Cricinfo - Blogs - First class, first person

They also leave a lot of unwanted service boys to serve the food, not knowing the players want privacy in the dressing room. Due to lack of co-ordination between various honorary committee members, local transport from hotel to ground and ground to hotel is rarely on time. It leaves the manager of the team in awkward state, making frantic calls to the local manager and at the same time facing glares from players and the coach.

To players, only the wicket and playing conditions are of utmost importance. They don’t usually mind staying in substandard hotels, and can compromise on the quality of food served, but if the wicket and playing conditions are poor, they are not happy. When they are playing, their careers are at stake and failure cannot always be attributed only to their skills; there are external factors at work too.

Players often get disturbed by people moving across or over the sightscreen. At times those appointed to prohibit people from moving across the sightscreen themselves amble across it. There is a ground in Guwahati where a busy railway track runs right behind the sightscreen. The game has to stop on a number of occasions when a train is passing by as the players don’t want to be disturbed by a moving train when they want to concentrate on the moving ball, nor do the umpires want to miss a faint tickle because of the sound of the train.

I recently played at Margao where the wicket was a featherbed, and the state of the outfield was such that the match referee had to apparently call the BCCI authorities and threaten to take action. Eventually the boundary was shortened in that particular part of the field, which resembled a ploughed field. On such outfields, one has to have a prayer on his lips when chasing a ball or trying to catch it, as an ankle injury or a serious injury is not far away.

Agartala is one ground where the wicket is not great, but I remember the venue because of the wonderful tents that are erected as dressing rooms, which resemble the tents from the Arabian nights. The GSFC Ground in Baroda where we played the Ranji final in 2000-01 is located amid thick forestry. Players were often reluctant to go in search of the ball once it crossed the boundary rope because there we had loads of monkeys for company on the periphery and nobody was keen to invite the monkeys’ wrath in case they suddenly found a liking for the red cherry.

Sometimes, the practice facilities are not what one expects of first-class venues. At some venues such as the Karnail Singh Stadium, the run-up in the practice area is all mud and devoid of all grass. Anil Kumble, who played there two seasons ago, quipped that one could bowl in chappals (slippers) and that spikes were not required while practising at such facilities.

However, there are lesser-known grounds where the wicket on offer is of the highest quality and is truly sporting in nature. I have to include Valsad and Surat in that category. But the applause and appreciation for having one of the best first-class venues has to go to Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh. The wicket there is sporting, the outfield like a billiards table - even and lush green - and a clubhouse that makes one believe one is playing in the English countryside. Moncho Ferrer, of Spanish origin but born and brought up in India, is the man behind this. He has developed the ground in the name of a trust called Anantapur Sports Village. One often wonders why can’t a high percentage of the state associations who get anywhere between Rs 2 and 3 crore as an annual grant from the BCCI use the money as efficiently as the above mentioned trust? Proper accountability from the people who run the state associations is required.

Nice account about unknown first class venues Sanjay.I live in Hyderabad and there a couple of grounds I have been to.One is the Gymkhana ground located in the heart of the city.The pitch at that ground is notorious for producing low scoring matches.There is a heck a lot of seam movement on the wicket and it makes life very difficult for batsmen.Then there is the ECIL ground where the moin-ud-dowla gold cup is staged.It's pretty close to NFC, India's centre of nuclear research.It's surrounded by huge trees and standing at the boundary is the best option to escape the sun's wrath.It's nice you mentioned the facilities at the Anantapur Sports Village.Andhra Cricket Association is run by former first-class cricketers who have an understanding of what is required to produce good-quality cricket,unlike those poori-baaji,kachori and samosa state associations for whom cricketers are like guests coming to their place.

It is very interesting to note how domestic cricketers have to face the travails of everyday life just like the rest of us. In India, people consider cricketers to be a spoilt lot (sometimes, rightly so). However, we fail to recognise the effort that goes into becoming an international cricketer of note. Also,very nice to hear about a good facility in Anantapur. I have always wondered why international matches are played at some substandard stadiums year after year. May be the BCCI should consider hosting some key games at qualified, lesser known locations. It would probably prevent the established cricket associations from taking their presence for granted and also help spread the game to remote areas and help rural/semi-urban economies. Moreover, what more inspiration does a young cicketer need than watching a Dravid or Tendulkar in action? We need to tap into our huge people pool to get the best talent available, and not restrict ourselves to traditional cricket centres.

