For some of us,
cricket is much more than ‘just a game’.
It is a passion, almost a religion.
So,
if you ever feel the desire to embark on a cricketing pilgrimage to pay your respects to the ‘gentleman’s game’, you need to
know the top spots to visit.
Thankfully, with this handy list, deciding where to go on your worldwide celebration of cricket should be slightly
easier. Happy travels.
Watch a Boxing Day Test at the MCG
Before those folks in Ahmedabad decided to build
their monumental 110,000 seater stadium (it was completed earlier this year), the MCG
(Melbourne Cricket Ground) held the record for being the world’s largest
cricket stadium – and on Boxing Day close to 100,000 Aussies cram their way into
the stadium on one of the biggest days in the Australian sporting calendar.
By
about 4 o’clock, after the effect of copious amount of VB (Victoria Bitter), the
atmosphere can be absolutely electric, especially in the infamous Bay 13. Truly
epic.
Score a Ton (this can be done anywhere)
Whether you score your hundred in front of thousands
of adoring fans against your side’s arch rivals, or on a drizzly Sunday
afternoon in front of your Mum and Dad against a labouring, middle-aged Village XI,
there is nothing quite as special in cricket as bringing up your 3 figures and
waving your bat to your rapturous admirers (even if it is just your Mum and Dad).
Visit the Don Bradman Museum & International Cricket
Hall of Fame
Tucked away in the picturesque town of Bowral, around a
90 minute drive from Sydney, lies the Bradman Museum & International
Cricket Hall of Fame, Australia’s largest museum dedicated to cricket.
Featuring
over 50,000 items, interactive displays and video footage, there are hours of
entertainment on hand for any cricket lover and there is even a chance to play
on the Bradman Oval, the very pitch that the Don himself used growing up. Priceless.
Watch a Game at Eden Gardens
Often referred to as the ‘Kolkata Colosseum’, few
stadiums can match the sheer noise and passion of the Eden Gardens faithful, a place some
would consider to be ‘India’s home of cricket’.
The ground isn’t exactly
beautiful, but when it’s packed to the rafters with 68,000 cricket fanatics, it
is a sight to behold. Particularly special on IPL nights or India match days. Just
be ready for the roar.
Pray at the Cricket Ganesha Temple
Situated in one of Chennai’s eastern suburbs, Indian
cricket fans can go to the temple and pray to one of the 11 Ganeshas for their
side to perform well or for their cricketing idols to succeed in their next match. Cricket is often jokingly referred to as a
religion in India – but in this temple it quite literally is.
Take a Trip to Mitcham Cricket Club
Lords might be commonly known as the home of cricket,
but no cricket ground has been in consistent use for as long as the Mitcham
Cricket Green in South London, which dates all the way back to 1685.
The
Australian cricket team used to stay at the now demolished Cricketers Pub, which
overlooked the ground, when on tour in the UK during the 19th century. You can almost hear the ghostly crack of leather on willow, echoing down the centuries…
Play on One of Mumbai’s Maidans
Mumbai’s ‘maidans’ (green open spaces) are consistently
packed with people of all ages playing cricket.
Hundreds of matches are played on
the maidans every day, with Mumbai’s cricket lovers playing on any scrap of these green patches they can. The maidans were the breeding grounds of numerous cricketing
legends, including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavasakar.
Aside from
cricket, they have played host to numerous political protests and Ghandi gave
some of his most famous addresses in Mumbai’s maidans.
Go to Lords and the MCC Musuem
While it may not have the atmosphere of Eden Gardens,
or the grandeur and sheer size of the MCG, Lords has unrivalled history,
elegance and charm. Known as the home of cricket, the ground is one of the
world’s most beautiful; from the stunning pavilion to the opulent long room,
the otherworldly media center to the Grace gates, for a cricket fan there is something quite magical about the place.
The ground’s museum has been collecting cricketing memorabilia
since 1864 and contains some of the sport’s greatest treasures, including the original Ashes
Urn (the teams now compete for a replica).
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