The game was extremely popular in England in those days. Television, which came to India much later, was big there even at that time. Wherever I went I was recognised as the wicketkeeper.We enjoyed the long tour. I was a teetotaller and they used to respect it in England. Fortunately I was not vegetarian and did not face too many problems.What struck me initially was that the crowd would clap for a maiden over. A good piece of fielding and a good throw was appreciated. Everyone applauds fine batting strokes but seeing sharp fielding appreciated showed how knowledgeable the crowd was.Frank Chester was one of the greatest umpires I have seen. There was no bias at all against us among the English umpires.Peter May was the best post-war English batsman I saw. Vinoo Mankad [slow left-arm] used to bowl a floater which used to come in with the same action instead of breaking away. Peter was batting [at Lords] when Vinoo bowled the floater on middle and leg. I knew the ball would come in, but I also understood that the great batsman that Peter was, he would pick it and try to glance it. Any other player would have blocked it but Peter glanced and I caught him down the leg side. At the end of the over, umpire Chester came running towards me from square leg and said,Well caught.What a fine wicketkeeper you are. I am surprised you werent selected for all the Tests, Chester told me later. That was a great compliment, but it was decided before the tour by the selectors that I and Khokhan Sen will play two Tests each.I once met the UK Deputy High Commissioner in the 70s. He asked me whether I had lofted Douglas Wright [England and Kent legspinner] for a six in Canterbury. The ball came to me in the crowd, he said.Godfrey Evans was an excellent keeper; whether it was diving, standing up, moving down the leg side, everything was well-timed.I got 50-odd in one of the tour games, and two girls came up to congratulate me after the days play. One of them pointed out my peculiar way of plonking my front foot forward and asked me why I did so. I must have subconsciously copied this style from DB Deodhar, but no one had ever pointed it out to me before. That is how closely people watch the game in England. The grounds used to be full, even for the county games.Fred Trueman was really fast, especially for us, as we didnt get such fast bowling in India. And to think that it was his debut series.Our tour allowances used to be meagre but the value of the rupee was also quite a lot then. To put it in perspective: when I was in college I had a lot of hair and used to get it cut for four [pauses] not rupees but annas [16 annas made a rupee]. Today there is no hair left but the cut costs Rs 60. We used to get about Rs 60 for five days of cricket. We were not professional back then; it is only now that the players are contracted. We were just happy to be representing India. It was a great honour. The idea of money was not there at all. Merchant and I received the same amount. There was no difference between what the top players got and what the others got.Vijay Merchant and Vijay Hazare were of the top class and on par. Hazare, Vijay Manjrekar and Phadkar were very good players of the hook. Pitches in England were covered only for the Test matches, not for the county games. The ball comes slowly off a wet wicket, but when it is drying it gets very difficult. It bounces, turns, shoots, skids; it all depends on the different patches on the surface.You were selected for your respective place in the side and no one bothered about things like practice. It was entirely up to you. Our own bowlers used to bowl in the nets to our batsmen. There were no county bowlers available for practice.I was having breakfast at a Norwich hotel when a lady came up to me and asked if I was an Indian cricketer. She chatted for a while and asked me to say hello to her little boy. I want him to know that the colour of the skin may be different but all people are the same, she said.Alec Bedser had a normal incoming delivery and a legcutter. I was facing him when Dattu Phadkar told me that the ball pitching on leg stump will be the legcutter. He used to bowl it with the same action and it was very difficult to pick.I was speaking to the Worcestershire groundsman about the nature of the wicket when a girl came and asked me what I was doing alone - everyone else was dancing merrily in a party in the pavilion. She asked me to dance with her but I politely refused. She was disappointed as she was sure I would relent. I later came to know that some team-mates had a bet with her to get me to the dance floor. I didnt dance on the entire tour.The concept of fielding was not given any importance then in India. Once, in the Bombay Pentangular, Muslims were nine down and needed four runs. I was fielding on the boundary, and kept a stroke down to three. Next ball, KC Ibrahim pushed to covers. Shute Banerjee, the fast bowler, just had to pick up the ball and throw, but he didnt, allowing the batsmen to get away. I am a fast bowler; I am not expected to throw, he said. No one bothered with fielding, it was only batting and bowling. If one dropped a catch, nobody said anything, even the bowlers.The basic job of a keeper during those days was keeping. They were usually sent to open the innings and take the shine off the new ball. I remember a game where the keeper opened and batted the entire day for some 30-odd runs.A keeper has something else to do apart from catching and stumping. I understood this in a charity match under CK Nayudu. A few overs after the start, CK came to me and asked whether I was observing what the bowler and the batsman were doing. I realised that keeping is also about being friend, philosopher and guide to the captain. This incident helped me when I led sides later. Taveze Calhoun Jersey . 