Reader's Connect 01: The Beginning, CFC Zine and Upcoming Projects

Hello reader,

It has been almost two years since I kicked off my journey with Cricket Field Chronicles. But it recently struck me that I haven't really connected with you to share my journey and vision for the platform that both of us have come to love and appreciate (I hope you do :P). So let's start with how this passion project came into being.

From playing in the streets and playgrounds of Delhi to representing my school and University, cricket gave meaning to my life. While playing cricket has been immensely satisfying, reading and writing cricket became equally fascinating for me over the years. 

I started enjoying spending time exploring the game from various other aspects. That cricket literature is so vast and unexplored became my driving force. Also, I wanted to create a platform that not just caters to match reports and statistics. But also gives the fans a chance to relive golden and nostalgic cricket memories of the past. One fine day I decided to take the plunge. And voila! Cricket Field Chronicles was born, with my first carousel post on Instagram, titled ‘Pioneers of Indian Cricket’. (This post will always be special).

I started out totally clueless and without any definitive plan. But the idea was to chronicle cricket in a way which has never been done before. 


What do I write about on Cricket Field Chronicles?

Cricket Field Chronicles is home to:

  1. Cricket history, including lesser-known and forgotten cricket stories

  2. Classic and contemporary Cricket Book Reviews/Recommendations/Summaries

  3. Cricket movies and documentary reviews/suggestions

  4. Personal reflections about latest happenings from the cricket world

  5. Cricket Fiction

I take pride in the fact that CFC has been able to offer such diverse content and expose cricket enthusiasts to the magnificent world of cricket literature. In such a short span of time, I have managed to write around 50 write-ups across categories on the platform. In case you haven't checked them out yet, please do it here.

It has been my attempt to find and curate the best cricket content for you. And not just this. I have been consciously making attempts to enhance my narration and storytelling skills to make the content more engaging and entertaining.

How can you become a part of CFC Family?

The journey till now has been experiential and rewarding. We are a small but dedicated community of 700+ cricket enthusiasts on Instagram. The carousal style storytelling has gained immense popularity among the readers. I also have a ScrollStack profile that will allow you easier accessibility to all my work at a single place and provide options to support my work monetarily. I am also active on Twitter where I regularly tweet my opinions, analysis and reflections on the latest happenings in the game.

I value the support each one of you has provided me over these past months. I have had the pleasure of getting to know some amazing people and dedicated cricket lovers through this platform. My interactions with many of you over Email/Instagram/WhatsApp have not only enhanced my knowledge of the game but also allowed me to make the platform more content-rich and useful. 

However, I still feel that I haven’t been able to take my work to the desired number of enthusiasts. Hence, a small request to you to keep continuing to share the content and spread the word about the platform as much as you can.


Update #1: The CFC Zine 01

On the completion of the first year of the platform, I launched the Cricket Field Chronicles Zine, in January this year. From my little exploration of cricket literature, I felt that there is an overflow of content, sometimes making it difficult for the connoisseurs of the game to find the desired and relevant piece of literature. I devised CFC Zine as a concept to address this specific problem of finding curated, contextual and meaningful cricket content at your fingertips

Carrying my labour of love, CFC Zine at 12,000 feet, amidst the mighty Himalayas.

The first issue is an eclectic collection of essays, short stories, original fiction stories, quotes, poetry and quizzes that no cricket fan should miss.

INSIDE THE CFC ZINE 01 (INAUGURAL ISSUE)

Men's Cricket Rewind 2021
  1. Highlight moments from the year gone by

Going Back In Time
  1. Cricket’s First Traces in India

Forgotten Stories
  1. Bedi’s Act of Revolt: The Vaseline Affair

  2. The Ball That Changed Contractor’s Destiny

Inspiring Figures
  1. The Legend of George Headley

Off-The-Field
  1. The Next Big Revolution: Fantasy Sports in India

Poetry
  1. India’s Gabba Win of 2021

The World Of Fiction
  1. Childhood Cricket: Of Innovative Formats and Playfulness

From The Shelf
  1. Review, Summary and Insights from Finding the Gaps by Simon Taufel

The CFC Zine 01 is available to download and read from the links below:

On ScrollStack:

CFC Zine 01 Inaugural Issue (PDF) - On Razorpay

CFC Zine 01 Inaugural Issue (Kindle Edition) - Amazon

I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I did creating it.

*Big Shoutout to those who downloaded the Zine and were grateful enough to even provide reviews and feedback.

Update #2: We have an official logo!

Cricket Field Chronicles finally has an official logo. The logo incorporates various visual elements which are an integral part of my cricketing philosophy. Bowlers are as much part of this game as the batters. And while the T20 format continues to look down on this artful component of the game, bowlers and bowling will always hold a special place in my heart. The timber getting disturbed reflects this thought brilliantly. The logo is also my attempt to pay tribute to my all time favorite bowler and someone who continues to inspire me - Dale Steyn. His iconic wicket-taking celebration is etched in cricketing folklore and shines out in the logo as well.

The logo will provide a distinct identity to the platform and help me stand out among the crowded content space.


What’s Next?

  1. Research is an important part of what I do at Cricket Field Chronicles. For the next few months, I will be focusing on strengthening the content repository by bringing interesting write-ups across categories on the platform. You will get to read a lot more cricket fiction and cricket book related content as compared to last year. My goal is to publish 100 write-ups by the time we complete two years.

  2. I look forward to developing Cricket Field Chronicles to be an interactive community. A safe space where dedicated cricket buffs can share their stories and interact with each other to share their mutual passion for the game. I am working on a few ideas to get this rolling. If you have any, please get in touch with me.

  3. These 'letters' will drop in your inbox frequently from now on, keeping you updated about everything that I am doing or plan to do on the platform. This, I feel will help us to connect and allow you to be an integral part of the growth of Cricket Field Chronicles. So make sure you are subscribed to my ScrollStack profile!

  4. CFC Zine 2 is also in the works. I am aiming to make it bigger and better than the first. You can expect the announcement later this year. If you are interested in being a part of the project in any form, feel free to get in touch.


That's it for this letter. Thank you for reading and staying with me till the end.
Do drop in a like/comment if you wish to read such letters frequently.

For questions/feedback, feel free to contact me on cricketfieldchronicles@gmail.com

You can follow me on Instagram and Twitter

Cheers,

Lakshit

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Lakshit Singhal

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I dig cricket literature to bring you unheard and lesser-known cricket stories. I also review and recommend classic and contemporary cricket books. If you are a die hard cricket fan who wants to relive the golden days and memories of cricket, please consider supporting by making a contribution of your choice. You can start by sharing the profile/content. Thanks :)

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Lakshit Singhal

Unheard Cricket stories, anecdotes, analysis and podcasts. I also review and recommend cricket books.