Cottonian Shield: The school cricket legacy continues - DNA
The Cottonian Shield, hosted by Bishop Cotton Boys School, has been one of the most prestigious inter-school cricket tournaments for over a century. Right from the early 1890s, cricket matches between Bishop Cottons and St Josephs were the most fiercely fought in Bangalore's history of inter-school tournaments. With cricket taking centre stage in this school, it was not surprising that the principal John K Zachariah initiated the finals of the tournament to be held under lights.;I have been a cricket player myself and playing under lights is undoubtedly a different experience altogether. Cottonian Shield has been one of the most reputed cricket tournaments in the city and this time we wanted to raise the standard and what better way than to host it under lights, quot; said Zachariah. Located in the heart of Bangalore, Bishop Cotton Boys School, the venue for the tournament, was packed and wore the look of a carnival on Friday. With over 5,000 spectators comprising students, parents and curious on-lookers occupying the gallery seats of the stadia, the atmosphere for the seniors' final between the home team and Bethany High School was electrifying. Present at the venue to watch the final were former India wicket-keeper Syed Kirmani, Karnataka Ranji player Amit Verma and former Cottonian and state cricketer Prajwal Srinivas, and other several other former sportsmen from Cottons. ;For us, playing the Cottonian Shield was a great honour and back then the rivalry between Josephs and FAPS was at its peak; recalled Verma who was in the winning side of Cotton boys for three successive years;I still remember how Robin (Uthappa) used to come up with fabulous performances for Josephs and winning against them was always tough; he added. The school has produced a rich crop of sportsmen who have donned India jerseys. The most recent to play for India in the Under-19 World Cup, Mayank Agarwal, was the star of the evening during the junior finals and his appearance for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the previous edition of Indian Premier League seemed to have made him the most popular Cottonian cricketer as hundreds queued up to take his autograph. It's always great to come back to school and it's fabulous that my juniors are already getting the exposure of playing under lights. I think every cricketer in the city has played Cottonian Shield in their school days and that's how popular this tournament is; said Agarwal. With a history of a great sporting culture comes commitment and responsibility. Though the academic curriculum is demanding, Zachariah feels the importance of sports has evolved in the past decade and parents are keen on their children's overall development.;There's definitely more importance for children taking up sports and parents are open about the idea. Here at Cottons, our calendar is packed with events all through the year. After the cricket matches, all students will sit for unit test from Monday and no one will complain," concluded Zachariah. Photo Caption: Huge crowds made the final of the Cottonian Shield cricket tournament a grand affair.- Anantha Subramanyam.DNA