Good read. Given the sheer number of smaller venues in the country, hopefully we will see more on this topic.

Sanjay - your views on the life of a first-class cricketer in India should be read by every young aspiring cricketer. It is easy to idolise the Test/one-day/20-20 cricketers, but they need to understand that the path is tough, and to stay there is tougher.

One way to ensure that grounds are maintained properly, BCCI should seek feedback from the players, the umpires and the match referee, and use that to reward/penalise the state associations. Maybe it is asking for too much from a body with a "you-scratch-my-back-and-I'll-scratch-yours" approach to administration.

Lastly, every problem that you have mentioned, from food, to transport, and to stay, is an opportunity for someone to provide better service, and make a name for themselves. Any takers?

Sanjay, Hatrick on debut! Three excellent articles and it seems to be getting better. Is an autobiography or a book on Indian domestic cricket round the corner? I will not be surprised. I would like to be the first buyer in case there is one in the offing.

The state of cricket grounds in India is well known as maintenance is a serious problem. You seem to be having new things to write due to your long and extensive travel experience around the various cricket venues across the country. Chennai is blessed in this aspect as we have quite a few well maintained cricket grounds. Corporate patronage is the reason. The present set of office bearers also have keen interest in developing facilities. Once money and people with passion to maintain high standards are available things should be fine. Unfortunately these two things are tough to come by in our country.

When talking about a cricketers diet, why can't you throw some light on the diet that can be followed during the season, match days and in the off season. This would be a great help to budding cricketers as they will some idea of how to handle their diet.

Keep going Sanjay. You're doing a great job which is being well appreciated by lots of people.

Intresting!

Your observation about "over hospitality" in particular!! As you mentioned rightly, any cricketer wiill sure prefer a 100 or a 5 wicket haul than a plate of spicy Biriyani served.

But, Many of these problems comes with simple soloutions. All BCCI has to do is prepare a "Do's and Dont's" list, send it to hosting state association and ensure its implementation through its (BCCI)officials.I am not sure if any such "well defined" guidelines exist.

If there is one, hope, it is "implemented" strictly for the benifit of cricketers and Indian cricket.

Keep going sanjay. Your writing is simple, straight and pleasing, just like your cricket!!!

A very well written article on a topic that was least covered by the media.This is one of the important segments of the game on which Cricket rests. It is like a building material that goes into the foundation of a strong edifice. It reminds me of my experiences of playing Cricket up to College level and league cricket in Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad. Please write about the Travel, the administrators and the training that goes into making of a Cricketer.Yes, BCCI is arrogant and the administrators (Some of Them) are selfish and behave in a very high handed manner. These mundane things must be brought out for Public awareness. ICL is a good concept and needs to be encouraged. They could also foray into other forms of Cricket- One day matches, and four day matches with a little change in rules to bring about a result.It is a pity that you could not become a regular member of the Indian Cricket team, despite your good record. All due to the politics played by administrators.Please continue your good writing. They are a treasure of information.

Nice article Sanjay. Similarly the sorry plight of the spectators even in established centers should also be mentioned. Take Chepauk Stadium for example. Everyone thinks that it is one of the best stadiums in India. What a pity!!!The big bosses from BCCI or TNCA should watch the match from the stands (they charge plenty) instead of Pavilion. They will know the plight of the spectators. The state of the toilets in those stands speak for themselves. I went to watch the match between India and west indies last year. There was a big screen available to show the replays. However, most of the time a movie trailer was being shown not the match. The BCCI takes spectators for granted. Myself and my friends have decided not to go to any matches hereafter. We talk about Australians being good etc etc. But, nobody thinks about the facilities they provide to the spectators. We should stop going to the stadium to watch matches, then only these big bosses will realise. Sanjay, as a player you can't do this (stop playing) but as a spectator we can.
Excellent article. Keep it up. Please write about the umpiring and interesting incidents in domestic cricket. Cheers