An eye for cricket

The weather here forced the abandonment of Pakistan v Sri Lanka World Cup match on Friday It has also left highlyacclaimed cricket photographer Patrick Eagar 75 a bit disappointed He was hoping to watch some cricket on his prized possession mdash the new Sky Sports network deviceI never had this before he says pointing to a remote on the centre table when midday paid a visit to his home in Richmond a quaint and affluent area in South London Eagar retired as a freelance photographer after the India v England Test his 300th in 2011 but the veteran photographer still has an eye for the gameSchool cricket his thrillSince giving up his jumbo camera lens Eagar covers cricket finals at the school level every year I look out for natural talent I love clicking pictures when the cricketer is young I still remember clicking pictures of Sachin Tendulkar when he was just 17 at the Indian Gymkhana here he recallsWIs Shai Hope who Patrick Eagar shot during a school competitionIn his search for some naturallytalented cricketers Eagar spotted current West Indian wicketkeeperbatsman Shai Hope when he had come to England on a scholarship for two years in 2012 Hope played for St Bedes school and took his team to two finals He was a class act He had that natural flair and I was mighty impressed with his skills And look today he is with the West Indian team He played well against Australia the other day says Eagar referring to Hopes four catches and 68 at Nottingham on June 6Age may have taken a bit of a toll on his memory but his eyes are as sharp as his camera lens He quickly glances to the ceilinghigh bookshelf and shows me some of his finest photographs From preserving his first photograph that he shot when he was just 13 to the number of books in which his photographs have appeared Eagar has them allHe points to the famous Vivian Richards pull shot that Kapil Dev managed to sensationally hold on to during the 1983 World Cup final at Lords This is a good picture but the essence and emotion is not captured he saysThat great final in 1975He remembers the firstever World Cup final between Australia and West Indies in 1975 framebyframe It was such an exciting match I have fond memories of that finalEagar enjoyed shooting Garry Sobers the most There was something special about himhellip that natural flair Although there were others as skilful and brilliant I liked shooting Sobers the most he saysIn this age of digital cameras multiple frames and the liberty to delete images as well Eagar delivered brilliant pictures in an age of film rolls Most of his pictures captured the action or a poignant moment of a match It was all about anticipation I had to concentrate for every ball We could relax only between the balls and overs It is important to watch every ball otherwise you would miss the moment he says What saddens him is that there is less emphasis on action pictures these daysIt could probably be because of what big newspaper organisations demand In the earlier days there was no grill on a batsmans helmet and we could see the face of the player Now with so much of protection for a batsman we cant see the face unless they remove their helmet and raise their bat Thats why we may be seeing mostly celebratory pictures he reasonsWith the World Cup fever slowly gripping England will he make his way to a ground on some occasions The answer is no Two hundred pounds for a ticket is quite a lot Although I am a member at Lords I will have to shell out around 200 pounds for a match which is way too much he concludes as I cant help looking at the Sky Sports network device on his living room table ndash its his tool to the cricketing window Great camera work which television coverage lends itself to notwithstanding to some cricket lovers there is no substitute for a Patrick Eagar imagePatrick Eagars unforgettable World Cup moments1975WIs Roy Fredericks falling on the stumps after hooking Australias Dennis Lillee for a six during the World Cup final at Lords It was an amazing moment in the game1975West Indiess Alvin Kallicharran taking Dennis Lillee to the cleaners smashing 35 runs 4444414604 in a 10ball over It wasnt much about the pictures here but all about the atmosphere To destroy Lillee required gutsEagar says1992The semis abruptly ending SAs World Cup campaign when Kepler Wesselss team were left to get 22 off one ball v England when play resumed after rain A foolish methodology to determine a revised target1996India collapsing in dramatic fashion against SL in the semifinal and Indian fans rioting at the Eden Gardens Match referee Clive Lloyd with Jagmohan Dalmiya awarded the match to SLPatrick Eagars classics from our filesEnglands Ian Botham makes his ground against India in World Cup 1983Mohd Azharuddin left in 1985 and Australias Rick McCosker in 1975Ozs Graham Yallop ducks a Colin Croft West Indies bouncer in 1978Ian Botham left in full flow and Greg Chappell against WI in 197576Pakistans star batsman Zaheer Abbas spotted in the stands in 197879Catch up on all the latest T20 news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates