Rafa, Roger, Novak and cricket: All in a day's play

A strong mother-son bond

He looked on as she turned the car around and left. She didn’t need to drop him off to play; he could have ridden his bicycle. But she would have none of it. By the time Andy reached the pitch, there were four or five other lads laughing and chatting. Rafa was there, he was always there. He could also hear Novak, laughing and joking as always. As Andy drew closer, he saw David and Tomas playing catch, talking about the field trip the class had taken two days ago.

Andy had wanted to go, so very badly, but Ma had said no, because he would miss cricket coaching. He hated it, but wouldn’t say a word. Meanwhile, Novak had been entertaining Rafa and Juan Martin with his mimicry. When Rafa hit a wayward shot and lost his footing, Novak copied the shot and the fall to perfection.

Juan Martin, the tallest boy in the group, guffawed loudly and nearly fell over laughing. Rafa mock-pinned Novak to the ground while David came running and tried to do a 3-count. They soon settled down, still grinning for no particular reason.

David, who loved to bowl, then picked up the ball and walked towards the crease. Tomas, who’d been standing in the corner immediately saw this and ran to the batting area. Yes! The first win of the day! It was a different thrill to be the first one to play the first practice ball. No matter if the ball was thrown wide, no matter if he was clean bowled. This was a window-seat kind of victory, and don’t we all cherish those.

David was a perfect individual to have in a team. He could bowl well, bat well, field well, always ran and never complained. Tomas, on the other hand, was a little moody. It was always a gamble to take him on the team, but on a good day, he could even bowl Roger out.

It only took another ten minutes before there were queues at both ends of the pitch – always a sign to stop fooling around, make two teams, and get down to business. After much deliberation, it was decided that Novak and Andy were to choose their respective teams. First pick was Andy’s, and he chose Rafa. Obviously. Novak went ahead and took a blind pick: if Rafa was in Andy’s team, it was only fair that he got Roger. They couldn’t both be on the same team! No Fair!

After Stanislas and Jo-Wilfried both confirmed that Roger had told them he’d be coming, the matter was settled. After that, the rest were quickly divided, and on paper the teams looked balanced and everyone was raring to go.

Novak’s team had Roger, David, Jo, Richard, Gilles, Tommy H, Mikhail and of course, Novak.

Andy had Rafa, Tomas, Juan Martin, Stanislas, Tommy R, John and Nicolas on his team, and he thought this team was good enough to bring a smile on Ma’s face when he went back home later. When he would tell her he was captain, she would be even happier. These things pleased her… and him too.