Padding up for a tribute

THERE COULD not have been a better tribute to the pioneers of school cricket in Patna.

THERE COULD not have been a better tribute to the pioneers of school cricket in Patna. It was a bright Sunday morning when a bunch of old boys of St Xavier's and St Michael's, two prestigious schools of Bihar's capital, gathered on the cricket ground of IGI Stadium, Delhi, to play the final of the Fr Cleary-Fr Cox memorial tournament 2004-05. The setting would almost sound like a cliché, but the enthusiasm was contagious.

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Played between the Delhi chapters of the St Xavier's (Patna) Alumni Association (SXAA) and St Michael's Old Boys' Association (MOBA), the match took one down memory lane, when the two schools would fight tooth and nail to come out victorious. On Sunday, it was the SXAA, which grabbed the honour.

Batting first, MOBA scored a healthy 182 for seven in the stipulated 25 overs. The openers — Sharat Sinha (ACP, Delhi Police) and Atul Vijay Singh (county head, Bajaj Allianz) — played impressive knocks scoring 62 and 26, respectively.

In reply, despite a middle order scare, SXAA romped home with 184 for four in 23.3 overs. Openers Sunjeev Shankar and Vinay Sood provided a solid foundation for Arun Mishra to play a scintillating knock of 50 not out in 31 balls and take away the match out of MOBA's grip.

The SXAA was captained by Dilip Sinha, joint-secretary, ministry of external affairs, and MOBA by Indra Vardhan Singh, senior executive with an export firm. And giving Harsha Bhogle a run for his money, as it were, was Nalin Chandra in the commentary box. Among the distinguished guests present were Justice BP Singh, retired chief commissioner of income-tax Kanwaljeet Singh, Lt-Gen (retd) DK Sen and Lt-Gen (retd) Debli.

The match was followed by prize distribution and lunch.