grameenphone ODI SERIES
Of soppers & sweepers
Mohammad Isam from Chittagong
The previous night was full of howling and hissing wind around Chittagong so it was not entirely a surprise that the large canopy on the roof of the Divisional Stadium was dangling as the crowds formed a one-mile long queue outside the main gate.That was just the start of a day of gloom for all involved at the ground, be it the players, officials, journalists, the crowd and a sea of policemen. The contingent was so large on Tuesday that there was a sea of green but of a different kind. Apart from the leak-proof security, what stood out was the resilience and spirit of the crowd, made up mostly of students. They were made to stand in queue for endless hours (nearly four) and once inside, they were being scanned with devices normally used by the paramilitary troops to search land mines. So was the press box and the rest of the ground infield, outfield, left-field. But the timing was quite astounding because if the match was in progress then the batsman could have taken a welcome drinks break in the middle of the match. But still, the sight was amazing. On one side, the super sopper was at full flow while at the other, the mine detectors were sweeping through. Nothing could have cleared up the water at the stadium, thanks to the hard surface which does not really help to soak up the water. Meanwhile, the mine detector reached the press box, going through tripods, laptops and the television as well. The match was called off soon after but the crowd at the northern side of the ground sat in earnest, unaware of the decision. An announcement through the loud speaker, so usefully used the other day on the street to alert the port city people about the cyclone, or the giant screen would have ended their day-long misery. But things were not all that bad, as this reporter saw the likes of one Sachin Tendulkar. He arrived on Monday along with Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman, Wasim Jaffer and Rajesh Pawar for the Tests and yesterday, took part in a nets session in the indoor facilities. He was enthusiastic as ever, batting for almost half an hour and then taking slip catches. All eyes were on him as he emerged from the indoors. With a large smile on his face, he went past the press entourage quite briskly, shaking hands with some. The greatest batsman of our generation has arrived in Bangladesh, it was seen.
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