Cricket: Dhal new staple in changing city

Cricketers' lunch at Eden Park this week included meat, salad, bread, fruit - and a bowl of dhal.

The Indian vegetable dish could serve as a symbol of the new look for Auckland cricket.

When the Indian tourists played a one-day game against the Black Caps at the park last month, visiting commentators were impressed by the huge number of local supporters for the tourists.

But local cricketers were not surprised. This is increasingly the face of the game in the cosmopolitan city. Koreans play golf, Chinese play table tennis, Indians play cricket.

And they play it well. Twenty-year-old Jeet Raval, who emigrated from Gujarat four years ago (where he was an age-group representative but as a bowler), scored 256 for Auckland on the outer oval in only his third first-class game.

Left-arm spinner Roneel Hira has been a key member of the one-day team for a couple of seasons, Tarun Nethula has shown that his leg-spin can dismiss the best and off-spinner Bhupinder Singh is awaiting his chance. Raval and Nethula are both in the Auckland team to contest the State Championship final against Central Districts.

Avoiding defeat in the match starting tomorrow at Lincoln's Bert Sutcliffe Oval will be enough for Auckland to claim the title.

Raval plays for the Suburbs-New Lynn Club in West Auckland, where Dev Soni and Ajaz Patel are regulars in the first team and Barrington Rowland is the coach.

Club stalwart Ian Donnelly, 40 years with Suburbs, has seen a steep rise in Indian players in the past five years.

"There've always been some but most preferred to play with their own clubs," he said.

"Now they're joining all the clubs and they are a big force in some teams."

Kaushik Patel, brother of former Black Cap Dipak, is high performance manager for the Auckland Cricket Association. Himself an immigrant from Africa via Britain, he sees the growth of Indian participation across the age groups.

He sees differences in approach to the game depending on the length of time people have lived here.

"A lot of second- and third-generation New Zealand Indians play club cricket and junior cricket to a certain level but their main love is hockey. The cricketers coming to prominence now have either come here from India or England with their families or been born here to recent immigrants who are steeped in the culture of cricket.

"We get loads of emails a week from people in India and Pakistan wanting to come and play here because politics won't allow them to play," said Patel.

"Families that come from India have two things on their minds, education and cricket. Whereas for second- and third-generation New Zealanders, education is vital while sports are less so."

Raval's parents Ashok and Kalpana watched him bring up his maiden first-class 100 on the Eden Park outer oval and son Jeet had a special salute for them.

"I think they shed a few tears," he said. "They made a lot of sacrifices so that I could have the chance of a successful career and I owe them a lot."

Cricket is only part of his new life. He is studying commerce at Auckland University and hopes to graduate this year.

Raval is a strict vegetarian and suffered severe cramp in his long innings because he didn't drink and eat enough.

That dhal is likely to be a staple at Auckland cricket lunches in the years ahead.

State Championship final teams

Auckland: Richard Jones (captain), Jeet Raval, Rob Nicol, Anaru Kitchen, Reece Young, Gareth Hopkins, Colin de Grandhomme, Tarun Nethula, Michael Bates, Lance Shaw, Daryl Tuffey, Andy McKay.

Central Districts: Mathew Sinclair (captain), Brendon Diamanti, Bevan Griggs, Greg Hay, Jamie How, Peter Ingram, Michael Mason, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jacob Oram, Brad Patton, Ewen Thompson, George Worker.