Cricket: An Obsession

Far away from home, a lot of us who have migrated to other corners of the globe still feel roughly the same about cricket as we did when we were children. The word "cricket" to me can instantly trigger warm and happy memories of sitting long hours in front of the television with family and friends watching 50-over matches, snacking on fried peanuts or murukku, occasionally having turn the antenna manually to catch better TV signals, staying up nights, religiously watching and critiquing the outcomes of nearly every ball, feeling despair when things don't look too good, leaping with joy when sixes are hit or wickets are taken, sometimes biting away nails in nervousness, ears saturated with the loud music of papare bands or feeling the urge to play a game of cricket in the backyard.

This year, I followed the finals with my primary/secondary school mates on Whatsapp (an instant messaging service on phones). It's almost like sitting in my old and familiar classroom - only we are nearly in our 30's now! It didn't matter we were watching and discussing a match happening Bangladesh from all the way in Sri Lanka, Singapore, USA, UK, Norway, Switzerland or UAE at the same time, we were eagerly hoping for a win.

Luckily for us, Sri Lanka emerged the T20 World Cup Cricket champions of 2014!

The best men that day!

Image source: ESPNCricinfo

Wait, did I mention Sri Lanka is a cricket-obsessed nation?

It was a very memorable and exhilarating day since it took 18 years to win a glorious title such as this for a second time. And during those 18 long years, Sri Lanka not only lost four Cricket World Cup finals, but the country itself overcame a civil war that spanned over two decades causing insufferable damage to human lives, trust, respect, property and more. In a way, the country is still struggling to heal from the aftermath of that war. Which is why this victory was a pleasant diversion from racial tensions.

The last time I had this feeling was in 1996 when I was 11 years old and Sri Lanka won the Cricket World Cup for the first time. Sadly, this game is probably the only thing that unites the people of different ages, religions, races, genders, occupations and social status on this island under one flag. It's only during a tense cricket match will all these people forget their differences and sit together in front of a television with great concentration to support the same cause without distinction. At other times, there still is much distrust, dissatisfaction, fear and hate bubbling just beneath the surface.

Kumar Sangakkara, who some regard as Sri Lanka's best cricketer of all time (also known for being an eloquent, talented and grounded leader), said it better in his MCC Spirit of Cricket Lecture back in 2011:

".....But, while these would all be interesting topics, deep down inside me I wanted to share with you a story, the story of Sri Lanka's cricket, a journey that I am sure Colin would have enjoyed greatly because I don't believe any cricket-playing nation in the world today better highlights the potential of cricket to be more than just a game.

This lecture is all about the Spirit of the Game and in this regard the story of cricket in Sri Lanka is fascinating. Cricket in Sri Lanka is no longer just a sport: it is a shared passion that is a source of fun and a force for unity. It is a treasured sport that occupies a celebrated place in our society.

It is remarkable that in a very short period an alien game has become our national obsession, played and followed with almost fanatical passion and love. A game that brings the nation to a standstill; a sport so powerful it is capable of transcending war and politics. I therefore decided that tonight I would like to talk about the Spirit of Sri Lanka's cricket."

Another highlight to this match was that Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene - two of my favourite ex-captains/ cricket legends retired from the world of T20 cricket in style, despite being in good form. It was a good decision that'll make way for the younger generation of talent to move up the ranks.

The human race has engaged in various sports from the beginning of time. A sport has a great ability to merge human competitiveness with discipline and harmony. In an ideal world, instead of hate and violence, it builds character, unity and respect among the players. Often this constructive model projects outwards from the players in the field down to their supporters. Of course, we don't live in an ideal world and factors like human greed, corruption and political/financial interests have also fused itself with modern day sports.

While different sports bear significance to different countries, over time, this has often driven social change within its culture and its people. In some cases, it may have driven human rights reforms (or is it vice versa?) and we can now see non-discriminate participation from different races, genders and levels of physical abilities which in the distant past wasn't possible.