right-handed bowler, the action goes roughly as follows:

After the run-up, the right foot is planted on the ground with the instep facing the batsman. The right arm is extended backwards and down at this stage. The left foot comes down on the popping crease as the bowler’’s momentum carries him forward - he is standing essentially left-side on to the batsman. As the weight transfers to the left foot, the right arm is brought over the shoulder in a vertical arc. The ball is released near the top of the arc, and the follow-through brings the arm down and the right shoulder forward rapidly.

Bouncing the ball on the pitch is not mandatory. It’’s usually done because the movement of the ball off the pitch makes it much harder to hit. Unbounced deliveries, or full tosses are almost always much easier to hit, and mostly they are bowled accidentally. A full toss above hip height is no ball, and an umpire who suspects that such a ball was deliberate will give the bowler an official warning. A warning is also given if the umpire believes the bowler is bowling at the body of a batsman in a deliberate attempt to injure the batsman. After two warnings a bowler is barred from bowling for the rest of the innings.

If any rule governing the bowling action is violated, a no ball results.

Bowlers are allowed to polish the ball by rubbing it with cloth (usually on their trouser legs) and applying saliva or sweat to it. Any other substance is illegal, as is rubbing the ball on the ground. Usually one side of the ball is polished smooth, while the other wears, so that the bowler can achieve swing (curving the ball through the air). It is also illegal to roughen the ball by any means, including scraping it with the fingernails or lifting the seam. A bowler who illegaly tampers with the ball is immediately suspended from bowling for the rest of that innings.

The bowler may bowl from either side of the wicket, but must inform the umpire and the batsmen if he wishes to change sides. Bowling with the bowling arm closest to the wicket is called over the wicket, and is most common. Bowling with the non-bowling are closest to the wicket is called around the wicket.

The bowler may abort his run-up or not let go of the ball if he loses his footing or timing for any reason. The umpire will signal dead ball and the ball must be bowled again. If a bowler loses his grip on the ball during the delivery action, it is considered to be a live ball only if it is propelled forward of the bowler. If such a ball comes to rest in front of the striker, but any distance to the side, the striker is entitled to walk up to the ball and attempt to hit it with his bat. The fielding team must not touch the ball until the striker either hits it or declines to do so.

A delivery may also be aborted by the striker stepping away from his stumps, if distracted by an insect or dust in the eye, for example.

Fielding

Field placements in cricket are not standardised. There are several named field positions, and the fielding captain uses different combinations of them for tactical reasons. There are also further descriptive words to specify variations on the positions labelled by simple names, so that any position in which a fielder stands can be described.

The only restriction on field placements is that, at the time the ball is delivered, there must be no more than two fielders in the quadrant of the field backward of square leg. (This rule exists mainly for historical reasons - see the Bodyline section below.)

Sometimes fielders close to the bat wear helmets for safety. When not in use, the helmet (or any other loose equipment) may be placed on the field (usually behind the wicket-keeper, where it is unlikely to be hit by the ball). If any such loose fielding equipment is hit with the ball, five runs are scored, either to the batsman who hit the ball or as the appropriate form of byes. The ball is then considered dead and no further runs can be taken, nor can a batsman be run out.

If a fielder is wearing a protective helmet, and the striker hits the ball so that it bounces off the helmet, he may not be out caught off the rebound. If a ball rebounds from any other part of the body of a fielder, he may be out caught if another fielder (or the same one) then catches the ball before it hits the ground.

Injuries and Substitutions

In case of injury, substitutes may replace any number of fielders. A substitute may only field - he may not bowl, nor bat. A substitute may not keep wicket. A substituted player must return to the field as soon as he is able to resume playing without danger.

If a batsman is injured, he may retire and resume his innings when fit again, so long as his team’’s innings is not over. If a batsman is too injured to bat when no other batsmen remain to come in after a wicket falls, his innings must be forfeited and his team’’s innings ends. If a batsman is able to bat, but not run, then another player may run for him. The runner must wear the same equipment as the batter, and performs all his running. The injured non-runner must remain behind his crease at all times when the ball is in play or risk being run out, even if his runner is safely behind a crease.

If a bowler is injured during an over and cannot complete it, another bowler must bowl the remaining deliveries in that over. The bowler chosen to finish the over must not be the bowler who bowled the previous over, and must not bowl the over immediately following either.

A player may not leave the field for injury unless the injury is sustained on the field. An injured player who takes the field may not leave because of his pre-existing injury, unless it is clearly aggravated further on the field.

