Waxing a tad indignant, my better half told me the other day, “Oh, you are glued to the TV so regularly, watching those stupid cricket matches without a care in the world”.

Craving her indulgence I said, “You see, blessed as I am to be alive on the wrong side of sixty, you know no other pastime gives me, a self confessed cricket buff, as much pleasure as cricket.”

I could see my wife, as much an ignoramus on of cricket as she is knowledgeable about Western classical music, itching now and then to join me watching the game, but not at the cost of neglecting her household chores, to which, and also to her piano, she is as devoted as I am to cricket.

Of late, my wife manages to steal some time to watch the game, finally agreeing with me that one who keeps away from cricket misses something in life. So what, if cricketing terms/ expressions like “silly point, square leg, googly, chinaman, donkey drop, leg cutter, leg glance, sweep, agricultural shot, dead ball, leather hunt, juicy wicket, maiden tail, back in the hut, night watchman”…… are Greek and Latin to her? I reassure her: “Those glitzy folk from the glamour world, who “adorn” cricket stadia to “watch” matches, just for the “experience”, know precious little about the finer points of the game”.

Now her “expert” comments are: “Oh! How acrobatically he stops the ball; wow, what a sight the ball soaring into the sky; gosh! What a stunning catch; how stupid of the batter to allow the ball to go past him time and again… what is that bat meant for?” The one most pleasing to my ears, though…… “absorbing stuff; a good stress buster too”. 

Being exposed to the rudiments of cricket under my tutelage, it shouldn't be long before my student graduates from her skin deep knowledge level to a stage where she can experience and savour heart-racing thrillers, nail biting finishes, down to the wire contests, the glorious uncertainties of cricket, the “if”s and “but”s of the game, how a team can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory or vice versa, what a great leveler this delightful game can be…..

And who knows, she may surprise me with a finer point or two I would have missed out on!