Cricket? Leave it to Ricky.

I walked into Rohit's locality expecting a royal welcome in the form of a ball hurtling towards me, but i found it deserted. The reason became apparent in a while.

I found Rohit Staring avidly at a nearby field. Strange.

"Er, whats up?" I asked curiously.

"The ball went in there." He said gravely, pointing at the field.

"How can a ball go IN-?" I swallowed the rest of the sentence. It was essentially a pond, reduced to a marsh by a sinister variety of hydrophilous plants. Otherwise popular as "pana pukur".

"But looking wont help!" I said sensibly.

"Oh, didn't i tell you? Ricky was holding the ball." he said dryly.

"Ah! Right."

[Don't squirm. He broke the surface seconds later in the midst of howls of despair and disappointment. We were hoping that he would maintain a permanent existence under water. The world would be a better place altogether.]

____________________________________

I was batting. Standing tall, looking intimidating with the bat.

Ricky, after having washed himself with several kinds of anti-septics, was bowling.

Rohit screamed at Ricky.

"Remember, bowl in the right AREAS so that he can atleast FACE it."

Ricky grinned like a maniac and bowled.

Damn it, I did FACE it. Literally.

I went down like a rock as the ball interfered with my aqueous humor. But i did manage to scream out something.

"Now, i know why you failed in English, you moron!"

____________________________________

Ricky's next ball.

Rohit was the braveheart holding the bat.

I was more optimistic than Rohit.

"Bowl SLIGHTLY out of line so that he edges it, okay?" I told Ricky importantly.

He nodded like noddy.

He bowled.

Shattering glass. A shrill cry. And an empty cricket pitch.

And we thought batsmen were the notorious window pane breakers.