| Monday, 9 November 2009 |
| But mostly, seventeen thousand runs |
(India vs. Australia, 5th ODI, Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad)
Whistling through my nose,
I am wrapped in the frigid arms
of a cubicle with no heart.
Certainly no television set.
So carefully I position my computer at the stumps,
my mouse at silly point,
my eye on the outfield,
my heart with the wicketkeeper.
Settling into an afternoon of clandestine cricket-watching,
I spot the powers-that-beast way over at deep fine leg.
I try not to giggle, because really,
I’m not going to be doing very much today.
The same can’t be said of Shane and Shaun at the crease;
the same can be said of the Indian muddle order.
Reading out the Indian batting scorecard
is like reading out a telephone number digit by digit.
Except for that little man,
the good thing in a small package,
the one I’m going to be telling my children about, unless-
God forbid- children by then won’t be watching cricket anymore.
And so it died cruelly, in the arms of
capricious runners-between-wickets,
tired bowlers finding bats in their hands,
and a jeering adversary, golden-haired.
Bam-bam-bam! Two ninety-nine for five,
sick, sick nick, all-out before you can say “tail-
ended”.
Brr.
(Thank you Amit, for muddle order, a beautifully coined phrase.) |
posted by Anoopa Anand @ 16:42  |
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Name: Anoopa Anand
Home: Bangalore, India
About Me: Anoopa Anand lives in Bangalore, India, with her parents and four dogs. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore. When she isn’t writing, Anoopa likes to read fiction, do crosswords in auto rickshaws, sing jazz standards in embarrassed whispers and obsess about cricket. When she grows up, Anoopa will write for a living, sing for love and find a less commercially successful sport to follow.
See my complete profile
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