On a Sandy pitch
Many hearts broke when cricket at the Marina was
banned in 2009. S. SAMPATHKUMAR recalls the camaraderie the sport fostered on
the beach sands.
For every visitor,
Marina beach offers cool breeze and a serene atmosphere. For some of those who
are middle aged, it brings memories of beach cricket.
Until 2009, Marina
beach played host to cricket matches, many of them played simultaneously on its
sands. The beach has been a cradle for many great cricketers. They would hone
their cricketing skills playing on its sands. Beach matches would forge great
friendships. There have been cases of beach players recommending their mates
for good jobs. Members of Srinivas Young Men’s Association (SYMA) would
regularly visit the Marina to play cricket.
We would play on
the beach for hours. Through beach cricket, we managed to win many over to SYMA
(a voluntary organisation committed to improving living standards in Triplicane).
SYMA has conducted annual tournaments in fond memory of one of its office
bearers.
Beach cricket had
its own rules, which were often tweaked to suit the wind. There used to be
three-day matches and matches of shorter durations as well. As in the IPL, most
players were loyal to their teams. Occasionally, some transfers occurred. Many
shops at the beach thrived because of these cricketers.
It is sad that when
beach cricket was banned at the Marina in 2009, an alternative was not
provided.
City youngsters
have not been provided any replacement for this ‘great cricket ground’. We hope
cricket would return to the sands of the Marina.
(S. Sampathkumar is secretary of SYMA and editor of
Bliss, a newsletter brought out by the Association)
Today
(21.12.2014) The Hindu Downtown
(Mylapore) carries my article on ‘beach Cricket at Marina’…. Special
thanks to Ms. Liffy Thomas, The Hindu Downtown and Mr SR Ragunathan, Chief
Photographer.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-downtown/on-a-sandy-pitch/article6711740.ece
No comments:
Post a Comment