A bagful of memories

This is the end and time to head back home with a bagful of memories. At this moment, events of the last 45 days remain a blur. So much has happened in so little time – we started the tour freezing at the Bagh-e-Jinnah in Lahore, ended up sweating at the National Stadium in Karachi - that it will take some time to soak in the experience.

Considering it was my first full cricket tour of any kind, it proved to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Reporting from the ground can often make you feel one with the action – in Peshawar we were literally at midwicket – and to have been able to watch some marvelous performances close-up was hugely fulfilling.

In a delicious mix, there was plenty of off-field action as well – gossip, conspiracy, off-the-record statements, speculation regarding team selection – and one often felt in the thick of things. It was so much a case of being at the right place at the right time – like we were on match eve when we heard that Ganguly wouldn’t be picked for the Faisalabad Test – and there’s a certain high in getting some important news before most. Lurking in the lobby of team hotels, exchanging notes with fellow journalists, hoping for the reliability of the “sources”, and being stumped when contradictory reports emerged all resulted in a frenzied mix of intrigue, excitement, and analysis.

Added to all this was the chance to journey around Pakistan, meeting people as one traveled around, and the sights and sounds will remain etched in memory. There was joy to be had in accidental encounters, like meeting Adnan in Lahore, hospitality to be overwhelmed by, like the warmth imparted by Munna in Lahore and Naek in Peshawar, and a sense of being readily accepted by the locals.

It’s tough to pick a favourite cricketing moment but watching approximately 32000 spectators at Peshawar, in a stadium that held 16000, greet Tendulkar’s hundred was special. There was a cheer that one could have associated with Indian grounds and there was even an over-excited fan who charged to the centre, arms waving wildly, to congratulate Sachin. There was spontaneity in the outburst, a spontaneity that crossed all barriers.