CRICKET!!!!

It's May 1st in Bangalore and it's a Holiday!

The tradition has been to form 6 cricket teams from the young men in the 3 Bangalore branches of the Church and practice for 3 or 4 months prior to May 1st.

Then, at 7:30 am, they gather, and begin play at 8 am.

We arrived at noon and watched a few hours of Cricket.  It was really fun!  I loved taking pictures, of course!  And we loved visiting with the saints as we watched.

The photos are in random order, as I took them, so I hope you enjoy them.

Prem took this photo before the matches started.  It is fun to see the colorful shirts and the eagerness of the players to get started.  Have a great day of cricket!

Manny is growing up, loving cricket!

 And he loves Elder Wigg and I, too.  He's like our own grandson, at times.

I am helping his mother, Teresa, learn how to bake and sew.

 President Thomas

 Vivian is beginning his run as the bowler...

 ...and now he's finishing the bowl (or pitch).

 President Thomas with Raj Kumar

This is the dugout.

Only in India does a herd of goats invade the cricket grounds.

Sister Jennifer with Rani and Gracy.

 Some 3rd Branch Sisters. I know Usha is in the middle.

 Brother Ragu with a sleeping child

Uday chilling between matches.

 George sitting with Brother Thomas and Timothy.

Jake is on the left.

Karthik visiting with his girl.

 Cute kid, enjoying the event.

 President Steven hanging out in the dugout with some of the players.

 Lovely little sisters, President William's youngest daughter.

This is one of my favorite shots, so pretty. This is President William's second daughter.

 Terence appears to be deep in thought.

Sister Serah in the center with Visali on the right.

So, Vivian is ready for the ball...

Oops!  A swing and a miss!

This is Ragu's wife and son...so cute!

Jerry Louis and his wife.

Okay, everyone is eating ice cream bars!

Mmm...that was so good and cold on a hot day!

Such little cuties with colored tongues. This is Kandi.

Elder Mattes getting into the spirit of it all!

Cement bleachers, but it's an attentive audience anyway.

President Thomas' brother David

Selvyn

Elder Newbill, Jerry Louis & Elder Sampara

 Elder S. Kumar doing business on the phone.

 Prem & Teresamica watching between Prem's matches.

 This is how you hold the bat.

 Is this how?  That looks uncomfortable.

 Wo...there's the ball, now swing!

 Elder Wigg is getting into the swing of things!

 That looks like pretty good style, I think.

Thanks, Terrence, for teaching Elder Wigg.

I think Elder Wigg enjoyed the cricket instruction.

 Richard is bowling.

 Ragu is the batsman.

Here we have the Captains of David.

 Manny had such a fun day, and slept all the way home in the car afterwards.

Go Sons of Jacob!

They are recruiting Elder Sampara to play with them. Go sons of Nephi!

 He acknowledges the crowd.

 Elder Sampara has seen me taking his picture.

 Ready, keep your eye on the ball, and you need perfect timing.

 It can be quite a stretch for a batsman.

 Scoring 2 runs, running there and back.

 One gorgeous little girl, cute as a button.

 Sam was an official when he wasn't playing.

 George, leaving the field after his match.

 Richard is doing well as the bowler.

 Richard with his bowler follow through.

 These 2 guys work upstairs at the Service Center, Prem, on the left and Sam.

Prem is ready for the bowl.

 There it went, past him, wide.  Not a good bowl by the bowler.

Each runner has to touch the line with the bat then run back, to score 2 runs.

 Running between the wicket lines scores a run.

 Karthik is ready for the ball, but you can't always tell how high it is going to bounce. He is a good batsman.

 President Doraiswamy watches on.

 Running between wickets scores a run.

 Good hit, Elder Sampara.

 Brother Teki fielding the ball

 Elder Sampara loves cricket and he's pretty good at it.

Getting ready for contact with the ball.

 I like this shot of President William, at full swing. He played cricket in college.

 President William loves Cricket.

 He is ready to go...waiting patiently.

 The bowler, Selvyn

 I love this shot of Selvyn...he's airborn!

Cheering from the outfield

 Sam, the referee, signals a 6

Karthik as the bowler.

 This picture is taken after the batsman makes contact with the ball.

 Sam keeping his eye on the ball, makes a good hit!

 Vivian bowling.

 That looks painful.

 Vivian at full tilt as the bowler!

 Brother George enjoying an ice cream bar.

 Elder Newbill watching and enjoying the experience.

Vinod

 Richard with a good move.

Elder Sampara with a direct hit. He is a good batsman.