Having given the Cup that counts its due, it's time to turn to the crucible that moulded the Champions - the Gali, or the Street. Despite being pervasive, Gali Cricket has not been able to carve a niche for itself, unlike American Streetball and Brazilian Street Football; the street, in Cricket, only leads to the stadia. What with the batsmen bridled into tunnel vision by houses on either side, and the runs being measured on the basis of the linear distance the ball travels down the street off the bat, and usually in front of the stumps, Gali Cricket does have its detours and deviations from its Oval namesake.
A Glossary ...
Much like the food that has its own delectable flavor - a flavor that renders the five-star cuisine vapid - when cooked, served and consumed on the street, Gali Cricket has its own glossary of terms, rules and regulations.
1-D, 2-D and 3-D Cricket: The 'D' has nothing to do with the broadcast Dimensions; it stands for 'Declared'. Gali Cricket is at times played on a strip that spans 4-5 strides, with a fielder stood every two strides from the one with the willow. Even when bowling is preferred to the 'throw', if the street is narrow, the batsman would probably be rankled to have one more obstacle in the form a non-striker. Now, getting the lone batsman to run singles, and then wait for him to walk back and take guard, is a temporal luxury that aspiring cricketers can ill afford given the already prevalent traffic hassles. As such, the traditional practice of running-between-the-wickets finds no takers. The batsman accrues a run every time his hit crosses the gates of the garish pink house 10 feet away from his crease; a couple, once the ball crosses the house painted pistachio green and two doors away from the 1-D boundary; and a treble, when the ball goes past that house doused in a distemper insured against fading, read white, but fails to reach the end of the street, which defines a four or a six.
The Gandhi Ball: No, this is not the antithesis of the bodyline. In fact, it is sly rather than malicious. Even casual followers of Cricket know that six consecutively bowled balls make an Over. In limited-overs Cricket, a bowler is entitled to a quota of overs and cannot bowl two overs in succession. Nevertheless, when the situation is such that one more wicket can improve the fortunes of the fielding side, but their star bowler is about to bowl out, the only option left to them is to try and sneak in one or more - depending on the obliviscence of the batting team - surplus deliveries. Although the risk of runs being scored of the dubious delivery does exist, the star bowler is usually as reliable as a sniper in fulfilling his brief. May be, it is this effectiveness that imparts the delivery its name.
The Throw Appeal: This would have been an excellent tactic against Malinga. While the ones who enroll themselves into Cricket coaching camps are trained by a local coach, the Gali Cricketer is usually under the tutelage of an international fraternity of exceptional cricketers. This means he may, more often than not, dream of emulating his favorite batsman's stroke play. If the ball does beat the bat and crash into the wickets, while the stroke-maker's head is in the clouds, the only option left to the desperate is to usually accuse the bowler of having resorted to a throw. The fielding side might buy the argument in the interest of fairness and in the full knowledge that they can make the same claim.
The Fast Appeal: This might have been the Shield of Perseus against the scorching speedsters. It is, however, a desperate measure that is mostly employed when the 'throw' is in vogue. The allegation, in this case, is that the one throwing the ball has, in violation of that unspoken pace protocol, hurled the ball in too rapidly. Any rejection of the assessment is always met with a warning that the batsman will have no option but to breach the code when he is to bowl.
The La Ball: This is a contraction of 'the last ball of the over'. Yet, in the Gali, if the batting team goes distrait, the la ball could well be the fifth, fourth, or, in the extreme case of street subterfuge, even the third ball of the over.
A Glossary ...
Much like the food that has its own delectable flavor - a flavor that renders the five-star cuisine vapid - when cooked, served and consumed on the street, Gali Cricket has its own glossary of terms, rules and regulations.
1-D, 2-D and 3-D Cricket: The 'D' has nothing to do with the broadcast Dimensions; it stands for 'Declared'. Gali Cricket is at times played on a strip that spans 4-5 strides, with a fielder stood every two strides from the one with the willow. Even when bowling is preferred to the 'throw', if the street is narrow, the batsman would probably be rankled to have one more obstacle in the form a non-striker. Now, getting the lone batsman to run singles, and then wait for him to walk back and take guard, is a temporal luxury that aspiring cricketers can ill afford given the already prevalent traffic hassles. As such, the traditional practice of running-between-the-wickets finds no takers. The batsman accrues a run every time his hit crosses the gates of the garish pink house 10 feet away from his crease; a couple, once the ball crosses the house painted pistachio green and two doors away from the 1-D boundary; and a treble, when the ball goes past that house doused in a distemper insured against fading, read white, but fails to reach the end of the street, which defines a four or a six.
The Gandhi Ball: No, this is not the antithesis of the bodyline. In fact, it is sly rather than malicious. Even casual followers of Cricket know that six consecutively bowled balls make an Over. In limited-overs Cricket, a bowler is entitled to a quota of overs and cannot bowl two overs in succession. Nevertheless, when the situation is such that one more wicket can improve the fortunes of the fielding side, but their star bowler is about to bowl out, the only option left to them is to try and sneak in one or more - depending on the obliviscence of the batting team - surplus deliveries. Although the risk of runs being scored of the dubious delivery does exist, the star bowler is usually as reliable as a sniper in fulfilling his brief. May be, it is this effectiveness that imparts the delivery its name.
The Throw Appeal: This would have been an excellent tactic against Malinga. While the ones who enroll themselves into Cricket coaching camps are trained by a local coach, the Gali Cricketer is usually under the tutelage of an international fraternity of exceptional cricketers. This means he may, more often than not, dream of emulating his favorite batsman's stroke play. If the ball does beat the bat and crash into the wickets, while the stroke-maker's head is in the clouds, the only option left to the desperate is to usually accuse the bowler of having resorted to a throw. The fielding side might buy the argument in the interest of fairness and in the full knowledge that they can make the same claim.
The Fast Appeal: This might have been the Shield of Perseus against the scorching speedsters. It is, however, a desperate measure that is mostly employed when the 'throw' is in vogue. The allegation, in this case, is that the one throwing the ball has, in violation of that unspoken pace protocol, hurled the ball in too rapidly. Any rejection of the assessment is always met with a warning that the batsman will have no option but to breach the code when he is to bowl.
The La Ball: This is a contraction of 'the last ball of the over'. Yet, in the Gali, if the batting team goes distrait, the la ball could well be the fifth, fourth, or, in the extreme case of street subterfuge, even the third ball of the over.
Comments
How the guy who batted first cant bowl first .
And ofcourse The BABY OVER . if a bowler is having a particularly bad day .. he gets to end his over at only 3 balls ... the over is to be finished by some other bowler .
and as always i love to say "those were the days"!
Btw my favourites are 'self declare' and 'win declare'.
win declare kodappa next match ge toss haakona!
@KLK, yep! those were the days. Equally unusual was the practice of letting a batsman have "lives" when the teams weren't equally membered. :)