Umpires Signals

The umpires signal various events with gestures, as follows:

Out: When a batsman is out, the umpire making the decision raises one hand above his head, with the index finger extended. Not Out: There is no formal signal to indicate that a batsman is not out. The umpire can either shake his head `no” or not signal at all. Four: A four scored by the ball reaching the boundary is signalled by an arm extended horizontally and waved briefly back and forth in a horizontal arc. Six: A six is signalled by raising both arms straight over the head. No Ball: A no ball is signalled by holding an arm out horizontally. Wide: A wide is signalled by holding both arms out horizontally. Byes: Runs scored as byes are signalled by raising one arm over the head, palm open. Leg Byes: Leg byes are signalled by raising one leg and tapping the knee with one hand. Dead Ball: If the umpire has to signal dead ball to prevent the players from assuming that the ball is still alive, he waves both arms across each other in front of his abdomen. One Short: One short is signalled by touching the tip of one hand to the same shoulder. TV Replay: If an umpire wishes the third umpire to make a decision based on a TV replay, he signals by drawing a large square shape in the air with both hands, spreading them out high in the air in front of him, bringing them down, and then together again.

Next …..Strategies, Tactics, and Trivia

Bowling Styles

There are two basic approaches to bowling: fast and spin. A fast bowler bowls the ball as fast as practicable, attempting to defeat the batsman with its pace. If the ball also swings in the air, or seams (moves sideways) off the pitch because of bouncing on the seam, it can be very difficult to play. A spin bowler has a more ambling run-up and uses wrist or finger motion to impart a spin to the ball. The ball then spins to one side when it bounces on the pitch, thus also hopefully causing it to be hard to hit. Fast bowlers are generally used with a new ball, while spin bowlers get more spin with a worn ball. There is also medium pace bowling, which concentrates more on swing and seam than pace.

A swing bowler will hold the seam of the ball at a certain angle and attempt to release the ball so that it spins with the seam at a constant angle. With one side of the ball polished and the other rough, differential air pressure will cause it to swing in the air.

A seam bowler attempts to keep the seam vertical, so that the ball hits the seam when it bounces on the pitch and deflects in its path either to the right or left.

A fast bowler can also pull his fingers down one side of the ball as he lets it go, imparting a small amount of sideways spin to the ball. This can cause the ball to move sideways off the pitch. Such a delivery is called a leg-cutter if the ball moves from the leg side to the off side of a right-handed batsman, or an off-cutter if moves from the off to the leg. A specialist spin bowler can get a lot more spin that a fast bowler bowling cutters, however.

There are two types of spin bowling: off-spin, and leg-spin. Imagine holding a ball in your right hand and, for simplicity’’s sake, throwing it. If you twist your hand in a clockwise direction on release, then the spin on the ball will be such that when it bounces it will spin to your right. This is essentially off-spin bowling (so called because, to a right-handed batsman, the ball spins from the off side to the leg side). The off-spin delivery itself is called either an off-spinner or an off-break. An off-spin bowler will sometimes not spin the ball so much, putting more pace on the delivery. Such a delivery is called an arm-ball.

Now imagine twisting the ball anticlockwise and releasing it from the palm so that it `rolls” over the base of the little finger. This gives the ball spin in the opposite direction, so it spins left when it bounces. This is basic leg-spin (because to a right-handed batsman it spins from leg to off). The basic leg-spin delivery is called a leg-spinner or leg-break.

The interesting thing about leg-spin is that if you cock your wrist at various angles you can in fact, with the same basic bowling action, produce spin in different directions. With the wrist cocked a little towards the inside of the arm, you can produce top-spinners. Go further and you actually end up producing spin in the same direction as an off-spinner. A ball bowled in this way by a leg-spin bowler is called a wrong ”un, or sometimes a googly . Probably trickiest of all is a ball bowled with the hand in the same position as a top-spinner, but released from under the hand, thereby gaining back-spin. This ball is called a flipper.

Typical bowling speeds are:

Fast bowler: 130-140 km/h (80-90 mph) Medium pace bowler: 100-130 km/h (60-80 mph) Spin bowler: 70-90 km/h (45-55 mph)

Bowlers also make use of the state of the pitch, which is quite crucial to the game, and is one of the things the commentators look at in great detail before the game begins. Because it’’s a natural surface, there are usually small inconsistencies in its flatness, hardness and elasticity. Over a multi-day game, or even over a single day, these become more pronounced, so it often gets more difficult to bat as the game progresses. Spin bowlers in particular often find that they get much more spin from an old pitch than a freshly prepared one.

Some of the different types of balls bowled have special names:

Bouncer: A ball bounced short so that it bounces high, usually chest height or higher as it passes the batsman. Yorker: A ball bounced very close to the batsman’’s crease. This is difficult to score from and often gets batsmen out, but is difficult to bowl without accidentally bowling a full toss.

