Agnijit Sen in Sydney
I love cricket stadiums. The pulsating crowd, the electrifying atmosphere, make or break for players and above all, the SMELL. Yes, the smell. The smell of history, the smell of tradition, the smell of heritage, as you enter the iconic cricketing venues around the world.
Be it Eden Gardens, Lord’s or the Sydney Cricket Ground. The New Year Test starts tomorrow. As I stepped in to the SCG for the first time, my heart skipped a beat. SCG felt like home. And the iconic SCG has indeed been a proud home to a number of exceptional athletes. Be it cricket, soccer or rugby. And SCG knows how to honour his/her children.
There is a Walk Of Honour greeting you with arms wide open. As I started taking that walk surrounded by history and heritage of athletes, I felt like Alice in Wonderland! The Walk Of Honour starts with two statues. The first one is of Steve Waugh. It stands tall with Waugh holding his coveted baggy green in one hand and his bat in the other.
My colleague Trisha Ghosal reminded of what Shane Warne had said in his book about Waugh. Warnie mentioned that Waugh had a certain kind of obsession with the baggy green, as if he loved it more than his life. Opposite to that statue, quite fittingly, stands the statue of Belinda Clarke, another Australian cricketing giant. The first-ever player to score a double hundred in limited-over cricket, much ahead of the little master from India.