CRICKET is a sport that has played a significant role in my life from my schooldays right through to my pensioner days.
My interest in the sport took off in 1966 when I was in Year 6.
My classmate at the time was Clarence Samuel, whose father David Samuel, was the Pahang state cricket captain.
In the summer of 1966, the West Indies led by great allrounder Garfield Sobers were touring England and played five test matches.
We would be discussing the matches every day when the tests took place, which the Windies won 3-1. One test was a draw.
During the 1960s, Raub was the hub of cricket activities in Pahang.
With David leading the team in interstate matches, Clarence would be at the matches for sure as an official scorer.
My brother, Gunarajan, being a cricket enthusiast, would take me along to watch the matches played at the town padang.
My interest in the game blossomed from then on.
Whenever I got the opportunity, I would be listening to the ball-by-ball commentaries of the test matches over the Blaupunkt valve-set radio, presented by Alan McGilvray and Christopher Martin-Jenkins at times way into the early hours of the morning while the rest were fast asleep.
Clarence was an Australian supporter, as his uncles, Dr Sidney and Dr Reginald Ananda studied there while I was a staunch England fan as my sister did her teacher training in England.
There was always a friendly rivalry between us both until Form 2 when I left for Kuantan as my father was transferred there.
The naturally gifted Clarence’s development in cricket under the guidance of his dad improved by leaps and bounds, and he went on to represent Malaysia at the senior level.
He was an ambidextrous allrounder, a left-arm medium-pace swing bowler, and a right-arm middle-order batsman.
Clarence was inducted into the Malaysian Cricket Hall of Fame a few years back for his invaluable services to the nation.
Mahmud Secondary School in Raub also awarded him a Posthumous Outstanding Mahmudian Award in 2022.
I played cricket for Sultan Abu Bakar School in Kuantan at the Upper Secondary School level.
I learnt the game more by watching others play as well as by playing the game.
If comparisons were to be made, Clarence went on to play cricket at the highest level for Malaysia while I got to be a village cricketer, playing the game that I love at a social level.
Frankly, my interest in the game was so fervent that my studies took a backseat from Form 1 onwards to the extent that it was a struggle for me at the tertiary level.
Somehow the game of cricket has taught me to be resilient.
It is a game that instils discipline and requires you to be focused at all times as one lapse in concentration may cost you your wicket, meaning to be struck out.
I regrouped myself and got to complete my tertiary studies face-savingly.
After passing with a Science degree with honours, I got to teach at the Bukit Bintang Boys’ School in Petaling Jaya.
The principal David Boler, being an avid cricket fan, took me in as a temporary teacher.
I took charge of the school team that became the Selangor Schools Champion, capturing the Vanderholt trophy, a fitting farewell to the principal who was retiring a few months later.
When I was posted to Raub as a teacher, I got to revive the game there and had the opportunity to play at the “Raub Basin”, where 15 years earlier I witnessed interstate matches.
The team made up of some former state players and cricket enthusiasts, was a closely-knit one.
They were not the best players, as many of them had passed their prime.
But, the camaraderie between them brought out the best in all of us, as the team spirit was of the highest order.
I was an allrounder, of course not in the mould of my friend Clarence, but I did contribute much to the team with the ball and bat.
Frankly, my forte was my fielding. I am not bragging when I say that I can take pride in having taken some great catches at slips and also in the outfield.
I am a strong believer in the Pygmalion effect Syndrome, whereby subordinates appear to perform according to their manager’s perception of their abilities.
In the team, I was given due importance and responsibility, and it brought out the best in me.
I got to display my best cricket playing with them and even got the opportunity to represent the state a couple of times.
It is just too bad that I get to watch live cricket matches over television only after my retirement from service.
There are many things that I could have picked up by watching as well as listening to the knowledgeable commentators of the approach to the game as a whole.
It would certainly have made me a better self-made cricketer.
On a different note, it is sad that cricket is an underrated sport in Malaysia, a game brought to the shores by the British.
It does not get the following when compared with badminton and football.
There are hardly any local spectators at cricket matches played in Malaysia.
The spectators are normally the players themselves.
To many, it is more a game played by eleven people under the blazing sun leather hunting, meaning, chasing a cricket ball for hours.
Too bad this game requires discipline and total concentration, all the traits of character-building.
On the contrary, in India for instance, the game is played to a packed audience that includes a fair number of the fairer gender, including aunties and grandmothers, a family gathering of sorts who really know how to appreciate and enjoy the sport.
Lastly, it would be apt if the Education Ministry works hand-in-glove with the Sports Ministry to bring back cricket to schools.
All the past and current international cricketers and cricket enthusiasts would be ever-willing to lend a helping hand for the good of the character-building gentlemen’s game.
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
