Table cricket games, I guess, have different names in different parts of the world. In India, it was (is?) called 'Gold Cup'.
The playing surface was a square of green cloth with a pitch, fielding positions, and concentric ellipses marked on it. When you hit the ball beyond the first ellipse, you got one run, the next one two, and so forth, until the last ellipse - the boundary, bounded by a plastic fence.
The bowler rolled a ball bearing down a slide, the slope of which he or she could steepen or make more gradual to vary the speed. You were out either if you were bowled, or if a fielder caught you - that is, when the ball rolled into a V-shaped gap in its base.
The batsman had a choice of bats. The simpler implement was a little bat-shaped bat that gave you a pretty decent range of shots. If you wanted power, however, you chose the mechanical contraption thingy, which ensured a perfectly straight bat and a gloriously smooth transition from backlift to follow-through. On the rare occasion you hit the ball using this device, the ball flew to the boundary, and once, a friend smashed a six over long off.
The playing surface was a square of green cloth with a pitch, fielding positions, and concentric ellipses marked on it. When you hit the ball beyond the first ellipse, you got one run, the next one two, and so forth, until the last ellipse - the boundary, bounded by a plastic fence.
The bowler rolled a ball bearing down a slide, the slope of which he or she could steepen or make more gradual to vary the speed. You were out either if you were bowled, or if a fielder caught you - that is, when the ball rolled into a V-shaped gap in its base.
The batsman had a choice of bats. The simpler implement was a little bat-shaped bat that gave you a pretty decent range of shots. If you wanted power, however, you chose the mechanical contraption thingy, which ensured a perfectly straight bat and a gloriously smooth transition from backlift to follow-through. On the rare occasion you hit the ball using this device, the ball flew to the boundary, and once, a friend smashed a six over long off.
What prompted me to explain all this in so much detail?
Well, this morning, Thilan Samaraweera scored 73, with 11 boundaries. His best shot was a cover drive off Umar Gul - he went down on one knee, and held his pose as the ball sped away. His bat was so straight, and his left elbow so high, that the first thing I thought upon watching the replay was - Whoa! that's a shot straight out of 'Gold Cup', and the sweetest, meatiest spot of the mechanical contraption bat.
Well, this morning, Thilan Samaraweera scored 73, with 11 boundaries. His best shot was a cover drive off Umar Gul - he went down on one knee, and held his pose as the ball sped away. His bat was so straight, and his left elbow so high, that the first thing I thought upon watching the replay was - Whoa! that's a shot straight out of 'Gold Cup', and the sweetest, meatiest spot of the mechanical contraption bat.
