It probably does Lagaan (Land Tax) a disservice to watch this clip if you've not seen the film. But then it does go on for longer than some T20 matches and nigh-on four hours of singing, dancing and hugely overwrought acting might not be to your taste.
Ten years on, I don't know if a film like this would get the funding now. India is still cricket-mad, of course, but the vague sense that a win against England is a strike back at the old colonial masters seems less and less relevant. The country is more bullish in every sense - politically, economically, and certainly in terms of its cricket. The series this summer will be interesting. I actually make us marginal favourites, but I expect most don't.
Anyway, batting with the tail. Last season I found myself in much the same situation as this guy. No.11 at the other end, two overs left, two to win. Safe to say it didn't go quite so well. I went for the low-risk policy and waited for the bad ball. It meant I played out a maiden, which I didn't see as all that bad, thinking we could scamper a bye off the opener and then with the scores level I could have a go at hitting it. Unlike the British in this match, the opener bowled his first one full and straight. In retrospect I should have risked the big shots earlier. But then cricket's an easy game in retrospect.
In retrospect...ah, well. In retrospect I shouldn't have tried to pull a length ball against Havant in 95, should have moved my feet more at the Hampshire trials in '96, shouldn't have tried to drive an outswinger against KES Southampton in 97, shouldn't have charged down the pitch against Bryanston in 98, *definitely* shouldn't have got bowled the ball after being bowled by a no ball against Seaford College in '98, shouldn't have hooked a bouncer outside off against Hudson Park in '99, shouldn't have driven at a length ball against New College in 01, shouldn't have dropped two chances in three balls against Paultons in 03, should have scored quicker against Ryde in '03, shouldn't have turned up hungover to shit against Thebertons in '04, shouldn't have swung across the line against Old Whits in '10, shouldn't have....
Why do we only really remember the failures? Every single one like a little death, eating away at you. I'd like to think that the game after this one Bhuvan (the batsman in Lagaan) fished at one outside off stump and went for three off twenty balls. That would be about right. Any Test batsman with an average under 50 - in fact most averaging over - has failed more times than he's succeeded. What an absolute turd of a game this is.
For most mortals, batting, like golf and snooker, is purgatory: toil, frustration and disappointment.
ReplyDeleteWhy do we keep coming back for more? Because every now and then even a shit batsman, like a shit golfer or snooker player, middles one and the feeling is so sublime that to feel it even just once a week is enough to hook you.
And hope. Cricketers are cursed with hope. Hope that perhaps today it'll all come together and you'll carve a swashbuckling 70-odd or lead a heroic rearguard, hope that maybe today you'll make a difference.
When Beckett wrote, "All of old. Nothing else ever. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better," he was talking about club cricket.
Beautifully put. Let me know if you ever want to do a guest post. It's not just on the field- the number of times I've travelled hours in the pouring rain convinced it'll brighten up later...
ReplyDeleteSnooker's brilliant. You watch on tv and it's a piece of piss, then get to the snooker club and within 10 minutes half the reds are up the baulk end and the colours are round the black spot. But yup, every hour or so you nail a pot Higgins would be proud of and convince yourself it's not monkeys at a typewriter. Brilliant game.