Deep freeze

In 1955 India played their second-ever game in West Pakistan, at the Bagh-e-Jinnah ground in Lahore. They arrived amid much fanfare, especially since it was their first visit after partition. It's been fifty years, but greybeards insist that nothing much has changed. Under the British Raj, when it was called Lawrence Gardens, the annual Lahore Pentangular, a tournament held on communal lines, used to be staged here.

The ground still retains a pastoral look - different shades of green adorning the periphery; pickets giving it a park-like setting; the pavilion house picked straight from a hamlet. Unlike in first-class games, where spectators are allowed to sit behind the boundary line, the crowds had to endure standing all day, with close to 500 watching from behind the fences.

It's a tranquil sight. The crowd was usually quiet; the occasional boundary cheered before more calm descended. Two local batsmen are going at more than five an over but the peace was retained. No rhythmic clapping, no hooting. It was like two big football clubs battling it out in a school ground. But despite the security being beefed up, despite TV cameras stationed on the boundary line, there was very little that took away the charm of the contest.

Most of the crowd were swathed in woolens. We've had a couple of chilly days and the sight of Sachin Tendulkar walking out to bat, dressed like a puffed up doll, told a tale. Cricketers will tell you about the challenge of adapting to all conditions. But the hacks usually don't need to worry. Enclosed press boxes provide shield them against the elements, they rarely experience extremes, be it heat, dust or chill.

No chance of that here and around 5pm, someone switches on the deep frost. It's the time when the players have left the field and the start of a hectic period for journalists and photographers. Suddenly, the sun disappears, the temperature dips, the chilly breeze begins to bite and fingers start to tremble. It's in such times that the internet connection slows drastically, when saved files don't open, when one trips over wires. All you want to do is get your face in an oven but what you get is – "Action canceled. The page might be temporarily unavailable."

The only consolation came while reading the papers this morning: yesterday was one of the coldest days in Lahore's history.