We were on it!

Did you hear Graeme announce our name?

"State of Play", a sports program hosted by Keith on Kiwi FM, gave us our 10 seconds of fame when Graeme came on air for the cricket segment of the program.

I was out painting the town red (it was half past midnight on a weekend in Dubai!) when Well Pitched was supposed to be mentioned.

But thank heavens for iPhones and Blackberries, which enabled not only me but my friends as well to have a hear.

And hear we did amidst all the noise.

At first Keith introduced "Graeme Beasley from sportsfreak.co.nz" on to the show and the two discussed the turbulent flight experience that Graeme went through last week, on his way to Wellington.

That entertaining chat educated us Pakistanis about the fact that PIA isn't alone!

Graeme then gave us the line that we were waiting for, "Good morning New Zealand, good morning DUBAI, Q from the wellpitched.com cricket blog actually listened to the show last week and put up a transcript from that interview with Jrod that we did".

That was my 10 seconds of fame; thanks to Graeme, Keith, Kiwi FM, Jrod, and my note-pad!.

Graeme continued, "we've got a plug for the show on his blog, which makes us the top ranking New Zealand sports show because of those people listening by the internet in Dubai".

Little did he know that we had our phones patched to our ears.

Keith then joked about how he would speak to the bosses about that and get them a pay raise.

If you guys get that raise, I want my piece of the pie too.

Keith then gave some important information to his listeners, "if any of you travel to Dubai you can win a debate on New Zealand sports with any of those who listen to this show because they obviously get very inaccurate information".

I'll tell you this much people - if you stay updated through Sportsfreak and listen to "State of Play" weekly, you will surely be as up to date with New Zealand sports as any of the Kiwis who come down here. Maybe even moreso.

I didn't listen to the rest of the chat, which I would have if I was home and would have told you about it.

I did manage to record the clip though, but I couldn't upload it here because blogger apparently does not support AMR or mp4 format.

So if any of you know how I could do it or if you want a copy of the sound clip, drop me a line.

Plus, if you want to listen to the State of Play cricket segment, then its on every Friday at 8:25pm GMT.

Here is where you go to have a hear.

We have been told that Well Pitched will be mentioned on Kiwi FM, a New Zealand based radio channel, tonight, which will be Saturday morning, 8:25 am, in New Zealand.

It will not be a Jrod type celebrity interview, but it may just be our few seconds of fame in Kiwi Land.

So if you want to have a hear, hop on to this link at the following times, depending on where you are.

8:20 pm GMT
9:20 pm UK
12:20 am UAE
1:50 am India
2:20 am Pakistan

The US of A, Australia and the rest, please figure it out.

These days we have 24/7 live coverage of cricket games all over the world, from first class games to international ones, from women’s games to men’s ones. The emergence and proliferation of TVs and TV channels has made it easy for us to watch the games live. For those who can’t do that, there is vivid and detailed commentary as well as analysis available on CricInfo.com. Credit must be given where it is due – CricInfo has served millions of cricket fans all over the world and the world is a better place with it.

However, I remember the 80s and the 90s when the only available mediums for following cricket were print, TV and radio. The game was not as commercial then so it was not feasible to broadcast games live. Living in Pakistan and even India at that time, there were no sports only channels. For the only local channels, Pakistan Television (PTV) in Pakistan and Doordarshan in India, it was far more lucrative to broadcast soap operas compared to cricket games.

If you were a cricket fan in the sub continent and were really lucky, the state run channel would carry a short highlights clip after the nightly ‘news’. If President Zia and his many chief ministers, governors and generals had had a busy day in the field chairing various boring meetings, cutting inaugural ribbons etc, the cricket highlights would be the last thing shown on TV. If the country was going through bad times, highlights of a lost match wouldn’t necessarily be shown. The backup option was always to quickly glance at the scorecard in the morning paper before scrambling to school.

But true joy came from listening to live cricket commentary on the radio. For me, there is no cricketing memory better than Chishty Mujahid or Omer Kureishi passing verdict on Pakistan Radio, that the old ball in the hands of Waqar or Wasim had started to swing. Hallelujah! The beginning of the end had started! That’s when you closed your eyes and pictured a rampant Waqar steaming in to bowl. The batsmen’s fear, the tension in the air and a warm tingling sensation in the base of your gut that Pakistan’s ascendancy was imminent; all made the air thick with excitement and anticipation. To their credit, the commentators only added to the drama, sucking the listeners in and using a scarcity of words to keep the listeners engaged (its funny how TV commentators these days feel the need to keep talking, even if its crap). The gathering roar of anticipation by the crowd as Waqar or Wasim ran up to the crease was typically accompanied by the following words

“Waqar goes back to his run-up…
[the buzz in the crowd grows]
He starts his run-up
[buzz grows to hum]
Crowe to face him…
Comes in to bowl
[hum reaches crescendo.. ooooOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHHHH!]
[dull thud of the ball hitting the pads]
[loud appeal!]
AND HES GONE!
[high fives all around, jubilant jumps etc]”

Im sure all readers don’t have memories as magical as mine, especially if their team was at the receiving end of the W magic. However, my point is that for me the radio and following cricket went hand in hand. If Pakistan were in deficit, I felt it was my responsibility to turn the radio on and guide Miandad or Salim Malik through till the deficit was wiped out or follow on averted. Visits to family at the other end of town or tuition center rounds were planned such that your could hear commentary for the first twenty overs of the test match. If you got to hear commentary when the ball started to swing, then that was a bonus.

I still remember very clearly, one of Pakistan’s greatest overseas triumphs when Waqar and Wasim combined to bowl out New Zealand for 93 when they needed 127 at Hamilton in 1993. I remember being glued to the Radio, hoping that the ball would swing and that Pakistan would give New Zealand a tough time in their run chase.

What are your fondest memories of associated with following cricket? Has the radio figured prominently? Please share your thoughts by posting a comment