Cricket fever at MRF Pondy

As you folks already know me working at MRF Ltd., a tyre manufacturing factory in Pondy in India. We have a staff recreation club and you might remember my old blog articles on some of the interesting happening we had as part of this staff club.

Now the cricket fever has started in this club.

Frankly speaking, I never like this game. But the action photography that this game offers for a photographer in me, is never to be prejudiced. Covering the cricket game was a first kinda for me. There was a practice session for the people, so that it makes the players a little better in getting fit for the game.

For me, one such practice session gave the opportunity to learn on where and when to click the camera, so that the pics would relish for memories.

The practice sessions happened at a vast green ground which had been  a harvesting field; but had just got converted to a property where hundreds of plots have come up.

The actual scenario of this pitch was a bit of difficulty to make out the snaps look a decent one. So, while my colleagues started playing the game, I ran around to find the best spot, which would give a better result on my camera. End of it, I used the Picasa Photo Editor to make the photographs look better.

Since its a practice session; all the players being my dear colleagues, they do not mind me, meddling in between them playing a serious game. Being this game a first for me to do a photologue, I was much particular to know the angles where I could combine portraiture of my colleagues as well pack the action of the game.

Another risk factor is that, if the photographer in me, is only concentrating on the click, there is also a risk of the ball hitting me if I am not taking the cue of the shot of the batsman. Oncr the ball was flying nearer to me; I was lucky, it was farther from me.  Little extra eye on the path of the ball, saved me in not getting into line with the trajectory of the ball.

The full set of pics are here for you to relish


The full fledged one day game with 3 sets of 10 over matches happened at the "Armed Police" Grounds in Pondicherry. It was fun and thrill covering three different matches. Need to post those photos in the next few days.

Weekend Cricket game on today's agenda

Hey today is Sunday
Should catch up my friends here and go to the beach for the cricket game at the ground near the beach.

This fever started some 15 years back. We some of the folks here in neighbourhood grouped to play cricket and peddled our bicycles to the Devanampattinam Silver Beach area (one of the longest beaches in Asia).


This vast greenish ground situated opposite to Periyar Govt. Arts & Science College near the beach plays host to some seven teams play cricket simultaneously. In the olden days some 10 people join to play this game. Our team has a special rule - only rubber ball to be used.
Why?
Not much professional players in our team to take down injuries of this lazy game with those hard cricket ball.

Since all were finding it difficult the rules had got changed - Thanks to Ramprasath who was working in Infosys for simplifying the game rules like - "One pitch catch" - Implies that, even if a fielder catches the ball after it makes one bounce on the ground, the batsman is ousted. Another rule is that the ball should not fly off to the boundary, in which case the batsman is to bid adieu. We find it more enjoyable since the rules were modified. Ofcourse these bent up rules are making the play easy and on the other way preventing outsiders requesting to get into the game.

Many instances were there, during which outsiders with good playing talents get a "gaugee" and make the team members run far and wide to get control of the score. These bent up rules keep these outsiders at bay.

Olden days many school and college going friends of my neighbourhood team up for this weekly rendezvous. The journey for this starts with pedalling the bicycles for a 4 Km up wind. Of course the sweating due to upwind pedalling exercise is too good to get a little burnout to the otherwise lazy me. But the return trips is so cool for us without the much needed effort of pedalling. The westward cool winds in the late evening gives a little push for us to enjoy the pedalling back to home. But its now hard to see guys arriving at the play ground on bicycles only bikes na! The return trips usually see one of the folks sponsoring to quench the thirst of the hard played team members. The team's favourite Paneer Soda is the thirst buster. People claim it the non-polluted drink, yes we avoid the so called Urea contaminated drinks.

Nowadays many of the folks have got jobs, bought bikes, most of them married and some settled at places like Chidambaram, Chennai, Hosur, Banglore or some place in the US of America.

Oh! now very few people are getting into the weekend frolic, with myself too absenting most of the time and missing the fun. Of course the blogging hobby on the weekends is eating up the time which otherwise was spent visiting the cool climate of the playground during the pre broadband era. Is internet killing my weekend fun, ofcourse internet is doing a lot of good too.

Today I am free with wife and son away from town to her mummy's house to spend the summer vacation. So I should make it to the play ground, although my stamina should spruce up to do some little runs.

So let me see my luck for today a Sunday and this evening I should catch up my guys to have a nice time playing the cricket game with the laze of the cool winds of the Cuddalore beach.