#421 - Cricket For The Crocodile

by Ruskin Bond and illustrated by Mihir Joglekar

“Cricket For The Crocodile” by Ruskin Bond and illustrated by Mihir Joglekar. Published by Penguin. A hilarious and unusual tale of a nosy crocodile who finds himself in the middle of a cricket match.

Ranji loved playing cricket. He and his friends were practising for a match with the village team. The boys in Ranji’s teams were all over from the town and sometimes joined by their fathers for games. Nakoo, the crocodile lived in the river near the village and was a regular spectator of their matches. He did not care about people and went on with his business of gliding in the river and  occasionally coming out on the riverbank to bask in the sunshine. He disliked the noise made by the cricketers. It was quite alarming to have cricket balls plopping all around him.

On the day of the match that Ranji had been waiting for, nosy Nakoo found himself being disturbed by the players. He decided to take his revenge. And it was no ordinary situation. What with him being shooed away once from the pitch and then being plonked by a ball on his snout. Would fifteen feet long Nakoo docilely watch the proceedings or add a dash of his own antics? Can the match be finished? Will Ranji and his teammates be able to win? Read the unusual and delightful tale by the master storyteller from the hills to find out.

My nine year old and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this charming book. What an imaginative plot to come up with by Mr Bond! The accompanying illustrations are delightful and bring the story to life. The nail biting adventure that Ranji and his friends have along with Nakoo kept us on the edge of our seats. We are fans of Ruskin Bond and love reading his books. My son had been thrilled to find this book and picked it up at the Funky Rainbow stall when we visited his old nursery school a couple of months ago. We had then forgotten about it and it lay unread till we found it one night and read it at bedtime. The entire story was savoured just before sleeping and we ended our day on a happy note!

Recommended Age

The book is apt for children aged 6/7 and above.

Reasons to Read

For a hilarious story that is bound to leave one in splits :D