Cricket in Bala Mandir

Being a hardcore cricket fan for over 60 years of my life and having played the game from a very young age, it has been of some concern to me that none of the Bala Mandir children, either in the school or in the Home, play the game. On some days I have seen the Home girls play cricket but never the boys. Every boy in Bala Mandir aspires to become a football champ and his idols are Messi, Ronaldo or Neymar. We have always encouraged the children to play the sports of their choice and are happy to support the boys playing football. We arrange for evening coaching, ensure that the grounds are in good shape for playing the game and let them participate in competitions.

The following recent incidents have however, made me wonder if our passive approach is the right one or we should “influence” the choice of sports with some proactive actions…  

The Cricket World Cup is going on in India and the Indian team is doing well. Our children are completely missing out on what is happening. The other day suddenly the Police Boys and Girls Club organised for a few of our children to see the Pakistan – Afghanistan game in Chepauk. It was a wonderful experience for the kids but I am not sure if anyone explained the intricacies of the game to them. It makes me wonder if we are losing an opportunity to create a nationalist feeling amongst the children by supporting the Indian national side in a sport where we are strong. I recall that when I was in school, we used to read the sports page of the newspaper and discuss the cricket statistics and have arguments over our favourite players. We do ask the Bala Mandir kids to read newspaper and I am sure they also turn to the sports page to read something. Since they have no interest in cricket, they must have very little to read in our papers. Are we missing out on another opportunity — to make our children read more?

Like all other Bala Mandir children, Karan did not know anything about cricket when he joined Sankara School in Standard VIII. When he was asked to write an essay on a cricket match between India and Australia, he was clueless and made many errors about the game. Cricket is a complicated game to understand if you have not played or followed it for some time as the nuances are not easy to understand. Are we denying our Bala Mandir children the essential general knowledge — to get to know the most popular game played in India?  In India, it is normal to use a lot of cricketing terms and metaphors in our conversations. Cricket is also a safe small talk topic in social situations especially when important matches are going on. By not helping our children learn about cricket are we not denying our children exposure to common topics for discussion in social situations?

I also noted that most of the staff in Bala Mandir is also not interested in the game. While I continue to follow every game which is going on, most of the others do not seem very interested. This made me wonder if things have changed and I am living in a different age. However, the crowds for the World Cup matches and the CSK frenzy during the IPL season goes against this evidence. To resolve this dilemma, I decided to do an analysis of the pros and cons and was surprised by the following overwhelming reasons in favour of the game…

• Flexibility – Cricket can be played literally anywhere. One can modify the rules of the game and play as per available space. In my childhood, I remember playing most of the time on the terrace of our house and if the ball goes out then you are given out. The equipment required for playing tennis ball cricket is very basic and for playing tennis ball cricket you do not even need any special shoes. On the other hand, for playing football, most Bala Mandir kids are given a pair of special football shoes every year.
• Physical Abilities – Cricket can be played at a good level by anyone with physical abilities while for football you need to run fast and be strong for kicking the ball with some power. What you need in cricket is a good hand-eye coordination and quick reflexes. Timing of the ball matters more than muscle power. Being a non-contact sport, it is also referred to as a gentleman’s game.  Individual and team play – While football is largely a team game, cricket is both an individual and team game. There are opportunities for individual brilliance in batting, bowling and fielding and partnerships do involve teamwork.
• Strategic Thinking – Cricket involves lot of strategies and tactics. There is often a discussion on who should bowl, where to bowl, what delivery to bowl, the field placement, etc., while football seems more tactical and fast-paced.
• Data-Oriented – While keeping scores, the children must do mental maths all the time. In addition, when you read about the game through score cards, there is so much data and statistics that you learn some of the maths concepts even before it is taught in the classroom. Not to forget that you need some understanding of double entry accounting when you keep scores in a formal game since the same entry has to be made for the batsman scoring as well as the bowler conceding runs. The process also involves reconciliation of numbers which is an important skill in accounts.
• India advantage – Though hockey is our national game, cricket is by far the most popular game and currently we are ranked as the World No. 1 in all forms of the game. This means more international games and more exposure to the names of countries, their cities and ground locations as well as players which would help broaden the horizon of the children. One can learn about time difference between countries and other aspects of geography while following the game closely.

While I do realise that we cannot take a one size suits all approach and force cricket on all the children, after this analysis, I do feel that there is a strong case to introduce cricket at the lower classes in the Boys section and then let the children make their choices on which sports to play when they grow up. The case for cricket is further strengthened by the large sums of money invested in this game in India. Someone with decent skills in the game definitely has a better opportunity to earn a living compared to other sports like football.

While I was thinking of writing this blog, we happened to recruit a new social worker for the Boys section. One of my first questions to him was whether he had any interest in cricket. I am now hoping to give cricket at least an equal opportunity as football for the children to pick up.

Note – I understand that in the past Bala Mandir Home boys were as crazy about cricket as any other Indian child. The shift away from cricket to football seems to have happened only in the last 5 to 7 years. This has been so complete that the children do not even know the rules of cricket now. I am not sure if this trend is seen across Chennai or it is something specific to Bala Mandir. Do you think we should correct this or let things evolve in the natural way