Ponting throws a kitchen sink at a ball wide outside the off stump, nearly taking the fielder’s head off. The kookaburra flies over point for a four. As the ever-effervescent Billy Bowden signals a boundary in his customary style, the vociferous Australian contingent are dancing in the isles. Next over, big Freddie Flintoff comes steaming in and unleashes his 90 mile-an-hour thunder ball to uproot Ponting’s middle stump. The “Barmy Army” goes cock-a-hoop.

Fancy the scene of a boisterous crowd, teams studded with a bevy of stars and the prospect of yet another cracker-jack of a match. You just can’t ask for anything more sitting around your poor old tube. However, if there’s anything that can play the spoilsport, it’s the thought of the upcoming term examinations hovering at the back of mind.

I cannot speak about others but I have got this uncanny ability to synchronise my passion for cricket with the duties of a student. Be it Lara’s marathon innings to set the world record of 400 runs or the belligerence of Gibbs taking the Protease to an epic victory over England. Be it the ICC World Cups, enthralling Ashes series or riveting Indo-Pak clashes. I’ve always experienced all the drama and excitement with one hand on my course book and the other on the remote control. Surprisingly, not once have I failed to do justice to my academic credentials.

Thoughts of exams keep whizzing through my head, but I also cannot stop myself from admiring sight of Afridi pulverising the helpless Indian attack on a placid Pakistani pitch. Thought of presentation of the next day keeps haunting me, yet I somehow keep my cool watching ‘dope-free’ Shoaib Akhtar bowl those lethal bouncers. I always get captivated by Tendulkar’s class, Warni’s artistry, Murli’s magic and Jayasuriya’s flamboyance.

The ICC World Cup is only days away and I am all set to hone my cricketing knowledge even further. Even with my board examinations at hand, it is imperative that I rise to the occasion as all great cricket legends do.

Yet I rue the days like the one when my economics professor ambled towards me, my answer sheet in his hands. “Hey Danny! If ‘cover drive’ and ‘googly’ are economic terms, how come I never heard about them?”