Test Cricket

I have been a regular test cricket follower from the 1969 tour of Australia in India when Bishen Sing Bediwould open the bowling for India to watching the late EKNATH SOLKAR fielding at silly point without the luxury of a helmet and converting a ordinary ball which was played down the ground just a foot and a half to two feet which which he would pluck out of thin air into a catch. He was h the son of the pitch curator or groundsman. Unfortunately all his ex friends from Maharashtra left him to die an alcoholics death. Those days it was a precondition that 5 to 6 players were from Bombay 2 from Hyderabad and. 1 each from Chennai and Bangalore and once in a couple of years one from Bengal. The odd player from Haryana or other players would to virtually do the job of 4 players to win the match This was because the entire Bombay players would only function to 50 percent of their capacity. Even now when Dravid was the only player who did reasonably in West Indies and an excellent tour of England to the degree that was called out of retirement from one day matches, all it took was one bad tour of Australia that made the Mandarins of cricket to gun for his resignation, and gentleman that he was he obliged immediately.Interestingly the God of Cricket played all the above series except for probably one occasion at the most. I was surprised to find the little Master speaking about the failure of 4 of our batsman except the the God of CRICKET, I just thought to myself that he didn't want to waste time about a player who has an assured place in the team for as long as he wants.