Cricket Anyone? India vs Australia

Madiha hadn't really bought a lot of food, as she had no idea what she was going to cook, or even if she was going to cook, but thought it was a subtle way to invite him back to her apartment. She wondered if that was also his intention. "Thanks, that would be great. I'm still having problems with the door lock," she lied.

Russ grabbed her shopping from the rear and followed Madiha to her apartment. She faked fumbling with the lock, swore, then opened the door, "And this is my home for the next three months!"

Russ walked in and looked curiously around. It was a typical cookie-cutter apartment used for short term rentals. His was very similar, but Madiha had a much better view of the bay. He placed her shopping on the kitchen bench. "Nice place. Raspberry Infotech must really think a lot of you to stump up the cash, sorry, pay for this place," He turned and gave her a quick wave, "I have to go. I'm back in the office Wednesday, then away until the weekend. I'd like to catch up with you for lunch when I'm back. Just to see how you're going. If you want. You don't have to if you're busy..." his voice trailed away as he stammered the last part of his question.

"I'll make time," Madiha said firmly, "I'd love to meet you for lunch. I'll see you Wednesday. And thanks again. Do you do this for all the lost souls you meet?"

"Only the good looking ones," Russell realised what he had blurted out, and turned as red as his hair, "Bye Madiha. Don't work too hard."

Madiha watched him scuttle out of the apartment. She scratched her head, amused at his embarrassment. 'Don't work too hard. That's the second time someone has said that to me. Must be an Aussie thing.' She went to the kitchen to put her shopping away and make a cup of tea.

Madiha was awake early Monday morning. Nerves had started to kick in again, so even though she had a restless night her adrenaline was starting to flow. She had a shower and some toast, then dressed in her hopefully Australian-appropriate business attire. A final check in the mirror and she quickly left for the tram. The contrast between the barren weekend and a workday was amazing. There were still fewer people around than there would be in a similar location in Bangalore, but it was reasonably busy.

She waited at the tram stop along with a few others, and soon a tram glided up. She stepped on, feeling a bit odd not paying for her trip. She had checked. It definitely was free. Russ had told her which tram she needed to catch. "Check the number. You don't want to wind up out the back of Woop Woop - bloody hell. Somewhere you don't want to be."

Her stop arrived, and she stepped off. A large number of people were funnelling their way to their offices. She joined the flow, high heels clicking on the footpath. Madiha looked at the crowd milling around the cafe on the ground floor of the Raspberry Infotech building. It looked like a popular place for breakfast. Coffee was very much in demand. It wasn't her favourite drink, but it smelled nice. She kept heading towards the elevators and went up to the Raspberry Infotech reception area.

A young woman dressed in the corporate Raspberry Infotech style greeted her at the reception desk. "Good morning, welcome to Raspberry Infotech. How can I help you?" she brightly asked.

"Good morning. I'm Madiha Argawal from the Bangalore office. I'm here to set up the new system and carry out the staff training."

As soon as she mentioned her name, all the blood drained out of the receptionist's face, "You're... Oh sh... sugar. Umm, I think we may have made a mistake. We thought you were landing today. Please take a seat. I'll get the office manager."

Madiha was actually amused at the receptionist's discomfort at the obvious fuckup. The disaster made her meet someone refreshingly different and led to a great introduction to Aussie culture. It was 'No worries.' She furrowed her brow. That didn't sound right.

A tall Indian gentleman burst out of the office, hands held out wide as if he was pleading for her forgiveness. "I am so sorry Ms Argawal. There was a mix up in the emails. The driver thought you were arriving at the airport today, not starting at the office today. Please accept my sincere apologies. I hope you weren't inconvenienced too much by our mistake."

The formality of the apology from Virat, the Melbourne office manager, was unexpected. Madiha wondered how much of the error was actually his. She waved one hand to stop his apology. "It's no worries Virat. I realised something was wrong and took a taxi. I found a shop and a restaurant, so it's ok. If you have a trolley I can use I'll collect my materials from downstairs, and I'll be ready to start." She didn't think mentioning her meeting with Russell on her first day would be seen as a positive thing in the traditional Indian business.

Later that day she sent Russell a text from her new Australian issued phone number. 'Hi Russ, it's Madiha. This is my new number. I'll see you Wednesday at noon for lunch in the cafe in my building. Bye!'

Russell was deep into tracing a particularly irritating intermittent fault when his phone went 'Ping!' Annoyed, he stopped and opened his phone but broke into a huge smile when he saw who the message was from. He sent back the 'Cool' emoji and a thumbs up.

