CRICKET'S DEAD IN ZIMBABWE


watchin the icc champions trophy match between zimbabwe and WI on sunday was such a humiliating experience.!!i know im not from zimbabwe...but then cricket has no boundaries...we are all part of one world...that of cricket..!!but sunday's match....almost drives u to tears...donno why..!!
the same team which had greats like andy flower,grant flower and heath streak....looked ravaged and raped...!!andy left the team in the begining of this unfortunate series of events...starting from the stupid reverse-racist regime of robert mugabe...its a good thing 2 fight against racism...but how justified is it 2 murder art,culture,sports for the sake of ur whimsical political ideologies??
Good ol' andy....nvr the one 2 take injustice and arbitrariness of any form....Andy left..after some black-banded protests...on the field...and with him left all of Zimbabwe cricket's faithful soldiers...an era ended...Andy-the 1-man army who was in the league of such greats as Tendulkar,Lara & Waugh...was gone...cricket in zimbabwe wud never be the same again...!
Then it was Grant...struggling against his form..every 1ce in a while ...he wud make people feel..tht he was leading cricket's resurgence in zimbabwe...but poor form...got the better of him...and reluctantly he left..retiring to a life of anonymity.......!
Then came the death blow...literally...Heath Streak..hope and optimism personified...the large-hearted tuogh-guy of zimbabwe cricket...fast bowler,pinch hitter...someone you could always bank upon as a captain.....Heath desperately wanted to change things...he had hope...he didnt believe in escape..so he took-up captaincy...hoping to steer zimbabwe cricket clear of its current state of chaos,confusion and turmoil.....And he tried....everytime zimbabwe fought back...it was he lead tht fightback...nvr say no!!tht was heath..alone he wud fight....all alone...always leading from the front...hoping tht i day the others wud follow...poor heath...should have known better...it had 2 end...the struggle...the gallantry...the fightback...the sporting arrogance...it had to end...and end it did...
2wards th end...i mean the matches b4 which he retired..Heath looked so tired...so helpless...against a stupid selection policy aiming for an all-black team..!!he looked so sorry......after his gallant attempts to salvage some pride....wen he finally wud give up and walk back 2 th pavilion...every such occasion ...he looked as if he was crying blood...tired...very tired...not of physical exertion....but of helplessness....of hopelessness...as if he was saying sorry 2 cricket....deep humiliation and shame and the agony of team-failiure...burning vividly across his face..!!
it was like watching cricket dying...!!& then...he said no....he realised..he was fighting a lost cause...!!and cricket in zimbabwe took its last deep breath...the last ray of hope...the last flicker....had been put off...extinguished forever...politics won...art failed...defeated...battered...dead!!!
thats how cricket died in zimbabwe..!!
all...so different from Sri-Lanka...which is going through the severest civil crisis....ethnic-strifes,deaths,disorder.....life in Sri-lanka is dying a very painful death...everyday...but Sri-Lankan cricket is glowing...basking in the glory of veteran heavyweights like murali,vaas, jayasuriya and attapattu...and lead by ruthless warriors like sangakkara and jayawardene.....accommodating younsters in its fold.....cricket in sri-lanka is shining..!!
perhaps...the team...with its never-say-die spirit....reflects the mood and spirit of the people...the citizens...who have learned to live life in dire-straits....appear as if they wont give-up....and the cricket team seems to be deriving its fuel from this brave,steely spirit...of the people...!!i think its the sea....the sea with its unpredictabilities and its penchant 4 destruction....carves out stong....steel-hearted people....they have a zest for life and to preserve it....by all means....its not just about survival...its about survival amidst chaos....survival in the middle of hoplessness...eternal gloom...natural disasters wreaking havoc...its about survival & existence with a meaning....!!
this zeal to preserve life...against the forces of death...is what is reflected in the team's brave performances and the dramatic upsets that it pulls-off..!!!
so this...is how civil life affects all forms of popular culure...be it sports,entertainment,art...or anything else..!!
Two entirely different cases...2 poles of an ever-growing continuum....Zimbabwe....and Sri-Lanka..!