Pakistan & Cricket

This sounds crazy to some, not to all, but winning the Cricket World Cup would help the nation.

Pakistan and cricket have always had  a love/hate relationship. We win some, we lose some (most!) but we love it no matter what. It gives the people a chance to escape their normal lives, full of sorrow and pain, and focus on something that the whole nation is anticipating. Sounds corny and totally unreal - let me explain further.

Shahid Afridi being embraced by team mates

Pakistan Cricket has some AMAZING characters - you have Afridi (The Stud), Shoaib Akhtar (The Bad Boy) and you have loads of others I cant be bothered to go on about. The average Pakistanis life is one of struggles and hardships. Food prices are soaring and the peoples worries are increasing. Their leader is a man that has no clue what he's doing. When they watch cricket, it's a chance to escape and take pride in their ailing nation. Most other cricketing nations will admit that the Pakistan Cricket Team is one that is unpredictable in the best of ways! We come back in games everyone's written us off in, and we lose games we're predicted to win. We have style, charisma and most importantly FUN on and off the pitch.We, the pakistani people, take great pride in knowing all other cricket teams respect us for the way we play our game. Finally, we have something that we can call our own. Our government does not own it, it can not interfere in it - IT IS OURS!

If we won the world cup the ENTIRE country would be united in celebrating a great achievement for the nation. The one thing they take absolute pride in, their team, would have finally put their country in the headlines with a positive story behind it, rather than all the tragedy that so often follows it.

I'm going to be honest, I was born and raised in good ol' blighty! I had no attachment to my parents country until I watched a cricket game in Year 10. The Pakistani team had character something I thought no one raised in Pakistan could have. We were on an international platform and actually respected for our game! Who'd of THUNK it! For me, it was something I could enjoy and connect with my country of origin without having to over think it or over do it.

Cricket is a gentlemen's game, there is no hooliganism unlike football. Whether your Pakistani, Indian, West Indian, Australian, South African, Kenyan etc when you play cricket your treated with equality. The best moment that sums this feeling up is when Monty Panesar (England Spinner) made his debut on the field, there were up to 7/8 English men with false beards and turbans on to show their support for him. It may seem like I'm stereotyping, but from my experiences normally that wouldn't happen.

England's James Anderson (L) and Monty Panesar (R)

I love cricket because it's truly a great sport uniting all the nations and giving those that are considered deprived or developing a chance to take pride in something home grown :) And lets be frank, Pakistan is the best team out there!! :P Teehee!!