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LOS ANGELES -- Clayton Kershaw gripped a baseball in his left hand and grimaced while he watched Game 5 of the NL Championship Series from the dugout.The Los Angeles Dodgers best pitcher was ready and eager, and he was sitting on three days of rest. Manager Dave Roberts could have deployed him Thursday night in Chavez Ravine and probably again in relief at Wrigley Field.Roberts declined to play his ace, instead holding his top card for the weekend. The Dodgers decided to rely on rookie Kenta Maeda and their busy bullpen against the NLs best offense.Those pitchers hung in for the first three hours, but eventually proved to be no match for Jon Lester in the Chicago Cubs 8-4 victory. Los Angeles now trails the NLCS 3-2 after getting outscored 18-6 in two straight home games.But the Dodgers didnt sound discouraged as they packed up for their flight.We can grab that momentum by one name, Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said. Kershaw.Although Roberts has already proven unafraid to do unorthodox things with his pitchers in October, he stuck to a conventional plan to save Kershaw for Game 6.And instead of pitching to clinch a pennant Saturday night, Kershaw must attempt to save the Dodgers season again.Weve got Clayton going in Game 6, so thats a game we expect to win, Roberts said.Kershaw volunteered to pitch Game 5, but Roberts had several reasons to turn him down.Roberts figured he would need to start Maeda at some point in the next three games, and he hoped the home crowd would benefit the inconsistent Japanese right-hander. With a day off Friday, Roberts also knew he could go deep into his bullpen -- which has thrown a majors-high 43 innings in the postseason -- with no repercussions.Its not an elimination game, Roberts said after Game 4. And I think the accumulation of (Kershaws) usage over the last ten days plays a factor in our decision.Instead of pitching on three days rest in Game 5, Kershaw will be pitching on a luxurious five days rest in Game 6. Although the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner already has pitched 19 1/3 innings in the postseason, a midseason injury kept him off the mound for 2 1/2 months, leaving his arm with much less accumulated action than in a normal season -- 168 1/3 innings combined this year, compared to 246 1/3 last season.Kershaw shrugs off that notion, saying he feels pretty much the same as he did in previous Octobers. The biggest difference is that Kershaw, who acquired a reputation for postseason struggles over the past several seasons, has begun to erase that reputation this fall while he attempts to reach his ffirst World Series.dddddddddddd.Thats who you want in your decision game, Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager said. Were looking forward to the battle.After pitching decently in his two starts in the NL Division Series against Washington, Kershaw dominated the Cubs with seven innings of two-hit ball in Game 2, and closer Kenley Jansen finished off a 1-0 victory.Regardless of the success of this call, Roberts has made a series of canny decisions in the postseason. His clever pitching staff management in the decisive Game 5 of the NLDS against Washington thrilled long-suffering fans who found manager Don Mattingly too reactive.Roberts used setup man Joe Blanton in the third inning, kept Jansen in for 51 pitches and seven outs, and went to Kershaw to close out a 4-3 thriller.Although Kershaw wasnt chosen for Game 5, Roberts clearly didnt have much faith in the alternative, pulling Maeda after just 3 2/3 innings and 76 pitches.Maeda trailed 1-0 after three batters in Game 5, but after striking out two Cubs to end the firstcer Baezs leadoff double in the fourth. Moments later, Roberts curiously pulled him with Lester coming up for Chicago.Roberts said he thought Maedas stuff was fading, and he decided to rely on his high-mileage bullpen.I was a little surprised, Maeda said through a translator.The Dodgers bullpen kept it even until the sixth, when Addison Russell hit a tiebreaking two-run homer off Blanton, one of Roberts most reliable arms until recently.The wheels fell off for Los Angeles in Chicagos five-run eighth inning, turning a tense game into a second straight blowout victory. The Cubs are one win away from a chance to end the championship drought that dwarfs all others, but Kershaw will finally get another shot to shut them down.We all know what we have in front of us with Kershaw going into Game 6, Cubs lefty Jon Lester said after his win Thursday. Hopefully hes not the good Kershaw, and we get kind of the mediocre guy that gives up a few runs and were able to hold them where theyre at.The Dodgers are eager to see their ace at his best.We have Kershaw going the next game, which were excited about, said Blanton, who gave up two homers and five runs to the Cubs in Game 1 after four scoreless app