18 March 2007

It Ain't Cricket

In India, its religion. And cricketers are Gods. Prometheus is an aberration, an Indian who is not mad about cricket. And Prometheus suspects most of his readers are neither Indian nor crazy about cricket and are also not aberrations of any kind.

So why cricket? Well, its the World Cup. This one is every four years and there are more than two countries playing. Prometheus was the envy of his cricket-loving friends last World Cup when he won a trip to South Africa to watch two matches. He was nearly lynched when he said he saw a match at some place called Wanderers or some such. Apparently Wanderers the Holy is to cricket devotees what Monaco is to Formula 1 freaks like Prometheus.

Yeah, so why cricket? Three reasons:

  1. An Indian gent is willing to sell his kidney to raise money to buy a ticket to the West Indies. -- Radha already wrote about this --


  2. A company in Dubai will buy air tickets home for 11 Indian men freed from Dubai jails every time Sreesanth, an Indian bowler, gets a wicket. -- more here --


  3. Herschelle Gibbs of South Africa has become the first cricketer in the history of the World Cup (third in all of cricket) to hit six sixes in an over (that is a six each ball, the theoretical maximum). -- Though Sir Garfield (Gary) Sobers of the West Indies was the first one in all of cricket to do it and Ravi Shastri of India was the first Indian to do it --


  4. Bonus: Cricket is a matter of national pride. It is war. Specially in the subcontinent, people may forgive the Finance Minister for raising taxes yet again; but forgive a cricketer's boo boo at a crucial (each one is) juncture? "Snowball's chance in hell" is an understatement. It is quite common to inquire about the lineage of cricketers when they make an aforesaid boo boo. Sure, there are the World Series and the NBA playoffs and Soccer World Cup. To an Indian, Pakistani or Sri Lankan these are games. Cricket is THE GAME.

Right now India will be ODed on cricket. It is contagious. It is genetic. Did Prometheus say he is not cricket crazy? So when was the last time you took him seriously?

Go India Go, get the World Cup. Who the f... got that sonofa..... Sehwag to open the innings?

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6 comments:

Lizza said...

I am not willing to incur the wrath of Indians (including this blog's writer) by making heretic remarks about a game they hold sacred. Oh, excuse me... THE Game.

Even though said writer professes not to be a cricket devotee, I don't quite believe him.

Radha said...

Poor things, I'm sure thr houses are getting stoned today...still can't believe we lost :(

Yzerfontein said...

Glad you enjoyed your flight to South Africa (my home country) for the world cup...in my opinion Newlands is the home of cricket in South Africa...Wanderers doesn't have anything on it.

Herschelle Gibbs is a wild man - I love him - remember he also played a major role in South Africa's 438 (and he's the same person who accepted a bribe from Hansie Cronje to score a low score, promptly forgot about the bribe and went on to score high!!).

Prometheus said...

The Gods are happy with you Liz. The Gods of cricket, that is.

Radha, Prometheus is planning sacrificing the Indian team to some bubbling volcano. So that the next team wins. Wotsay?

Jumaale Yzerfontein, Prometheus loved South Africa. Though he only saw Jozi and Pretoria. He loved Soweto best.

H said...

you started out promisingly. Very promisingly, because I too dislike cricket intensely.

Intensely.

But I agree that the world-cup is a completely different thing all together. there's something about a world cup. though the last world cup that I really followed was in 96? or was that 95? anyhow it was the year that Shaun Pollock entered International cricket.

red hair, I tell you.

Radha said...

No I already feel bad for the guys...if I were to perform badly at work I wud get a bad bonus or maybe get fired...these guys; their houses get vandalised and their effiges get burnt...so life already is tough on them