Seven habits of highly effective gully cricketers

Today, we shall learn how to play safe, indoor cricket – cricket in the living room to be precise, and win. This post is by no means inspired by the Stephen Covey book. Now that I have clarified that part, shall we?

The seven habits of highly effective gully cricketers

1. Sledge – Sledging is an integral part of indoor cricket. It is highly unlikely that one can get a wicket if the one-bounce-catch rule is absent. That is exactly why one should sledge. Sledging can be offensive, vulgar or funny.
a.Offensive: How to offend others with sledging? The most tried and tested methods focus on weighty issues. Literally. One can also comment on culinary skills and the spherical quotient of one’s tummy in mathematical terms (usually calculated using a complex equation - the variables involved being surface area, S and capacity, C)
b.Vulgar: The less said the better.
c.Funny: One can always be offensive AND funny. But usually being sarcastic helps.

2. Moving on to more technical tips, ahem. If a fielder is positioned close, the best way to scare him is to charge down the pitch – yes, I am referring to the 6-10 yards pitch here, and play a defensive prod. And if you’re known to be a pinch hitter, the fielder by now would be literally shivering waist down. I remember this one time when I was fielding at silly point and this senior of mine who weighed twice as much charged down the wicket. I literally shit in my pants.

3. Try to flight the deliveries above the eye-level of the batsman – especially if you’re a spinner. When you do that, the natural instinct is to come on to the front foot and heave it - until the batsman realizes that he’s playing in a 15x8 room. In which case, he’d either go through with the shot and hit the wall directly (in our case there is a TV as well!) or would miss the ball and be adjudged out. You, of course, can bowl that occasional faster delivery and later defend yourself by claiming that you’re a spinner and the delivery was not fast. (It always worked for me :D)

4. Always encourage your bowlers. Even if they’re pathetic. And appeal. Do add in your share of sighs (ooos and aaaahhs) even if the ball missed the stumps / edge by miles. It puts a lot of pressure on the batsman.

5. And if you’re the batsman, watch the bowling action – especially if he’s a spinner. It is very important to decipher the spin on the delivery before deciding how to play it. Usually the fingers and the wrist position give away the spin on the delivery. Also try taking the delivery on the full or play it as late as possible. Never be stuck midway! It’s too dangerous. Even if the pitch is akin to the Chennai track prepared in the last series.

6. Play with soft hands! Especially the balls which have more bounce. Taking the bottom hand off helps a lot. Sometimes getting the bottom hand into play is also useful. Refer to tip #2 :D Using your footwork is also very crucial. A Virender Sehwag cannot survive in the Gully Cricketing scene.

7. And in case you’ve forgotten – sledge!

PS: Next post might be on anything! Mostly it will be something highly random.
PS2: Any comments on the IPL? (Am I asking for trouble? :P)

Back without a bang..

Yes, I am blogging again. The long sabbatical from the blogosphere has taken a toll. So please excuse me if the post is uninteresting. As for me, I am in Mumbai now – interning at SET (Sony Entertainment Television). And the past few days have been tiring as well as entertaining. My first brush with the corporate world has not really been an out-of-the-world experience but it has not been unpleasant either. I hardly have to work, I take 30-minute coffee breaks thrice a day and I stay online from 10:00 to 6:00 – which would have appealed to me as an ideal place to work 6 months back. But lately, I have undergone a transition which cannot be described in mere words. I find the prospect of working on live projects in marketing exciting. In short, I think I might have become a workaholic who begins to get restless in absence of quality work. And that is how exactly I’ve been for the past week.

Also, I am staying with my IIIT pals – two of them. First couple of days it was fun catching up on stuff and taking a walk down the memory lane. Then we ran out of stuff to talk about. Lately we have resorted to talking about movies and sports, bitching about workplace and pulling each other’s legs. We also talk about the amazing content shown on Aaj Tak and Headlines Today like for instance the news on how the commisioner’s pet went missing and was found the next day. And on a more interesting note, we cook at least once in a week. Last Thursday, Grawl and I cooked Paneer Tikka (minus the Tikka.) It was not bad for beginners. Roasted Paneer with salt, pepper and chat masala makes a good starter.. trust me! :D This was followed by sprouts garnished by fried onions and tomatoes, and the customary and irreplaceable Maggi. It is a lot more fun cooking food – than eating; especially when we’re the cooks.. ;)

In other news, I had been to my relatives’ place during the weekend. And yes, I did travel in Mumbai’s “famous’ local trains. My feet were stamped upon 8 times and I even had the good fortune of smelling all fish-like thanks to the fisherwomen who chose our compartment to board. A younger, prettier face and she would have bagged the role of the mermaid in Disnep’s production. The local trains are God’s way of playing freeze for 5 continuous minutes because you are practically stuck in the position that you assume when the train starts from a station. And this goes on until the train chugs into the next station which is when it feels as if you are being pulled into this whirlpool as the crowd makes a mad rush towards the door.

On the office front, we are forced to wear formals whereas other employees are free to wear casuals. So it kind of sucks - especially wearing these idiotic leather shoes. Playing TT when you’re dressed in formals in not exactly awesome but it’s a welcome change from the monotony of sitting in front of the PC and doing nothing. We also have our own SET ids – mine being srinivasans@setindia.com. As part of recreational activities, we do indulge in mindless spamming on the interns mailing list. We rant and whine – compare our jobless levels and take pride in it. People tell me that I need to show some patience – especially in the corporate circles. So lets see….

PS1: Next post might be on how to play safe cricket in the living room of an apartment. And win.
PS2: It feels good to be blogging again instead of muttering smart-ass lines in my head.
PS3: If you’re on facebook, install friends for sale and buy me! If not, then join facebook dammit! :P
PS4: Go ManU! :D
PS5: My creative levels have fallen to new lows :(
PS6: This is the end! :P
PS7: I just realized that I had posted last 5 months back! Thats a long time..