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Viewpoint In praise of the civilizing obsession of cricket
By PETER WALSHE
Maybe it is the balance of terror --
the nuclear standoff -- that holds back India and Pakistan from full-scale war
over Kashmir. Then again, these two cricketing powers share a national
obsession, namely the standing of their white-flannelled warriors: those fast
bowlers, spinners, batsmen, wicket-keepers, slip and short leg fielders who
make up their teams.
It is not simply the diversion of national aggressions to the
greensward, to the battle of bat and ball. Could it be that C.L.R. James, the
West Indian classicist and Marxist, got it right when he argued in his book
Beyond a Boundary that Britain, as it industrialized, was insulated from
some of the nastier cultural depredations of capitalism by the civilizing
influence of sport, particularly cricket? Cricket, he believed, provided a
paradigm of an egalitarian society where cooperation, competition and the
celebration of individual prowess were played out within the rules of the game.
James also discerned a subtle sense of restraint -- of respect for ones
opponents and an unwillingness to win at any cost.
He was talking, of course, about those necessary prerequisites for
sustaining the common good. Such Jamesian thoughts came flooding back in
October when the BBC (TV) World News carried a story on the Afghanistan cricket
teams visit to Pakistan -- against a backdrop of harsh terrain, American
bombing and desperate refugees. The side was setting out to seek international
acceptance. Stage one was a series of club matches in Pakistan en route to
recognition by the Worlds cricketing control board. There on the screen
were the Afghans, decked out in their white flannels, bowling and batting with
considerable skill. Then came a break in the game. Both teams gathered
together, knelt facing Mecca and prayed.
Interviewed by a BBC correspondent, who reported that most sports
had been repressed by the Taliban, but not cricket, the Afghan captain
explained that his players had crossed the border into Pakistan leaving their
families behind. They had no fears for their safety: Wives and children would
be taken care of by neighbors. As for the war, they had lived in the middle of
conflict before, most recently against the Russians. Now, for these few days,
there were more important matters. We will play cricket, he said,
in any situation, whether we are being bombed or not. Pakistan had
invited them to play, they loved the game and he expressed the hope that it
would bring the youth to peace. Within a few years he anticipated
matches in Britain, Australia, the West Indies, South Africa and elsewhere.
We have the potential, he concluded. It is worth noting, in this
context, that the current captain of Englands cricket side is a British
Muslim, Nasser Hussein.
If the Afghan cricketers struck a poignant, perhaps bizarre note
in a news program dominated by Sept. 11 and the U.S. assault on their country,
they also offered a glimmer of hope for our globalizing world. Even as it
teeters on the brink of yet greater violence, networks of international
cooperation are being strengthened. These include the United Nations and its
agencies, nongovernmental organizations such as Medicine sans Frontiers,
Soccers World Cup and, yes, international cricket. Add to this recent, if
tentative, contacts between leaders of the great religions, and maybe -- just
maybe -- the next few decades will not evolve into a nightmare.
Peter Walshe teaches in the Department of Government and
International Studies at the University of Notre Dame. In a previous
incarnation he played cricket for Oxford University.
National Catholic Reporter, January 11,
2002
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