from cricketlogic.blogspot.com

It is a routine affair in India (and probably in most of the cricket
playing nations in the sub-continent) to handover gifts (in cash and
kind) to the groundsmen after a cricket match.
According to cricketlogic.blogspot.com, most of the cricketers,
whether at the college, state or the national level, have engaged in
this practice ever since they started playing outside their mohallas
(streets) and laid their spikes on a proper cricket field. This is
done majorly to reward the guy who comes to the ground at the break of
dawn, gets the rollers moving and ensures that not only the pitch but
also the outfield remains in top condition for a perfect contest later
in the day. Usually, both the teams contribute to reward him at the
end of the match irrespective of the fact whether the result goes in
their favour or not. Now, whether he ends up making a couple of
hundred bucks or thousands is a matter of pure luck.
According to cricketlogic.blogspot.com, Shiv Kumar, an electrician-
turned-curator, is certainly amongst the more blessed ones. He
reportedly got Rs ten thousand (about 240 US$) from MS Dhoni, the
skipper of the Indian cricket team, for providing a "result oriented"
track at Kanpur's Green Park Stadium, the venue where Indians
demolished Proteas in three days in the third and final Test.
The move has kicked off a debate in the cricketing circles since it
isn't a state secret that the playing strip wasn't good enough for an
inter-university battle, forget about an international match. Whatever
happened would now be part of cricketlore but is it justified to blame
Dhoni? The Jharkhand lad was quite naturally on a high after tasting
victory in his very first Test as a skipper. Wouldn't Graeme Smith do
the same thing if the Wanderers curator Chris Scott prepares a belter
of a track for Messrs Steyn and Ntini to rip apart a visiting team? Or
would such a hue and cry be raised if Ricky Ponting hands over a
Christmas gift to the guy preparing MCG wicket for the Boxing Day
Test? What does your cricketing logic says, asks
cricketlogic.blogspot.com.