23 September 2006

Wicket Alert

I have been reduced to following cricket online. Just a month back, only train travel and dire attendance requirements could prevent me from watching at least the Indian batting. Once, in the chill of the Bangalore winter, when play would start at 3 a.m, I wrapped myself in a blanket, in front of the hostel television, with only a dog for company. That was the accursed tour of New Zealand just before the previous world cup. Ashish Nehra and Zaheer were making a name for themselves, and the Indian battting was taking its pants off for Bond, Shane Bond.
So this state of affairs, when I follow instant written commentary and Java-powered wicket alerts, should have been a dampener. And no doubt, it has. But it has its own charm. Dont get me wrong. I'd prefer Michael Holding's rum flavoured voice any day.

But what saves the situation is BD, a colleague, persistent gambler and fellow fan. BD is system adminstrator and has the luxury to lounge until something screws up with the computers. On a match day, he sits in front of his computer, read commentary, and frequently get very excited. BD makes this office a lovely place to work in, on match days. In the morning when I walk in, he would be with a notebook, scribbling down bets: and bets can only be made with bottles of beer. During the DLF series, I lost and regained three bottles.

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