"For decades we have been mastering the century-denial ball. Our foundations are pretty strong and we make sure the boys master the basics well." He shows me white circular markers(which are ideally used for marking bowlers' run up) placed two feet ahead of the bowling crease. "This is the first stage of their training. We make it easier for the boys to understand that a batsman is at 99 by the sign board. Then they have to consciously, carefully skip the bowling crease and land on the markers 2 feet away." Interesting. "Has any bowler been talented enough to go beyond 2 feet?", I ask. "Well at this age it will be difficult for them. But now and then we get some tremendous talent out here. Randiv, when he was a kid, once bowled with his bowling feet on the batsman's crease." No wonder he's performing well in international cricket!
The coach then takes me to the other end of the ground, where there are batsmen instead of the sign-posts. Maybe this part of the ground is for serious cricket? But as I move closer, I realize that some of those batsmen actually play for Ranji teams! Coach, seeing my baffled expression calls over one of the batsmen. Shyly, the batsmen walks towards us. "Tell him about our excellent coaching here, Parthiv." Parthiv Patel!!
"I was playing for Gujarat against Railways. The match was going really well for us. We needed just 1 run to win and I was playing at 99*. Suddenly a helicopter came over our heads and I was airlifted. Within hours, I was dropped into Rangiri Dambulla with a parachute on my back. The helicopter went back to Feroz Shah Kotla for the next assignment!" Coach continued - "Once the boys pass their initial training, they move over to these nets where we simulate the game situation as close to real as possible. Notice that there aren't any markers here." Wanting to get out of the place quickly, I move over. Before leaving, I get Randiv's address from the coach.
Getting to Randiv's house was easy. He's well known in this part of the country. I ring the bell and wait. While I wait, I notice that a white line runs just beneath the gate, just like Lakshman Rekha. An evil laughter startles me. Randiv's mother. "People always ask us why we have that white line. Young Randiv drew that when he was a kid. Every time he walked into or out of the house, he liked to feel he'd bowled a no ball." She asks me to no-ball myself into the house, but I politely refuse and move on.
My last stop is the Sri Lanka Cricket Administrative Block. I was told to wait in a corner of a crowded auditorium inside. A co-coordinator was running a slide show with pictures of Indian cricketers. "B for... Ball Boy,.... W for ... Water Boy". And the crowd repeated respectfully after him. A peon came over and took me to the SLC President's office. On the way he said - "A complete professional, isn't he? The Crowd Behavior Expert."
The President wasn't too willing to talk. "We have nothing to say except that we have asked the ICC to mute the stump mikes when batsmen are at 99. Thank you!" Glad that my Lankan safari was over, I came back home.
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