Best places to have an unorganised game of cricket with locals?

punchinello

Hi,
Going to India later in the year and I have one must do - play a game of cricket with the locals in either Mumbai or Delhi. Cricket's as big as the other major religions, so I figure it's just as important as any temples... I have a few questions, some more serious than others:
1. Where out of Delhi and Mumbai would I get the best suited game, given my questions, comments which follow? My decision to go to Mumbai may hinge on this.
2. I know I'll probably meet other cricket playing travellers who'd be up for it, but would my girlfriend be allowed to get involved?
3. I can bowl a bit and bat a weeny bit but can't catch at all. Nerves, it seems. Not looking for a game where I'm copping beamers, just a friendly hit for a few hours.
4. How well do locals take a bit of banter? I know, as an Australian, sledging is uncool.
5. Should I buy a bat when I get there and carry it around with me (obviously not day to day, but city to city) so I can play (and, upon finding the next young Sachin or Dravid, give him the bat)?

clawhammer

In India cricket is played in all kinds of places-narrow streets,any open plot of land..... Especially during the evening you can find cricket being played in any ground.
You can just walk in and ask for a place in the team.Better still if you befriend someone then you can join them in their regular game.
If you manage to find like minded travellers you can form a team of your own and have a friendly match with the "local" team!!!!!
Usually you won't need a bat to join the game.

gautam_n_

Don't even try sledging or bantering. Its not fun and secondly people are just playing to enjoy themselves. Although they do care about winning and losing to a certain extend they definitely are not open to snide remarks(if thats what you mean).

Regarding a bat - I have never needed a bat to join a local team in the ground.

mikewill

You should be able to find a game at the right level. Large open spaces tend to have games going on that range from boys with a stick to proper teams in whites, often with the outfields overlapping so that there are balls coming from several directions. I was looking for a hockey game - unfortunately without success - but was surprised at the pace that some of the kids bowled at!

SHIMLA

As clawhammer mentioned, unorganised cricket in India is played anywhere ! If you just watch an unorganised game for a few minutes, chances are you'll be invited to join in.

A few years back, I was at Katrain in Himachal Pradesh. Was strolling around the place, soaking in the delights of nature, when I came upon a group of youngsters having a game of cricket. I stopped and watched for a few minutes and before I knew it, I was one of the fielders !

Needless to add, it turned out to be the best game of cricket I had ever participated in, thanks to the enthusiasm of the youngsters and the magnificent location of the "ground" - above a flowing river, adjacent to apple orchards, sandwiched between verdant mountains; and with a snow clad peak towering towards the north!!

It mattered little that when it was my turn to bat, I was out for nought!

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gautam_n_

SHIMLA - thats what I miss here in Australia. Having grown up in a country/city where you can just walk in and join any team playing in the ground or the road - its just the opposite here - don't see a single soul even playing in the park in the evenings. Occasionaly there are few kids with their mother otherwise, but only occasionally.

cyberhippie

Do they still play near to India gate in Delhi at the weekends???

Siena

My husband played numerous games all over the place and had a fabulous time. He bought a bat and found just walking down the street with it would usually do the trick - within 2 minutes there would be people wanting to play. Some favorite places for him were:
1. On the beach in Mumbai (Juhu area). Numerous games going on all day and night.
2. Jaisalmere - playing with locals somewhere on a dustbowl pitch.
3. Rohet - a small village where the local children took him somewhere to play and within a few minutes the adults were there too.

Enjoy.

New-South-Welshman

Gotta love sport. Either cricket or soccer or whatever, it can bring many people together. Strangers, rich and poor sitting side by side, young and old. My last trip to India I played cricket and it was fantastic. It was an actual propper match. I was invited to play because I was Aussie. I hear a decent place to play in Bombay is at the parks around the Univeristy.

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New-South-Welshman

As we speak, looking out my window there are two groups of kids playing on the road right now. One group is playing touch football, and the other one.. cricket.

gautam_n_

I am nowhere near sydney. But well I have been told its common in the outskirts or Melbourne - I mean really outskirts. But then maybe I never looked in the right places

Putty

While in Bombay in 2001, I strolled across a bunch of kids playing a 'friendly' game on the Oval Maiden and joined in with them for a few hours. They didn't mind playing with a female. I do play cricket here in Melbourne and ended up quite amused when the first ball I bowled bounced twice and was told by the kids "Never mind madam, have another try"
Hahaha ... one of my many happy memories of India that brings a smile to my face!

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iwanttogoback

if you do buy a bat, leave it with some deserving kid before you leave.

we saw cricket everywhere we went- down narrow alleys in mumbai, on the ghats in varanasi (bags not diving in to get the ball ), outside the high court in chandigarh, on ovals, streets, it seemed almost everywhere there was some space kids and adults would be playing.

slightly off topic: did you see, a few months back, on the abc, a doco about a local aussie cricket club touring india? absolutely wonderful stuff, endearing, engaging and just good fun.