SEC S5W5: My Corner : I Covered Cricket World Cup 2022

I was having a beer with my girlfriend at Canberra Stadium, watching a local match, when my news editor called and told me that reporter Pat in Melbourne is sick, so you should reach there immediately and cover the next matches. She also said that I must approach the ground management immediately and get my passes, etc. But what she said last shook me, "Leave now and bring good news; else quit the job."

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So what else could I do? I made immediate preparations and took the first available flight to Melbourne and to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). When I reached the MCG, it was evening, the first practice session was over, and there Virat Kohli was celebrating his 34th birthday.

Now look at the irony that on Saturday he celebrated his birthday here at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with the media and expressed his wish that he wanted to cut a bigger cake on November 13 after winning the T20 World Cup for India.

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Now you know he will not be able to do that because India has already lost to England in the semifinals.
  

Back at the MCG Playground

As I extended my mic towards Virat Kohli in the gallery, he smiled and welcomed everyone who wished him a happy birthday.

I asked him, "Virat, have you ever celebrated your birthday in public?" To this, Kohli smiled and said, "You guys have never even sent me a birthday cake before.

Meanwhile, during a media interaction, Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin told us reporters that Virat, the former India captain, had previously celebrated his birthday in the dressing room.

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I asked Ashwin how the team was celebrating Kohli’s birthday, and he said, "Yes, we did it. Rishabh Pant, the wicketkeeper, had brought a nice cake, and we had cut the cake just before the practice session.
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Meanwhile, I requested that Kohli take a group photo, and he immediately agreed. He signed autographs for all of us and expressed his gratitude to the press and channels for sending birthday greetings.

You already know that I am very fond of cricket, and then I saw a South African lady named Pat Jewel near the pavilion who is also very fond of cricket. She doesn’t have much to do right now, so I see her wandering around the cricket field, close to the players.

During those days, when the World Cup cricket matches were taking place in Melbourne Stadium, all our reporters also came down to the ground, and some of us journalists also tried our hands at bowling and batting in place of our pens and computers. We preferred cricket matches to newscasts.

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Suddenly I heard a noise among the spectators that were watching the practice session, so I hurriedly ran towards the nets. Although the audience gallery was empty, there were fans in the field trying to grab the attention of the practicing players. I could see big sponsor boards inside the field. And yes, our journalist friends were thrilled to be wearing the colorful outfits they got from the sponsors for playing a friendly 5-over-a-side match.

Dressed in a nice suit, the sponsors were having fun posing for photos after the match, and we did not disappoint them either. I could clearly read the smiles on their faces. It was amusing to see that among the sponsors and players, only Kerry Packer, Sachin Tendulkar, and AB de Villiers were having a good time. The spectators were still fighting among themselves for autographs and shouting slogans against each other. Players struggle on the field, and as journalists, we deliver what they do on and off the field.

Sponsors are happy with their promotions. But why are these middle-aged businesspeople so happy? What do they get after all? They say that they are fond of sports, but I know that, like football, tennis, and boxing, there is a lot of money in cricket, too.

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Then I noticed a scene in the middle of the ground where a young journalist became enraged because, despite having so many sponsors, the quality of food was not so good.

Actually, yes, I too noticed that the quality of food was not so good in this tournament. But no one had an answer. So we kept our tongues in check.

The journalist who was objecting was a young guy. I think he had just left a mass media institute and did not know the etiquette.

  
He was being rude to the organizers. Then someone cautioned him, "Take it easy, stay in your own skin, don’t make a fuss with them, or you won’t get a press invite next time."

However, the words of that young writer struck me: "How is it that the food was so bad at such a big event?" "Why was food so bad for us journalists?" But the fact is, sponsors were not even aware of this, it was actually spoiled by the food management group.

So I would like to tell you that such scams happen not only in the political world but also in the world of sports.

A newsman told me in my ear that, "Dovy, the matter is different, although we did not get good food, there is no shortage of grand parties for some special people."

They had arrangements in large hotels, and parties were going on. But that’s the life of a journalist, so I don’t mind such incidents.

I think, talking about such trivial things is foolish. I said in the end that, "Hey, we reporters have an eye on everything." This is an anecdote, but it is a bitter part of today’s journalism.
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Well, the practice session was going on, and now I could see Pakistani players in the practice session. I moved towards them. There I spoke to Babar Azam, the Pakistani cricket captain.

I remembered that when I was in England, our first meeting took place at Lord’s Ground during a match between Australia and Pakistan.

  
   The star attraction was David Warner’s square cut in that match. Jeff Thomson and Shoaib Akhtar, the two most famous fast bowlers in the world, were sitting close to me. They were discussing Shaheen Shah Afridi’s run-up.

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Yes, I saw Roger Federer and Sachin Tendulkar sitting together at the MCG that day. I spent some time with Babar and interviewed him.
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In my short meeting at Lord’s Ground, I interviewed Shoaib Akhtar, as I knew him personally and had talked to him in Delhi and Lahore before, as well as at Sydney Cricket Ground.

Then I moved on and discussed Sunil Gavaskar’s straight drives and Roger Federer’s forehands. But both of them were talking about Rishi Sunak, the new British PM, Tony Blair’s New Labour Party, and many other topics.

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I turned back and saw Pakistan’s captain, Babar Azam, so I went back to him once again. Recently, they played against the Netherlands in a 3-match ODI series.

I heard Captain Babar Azam give a befitting reply to a reporter. Actually, that reporter had asked about the fitness of Pakistani players like Babar, Mohammad Rizwan, and pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi and suggested that they should play only one-day and test cricket formats.

I was listening to that Pakistani journalist say, "You, Rizwan, and Shaheen are the stars of Pakistan cricket. Don’t you feel the workload is too much for you guys? "Wouldn't it be better if you guys played only in two formats?"

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I could see Babar was furious when he heard him, but he kept his anger in check and replied, "It depends on your fitness." We never considered limiting us to two formats with our current fitness. Do you think we are all getting old? "With the fitness we have, I don’t think we should limit ourselves to two formats."

Babar Azam further said that "all current Pakistani cricketers are fully fit, so you have nothing to worry about."

He said that he is not thinking of sticking to just two formats of the game with other key players. Babar even questioned the journalist about whether he thought he was old.

It was 9 PM, and the weather was quite cold, so I picked up my camera and laptop and returned to the hote.

I invite
@shravana,
@edidiongeffiong
and @sofian88