No Looking Back!!

I read a wonderful article today about Ewen Chatfield on cricinfo. For the not so cricket enthusiasts, Chatfield was a swing bowler who was Sir Richard Hadlee’s partner in crime during the dominant  New Zealand side of the 1980’s. He went on to play for over a decade taking 123 test and 140 ODI wickets. Stats that any budding cricketer would readily take if offered when playing for your nation at the highest level.  He was awarded the prestigious MBE for his services to New Zealand cricket. But that was over 20 years ago. What does he do now? Chatfield now is a taxi driver. Yes you heard it right. He drives a taxi. Good for him though, that he lives in a rugby fanatic NZ where cricketers could lead normal lives without cameras hounding them at all times. Imagine an Indian cricketer with 100 wickets driving a cab for a living.

It was 3-4 weeks into his taxi driver job that he was first recognised by a passenger.  He starts his day at 05:30 in the morning and as per rules and much to his displeasure is allowed to work for only 13 hours a day. Yeah!! Just 13 hours a day. He’s not your typical sportsman story who did a lot for the sport and the world just ignores and forgets him altogether and who would spend the last days of life penniless moaning about how unfair the world has to him.

Chatfield on the other hand is mighty thankful to what cricket has done to him. Chatfield is possibly best remembered for nearly being killed on the cricket field. He was knocked down by a bouncer from Peter Lever of Engalnd in his debut test. His heart stopped and he swallowed his tongue and only mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and heart massage by Bernard Thomas, England's physiotherapist, saved his life.  He considers his fortune just to be alive. He is every bit grateful that he got to travel the world, rub shoulders with the likes of Richard Hadlee, Martin Crowe and bowl to people like Gavaskar, Richards and Miandad. Since retirement in 1989 he has worked as a coach, a courier man, a salesman at a chip shop, a lawn mower and has driven a dairy van. He is now not in touch with any of his team-mates. He claims he doesn't get nostalgic and doesn't watch old tapes. He lives with his wife and family in Wellington a happy man, very happy indeed.

This story was very inspiring to me. The perspective I wish to throw is that most people find it so much easy to rest on the hard fought successes that they have achieved in the past that they expect those laurels to do so much for them in the future too. One develops an ego so huge which does not allow him/her to take a step back and one doesn’t move forward either. The optimism and confidence they exuded to achieve what they did eludes them totally. They get stuck there, crib and complain about how fate and circumstances have led them to the mess they are in. How easy it is to blame the system, the people who run it and the processes in place. So common it is to regret what we did or didn’t do in the past. So easy it is to screw your happiness and that of the people around you. Ewen Chatfield could have done the same. Instead he chose to move from one plane to another, not without difficulty or pain but what is so commendable is the optimism that keeps him going and isn’t he happy and content. Always with the belief that there was only light at the end of the tunnel, no darkness.