International Cricket Match Referee Devdas Govindjee, who is the official travel correspondent for this blog, is currently in the USA for the ICC Americas Division 1 Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Dev sent me the email below and I would love to share it with all my readers.
Greetings
from Fort Lauderdale where the body clock has still not totally
adjusted and proof of that is that it is now only 4.15 a.m on this
Monday morning whilst back home in SA your weekis already well on it's
way.
It
seems like I have been here ages already-
merely because in the 1 day that I had free ( Sat) I managed to have
such a full day thanks to my special friend Mukie who drove down from
his West Palm Beach home which is about an hour away and then proceeded
to show me some wonderful sights in and around the Florida south
regions- these are all already on fb and reflect the kindness shown to
be- it makes one humbled and also brings a realisation of what the term
true friendship really is.
Anyway,
after the enjoyment of Sat it
was down to work on Sunday with a breakfast meeting at 7 a.m and then a
visit to the venues to do ground and facility inspection- thereafter
meetings at 4.30 and 6.30 with the umpires, scorers and then the team
managements respectively- the 5 teams participating all checked in
during the course of the morning.
The
meetings went well as did the stadium inspections and now today the
tournament gets under way with a full programme of matches at both
venues.
There will be a morning session which starts at 10 and then the pm matches get under way at 3.
This
pattern of matches will continue all week until sunday and Monday next
week has been set aside for any incompleted matches or additional
matches that might be fixtured if need be.
I
am really excited about getting the tournament officially started today
because that is when I can start looking at all the various aspects
which constitutes my being the tournament referee- the local offices
for the Americas have extended my usual ICC brief by wanting my
assistance and input into the structuring of their umpiring systems so
it will mean taking notes and making recommendations as the tournament
progressed.
It
is still at times a "pinch yourself" moment when one pauses to realise
that here I am heading a tournament for the ICC thousands of kilometres
and across oceans from Port Elizabeth- those moments can become
emotional ones but that would in my case again lead me
down the path of memory lane and then i reflect on all those people who
have over the years played a part ( does not matter how big or small
that part was) in adding the necessary layers to mould a product that is
now able to enjoy so many special moments- these people would range
from my parents who brought me into a home where Sport was always played
or a topic of conversation through to my schooldays and university
years where sport formed the centre of my focus ( studies took a back
seat most times!) .
Thereafter
as club and provincial and national tournaments were played by me ( and
this extends beyond cricket to tennis and table tennis and soccer) my
mind flits through the countless team mates who I learnt from, captains
who left indelible impressions on me, opponents who fought hard but
never unfairly and always with mutual respect.
Then
there would be family who needed to understand my nature and love for
sport to accept hours away in training
or at tournaments ( so whats changed?) knowing that there are always
sacrifices to be made and at times casualties along the way and that the
unstinting support is valued -
and
finally - friends who stood by you and gave support and then shared in
either triumphs or disappointments - so there is a category for the
reader of this to place himself or herself into and all I want to say is
thanks
"look on all with an equal eye"
always
dev
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