Cricketers play their way through India

Photo: JASON OXENHAM

HOWZAT: Bowling Through India author Justin Brown tests the catching skills of travelling companions, from left: John Bougen, Brendon O’Hagan and Stew Gunn on the main ground at Eden Park.

Travelling around India and taking on the cricket-mad locals in any setting proved to be the trip of a lifetime for author Justin Brown and friends.

Brown, who recorded their adventures in his book Bowling Through India, says it’s an idea he and mates John Bougen, Stew Gunn, Brendon O’Hagan and Reece Irving had been trying to make happen for two years.

The Mt Eden resident says they weren’t afraid to set up a game in some more unusual places after finally making the trip at the end of last year.

"We played in a graveyard in Varanasi and used the tombstones as wickets. It’s known as the city of death."

On another occasion the group, who labelled themselves the Black Craps, fell foul of the law after starting a game of beach cricket.

"We had our bat confiscated by a policeman because you’re not allowed to create a crowd on the beach thanks to terrorism. We had to go to the police station to get the bat back."

During the 12 matches they played, Brown says finding opponents was never a problem.

"You’d start off with five kids, then it would grow to 20, then 30. They all wanted to thrash us."

O’Hagan says his highlight of the trip was having a camel at first slip during a match outside the Taj Mahal. But Gunn says the trip highlighted the poverty some Indians live in.

"You think we have problems. Going there puts life into perspective."

But he says it wasn’t hard to relate to the people’s cheerful nature.

"The kids in particular were great, just like anywhere else in the world. They were always happy."

- © Fairfax NZ News