Rain prevents play but local kids benefit

By Vijay Lokapally

MUTARE, MAY 29. Along with the rain, the god of cricket too descended at the Manica Oval here and spent sometime with the local kids. Having watched him on television, some of these kids were transported into a world beyond their imagination as they bowled to Sachin Tendulkar and then carted his bowling around.

It was cricket of a very different kind on the second day of the match between the Indians and Zimbabwe `A' here on Tuesday.

Bad weather, that age-old enemy of this game played in sunshine, prevented play throughout. Icy winds drove the players indoors but there were some brave kids, who put up their plastic stumps, picked up their bat and tested their cricket skills. The stars of Indian cricket were spectators of this `competitive' cricket which was all fun and frolic.

S. Ramesh batted right-handed and even Sameer Dighe turned his arm over. V.V.S. Laxman became the self-appointed coach and lone supporter of the kids. It was `intense' cricket for the kids as the ball flew in all directions from edges and mishits, leaving everyone in splits.

Coach John Wright trooped out with some new ideas for the lads and seemed to enjoy every moment of it. Surrounded by these enthusiastic kids, he spent a good half an hour on the field.

Could Tendulkar be expected to stay away from cricket, whatever its status. He rushed to the field, and was soon in the thick of action. The kids around him created a racket and the Little Master became one of them. It was great fun for the kids, and greater fun for Tendulkar, who simply loves the company of children.

Watching the scene quietly was Amos Muangwa, the 22- year-old coach of these kids. Employed as coach in the development programme run by the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, he relished the time his trainees spent with Tendulkar.

``I don't know if they realise the privilege of having Sachin among themselves. Of course, many of them recognise him as India's star player. I envy them,'' said Amos with a smile, pointing to an eight-year-old girl driving the ball with elan.

``She came to me only three days ago wanting to play cricket,'' he said with pride in his voice.

Girls and boys in the age group of eight to 14 have been watching the India-Zimbabwe `A' match as part of their learning schedule.

``A pity those who came today couldn't watch cricket, but I think they got more than they could have asked for, being privileged to knock the ball around in the company of the Indian cricketers,'' he said. The development programme in Zimbabwe may not have yielded the kind of desired results for the ZCU, but the efforts are on. Amos, an all-rounder who played for Zimbabwe `B', was hopeful these underprivileged kids would one day find their way to the top.

``I don't know how many of them will make it, but a few of them surely will. Their desire to play cricket is genuine. They're natural athletes and learn the lessons quickly. Had we the infrastructure and the equipment, more and more black kids would have taken to the game in a serious manner,'' Amos observed.

The Indians by now had retired to the dressing room and the kids resumed their contest. This was all the cricket one got to watch at the Manica Oval on Tuesday.

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