06 August,2011 01:17 AM IST | | Clayton Murzello
The PA System man was kept busy through the day yesterday. We are not referring to announcements with regards to the field. There were birthday messages galore followed by... no cheers.
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Vandan Popat, a young Indian fan based in Northampton, displays his
bat with signatures from all the members of the Indian team except
Abhinav Mukund. Pic/Clayton Murzello
WONDER what Northants' South African captain Andrew Hall was talking about when he was quoted as saying that his side would go all out against the Indians in the two-day fixture here. Hall and his Northants big names decided to stay away from the game and allowed their juniors to get a feel of playing the Indians. However, he was here to witness his boys in action.
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Andrew Hall
The souvenir shop was often visited by young autograph hunters wanting miniature bats. Several of them opted for the full size ones. Vandan Popat was seen pacing up and down at the pavilion end trying to get his bat 'decorated' with signatures. When MiD DAY met him a few overs before stumps, he had all the cricketers' signatures except the performer of the dayu00a0-- Abhinav Mukund.
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THE press box at the Northampton County Cricket Club must be the smallest in world cricket. "If there was another team playing, there would hardly be two pressmen in the box and that doesn't include the local newspaper," said an old timer. Some members of the media were happy sitting in an adjoining stand, where the air was fresh and the spectators chatty.
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Just before the Indian team left the ground after Day One of the warm-up game yesterday, the famous song "mere sapno ki rani" began playing at the ground. The old Bollywood track took most journalists by surprise.