Batsman’’s Shots

The different types of shots a batsman can play are described by names:

Block: A defensive shot played with the bat vertical and angled down at the front, intended to stop the ball and drop it down quickly on to the pitch in front of the batsman. Drive: An offensive shot played with the bat sweeping down through the vertical. The ball travels swiftly along the ground in front of the striker. A drive can be an on drive, straight drive, off drive, or cover drive, depending in which direction it goes. Cut: A shot played with the bat close to horizontal, which hits the ball somewhere in the arc between cover and gully. Edge, or Glance: A shot played off the bat at a glancing angle, through the slips area. Leg Glance: A shot played at a glancing angle behind the legs, so that it goes in the direction of fine leg. Pull: A horizontal bat shot which pulls the ball around the batsman into the square leg area. Sweep: Like a pull shot, except played with the backmost knee on the ground, so as to hit balls which bounce low. Hook: Like a pull shot, but played to a bouncer and intended to hit the ball high in the air over square leg - hopefully for six runs. French Cut: An attempt at a cut shot which hits the bottom edge of the bat and goes into the area behind square leg. Reverse Sweep: A sweep with the bat reversed, into the point area.

Most of these shots can also be lofted, in an attempt to hit the ball over the close fielders (or the boundary). The batting strokes can be divided into two categories: Straight bat and cross bat. The straight bat shots are played with the bat held close to the vertical, and are the blocks, drives and glances. Cross bat shots are played with the bat held more horizontally, like a baseball bat. These include cuts, pulls, sweeps and hooks.

The following terms are used more informally and are not standard:

Hoik: A wild swing intended only to hit the ball as hard and as far as possible, usually with little or no control. Agricultural Shot: Any shot played with very little skill.

More Weird Names

If a bowler completes an over without any runs being scored from it, it is termed a maiden.

If a batsman gets out without scoring any runs, he is said to be out for a duck . The origin of this term is unclear, but commonly rumoured to be because the ”0” next to his name on the scorecard resembles a duck egg. A batsman out for a duck while facing his first delivery of the innings is out for a golden duck.

The runs scored while two batsmen bat together are called their partnership. There are ten partnerships per completed innings, labelled from first-wicket partnership to tenth-wicket partnership, in order.

A nightwatchman is a batsman who comes in to bat out of order towards the end of a day’’s play in a multi-day game, in order to ”protect” better batsmen. To elucidate, the batting order in an innings is usually arranged with two specialists openers who begin the innings, then the rest of the batsmen in order of skill, best to worst. The job of the openers is to bat for a while against the new ball. A brand new ball is very hard and bouncy, and fast bowlers can use this to great advantage and can often get batsmen out. So it is harder to bat against a new ball. It is also somewhat difficult to begin batting. A new batsman is more likely to get out than one who has been on the field and scoring runs for a while.

Now, in a multi-day game, it sometimes happens that a team’’s innings will have only a few men out towards the end of the day’’s play. If a batsman gets out with about half an hour or less until stumps, the batting captain will sometimes send in a poor batsman next instead of a good one. The idea is that the poor batsman (the nightwatchman) will last 20 minutes and so protect the good batsman from having to make a fresh start that evening and again the next morning. It is essentially a sacrifice ploy. Of course, it can backfire dangerously if the nightwatchman does get out before stumps. The nightwatchman is a tactic which is used about 50% of the time when the appropriate situation arises (which itself occurs perhaps once every 4 or 5 games). It just depends on how the captain feels at the time.

A sightscreen is a large screen positioned on the boundary so that it forms a backdrop behind the bowler, so that the striker can see the ball clearly. Sightscreens are white when a red ball is used, and black for a white ball.

A rabbit is a player (almost invariably a bowler, but sometimes a wicket-keeper) who is a very poor batsman. A ferret is an extremely poor batsman (so called because he “goes in after the rabbits””).

Basics
Cricket is a team sport for two teams of eleven players each. A formal game of cricket can last anything from an afternoon to several days.

Although the game play and rules are very different, the basic concept of cricket is similar to that of baseball. Teams bat in successive innings and attempt to score runs, while the opposing team fields and attempts to bring an end to the batting team’’s innings. After each team has batted an equal number of innings (either one or two, depending on conditions chosen before the game), the team with the most runs wins.

