For a cricket-crazy fan, it might only have been natural to head to Nasional, what with Vivian Richards, here as technical director of the Antiuguan side and India's Sachin Tendulkar present. Adding to the glamour was Indian actress Neena Gupta.

The King, Tuanku Jaafar, is a keen cricket fan and his son, Tunku Imran, is obsessed by the game that he came to like while studying in England. According to the locals, if cricket has been put on the programme, it is only because of Tunku Imran, who is also the President of the Malaysian Cricket association.

Cricket is a predominantly a Commonwealth sport, but it took 68 years for it to make its entry here. And when it did on Wednesday, with matches on five different grounds, it was India's match with Antigua that took centre-stage.

The King spent quite sometime watching the game. He even had lunch at the ground, something which the locals say is not a common feature. While he was there, the President of the Indian Olympic Association and Member of Parliament, Suresh Kalmadi, was seated beside him and he later expressed surprise at the King's knowledge of the game.

The Royals, according to some officials, have planned a private dinner with some of the top cricketers at these Games and Tendulkar, Richards, Steve and Mark Waugh are expected to be on the list of invitees.

On another king

Away from the King, Richards was catching up with some of his old pals, K Srikkanth, the Indian coach, who suggested that the maestro looked fit enough to have a go even now. That fitness could be a result of coaching assignments that Richards takes while teaching the Sultan of Brunei's brother's son, who also has Jahangir Khan as his squash coach. Trinidad-born Robin Singh spent some time with Richards before the rains sent them both scurrying for cover.

Genes and all that

Elsewhere, there was another interesting sight. One young man on his first trip with a full Indian team listening intently to Tendulkar. That was Rohan Gavaskar, reviving memories of the days when Tendulkar was starting out and his idol was Rohan's father, Sunil Gavaskar. Genes from Sunil and advise from Tendulkar. What more can a young cricketer ask for? Today he was not in the playing 11, but that day is not far.