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Come to think of Sanspareils Greenlands, the biggest cricket equipment manufacturer in the world, one word that defines this Meerut based company is smoothness with which the promoters have undertaken this journey of over 90 years. No showbaazi, no nonsense and no noise pollution, SG just takes on everything smoothly in life. So what if SG gives head to solutions to all cricketers in India and across the world?
This manufacturing hub and the co-owner of the Sports City always believed in building rather than playing the game.
So one day when a suggestion came and the situation permitted that SG too could have its own cricket team like other corporations, its co-owner Paras Anand, was too elated, offered all kinds of help to make this venture a success. Right from supplying cricket gear to all possible solutions were provided to the proposed cricket team. Even a net with a proper turf wicket was created to cater to this promise of building a team. The fact that some of the SG employees have been super busy in the nets for years prior to the turf pitch coming to existence to hone their skills on an astro-wicket during lunch hours (between 1 PM and 1:30 PM), putting together a team was easy-peasy
The announcement of initiating a cricket team was taken with loud cheers and enthusiasts from different nooks and corners of the SG factory were ready to be a part of history. But amongst the budding cricketers of the team, there is also a large section of workers in SG factory, who are avid cricket watchers. A whole group of them actually come out of their work station and watched some of the big cricket stars of SG in action during lunch hours, besides watching and clicking selfies with top stars of world cricket.
Coming back to building exercise, a meeting of a proposed cricket team finally called one early evening to sort out the strength of the team. An invitational cum a tournament match was organised and therefore fielding a competitive team was a must. While discussing the different intricacies of the game, a small trial happened under the watchful eyes of some of the SG experts of the game and the shortlisting was done in no time. But soon, the so-called selectors realised that one of the best players was missing from the first match that the SG cricket team was going to be playing.
Still, there was no dearth of enthusiasm and it felt more on the match day when around 15 turned up in Noida. Some of them actually came all the way from Meerut to be a part of the match. But the round-table conference as to who should play and who shouldn’t was still on when one of the members of the team who is full of himself when it comes to the game decided to be magnanimous. Why? There were quite a few of them who came all the way from Meerut and making them play was more important than winning the match. So, phone calls were made to bring him back to the field but to no effect.
Next up, the match began and one of the members didn’t know that one had to deliver the ball from behind the popping crease. That member bowled no-balls and it was enough to put pressure on the SG team and while batting it was a collapse of sorts– thanks to all those no-balls hurled. All out for 30. God only knows how on earth that happened! Embarrassed? Not at all and that is because failure is the pillar of success.
The good news is that the SG cricket team is in the process of becoming a real good team now. Offerings are coming for more such matches and SG is obliging them. As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Slowly, SG cricket team is going to be a force to reckon with in the corporate cricket set-up the way it is going. There is a tremendous amount of seriousness that is going into making this team a success. And at the end of it, the reality is that SG is more into making cricketers rather than playing the game!
Awesome initiative