Batting dominates ball at Cricket World Cup in India

In between World Cup matches in Delhi, my adventurous instincts lured me to undertake a trip to Meerut, 80 km northeast of the capital.

It is renowned for manufacturing cricket balls. In a previous column, the production methods and techniques of producing cricket balls had been detailed, but I wished to see these in action.

A car and driver were arranged for the trip, which was expressway for 80 percent of the journey.

Internet research into the factories had identified two as having accessible, welcoming, and informative websites. However, my request to the driver and his handlers to telephone a factory prior to setting off, to arrange an appointment, met with a lack of enthusiasm. My own attempts to make contact by email through the factory’s website failed to generate a response.

On arrival, Meerut appeared to be a hive of light industrial activity and traffic bustle through narrow streets, typical of urban India. The bustle was exacerbated by construction work associated with the building of an elevated metro link. Earlier in the week, on Oct. 20, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched a 17-km priority section of India’s first Regional Rapid Transit System on the Delhi-Meerut corridor.

Road closures and diversions seemed to fool the driver and his GPS. The navigation system on my phone was better and it enabled us to reach a street which the chosen cricket ball manufacturer listed as the address.

It was Suraj Kund Road, no ordinary street, since, from one end to the other, it was filled with retail outlets selling sports equipment and services. Later, I learned that there are some 300 such outlets on the street.

My driver went off in search of a cricket ball factory, returning in triumph beckoning