***Queen of Games***. Review on Cricket

For the Americans & Canadians, it’s a sports ‘cliché’; whose meaning is uttered in clusters as the clock ticks down or scribbled by coaches across the locker-room chalkboards before the big game. But for the Asians, especially the Indians, Pakistanis & Sri Lankans it means everything. It’s the reason we Indians breathe & survive, ready to make any kind of sacrifice to watch this staggering game. Oh yes!!! I’m talking about Cricket…….

Cricket is a game of uncommon, life-affirming beauty. When Herschelle Gibbs hits a boundary of his shoes or when Adam Gilchrist dissect 4 fielders on the off-side or when Sachin Tendulkar scores century against arch rivals Pakistan; we see in a glorious instant the wondrous capabilities of the worlds finest athletes. This game, we are reminded, is an act of creating peace & harmony through its curative powers.

But for the hundreds of millions of fans who watch Cricket matches from around the globe, Cricket is also more than a mere game. After all, a Cricket team is a vessel for the nations habits, aspirations, psychoses & strengths, triumphs & disappointments. For example: The Indian team is more than just a normal squad. They are 11-man embodiments of national pride & passion. And yet a Cricket match may be the only medium where national pride can be flagrantly, vividly manifest without diplomats being recalled & troops mobilized. Cricket is the only field where a Pakistani may grudgingly admire the Indian team play well against England or an Australian might nod approvingly at a New Zealander hitting the ball out of the ground. In this angry & uncertain era we need such Cricket matches more than ever.

Cricket is essentially a democratic game, it knows no class, peculiarity or distinctions & brings together on an equal footing the rich & the common people. It promotes the spirits of brotherhood & sportsmanship. This fantastic game has universal appeal. Almost everyone likes to play it or see it being played or hear the running commentary. Commentators like David Gower (Not Gowser), Geoff Boycott, Tony Greig, Harsha Bhogle & our very own Navjot Sidhu have changed the traditional meaning of commentating completely. Now it’s even more exciting & electrifying to hear them say “It’s a Huge Six” & “Clean bowled……..He’s got his man” or Sidhu say “They are like bicycles in a cycle stand - one falls down & the complete row will follow them!” I know how my heart rises when I see Sachin hit a sixer or how it sinks when Dravid goes off without troubling the scoreboard. A difficult run, a difficult wicket or a difficult catch makes thousands roar lustily & is appreciated by everyone. And there is nothing to beat the suspense & thrill of the last few minutes of a well-contested match, especially a one-day match.

Being fundamentally an open-air sport, Cricket provides healthy & energetic exercise. It makes the person keen-eyed, watchful, alert, sure handed & quick footed. good Cricketers like Jonty Rhodes , Ricky Ponting & Yuvraj Singh have enormous stamina, their limbs are strong & stout, their minds keen & quick, their movement swift but sure.

Unlike Tennis, Squash or Basketball; Cricket is basically a poor man’s sport. A person just requires a ball & a piece of wood to play this wonderful game. Boys in particular have a great affinity for Cricket that offers them immense delight. You, just cannot stop them from running into near by parks, streets or beaches to play this astounding game. It also helps to bring about a balance between mental & physical work, between work & rest.

Cricket has a wholesome moral influence. The true Cricket spirit is that of discipline, co-operation, selflessness, & fair play. The lesson it teaches is that one should love the game beyond prize but unfortunately our cricket players are attracted more towards money & endorsements rather than the game itself. Though, Cricket may be a national obsession in India, it is always surrounded with controversies. It started with the match-fixing charges against some of the top players of our Country & then Rajesh Chauvan & Harbhajan Singh were suspended just because their bowling action was considered illegal & now the players can’t make up their mind between their country & their endorsement contracts.

For Countries like Bangladesh, Kenya, & Pakistan whose national banks are melting down & the currency as leaky as a C graded Bollywood film, winning a Cricket matches is the only joy for these nations. Since Cricket is mainly played in the developing countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Kenya etc…it has not got the recognition what Football & Tennis has managed to capture for itself. But still Cricket is truly a great game & it certainly is the “Queen of Games”…..

Did you know: On Christmas Day 1848, Hannah Ingelback shot & killed her husband John, in the middle of his innings in a Cricket match at Strawberry Hill, Australia.