Equipment

Cricket Ball:
Hard, cork and string ball, covered with leather. A bit like a baseball (in size and hardness), but the leather covering is thicker and joined in two hemispheres, not in a tennis ball pattern. The seam is thus like an equator, and the stitching is raised slightly. The circumference is between 224 and 229 millimetres (8.81 to 9.00 inches), and the ball weighs between 156 and 163 grams (5.5 to 5.75 ounces). Traditionally the ball is dyed red, with the stitching left white. Nowadays white balls are also used, for visibility in games played at night under artificial lighting.
Cricket Bat:
Blade made of willow, flat on one side, humped on the other for strength, attached to a sturdy cane handle. The blade has a maximum width of 108 millimetres (4.25 inches) and the whole bat has a maximum length of 965 millimetres (38 inches).
Wickets:
There are two wickets - wooden structures made up of a set of three stumps topped by a pair of bails. These are described below.
Stumps:
Three wooden posts, 25 millimetres (1 inch) in diameter and 813 millimetres (32 inches) high. They have have spikes extending from their bottom end and are hammered into the ground in an evenly spaced row, with the outside edges of the outermost stumps 228 millimetres (9 inches) apart. This means they are just close enough together that a cricket ball cannot pass between them.
Bails:
Two wooden crosspieces which sit in grooves atop the adjacent pairs of stumps.
Protective Gear:
Pads, gloves, helmet, etc for batsmen to wear to prevent injury when struck by the ball.
Shoes:
Leather, usually with spiked soles for grip on the grass.
Clothing:
Long pants, shirt (long or short sleeved depending on the weather), possibly a sleeveless or long-sleeved woollen pullover in cold weather. For games played with a red ball, the clothing must be white or cream. With a white ball, players usually wear uniforms in solid team colours. Add a hat or cap to keep the sun off. There are no regulations regarding identifying marks or numbers on clothing.

The Field

A cricket field is a roughly elliptical field of flat grass, ranging in size from about 90 to 150 metres (100-160 yards) across, bounded by an obvious fence or other marker. There is no fixed size or shape for the field, although large deviations from a low-eccentricity ellipse are discouraged. In the centre of the field, and usually aligned along the long axis of the ellipse, is the pitch , a carefully prepared rectangle of closely mown and rolled grass over hard packed earth. It is marked with white lines, called creases.

The Play

The order in which the teams bat is determined by a coin toss. The captain of the side winning the toss may elect to bat or field first.

All eleven players of the fielding team go out to field, two players of the batting team go out to bat. The remainder of the batting team wait off the field for their turn to bat. Each batsman wears protective gear and carries a cricket bat.

The game progresses by the bowling of balls. The sequence of events which constitutes a ball follows:

The fielding team disperses around the field, to positions designed to stop runs being scored or to get batsmen out. One fielder is the bowler. He takes the ball and stands some distance behind one of the wickets (i.e. away from the pitch). Another fielder is the wicket-keeper, who wears a pair of webbed gloves designed for catching the ball and protective pads covering the shins. He squats behind the opposite wicket. The rest of the fielders have no special equipment - gloves to assist catching the ball are not allowed to anyone but the wicket-keeper.

One batsman stands behind each popping crease, near a wicket. The batsman farthest from the bowler is the striker, the other is the non-striker. The striker stands before his wicket, on or near the popping crease, in the batting stance.

The batsman stands with his bat held down in front of the wicket, ready to hit the ball, which will be bowled from the other end of the pitch. The batsman usually rests the lower end of the bat on the pitch and then taps the bat on the pitch a few times as “warm-up”” backswings.

The non-striker simply stands behind the other popping crease, waiting to run if necessary. The bowler takes a run-up from behind the non-striker’’s wicket. He passes to one side of the wicket, and when he reaches the non-striker’’s popping crease he bowls the ball towards the striker, usually bouncing the ball once on the pitch before it reaches the striker. (The bowling action will be described in detail later.)

The striker may then attempt to hit the ball with his bat. If he misses it, the wicket-keeper will catch it and the ball is completed. If he hits it, the two batsmen may score runs (described later). When the runs are completed, the ball is also considered completed. The ball is considered to be in play from the moment the bowler begins his run-up. It remains in play until any of several conditions occur (two common ones were just described), after which it is called dead. The ball is also dead if it lodges in the striker’’s clothing or equipment. Once the ball is dead, it is returned to the bowler for the next delivery (another name for the bowling of a ball). Between deliveries, the batsmen may leave their creases and confer with each other.

When one bowler has completed six balls, that constitutes an over. A different member of the fielding team is given the ball and bowls the next over - from the opposite end of the pitch. The batsmen do not change ends, so the roles of striker and non-striker swap after each over. Any member of the fielding team may bowl, so long as no bowler delivers two consecutive overs. Once a bowler begins an over, he must complete it, unless injured or suspended during the over.

Another possibility during a ball is that a batsman may get out. There are ten different methods of being out - these will be described in detail later. If a batsman gets out, the ball is dead immediately, so it is impossible to get the other batsman out during the same ball. The out batsman leaves the field, and the next batsman in the team comes in to bat. The not out batsman remains on the field. The order in which batsmen come in to bat in an innings is not fixed. The batting order may be changed by the team captain at any time, and the order does not have to be the same in each innings.

When ten batsmen are out, no new batsmen remain to come in, and the innings is completed with one batsman remaining not out. The roles of the teams then swap, and the team which fielded first gets to bat through an innings. When both teams have completed the agreed number of innings, the team which has scored the most runs wins.

Next…. Scoring Runs, getting out, etc…..