What Gully Cricket Taught Me About Teamwork and Leadership
A tennis ball, a broken bat and a street full of rules. The leadership and teamwork lessons I first learned in gully cricket still guide me at work today.
Before IPL, before big screens and fantasy teams, there was gully cricket. A tennis ball wrapped in tape, a bat with a crack held together by nails, three bricks for stumps, and a street full of rules that only our gang understood.
Many years later, sitting in office meetings, I keep realising that some of my best lessons about teamwork and leadership were learned right there on that street.
🏏 1. Everyone Gets a Chance
In our gully, the youngest kid also batted. Maybe he got “one-pitch catch out” rules or an extra life, but he played. Nobody was left sitting on the side forever.
At work: good teams give everyone a chance to contribute, especially new members. Confidence grows only when people get to play.
🤝 2. Rules Are Agreed, Not Imposed
Hit the neighbour’s window — out. Ball into the drain — out, and you go fetch it. Over the wall — six and out. We argued about these rules, but once agreed, everybody followed them.
At work: rules that the team helped create are respected far more than rules dropped from above.
🧢 3. The Captain Serves the Team
Our best captain wasn’t the best batsman. He was the one who made sure the teams were fair, who bowled when nobody wanted to, and who calmed down the fights. Leadership was about the team, not about him.
At work: real leaders take the difficult overs and share the credit.
🧮 4. Make the Most of What You Have
No proper ground? Use the street. No stumps? Use bricks or a chair. Only five players? One-side batting. We never waited for perfect conditions.
At work: projects rarely have perfect budgets, tools or timelines. Teams that adapt and play anyway are the ones that deliver.
😤 5. Losing Is Part of the Game
We lost matches, we lost balls, sometimes we lost arguments with angry neighbours. But we came back the next evening. Nobody stayed sad for long.
At work: failures are just one match. Learn, laugh about it, and play again tomorrow.
🧡 6. Respect Off the Field Too
After every fight about a doubtful LBW, we still shared snacks, walked home together and played again the next day. The friendship was bigger than the game.
At work: disagree on ideas, never on respect. Colleagues who can argue and still have lunch together build the strongest teams.
“Gully cricket had no umpire, no trophy and no prize money — yet it taught us fairness, courage and friendship.”
✨ Go Play Again
If you get a chance this weekend, pick up a bat with your kids or your old friends. Play on the terrace, in the park, anywhere. You may find that the game still has a few lessons left to teach you.
Software engineer by skill, storyteller by soul. I write about life, health, money and technology from my own experience — and build free tools you can use every day.
