Cricket is not all about the international one dayers and test cricket. There is the domestic cricket played in each country of course. Usually domestic cricket sees a sharp contrast from the crowd filled international games. However, domestic cricket has it’s own special charm. For me, there are two Eden Gardens.

One is the filled to capacity Eden during international games. The other is the empty - serene and almost heavenly Eden during domestic games. I love the jam packed Eden. But there is nothing like hearing the sound of leather hit willow and it’s consequent echo in an amost empty stadium. Add a cup of tea on a winter evening and you have the perfect cricket watching scenario for me.

Domestic cricket is under rated and very special. Two cricket fans experience the marvel in two different parts of the world.

Will Luke, Cricinfo journalist, was blown away at the sight of Lord’s. He went for the opening day of the traditional opening game of the English County season between the MCC and previous year’s champions and writes:

The lift heaved us to the top and, when the doors opened, my initial reaction was “Shit. I’m in a Big Brother house” which does a huge disservice to the centre’s architect! The design is ultra-modern and incredibly well-planned. All emphasis is on the ground, on the playing area, and the view is astonishing. The roof’s curve naturally dip down onto the glass, and so does your focus; you can’t get away from the view. It’s massive, and “there” - quite brilliant. Lots of blue everywhere too… I imagine I might prefer sitting in the stands for much of a day’s play, or perching somewhere, instead of spending the whole day in the media centre despite its’ many obvious benefits. Oh, it’s all bloody wicked.

In another part of the world, Liam Camps went to experience the final of the Carib Beer Challenge which saw the traditional rivals Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago face each other once more. When Barbados and T & t play, the stadium is not empty. Far from it! There is chatter, there is beer and there is a lot of atmosphere! Camps writes:

Surely this is as good as the sport gets. Surrounded by brilliant characters and an atmosphere unmatched by any sober setting. There they go at Best again. “Tino! Tino! What you think of the ladies here today?” As he laughs it off the hard-hitting questions continue, “Tino, where’s Fidel (Edwards)?” We all know the answer, but the fun is in the interrogation. Cricket, lovely cricket. Lara did not hit any big runs on this day, and the run rate did not leave many in awe, but West Indies cricket is still alive. It lives in the collective heart of West Indians around the region.

Ah domestic cricket!

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 16th, 2006 at 10:03 pm and is filed under Cricket. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.