The Kolkata game, between India and New Zealand, beginning on Friday will be special and historic as it happens to be the 250th Test to be staged at home. It gives a chance for the host to reclaim the No. 1 Test ranking. That apart the Test will usher in the Lord’s tradition of ‘Ringing of the Bell.’ Sometimes the top news sounds at the bottom of the barrel!
The hearing of the chime will provide a grand soundtrack to the historic moment in the City of Joy. And who better than the legendary Kapil Dev to do the honours. The man who brought the Prudential World Cup in 1983 is a great crowd-puller and a darling of the public.
Kapil, who did similar honours at Lord’s in 2014, can elevate the work of young cricketers and make a bigger impact on the Indian cricketing scene.
The greatest all-rounder that India has produced has something great to give the world and the impact this act will have on budding players will be to refuse to stay ordinary in their careers. They will seek to do more, make a bigger impact and and go to higher level.
This is also the first time that Kolkata is staging a souvenir Test. And it is after 50 years that the hallowed Eden Gardens is staging a Test against New Zealand. With new Bermuda grass and unsettled soil it may not be a turning track this time.
After losing the first Test to England (Mumbai, 1933), the 50th to Australia (Chennai, 1956-57), the 100th to England (Birmingham, 1967) and the 150th again to England (Chennai, 1976-77), India had a drawn encounter against Pakistan in the 200th Test at Lahore (1982-83).
After registering wins in the 250th Test against West Indies (Chennai, 1987-88), the 300th Test against South Africa (Ahmedabad, 1996-97), the 350th against Zimbabwe (Nagpur, 2001-02) and the 400th against the Windies (Jamaica, 2006), India’s 450th against the West Indies (Bridgetown, 2011) was a drawn affair. And all know, the host registered a big win some days back at Kanpur in its 500th Test.
The ringing of bell is a very good gesture on the part of Sourav Ganguly, president of the Cricket Association of Bengal. If Lord’s took a cue from the tradition of the Church to invite the faithful for worship and thus sound out more spectators, then the tradition followed down the years should not be difficult to reconstruct. It will be fascinating to attempt this long established practice.
“The bitter-sweet sound of just one bell or the majesty of a whole peal, has become part of the English heritage and much of the country’s history can be traced through the history of its bells,” says a historian.
“The ringing of the five-minute bell at Lord’s by an international cricketer, administrator or well-known enthusiast of the sport is a recent tradition introduced in 2007”, says a posting on a website.
The bell, located outside the Bowlers’ Bar of the Lord’s Pavilion, is rung to signify the imminent start of play, and it has become a great honour to be invited to ring it on the morning of a Test match.
We Indians must be proud that former captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, one of the first celebrity cricketers, was part of the tradition in the very first year. After Pataudi and Sunil Gavaskar in 2007, Dilip Vengsarkar (2011), Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid (2014) have also done the honours.
Cricket came to be accepted as a source of pleasure and as a means of liberating character. Players have loved the game passionately and adored and adorned it. To maintain that kind of heritage in a revolutionised world is remarkable. The whites, the red cherry, etc. remain though several changes have taken place down the years.
The great Sachin Tendulkar has not got the honour yet. And it will be in the fittest of things to request him to ring the bell on one of days at the Eden.
This is what Peter Roebuck once wrote of him: On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!”
IPL team owner and cinema idol Shahrukh Khan had this to say: “There was a big party where stars from Bollywood and cricket were invited. Suddenly, there was a big noise as all wanted to see the approaching Amitabh Bachchan. Then Sachin entered the hall and Amitabh was leading the queue to get a grab of the genius!”
Even during the Torch Relay of the London Olympics (2012) bells rang to celebrate the passing of the Olympic Torch and as part of the British convention. During the Opening Ceremony three minutes of ringing all kinds of bells captured the public attention. The great Olympic Bell was tolled by Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins to open the Ceremony.
