A long time coming . . .

He strode out onto the pitch and looked up at the skies. It was a bright sunny day. His captain had made the right decision of batting first. The pitch was perfect too. He took guard at the wicket


. The bowler steamed in fast. A quick jab and he was off. One in one ball. The perfect start to the test match. But then the going became slow. He scored at around 1 run for every four balls. However slow he was he would not throw his wicket away. He scored no boundary. The most he scored of one ball was a solitary three. From then on it was a torrent of dot balls interrupted by a few sparse two's and the frequently intermittent singles. He took 50 balls to enter double digits. That wasn't that bad considering it was a test match and it sounded good even, because it was a batsman's nightmare. However the next 30 balls were more productive for the batsman. The moisture in the pitch seemed to have dried up. He moved from 10 to 22 in just another thirty balls. Another hundred balls passed seeing him slowly incrementing his score till he stood at 46 n.o. at the end of day one having faced 163 balls.

The next day dawned. It seemed bright enough. He got off to a wonderful start scoring of his first ball of the day!! He needed just three more for the half century. But that took another 15 balls coming. A relieved and exultant batsman lifted his bat to the stands. So far so good. He had stood his ground though it had been tough conditions. But the job wasn't over. A hundred more balls passed with him just adding 17 more runs to his total. His father's birthday had just gotten over.

He swiftly got past his next milestone. 75 runs in his first ever inning and he was still not even a bit tired. He swiftly moved into his eighties and into the nineties as well in the same time.
Now the nerves started jangling. His score was 99 n.o (397 balls). It had been the best effort of his life. And he was determined not to let it slip. He faced the 398th ball with an apple stuck in his throat. He put his front foot down. MISTAKE. The ball headed for his head. Had he not ducked fast he would have thought he'd been in vegas. He tried to swallow the apple but it just got bigger. 399th ball came up. His bat was not steady. But the bowler was. Every step of his was amplified ten times over in the heartbeat of the batsman. He released the ball. Whew! Wide of the stumps. He let it go. He calmed himself. He tried swallowing the apple again. No. It wouldn't budge. He walked a few steps from the crease. Closed his eyes and let the wind dry the sweat away. Then as though he knew it all along he spat the apple out. His hands were steady.

The bowler ran up. Released the ball. The ball inched towards the batsman (Slow motion!) It bounced. But he had not anticipated the fact that the batsman was two steps down the track. So the intended good length ball ended up being a half volley.

The scoreboard read :


An Idle Mind --------- 100* (400)