I’m Urvashi, from Calcutta, India, and a HUGE fan of Brett Lee. So you can imagine my disappointment when I realized that no match was being held in Calcutta. But I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I began begging my parents to let me visit my aunt and uncle in Nagpur for the match there, and more importantly, to meet Brett! Let’s just say a lot of hard work and pleading and promises went into getting permission. My dad wasn’t too happy about it, to put it mildly, but with my mom’s blessing I found myself on a flight to Nagpur on Saturday morning, the 23rd of October, confident that nothing and nobody could stop me from meeting him once I touched down on Nagpur soil.
And so it all began. Sunday morning saw me at the V.C.A. stadium, finding out to my very great dismay that the Aussies had already left. That evening, I went to the Pride Hotel where the teams were staying, only to be disappointed again. The players had taken an early dinner and gone to bed already. Fortunately for me, one of the managers there knew my uncle and he promised me that the next day he would try his level best to get me to meet Brett if there was even a hint of a chance that I could. That night I met quite a few Indian players, among them Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar, and Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz from the Aussie squad.
The next day, I returned to the V.C.A. stadium in the morning. After standing and waiting in the heat for about 3 hours, having seen both teams leave, I realized that Brett Lee had not even come for net practice that day!! However, I did get the autographs of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, David Shepherd and Matthew Hayden. I don’t think I will ever forget the sight of Matthew Hayden grinning at me from the back of his car with his white painted lips!
That evening (the 25th of October), I once again went to the Pride Hotel. The extreme security was making me quite nervous. I mean there were plainclothes gunmen there!! After about 40 minutes of waiting in the lobby and doodling his name in my notebook, I saw Shane Watson come down with another Aussie player I couldn’t see. Then the second bowler turned. It was him!!! I was paralyzed with shock. I drew in such a sharp breath that both of them actually turned around to see what the noise was and he actually stared right at me!!
The second they went into the restaurant for their dinner and disappeared from sight, my legs gave out and I had to sit down, my aunt at my side reminding me to breathe. But this was hardly the end…
The manager I had spoken to the previous day told Brett that there was this girl who had come all the way from Calcutta just to meet him and, miraculously, he agreed to meet me!!! He had gone back upstairs for something and when he came back down, I was waiting for him just inside the door to the restaurant. It was early and only 6 Aussie players were at the table, among them Ricky Ponting (at the head of the table...hehe), Shane Watson and Michael Clarke. The second HE walked in the door I started babbling like an idiot. Everything I had planned to say to him in my numerous daydreams came pouring out of my mouth. I wonder if understood a word of it!! But he was really sweet, giving me his autograph, letting me click a picture with him and shaking my hand. It suddenly hit me that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity- I had to make the most of it. So, I HUGGED him!!! I’m not even kidding. I did. And the other players seated there started laughing. It was pretty embarrassing, but not enough to make me regret it.
For an hour after that I was stone cold and shivering. I spent the entire next day at the match waiting for the players to get tired so that Brett would bring out their drinks. The second day of the match brought a pleasant surprise with Darren Lehmann injured (Yeah!!) and Brett Lee fielding instead of him. I naturally spent the entire day watching him rather than the action on the pitch. Not expected from an Indian supporter.
The next morning, on my flight back to Calcutta, I was reading my horoscope in the in-flight magazine. It said: “…A wish comes true….Lucky day:…25th..”
This story and accompanying pictures are used with permission from Urvashi. Please do not take anything here without the prior consent of the webmistress.
