29 April,2011 09:33 AM IST | | Clayton Murzello
A recent report about journalists not being allowed to enter the Wankhede Stadium for an IPL match because they didn't possess a police pass only underlined how 'different' covering a game of cricket is now as compared to a time not very long ago.
Sure, everyone at a game must have the right credentials and it would be naive to expect a passage through the gates without a pass with your name and photograph on it. But police passes for journalists and administrators? To call that a bit too much is an understatement.
Anyway, let me tell you how easy and enjoyable it was to cover a cricket match about a dozen years ago. For international matches at the Wankhede Stadium, you were issued a proper pass. If you were not covering the game, you were given one from the Sports Journalists Association of Bombay quota, thanks to an understanding with the Mumbai Cricket Association.
For Ranji Trophy games, there was a season pass issued and you didn't need to have your ugly/handsome mug on it. You were made to feel welcome by the officials and the rounds of a mixed variety of biscuits and tea a couple of hours after a modest buffet lunch was enough for everyone to be happy.
There was leg-pulling galore. A scorer, who could never (he is still around) get his plural right when it came to mentioning the number of balls a batsman utilised for his innings or the amount of no-balls sent down by bowlers, was teased. Imagine the mirth when he announced something like this: Sachin Tendulkar ufffd nine overs, two maidens, 23 runs and one wicket... three no-balls!
Veteran journalist SK Sham used to reel off anecdotes with consistency. My favourite Sham anecdote was when a Bangalore journalist involved in a charity auction in 1998 was collecting memorabilia to go under the hammer. Sham advised him to ask a writer known for awful temper, to donate his typewriter.u00a0 When the Bangalore journalist asked Sham what was so special about the typewriter, he said, "Because it is the most abused one in the history of Indian sport."
And there was one news agency reporter, who refused to eat or drink anything, water included, that the match organisers provided because of his astrologer's warning: Consume anything and you'll not exist.
I'm sure it is amusing covering cricket from the plush Wankhede box now. I will challenge the amount of fun though.