"Whatcha grinning at Rusty?" asked his offsider.

"Nothing much, Boof. Tell you what though, I really can't suss out this piece of shit. You reckon we could get away with just getting a half stick of geli and blowing the shit out of it?"

"Sounds like a plan," laughed Boof.

Wednesday couldn't come fast enough for Russell. Madiha, on the other hand, was getting to grips with her new team and surroundings. Thoughts of lunch with Russell flicked in and out of her consciousness, but she had to push them to one side so she could concentrate on her primary task. And it was getting bigger all the time. She was glad they had scheduled three months for the implementation and training. They were going to need every single day.

Tuesday was intense, so that night she decided to relax back on the couch in her nightwear and sip a vodka cruiser. It was the closest she could find to the rum Breezers she liked. An old Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals match was on the cricket channel, and one of the Royal's bowlers was a tall, red-headed Englishman by the name of Ben Stokes. Apart from the tattoos on his arms and the beard, he had an uncanny resemblance to her white knight.

Her white knight... She relaxed more onto the couch. It was very comfortable, and it had been a long day. Madiha had watched the game before but it was interesting with different commentators. Plus, she liked watching the players. Another sip... It didn't seem as potent as the Indian version. Very easy to drink. Ben's first over came up. The commentators talked about his averages, his nightclub incident, and the crowd. Madiha took another longer drink and watched him vigorously polishing one side of the ball on the right side of his crotch. Exactly the same colour and location of the stain Russ had on his pants the first time she saw him.

She looked at the bottle. Empty. She stood up and grabbed another out of the refrigerator. Ben was racing in to bowl and dropped it in short. The batsman shuffled back and blocked the rising ball. Madiha relaxed back on the couch, one leg up against the backrest, the other down across the seat. It was very comfortable and set just in the right position to watch TV. Ben was walking back to his mark, rubbing the ball hard against his dick and polishing it with his spittle.

'I'd love to watch Russell do that to his balls,' she sighed, taking another mouthful of the sweet drink. 'I'd let him polish me any day as well.'

Ben ran in again and sent one down the leg side. The batsman had been warily watching it and flicked it down to fine leg for four. Ben was not happy.

"Come on Ben, put it on his toes," murmured Madiha, forgetting she was supporting the opposition. She intently watched the redhead finish his first over, then jog down to long on. Three more overs went by, along with her drink. She looked at the empty bottle in surprise, then got another. Ben was sweating. He wiped his arm across his forehead, then dried it on his backside. More polishing the ball. Madiha licked her lips as the camera swung around behind him as he charged in. He had a cute ass. Russell had a cute bottom as well, from what she could blurrily remember. Another drink, this time a long swallow. She sat up to watch his action. So fluid. So precise. So... Determined.

Madiha was starting to feel very warm. She sat back on the couch and exhaled slowly. She felt itchy. Probably the heat. She shuffled herself on the cushions and her legs fell open again. 'God I'm tired. Glad they have Uber Eats here. I wonder what Russ is eating.' An image of him eating her pussy floated into her mind. She closed her eyes, and she carefully placed the open bottle on the floor. She laughed, 'He did say he liked eating Indian.'

The hand that had been holding the bottle went to find something else to hold, creeping under her top to her breast. The other decided it wanted to feel something moist, so it slid under the waistband of her pyjamas and found a very damp place. She sighed in relief as her subconscious took control. She was only slightly aware of what was happening on the television, but it was enough to help her imagination. Madiha foggily watched the game, Ben bowling his medium-fast from one end, a leg spinner at the other.

"HE'S OUT!!! WHAT A CATCH!!!" screamed the commentator, jolting her back to reality. The boob hand had been roughly pulling and squeezing one nipple, and the other had launched two fingers into her leaking vagina. She sat up quickly, and the room decided to spin.

"Oh, fuck. I'd better stop drinking and go to bed," Madiha muttered as the room slowly returned to normal. She picked up the bottle and emptied the remaining contents into the sink, turned off the TV, and weaved her way to the bedroom. "Those drinks are dangerous."

Now it was Wednesday, Madiha was getting excited to see Russ again. She caught the lift down to the ground floor and stepped out of the lift with the memory of last night resurfacing. 'I don't really know Russ. Why would I be having those thoughts about someone I just met?' she wondered.

Her subconscious just laughed, "The bus, a BBC in Omaha, Air France..."

