ICC World Twenty20: From the ropes

Jay walker vs Tendulkar

Nagpur may be simmering at 38 degrees but the city is surrounded by forested areas, at least three of them being wildlife sanctuaries. So, besides Nagpur’s legendary orange yield, there’s another “big” showpiece it dotes on. Some 60 km from the city centre, there lies the Umred Karhandia Wildlife Sanctuary where India’s biggest (tallest and longest) tiger lives. Famous as Jay, the biggest one in the wilds who walked out imperiously from the Nagzira reserve and walked 120 km through human populations in search of a mate, has no connection with cricket except for the fact that one Mr Sachin Tendulkar and family have been on his trail but not with much success. Just before the World Cup, the master blaster was here with his family hoping for a sighting of Jay but despite a number of safaris, the big cat remained elusive. Tendulkar then proceeded to the next sanctuary Todoba where cricket’s first family had a bountiful of sightings, though not of the celebrated Jay.

Action Jackson

The ICC has stiff penalties for anyone stepping into the playing area and it is pretty dogged about it, even on non-match days. But Jackson and Caesar have access to the pitch as none others. They have the privilege of the pitch being uncovered exclusively for them some hours before the match and the strut the 22 years as if it is home terrain. While Jackson is the more seasoned one at age 6, Ceasar is just 3 but on the job as earnestly. The two Labradors, officers of the Nagpur Police, have been assigned the job of sniffing danger in and around the pitch and they have been in action, sniffing for everything from gunpowder to other explosives and devices that could be embedded within. Their trainer Mahata tells you how it is a difficult regimen the two dogs have to follow. “In one round they should sniff for a maximum of 20 minutes but here they have done some overtime,” he says patting Ceasar who was braving the Nagpur heat with a lot of heavy breathing. The two dogs are specially trained to do stadium recce and they were in the middle for quite sometime before Dhni arrived to take a look at the wicket.

Rapid Response

There is a small kiosk just beyond the ropes at the lush green VCA stadium and the personnel sitting there unarguably have the best view of the match. They are a team of doctors, nurses and paramedics who have been drafted into the safety zone by the ICC to deal with medical emergencies of the players and spectators alike. Busy arranging the life support gear, cardiac gear, first aid needs, saline bottles, stitching equipment and a horde of medicines on the table laid out right next to the player dugout, this Rapid Response Team from the Orange City Hospital of Nagpur has been busy. Thankfully no Indian player has so far needed their attention but just in case they did, “we have everything ready, including a Players Medical Room, four ambulances with life support systems, two first aid centres and 49 medicos, including 16 doctors, 12 specialists, nurses and parameds,” hospital director Dr Anup Marar tells you. Ortho surgeon Atul Gadkari who has long seen through emergencies in the stadium tell you that his team came in handy when player Cibanta cut his chin during the Zimbabwe/Scotland match. He also treated a Hong Kong player for knee injury sustained during practice. Other than that, when a spectator fell off the fourth floor of the stands at the old VCA stadium, Gadkari was just a medical student on duty back then and it was he who rushed him to the hospital with grievous injuries and saved his life. That was way back in 1988-89.