Cricket In Kathmandu

As with an Australian summer, Saturday in Kathmandu means a game of cricket in the park. The only difference is that in Kathmandu it means 19 simultaneous games in the park, meaning 19 six-stitchers in various states flying around in all directions. No old tennis balls here.

From the moment I was identified as an Australian I was in. The 16 year old captain of the team picked me from the bunch and ushered me over to mingle with my new high-fiving teammates, then informed me he had brilliantly won the toss of the coin, and sent the opposition into bat on a pitch that offerred plenty of lateral ball movement for the seam bowlers. I was sent to field in the covers, and the match began.
At one end of the field, razor wire protected the nice grass, whilst various forms of motorised transport sped through the ground at varying intervals as a shortcut around the traffic. Throught the Kathamndu pollution haze, the Himalayas provided a very un-cricket backdrop.

After 8 overs I was thrown the ball by my captain, and the crowd hushed as I marked out my runup. My 2 overs yielded 0/18 before I was politely told my services were no longer required. 'I'm a batsman', I assured him.
'Like Ricky Ponting, sir?'
'Yeah, like him.'

We bowled the other side out for 'about that', then it was my moment to shine. I opened the batting and wore the full brunt of a 160cm Nepali speedster who sent my off stump cartwheeling 4 balls into the opening over. My protest at the nature of his suspicious action fell upon deaf ears, and I was left to wait til the 2nd innings. (Of course there was a 2nd innings, none of this 20-20 rubbish, this was a test match!)
In the second innings I got my eye in quickly and paddled around a quick 40-odd, mainly because my pride was destroyed. As far as the Nepali guys were concerned, all Australians were good at cricket, so it was important for both nations that I performed to some level.

Being a sporting tragic I could've stayed here all day, but after 6 hours the match abruptly finished. I think we lost, but as with almost all contests I have seen in Nepal, nobody seemed to care.