Calvin's ball with my cousin !! 103 NOT OUT !!

Met up with my 9 year old cousin Vikram after quite some time !! phew.. !! turned out to be quite an experience !!

First thing that happens when you enter his house.. (i had gone with my parents) There's a huge cry and roar !! "Peripa vanthachu !! (obviously my father !!)

And then there's a proud display of his cricketing skills.. (he has been attending some T.T and Cricket camp..) . and then his drawings of various cricketers..

And then.. he shows how good he is at the Keyboard (obviously has been attending classes.. and Chitappa already possessed a Yamaha Keyboard !!).. but unfortunately ends up missing the tune all the time.. gets frustrated (again a huge cry and roar !!) and gives up trying to play it properly..

And then to pacify him.. i decide to play cricket with him !! Divya (his elder sister) joins in as well

This is the main part.. He gets 10 wickets.. whereas I get only one. . his rules..!!

The score is 1/1.. and then he scores 2 runs.. (the batsman's crease at the bowlers end is only half way up the pitch..!! again his rules !!) and then the score becomes 10/1.. (again.. his own way of accounting.. )

And then.. he loses 5-6 wickets.. still.. the score remains at 15/3.. nice na.. he loses wickets..but gains runs instead !!

And then.. frustrated.. he ends up at 20/10.. my target is 21..!!

i decide to take left hand bat (obviously to give him advantage !!).. but to no avail.. the deliveries are so wide I can't even give him an opportunity of a "bowled" or a "catch" (btw one pitch catches are out for me !!) I can't leave deliveries to get out.. he's not that young as well.. frustrated.. I become run out at 18 .  and you must see the sense of achievement on his face.. and again.. a big cry and roar..!!

Next match.. I get to bat first..!! I don't even score 10.. but my score is fixed at 99.. his way of accounting..!!  (he had already decided to score a hundred in the next innnings .. so how can that be changed !! ??)

So the brave man starts off.. his desperate attempts at scoring boundaries always end up in him getting clean bowled.!!.. Score 1/4 ..(actually I was suprised he told this.. I thought he would tell 40/2 or something !! ) then I teach him something . obviously to bat. !!.. and then.. he scores 4-5 boundaries.. and then.. he declares himself winner. !! at 103 Not Out !!

Cha.. missed my digicam dearly..His last pose .. at 103 N.O was not something to be missed !! and so were the other moments when he lets out those loud cries.. !!

Later Divya tells me of his heroic achievements at the Club (as he puts it) where he apparently scored 145 not out with around 70 odd fours and 100 odd sixes !! wonderful na !!

After all that.. he settles down for a fundaes session on how to solve the Sudoku by yours truly..!!

Of course most of the things that I did were very similar to that anybody would have done with a 9 year old.. but my fun part was in oberving his "loud cries " and his moments of Joy and most important of all.. in playing Calvin's ball with him !!

Had nice fun.!!. hoping to visit him again this friday !!