More than a Game !

I woke up this sunday to the shocking news that the legendary coach Bob Woolmer is no more. As I reflected back on yesterday when I saw him perched on the balcony anxiously watching his indisciplined team being dismantled and at my vicarious pleasure that the Pakistan team lost to a minnow the same day that we lost to the Bangla tigers, the feelings turned into deep sorrow. As I frantically called some of my cricket afficionado friends and communicated this tragic message, their reaction was the same - a state of utter depression. Cricket as a sport often has a unique attribute of transcending nationality & race, this was one such occassion.

I scrouged every possible online resource for details, but I was met with the same news 'found unconscious in his hotel room'. My earliest memory of Woolmer, was seeing him buried behind a laptop coaching the Proteans. When critics called him a maverick or a geek to try to bring technology to the game, he shrugged them off with a year when the Springboks lost only 6 one dayers. It is indeed a great loss to the cricketing fraternity, and the circumstances under which it occured is sure to shroud the tournament in a blanket of gloom. Speculations will run rife till the autopsy results are revealed, but today I just pray that his family and friends find the courage to recover from this insurmountable loss. Here is a very poignant tribute by Osman Saimuddin.

Why don't people in the sub-continent understand that Cricket is a sport and not a religion ? Soon after the loss to the underdogs, effigies of all leading players were burnt in India and Pakistan. Special protection had to be provided at Dravid, Kumble and others residences to prevent people from pelting stones and dung at them. People who irately protested against Kaif' apalling performance in the last World Cup, were seen protesting this time against his non-inclusion - truly puzzling, isn't it?. Acts like these would potentially have a negative impact on the career of budding cricketers. The pressure is just too much on the coaches and cricketers to perform. Why can't we treat them like movie stars - Go watch their game, if you like 'em...but if they stink, stop watching their game or stop buying stuff they advertise. Do we ever throw stones at Govinda's house if his movie flops, or burn Amitabh's effigy cos his movie bombed? Ultimately we need to make distinction between entertainment and fanatisicm - and don't we all go to schools to develop virtues like these. It grieves me no end to see such tragic moments in the game and its truly been one of the saddest weekends in the cricketing history.

The events of the last few days have definitely been rather tragic, but that should not take the shine away from some of the brilliant induvidual performances. Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahman, the 17 year olds proved to the world that the future is bright for Bangladesh. On the other hand Andrew Botha & Neal O'Brien showed the fighting Irish spirit as they staged a perfect St. Patrick's Day massacare. Its a shame that the cricketing world was so consumed in launching a vicious attack on India and Pakistan, that they totally forgot to heap the deserved share of accolades on these minnows. These two events truly embody the phrase which aptly describes cricket - 'a game of glorious uncertainities'.

On the other hand, Gibbs demonised the Dutch with a world record 6 consecutive sixes. Ponting showed why he is the person to break Tendulkar's record, while the little master himself, finally showed a glimpse of vintage SRT as he adeptly piled runs on the hapless Bermudans. Then there was the great tied game, where Zimbabwe created hara kiri against the Irish. Flintoff once again displayed his immature behaviour and has rightfully been kicked off the next English encounter. Fame often comes with great responsibility - someday Freddie will learn. There are 6 more weeks left in the WC2007 and it will take a really brave punter to put his money on the winner. Ireland - Any takers ??