'Shut up!' she scolded it. She didn't need to be reminded about her one night stands with total strangers, particularly by her own mind. Madiha looked around the ground floor area and spotted Russell leaning against a concrete column. He stood out with his bright red hair and the fluorescent orange safety shirt he was wearing.

Russell, though, didn't recognise Madiha. She was wearing a dark blue pinstriped jacket and knee-length skirt, two-inch heels, and large gold hoop earrings. Her hair was down in loose curls, and her face had been lightly touched with makeup.

"Hi Russ, how are you?"

Russell jumped with a start when Madiha spoke, "Oh, hi Madiha. I didn't recognise you. How's it going? You look bloody good. Have you knocked this lot into shape yet?"

Madiha lifted a finger, "I'm fine. And thanks for the compliment. You look... Very bright. And what did I do?"

"Sorry. How is work? Are you getting things in place here?"

"It's ok. Some problems, but we'll sort them out. Anyway, lunch? My shout. We have a... errr... tab with the cafe."

They ordered lunch and Russ suggested they walk down to the waterfront. "So what are you doing?" Madiha asked when they found a seat. She looked out over the bay. It was very soothing, just watching the seagulls hover over the water.

"Trying to iron the bugs out of this new signalling system. It doesn't want to play the game. One of the other techs from the railway has cracked the shits with it, so I'm the lucky sod that has to sort it out." Russ took a bite of his pie. "Bloody hell, that's hot!"

Madiha laughed at him panting like a dog, trying to cool his tongue down. "I don't think your coffee will help. Here..." She handed him a bottle of water.

"Ta. Appreciate it."

They looked over the bay. Melbourne being Melbourne, clouds were rolling in. "What's the closest beach?" Madiha asked curiously. "It doesn't look like you can swim here."

"Yeah, nah, not really a good idea here. Port Melbourne round to St Kilda I guess. You can get the tram to either, but you'll need a ticket."

"Oh, ok," Madiha took a bite of her chicken salad roll.

"So what are you doing at night? Thinking of going swimming?" Russ asked.

"Yes, I'd like to, if the weather warms up. It's so unpredictable though. The weather is all over the place. Hot one day, raining the next. At night, I've just been watching television, and I found reruns of the IPL games. I didn't think they'd be popular here."

Russ chuckled, "Any sport is popular in Oz. Curling, darts, two flies wandering up a wall. I didn't think you'd be that interested in cricket to watch reruns."

Madiha just shrugged, "If you don't like cricket in India, you're treated like a pariah. Besides, I enjoy the... ummm... athleticism of the players."

"Which is code for you like perving on the players. Watching the players really closely." Russ corrected as she put up a finger.

"Oh, well, maybe I like watching an athletic man. Or men. Do their work..."

Russ watched Madiha stammer the last sentence and look down at the ground. He grinned at her, "Tell you what. If you want to get away from here for a bit," waving his hand around Docklands, "and watch some average cricketers play average suburban cricket, why don't you come out with me on Saturday? No pressure, no expectations. No one really comes to watch us play, but we have fun. And we have sandwiches for lunch."

He checked his phone's weather app. "Saturday looks good weather-wise. I usually hit the beach after a game. If you don't come to the game, I'd still circle back and pick you up, and go to the beach. Then we could do the Aussie tradition of feeding seagulls hot chips."

Madiha looked at a note on her phone and recited, "Mate, you lot are bloody weird. No worries." She smiled at Russ who was having a hard time not laughing, "That sounds great. What time Saturday?"

"How about eight? I usually get some breakfast on the way."

They agreed on the time and place, and they went back to their respective offices. Madiha looked at the weather app on the way. High teens on Friday, mid - 30s Saturday and Sunday. She grimaced. Melbourne's weather was strange. Just like the people.

That night Madiha was watching television while cooking dinner and found 'Bondi Rescue.' It was fascinating but she was glad Russ had advised against going to Sydney. There were so many people on the beach, and the water was so rough. She knew how to swim but only in smooth water like rivers or lakes. The surf looked too hardcore for her and she could see why tourists got into trouble. She did realise that her swimwear needed an update for Australia. Shopping needed to be done. Soon.

Madiha was waiting for Russ outside her building Saturday morning. She had purchased an all white outfit for the cricket - white linen shorts, a thin white cotton shirt unbuttoned to show her cleavage, and a white lace Victoria's Secret bra and panties set so they didn't show under the top layer. The outfit contrasted nicely with her light brown skin. And a nice pair of sunglasses and a hat. She had learned from her first day that these two were essential on a hot day, not just a fashion accessory.

