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In Chepauk's shadow, cricket of a different order
At play on the Marina
THE SCENE: Marina Beach. The time: 4.30 p.m. D. Sathish Kumar (14) of Padanan Kuppam, a nearby fishermen's settlement, runs in from the Light House end. He bowls right arm fast and occasionally chucks. His team, Eleven Stars, has scored 43 in 14 overs.
The all-rounder captain of the team had himself scored 11 runs. With the opposition team requiring another 11 more to win, it was a crucial over. Just as Sathish begins his run up across the tar road focusing on the wooden stumps on the middle of the road, a patrol vehicle from D-5 police station rushes in from the Chennai Corporation Swimming Pool end.
The batsman picks up a couple of stumps (belonging to his team mates) and makes a run for it. All the players scamper. In seconds, the only evidence of the cricket match is the mound of sand that held the stumps.
For cricket lovers of Triplicane, Royapettah and other nearby areas, the beach road is the only place they can play cricket. Marina Ground is but a shadow of its former self but there are too many teams playing there. So by evening, teams with names like `Seven Stars' and `Lions Team' play cricket on the tarred inner lane along the beachfront.
Different rules
Playing on the Marina requires a slight modification of the rules to suit conditions. Most of the teams use the beachfront as the leg side. So naturally, the maximum runs are scored on the leg side. (Is this why Indians are good onside players?)
The offside field has strong restrictions. If a ball crosses the cement railing and falls on the pavement, there are `2Gs' and `3Gs' (granted runs).
And if the police disrupt the game, the team which is behind concedes defeat. "We won," Sathish tells us. "They needed 11 runs but their best batsmen were out. So it is technically a walkover."
The teams play mostly on weekends. Wednesday's game was possible because the local schools had a half-day holiday for Mahalaya Amavasya (the most auspicious New Moon Day of the year). It's not just school kids but also grown-ups, including software professionals and engineers, who live up their passion for the game at the Marina.
But not all beach-users are happy. They see beachside cricket as a nuisance, hence the police action. But most games happen in the afternoons and the teams wind up by 4.30 - 5 p.m.
There are also the occasional tournaments conducted by the regulars at the Marina. Each team contributes anything from Rs.50 to Rs.250 to participate. The winner takes it all. So what to they do with the prize money?
"We usually buy cricket bats or stumps from shops in Chepauk," says P. Dilip Kumar, an opening batsman. Naturally, the kids model themselves on the Indian stars. Dilip says he is a bit unconventional with the bat. "A bit like Sehwag." Sathish is more orthodox. Like Rahul Dravid, who else?
Most kids in the kuppams may not be able to afford the tickets for the India-Australia test match at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, which is only a stone's throw away. But they will certainly sit glued to their TV sets and be back next week to play another game of cricket.
By Karthik Subramanian
Photo: K.V. Srinivasan
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Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
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