Why Nasser Hussain is batting for Mumbai?

Hussain tries his hand at frying vadas at a stall in Fashion street. Pic/Bipin Kokate

On Thursday afternoon, it must have been quite a sight for passengers to see former England Captain, Nasser Hussain, hitch a ride with them from Churchgate in an Andheri bound local, that too in the general compartment. "We went past Wankhede Stadium till about four or five stations. It was amazing. I rode the buses too," he tells us, when we meet him the next day, by the poolside of the Oberoi Hotel in Nariman Point.

With young cricketers at St Joseph's Convent, Bandra

It was not a one-off thrill he was seeking. Hussain is in the city to understand what it is about Mumbai that produces world-class batsmen. It's the subject of Cricket In Mumbai, a docu-feature. "I wanted to get a taste of what young boys and girls fight daily to get from one part of the town to another. What is it about this place that toughens them up?" he says.

Hussain has been snapped all of last week, swinging the bat in various maidans of Mumbai, from Azad Maidan to Cross, Oval and Shivaji Park, besides gymkhanas and CCI. "I have seen plenty of first class cricket in India. I am now more interested in the grass-roots cricketing culture of South Mumbai. The stats show that of all the great cricketers that Mumbai has produced were mainly batsmen - from Vijay Merchant to Vijay Manjrekar, Sunil [Gavaskar] and Sachin [Tendulkar]. We often say in England, how Lord's is the home of cricket, but really, it is this little bit of India where the heart and soul of cricket really is. In fact, according to statistics, one-third of India's runs scored have been by batsmen from Mumbai."

For the film, Hussain has managed an hour-long interview with Tendulkar where the Little Master spoke of growing up here, "getting on and getting off the bus, all smelly, after three hours of practice". He has also spoken to Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri, besides a few historians of the game. "It is their youth that interests me, because that is where they get their technique from." Hussain had also hit the maidans every other day to see youngsters practise. "You could be fielding mid-wicket in one game and deep extra cover, in another. In England, you'd have 500 safety issues around this. Here, it's just, get on and play. It's chaos, but organised chaos. And the standard is magnificent," he says, adding, "At the Oval, I saw one lad batting - he must've been 13. It struck me how technically correct he was. These boys are not over-coached. There's this natural gift of batting that they have."

Why batsmen and Mumbai? "It could be the pitch, but, I feel it's also the history. This passing on the game from one generation to the next. Youngsters watch the previous generation and learn." On a lighter note, he adds, "It could also be the temperature. At 38 degrees and the accompanying humidity, I'd rather bat all day, than bowl." Hussain tells us that he squeezed in a visit to Dharavi and had a tough time upping his game. "They were batting with sticks. I tried and missed, five times in a row. I then gave it to another boy and the very first time, he hit it a mile!"

Hussain, who has a 12-year- old daughter who also plays cricket, was struck that there weren't enough girls on the maidans. "But, I don't think women's cricket is sleeping anymore, especially after the World Cup Finals. I met Jemimah Rodrigues [captain, Mumbai U-19 and U-23] at St Joseph's Convent, Bandra. We played with the girls there, too. I could see the Mumbai technique right away," the Chennai-born Hussain says, telling us how on this trip he enjoyed dosa for breakfast every day.

After spending 10 days in the city, he left on Friday evening. The documentary will be ready in time for India's tour of England in July. "I've been to Mumbai a million times but, the amount I have seen during this visit does not compare." Would the young players in the maidans flock to him? "The youngsters have no interest in who I am, although their coaches and parents would tell them," he chuckles. "That doesn't bother me, I am here to learn from them. The memories of what I've seen won't fade away."

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