The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Marina ground

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 20, 2006

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Sport - Cricket

Marina ground — regaining lost glory

S. Dinakar

Chennai: A clattering suburban train flashes by on an elevated track. You can also hear the roar of the Bay of Bengal, and the bustle of the busy Beach Road traffic.

In the halcyon days from the past, the cheering from the captivated spectators made the loudest sounds at the Marina ground. Now, those stands have disappeared, so have the crowds.

An arena wrapped in old world charm, Marina captured the romance of cricket. As the sea changed its colour in tandem with the light, the games changed their shades too.

Walk down the ground and you can, perhaps, see those invisible footprints of the greats from another era, marks that cannot be erased.

The Presidency College clock tower, a witness to the ravages of time, looks down at Marina in a serene fashion. The quaint brick-roofed pavilion too is a reminder of the ground's glory days.

Says former India cricketer Milkha Singh, "each time I pass the ground, I can feel the breeze from the sea." Memories die hard.

Marina's gradual decline from the early 80s, that also reflected the game's shifting priorities, eventually left it neglected and forgotten.

The good news

The good news is that the ground is renovated by the Simpson group, in coordination with the Presidency College. A grill fence has been erected. Work on the thirty-yard circle began in June under curator K. Parthasarathy. A turf pitch should be ready by August. Then, the outfield will receive attention.

Yet, the real test would be to recapture the spirit and the passion of the cricket at Marina. The 64-year-old Milkha recalls, "The charm of playing there was completely different, a kind of magnetic romance. The stands used to be packed. And there used to be people, who had parked their cars on the road, watching from the sidewalks. You could see a line of cars parked. I cannot forget the sixes I hit into the canal."

The league, the inter-collegiate games, and The Hindu Trophy matches were huge attractions. Milkha is sad that inter-college cricket has declined in value and attention. "There was tremendous interest, and cricketers like C.D. Gopinath emerged from those games."

Fascinating duels

And Marina witnessed some fascinating duels, like the one between the gifted leg-spinner, V.V. Kumar, and the fleet-footed Kripal Singh. The fare whipped up was sheer magic.

The 71-year-old Kumar remembers, "The beauty of it was that you were so close to nature. The crosswind from the sea in late afternoons helped the swing bowlers. The matting wickets had bounce and pace and encouraged good cricket." In its early days, Marina had a fine turf pitch before switching over to matting.

Happily, the Marina ground could be buzzing again.

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