Indian cricketers must thank their lucky stars

Source: Gulf News     Date: August 12, 2003

After Colin Smith, our wicket-keeper batsman, had scored a fine 60 in a day-night game to help Scotland beat Lancashire at Old Trafford, he would have been justified in having a few celebratory drinks with his teammates and enjoying the occasion.

Instead, he packed his bags and drove five hours to Aberdeen to reach there just in time to start his 5 am round of delivering the mail! Colin is a postman by profession and staying back to enjoy the heady feeling of success would have meant an extra days leave which neither the Royal Mail nor the people expecting their mail that morning would have taken too kindly too. So, celebratory drinks had to wait for another day.

Ryan Watson, part time opening batsmen and full time sales representative, is never sure till a few days before a game that he is going to be able to get permission to represent his country on the cricket field.

"It depends on the work load," he says matter of factly and has been forced to miss a few matches because even though his employers being as supportive as possible couldn't give him more time off from work.

James Brinkley, opening bowler and schoolteacher, stays in Worcestershire in the south of England and will fly in the night before for the game after having taught Geography and physical education. We also have a lawyer, a financial analyst, a town planner and a banker on our team. Most of the boys on the team are either working or studying and therefore playing cricket has to be fitted in accordingly.

You realise just how much of a sacrifice these boys make to play the game, that they love, for their country. They are desperate to play each match and this whole season has been a great journey for them. Sometimes, we as full time cricketers can take things for granted and forget to appreciate how lucky we are to be able to play cricket and also make it a profession.

We have been very lucky in India in the sense that big public and private sector companies have supported cricket and given us the freedom and peace of mind to get better at our sport. So, the next time I start to complain about something I'll do well to remember my teammates at Scotland, who play the game because they love it and not because they expect anything in return.

Unfortunately, being an amateur also means that you don't have enough time to practice or train. If Scotland is to take the next step in the international arena, which is to qualify for the next World Cup and become a full-fledged one-day international team, they will have to get the players on professional contracts.

At the moment we do not practice as a team at all. The boys practice twice a week at their respective clubs and we meet on the day of the match. Obviously, not the best situation if you're playing against teams that practice and train everyday.

In spite of that, Scotland has had some good results and I was really glad to be a part of the dressing room when we beat Sussex last week. Though I haven't yet managed to learn the exact words or the correct lyrics. I enjoyed the team rendition of the "Flower of Scotland," which is the teams song and it's all about beating the English, which they obviously love doing.