Straight off the bat to the boundary

Tales from Trumper to Tendulkar is an ode to the game uncovering little-known facts

July 28, 2014 06:28 pm | Updated 06:28 pm IST - Bangalore

BOWLED OVER S. Giridhar and V. J. Raghunath.

BOWLED OVER S. Giridhar and V. J. Raghunath.

Cricket is a multilayered sport, with a bunch of fascinating facets. Discovering and learning about the game is akin to peeling an onion, with a fresh detail or statistic emerging every time you you study an unrelated facet. Mid-Wicket Tales — From Trumper to Tendulkar by S. Giridhar and V. J. Raghunath, explores many facets of the game and also sneaks a peek at many of the players and characters who played a key role in popularising the sport with their style and sportsmanship.

Giridhar, a management executive says, “We have been friends for many years and loved the game. We also played some matches and had some idea about first class cricket in the country. In the early 80’s we used to watch cricket in stadiums. We have also read almost everything written about the game-from Neville Cardus to Gideon Haigh. ”

He adds, “As far as the story of the book is concerned, we never planned anything. I used to write articles in newspapers about social change and development, as an extension to the work I undertook for the Azim Premji foundation. I met cricketer Salim Durani at an airport lounge and wrote a small interview. I sent the piece to Harsha Bhogle, who in turn forwarded it to Sambit Bal, the editor of Cricinfo. The article was published and I was thrilled.”

Raghu, a mechanical engineer, interjects, “Giri told me about this article since it partly consists of a story I had narrated about Durani. We started to brainstorm and decided to start writing articles on cricket. Those articles dealt with different aspects of the game– captaincy, spirit of the game, fielding etc . We used a mixture of facts, figures, analysis and anecdotes. The articles were well received and many of our family and friends began to ask us to compile the articles into a book.”

Once Sage publications seemed keen on the idea of a cricket book and gave a contract, the duo began to rework the articles, adding more information and anecdotes.

“We decided to keep a focus on test cricket through the ages,” Giridhar said. “We did not want a chronological account. We looked at a different approach. For example, the article about Tendulkar is an account by Rahul Dravid where he talks about being the non striker when Tendulkar was batting at the other end. The article not only gives us an insight about Sachin but also gives us glimpses of Rahul Dravid’s personality. As far as Kapil Dev was concerned, we have discussed his running between the wickets more than his bowling.”

Giridhar adds, “The internet and Wisden archives helped us a great deal in research and discovering unknown factoids about the game.”

The duo are appalled by the rise of jingoism in cricket coverage and stadiums.“It is sad when the stadium erupts for a bad shot by the home team, just because it crossed the fence and stays silent when an opposition player scores with an excellent shot. People who appreciate the game would see a good innings or a great spell and not be perturbed much with the result.”

Raghu adds, “We have played club cricket and are used to appreciating a good shot even by the opposition batsman. I think commercialisation has played a part in enhancing jingoism”

They say, “The Indian Premier league is an example of commercialisation. It is not a bad idea per se, but has been commercialised. The fans seldom get to watch the game in the stadium, as the tickets are priced very high.”

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