Australia lost their first wicket of Hayden at a score of seventy and there was a
dignified applause in the VIP enclosure. Ponting was cheered by teammates as he
went out to take the crease. Srinath dismissed Ponting three balls later.
Ish could not contain himself any longer. 'Yes, go Srinath go,' Ish cheered as I
stopped him from standing up on his chair. A few people smirked at the quality of
lowlife making it to the VIP stands these days. Bevan, already padded up, left for
his innings. The curly haired boy-man turned around to look at Ish.
'Go, India go. We can do this. Series win, c'mon we are 2-2,' Ish said to himself.
The boy-man stared at us. Ish became conscious.
'It's ok. Good on ya, mate!' he said.
'Sorry, we...,' I said.
'I'd do the same thing if it were my team,' he said. Here was a chance to talk.
Maybe he was a team member's brother or something.
I nudged Ish with my elbow.
'Hi,' Ish said. 'I'm Ishaan, we have come from Ahmedabad in Gujarat. And he is
Zubin, he owns Wilson sports. And this here
is Ali.'
'Good to see you Hi, I am Fred. Fred Li.' 'You play in the team?' I asked Fred.
'Not right now, back problem. But yes, started playing for Australia a year ago.'
'Batsman?'
'Bowler, pace,' Fred answered.
'Fred, we need to talk. About this boy. We really need to talk,' Ish said, his
breath short with excitement.
'Sure mate, I'll come on over,' Fred said and lunged over to sit next to Ish.
The security guard relaxed as he saw us with someone white. We must be
important enough after all.
Ish finished his story in an hour.
'You want me to test him? Mate, you should show him to your selectors or
something.'
'Trust me, if Indian selectors were up to the job, we wouldn't lose so many
matches to a country with one-fiftieth the people. No offence.'
'We are a tough team to beat. There are several reasons for that,' Fred said
slowly.
'Well, that is why I want you to test him. I have groomed him for almost a year
now, and will continue to do so. We travelled twenty-four hours to meet someone
in your team because I trust you.'
'And what would that do? What if I told he was good?'
'If you say the boy has world-class potential, I will give up my life to get him out
there, I swear. Please, just bowl a few balls to him.'
'Mate, if I started doing that to everyone that came along...'
'I beg you, Fred. Sportsman to sportsman. Or rather, small sportsman to big
sportsman.'
Fred stared at Ish with unblinking blue eyes.
'I played for my district, too. Never had the guidance to go further,' Ish
continued. 'I wasted my studies, fought with my parents, threw away my career
for this game. This means everything to me. Not everyone coming to you will be
like that.'
Fred smiled at that. 'Mate, you Indians are good at this emotional stuff. Trust
me, I gave up a lot for this game, too.'
avery
(avery)
#1