Shrill Cricket, Still Cricket Poem by Manjula Reddy

Shrill Cricket, Still Cricket

The pitch is clear
No rain
Hard ground.
The Captains appear.
Toss.
The Emus field
The Ochs' bat.
Emu runs in
Bowls a googly.
Ochs reacts
Strongly
Fiercely.
Hits hard
Over the boundary
Into the crowd.
Emu goes in
Again.
A leg spin
Trying for an
LBW.
Another six.
Cricket is full
Of hard hitters.
It's the 20-20
Madness.
No more glamour
In Tests.
Crisp white
A gentleman's game
Now lame.
Bodyline marked
The beginning.
Of compromise.
Lapped up
By the crowd.