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This month's Goanet operations sponsored by Mrs. Daisy Faleiro If you would like to sponsor Goanet's operations contact: Herman Carneiro - [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ With the Cricket World Cup in the Carribean round the corner, this is as good a time as any to ponder on the state of cricket in Goa. It has always been a topic of interest to me that Goa and Goans have not yet made their presence felt in this sport. To the best of my knowledge and I would love to stand corrected on this, no Indian of Goan origin has donned India colors, be it white or blue. If nothing else, given Indian cricket's appalling fielding standards, it would be very well served with a dose of the celebrated Goan athleticism, which at present is being monopolised by Indian soccer. Considering that Kerala which was, till recently what one would consider a cricket agnostic state, has thrown up two remarkable fast medium bowling talents who answer to the names of Tinu Yohannan and S Sreesanth, it would not be unfair to fantasise a Quadros or a Coutinho tweaking his left arm over and do a Ponting (not that it tales much to do Ponting ) in flight and being stumped by a Salgoacar. I have not seen too much of cricket being played on Goan grounds like it happens in the rest of India, but I was very impressed when, the other day, travelling from Siolim to Calangute, I saw a most impressive cricket nets being conducted and under lights !!. And it was even more heartening to note that demand seemed to exceed supply by a fair margin going by the wannabe Tendulkars and Dravids jostling with each other for a hit. Being an ardent cricket fan, it was a sight to behold. A few years back, the Goa Cricket Association had roped in V B Chandrasekhar, who played all too briefly for India, to lead the Goa Ranji Team. For reasons unknown, the experiment did not last long enough for any significant benefits to trickle down, either in the form of the Goa team setting the Ranji stage on fire or more realistically inspiring the next generation to take up the sport. It is relevant to note here that after hanging up his boots, VB has set up a cricket academy in Chennai. How much would it have taken to entice VB do the same in Goa. Which brings us to the fundamental question. Is there enough commitment amongst the powers that be to make Goa a formidable force in domestic cricket. Media reports indicate that a spanking new "exclusively" cricket stadium is coming up in the Tinvim locality. But talent does not necessarily follow infrastructure creation. It takes much more to create a sporting culture than simply building a stadium. Else, countries in the Middle East would be top of the leader boards in the Olympics. Given that international cricket matches that are allotted to non metro locations are few and far between, it may not be a bad idea to use the new stadium for popularising the new emerging 20/20 version of slam bang cricket. 20/20 has all the ingredients for making a visit to the stadium an enjoyable family outing and this may be the best way to inspire the future generations to take up cricket in right earnest. I sincerely hope that cricket gives soccer a run for its money when it comes to attracting Goan sporting talent sooner rather than later.