Page 4 - Singapore Sample

ಸಿಂಗಾರ ಸಿಂಚಿಕೆ ೧೪

CRICKET C&B CIRCUIT BREAKER

Howzzzzaaaat?

The consequences of COVID-19 are being felt globally. In this article, I will be talking about how it is
affecting my life and my hobbies. I am 15-year-old, and one of my most favourite things to do is play
cricket. Usually, I play 3-4 times a week, including school training, club training and matches. Playing cricket
is something I find very fun and therapeutic, which is why I practice so frequently in order to improve my
skills. But now, COVID-19 has changed that, and Singapore has reported more than 34,000 cases at this
time (May 30, 2020). At the beginning of March, all activities, including my training and cricket matches
were cancelled. Since then, I have not had any training session, either at school or club. This has had a
major impact because it has caused many changes in my life, such as increasing boredom, decreasing
fitness and no interaction with my friends and coaches.

(a) (b) (c)

The joy of taking a wicket for a seam/fast bowler : a) man of the match awarded in an under 16 match at Ceylon Cricket Club on 24
October 2019 and b) and c) the wicket I took in my last club match on March 08,2020 at Turf Club Cricket Ground, Singapore.

Towards the end of February 2020, there were uncertainties about whether our matches would go on.
Around 2 weeks later, our coaches told us that, due to the virus, we were not allowed to “shine” the ball,
as it could be hazardous to our health. At the time, we did not think much about it and assumed that the
restrictions would go away in a week. But a week later, our school training was cancelled as a preventive
measure to reduce contact with others. This meant that from 3-4 times per week, I was now only training
once a week at my club. But this also changed, when 5-6 days later my club sent me an email cancelling
future training sessions. For around 2 weeks, we were unsure about how this would progress. The coaches
then told us that online training sessions were going to be arranged, twice a week. However, these training
sessions were not the same as the ones which were on the field. In the online sessions, most of the training
that we did was limited to stretches, which did not improve my cricketing skills at all.

Apart from my peers and me, COVID has affected professional players too. All international and domestic
matches have been cancelled, including the famous Indian Premier League (IPL). The 2020 IPL was
originally scheduled to start on March 29 and was then delayed until April 15. But, after the Indian
government extended the country's lockdown, it has now been postponed indefinitely. Internationally,
India’s tour of South Africa was also delayed, and many tournaments in England and Australia have been
cancelled. Cricket players have also been affected. Many
players have said that it is very hard for them to stay fit
during these times, since they can not do any proper
training. Other than staying fit, they have also been
spending a lot more time on social media, with big
names like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers doing live video
chats with each other and fans, something that they
would not have time to do if this situation did not exist.

[This is a photo of the online sessions conducted by Singapore Cricket Academy that I have been taking part in.]

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