It was with a broad grin and a touch of camaraderie that TA Sekhar, head coach of the MRF Pace Foundation called the press conference at the MRF house to a close on Friday. This time of the year is associated closely with the Buchi Babu All India invitation tournament. Ever since MRF took over sponsorship of the event five years ago, the pre tournament press conference too has become an annual fixture. The secretary of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), Ashok Kumbhat, said a few words, highlighting MRF's role in the event. "TNCA is grateful to MRF and in particular to its Vice Chairman and Managing Director KM Mammen (also one of the Vice Presidents of the TNCA) who very graciously and spontaneously came forward to sponsor this tournament," said Kumbhat.

Fifteen teams will take part in the latest edition of the tournament, with New Zealand once again providing the international flavour. It is interesting to note that the New Zealand 'A' side, led by Matthew Bell, has in its ranks 13 players who have already played international cricket. Of the squads already announced, the Mumbai Cricket Association side will field three cricketers with international experience including recent India discard Ajit Agarkar. The Cricket Association of Bengal, has Utpal Chatterjee and Laxmi Ratan Shukla who have both played for India. The TNCA XI is skippered by Robin Singh. This gives a fair idea of the quality of players taking part in the MRF Buchi Babu tournament.

But this is not something new. Former India captain and batting great Sunil Gavaskar always looked forward to playing in the tournament. Not surprisingly, for the timing is perfect. With the domestic season not yet under way, it gives players a chance to warm up to the sterner tests ahead. The only drawback with the timing of course is the fact that August often sees Chennai get a fair bit of rainfall. This has been a major worry for the hosts year after year.

"With the weather being what it is throughout the year, we need the rains," said a jovial Sekhar. "But I only hope it doesn't come down during the tournament and ruin our hard work," he added. Just recently, the MRF team, taking part in the Coromandel Cement Cup in Bangalore and Mysore were knocked out of the tournament by the toss of the coin after rain disrupted play. Sekhar is keen to ensure that the coin does not play a big part in deciding matches in the MRF Buchi Babu tournament. "We want to have as much play as possible and the toss of coin should come into play only when all other options are ruled out," said Sekhar. Along with former India opening batsman WV Raman, Sekhar has done his best to change the playing conditions of the MRF Buchi Babu tournament.

It was suggested that a bowl out be used to pick a winner if no play happened in a match. It was further suggested that a limited overs match could be played on the third day if the first two days were washed out. However, for various reasons, the TNCA has decided not to innovate. Play will consist of three days where a minimum of 95 overs is to be bowled in a day, spread over six and a half hours. The winners of the tournament will walk away with Rs 50,000 while the runner-up gets Rs 25,000.

If the weather holds, Chennai is in store for some high quality cricket. Last year's winners, National Cricket Academy, will be keen to make it two in a row, but there are plenty of teams waiting to stop them in their tracks.

Participating teams: National Cricket Academy, Indian Railways, Maharashtra CA, MRF, Hyderabad CA, Mumbai CA, Karnataka CA, New Zealand 'A' , TN Districts, All India Associate Banks, Indian Airlines, ONGC, MAC-TNCA XI, Jolly Rovers and Cricket Association of Bengal.

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