"You look fantastic Madiha. You'll be the best dressed woman at the game. Mind you, you'll probably be the only one," Russ said, admiring his passenger. 'One week,' he thought, 'I've known her for only a week.' Sue had never come to his games. She thought cricket was dull.

They headed east and Madiha was surprised that the roads got busier away from the city centre. They stopped for breakfast at a small cafe whose owner Russ knew - a bacon and egg roll for him, a fruit salad container for her. Madiha couldn't really face bacon for breakfast. Maybe for lunch. She did try a cappuccino coffee. It was very nice. She thought she could be persuaded to try it again.

They arrived at his team's home ground, located in the middle of a quiet residential area. Madiha thought it was quite a pretty oval surrounded with large English trees that provided good shade for the non-existent spectators. Russ introduced her to everyone on both teams. Naturally, they were mostly of English heritage, but there was a mix of nationalities. All the guys looked curiously at her but were very polite to their only spectator. They did have a hard time dragging their eyes up from her exposed cleavage.

Madiha was surprised at her reception. There were a few young Desi men on the teams, and they didn't seem to care that she had arrived with Russell. Like the others, they chatted politely with her and was quite amazed she had only been in Australia for a week.

"You'll enjoy your stay, I'm sure," laughed Sanjit, a young spin bowler on Russell's team. "I miss home at times, but there's a really good community here. You should come to one of the Bollywood movie nights in Dandenong with Rusty. He'll love it!"

Madiha laughed and shrugged her shoulders. Their attitude to her was surprising. They had the relaxed Australian way that Russell and the Sikh Customs Officer had. 'It must be something in the water,' she thought, pleasantly amused.

Russell's team lost the toss and was sent into field first. He jogged over to her, "Them's the breaks. I had hoped to chat with you for a while, but never mind. I'll see you in forty overs. If you want, sit next to Les, the scorer. He'll talk your ear off about cricket, and..."

"COME ON RUSTY! GET THE LEAD OUT. YOU'RE OPENING!!!" yelled his captain.

"Coming!" Russ yelled back.

Madiha stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Take a hat trick. You've already bowled this maiden over."

"Ooooo!!!" went the other players, watching their kiss.

Embarrassed, Russ turned and ran onto the ground, nearly falling over as he tripped on the drainage ditch surrounding the oval.

"Geez Madi, whose side's you on? Don't break our star bowler!" the captain, Bruce called out. "Ok guys, let's knock this lot over so we can get to the pub early. Too hot to be mucking about."

Madiha stood by the boundary fence while the field was set. Russell went through some stretches and paced out his run up. He charged in and fired the ball just outside the batsman's reach. It slapped into the keeper's gloves.

"Good one Rusty! Five more of those," David, the wicket-keeper called out, clapping his gloves together.

Madiha watched his over, then he jogged down to third man. Madiha wiped her head and went to sit next to the scorer. It was starting to get hot.

"Hi," she said, sitting down in the shade.

"G'Day, Madi isn't it? Les. Nice to meet you," said the scorer, watching the game intently.

He was an old man, tall, broad in the shoulders and with white hair. He had piercing blue eyes and a deep, gravelly voice. He looked vaguely familiar to Madiha.

"It's actually Madiha. Nice to meet you," she corrected him.

"Leslie. But please call me Les. I'm Rusty's Pop."

Madiha looked at him blankly.

"Grandad. I'm the reason he plays here. I've been in the club forever. Used to be a fast bowler myself. Actually played a couple of Sheffield Shield games way back when," He flicked a glance at her while watching Sanjit's spin attack. "So, Madi, what brings you to our little piece of heaven?"

"It's Madiha," she insisted, then gave Les a quick summary of what had led her to watch a suburban cricket match in a town she had never been to.

"Well, you've had a busy week, haven't you Madi? And yes, I'm sorry, I know it's Madiha but I'm too old to break a habit. Everybody gets their name shortened or given a nickname around here. Unless they really, really don't like it. So Sanjit's bowling. They call him San, or Sanny. Russell, Russ or Rusty - because of his hair. Don't know where that colour came from. Me - Les, Leslie. The captain, Bruce, is Boof. Keeper is Dave, David, Davo. You get the picture? We're not being disrespectful, it's just a natural thing. You'll probably get called Madi or Mads from nearly everyone you'll meet."