Square Drive
Test Star
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2011
- Runs
- 37,660
I posted this in another thread, but I really believe it needs its own thread.
As I sit in my room - bored because of the lack of cricket, and wondering when normalcy will be restored in the cricketing world as well as in life a whole - I think about how although the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted cricket, cricket can in turn impact COVID-19 back, and thereby defeat it. Even though sports are the last thing on anyone's mind at the moment, I really believe we can use cricket and its teachings to defeat this pandemic collectively. Firstly, cricket is and has always been a gentleman's game. In spite of all the competition, we've seen countless moments on and off the field that have restored this belief. For instance, we've seen the entire cricketing fraternity come together, halt play, and mourn Philip Hughes's death together. We've seen Grant Elliott extend his hand out to Dale Steyn in a game as important as the 2015 CWC semi-final, right after winning his nation the game. Instead of celebrating and going wild, he made sure to include Steyn and ensure he has his chin up walking off the field. We've also seen Indian and Pakistani players - bitter rivals for decades - tie each others shoelaces on the field, fix each other's cramps on the field, share light-hearted moments, etc. We've heard about several similar off-field moments i.e. NZ players enjoying drinks with the Englishmen after that CWC 2019 final. Each of these instances highlight the spirit of cricket, and show that humanity comes first - before country, religion, ethnicity, or any of that. I believe this is what we need to implement in society as well. The likes of Shahid Afridi, Ahmed Shehzad etc. have already set a prime example by going door-to-door themselves and distributing ration to the poor. Just recently, Afridi distributed goods to minorities, showing that humanity comes first in such delicate times, putting religion etc. aside. The likes of Rumman Raees have also been involved in good work and have auctioned their CT17 equipment, while Babar Azam, Azhar Ali etc. have announced donations. I’m sure cricketers from other countries have done the same. We must all take inspiration from this and contribute to society in whatever way we can in these testing times, keeping the interests of humanity at large in mind. If we want to announce our donations to inspire others (and have a clean intention), then fair enough - but doing it privately would be good too (and probably better), IMO.
Cricket also encourages teamwork, and is a sport where you need multiple contributions from team members to get over the line. We've seen games with brilliant individual performances go in vain; on the other hand, we've seen games with no standout individual performances, but several members chipping in with moderate performances and winning the game as one unit. At the end of the day, to be a top team, you need a few world-class players surrounded by supporting players. As we fight this pandemic, we each know how capable we are financially, and how much we can do for society. While celebrities and the wealthier individuals (which some of us fortunately are) are able to do more and put their influence to good use - inspiring others in the process - I believe the rest of us should try to play the supporting role as much as possible, and donate/distribute food and other necessities as much as we can. One individual donating $500 to one place is good, but what's perhaps more effective is if 10 individuals collaborate and donate $50 to 10 different neighbourhoods, and spread the outreach that way (with the $ amounts just being an example). But the point is, we must work together.
Lastly, cricket teaches us to never give up, no matter what the situation. If Imran Khan and his men gave up in 1992, Pakistan wouldn't have won that WC. If Carlos Brathwaite gave up before that last over, he wouldn't have smacked consecutive sixes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. If Pakistan gave up after the spot-fixing scandal or even the 2009 attacks, we wouldn't have a competitive Pakistan side today that is now hosting international cricketers and teams regularly once again, Alhamdulillah. In fact, hosting cricket in Pakistan was a result of the cooperation of players/teams/boards around the world, their willingness to help Pakistan out, and the PCB's hard work - teamwork at its finest. It just shows that if everyone works together, anything can be countered. As Imran Khan says - we as humans have effort and intention in our control; success is in God's control. We have to do whatever we can though, in our capacity, and help humanity in these times regardless of where we're from. Yuvraj and Bhajji endorsed Afridi's foundation, which is doing great work - credit to them for that. But they mustn't receive backlash for that at all. It's about putting egos, nationalism, etc aside and just helping as many people as we can out, putting humanity's interests on top.
For any sort of competitive cricket to resume, we must fight and try to end the pandemic together in whatever capacity we can, using what cricket teaches us. I suggest we first help those around us i.e. those in our neighbourhood, and then expand outwards, depending on what we can each do with our own resources. If everyone reading this takes responsibility for those around them, we can help so many people and can collectively work towards ending this pandemic. Not only will this hasten the process of resuming normal life (which really is the most important goal here), but it will also hopefully see cricket resuming sooner rather than later. It's the least we can do sitting in the comforts of our home, with the extra time we have. On top of that, Ramadan is around the corner so there is no better time to do something charitable for the benefit of our humanity, as we will be asked one day what we did with our belongings and wealth.
As residents of the most popular, well-known cricket forum online, almost all of us joined PP with one thing in common - our interest in cricket. Therefore, I think this post really appeals to all of us, and shows how we can use what cricket has taught us to battle this pandemic. Let's fight this together - we can do it!
As I sit in my room - bored because of the lack of cricket, and wondering when normalcy will be restored in the cricketing world as well as in life a whole - I think about how although the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted cricket, cricket can in turn impact COVID-19 back, and thereby defeat it. Even though sports are the last thing on anyone's mind at the moment, I really believe we can use cricket and its teachings to defeat this pandemic collectively. Firstly, cricket is and has always been a gentleman's game. In spite of all the competition, we've seen countless moments on and off the field that have restored this belief. For instance, we've seen the entire cricketing fraternity come together, halt play, and mourn Philip Hughes's death together. We've seen Grant Elliott extend his hand out to Dale Steyn in a game as important as the 2015 CWC semi-final, right after winning his nation the game. Instead of celebrating and going wild, he made sure to include Steyn and ensure he has his chin up walking off the field. We've also seen Indian and Pakistani players - bitter rivals for decades - tie each others shoelaces on the field, fix each other's cramps on the field, share light-hearted moments, etc. We've heard about several similar off-field moments i.e. NZ players enjoying drinks with the Englishmen after that CWC 2019 final. Each of these instances highlight the spirit of cricket, and show that humanity comes first - before country, religion, ethnicity, or any of that. I believe this is what we need to implement in society as well. The likes of Shahid Afridi, Ahmed Shehzad etc. have already set a prime example by going door-to-door themselves and distributing ration to the poor. Just recently, Afridi distributed goods to minorities, showing that humanity comes first in such delicate times, putting religion etc. aside. The likes of Rumman Raees have also been involved in good work and have auctioned their CT17 equipment, while Babar Azam, Azhar Ali etc. have announced donations. I’m sure cricketers from other countries have done the same. We must all take inspiration from this and contribute to society in whatever way we can in these testing times, keeping the interests of humanity at large in mind. If we want to announce our donations to inspire others (and have a clean intention), then fair enough - but doing it privately would be good too (and probably better), IMO.
Cricket also encourages teamwork, and is a sport where you need multiple contributions from team members to get over the line. We've seen games with brilliant individual performances go in vain; on the other hand, we've seen games with no standout individual performances, but several members chipping in with moderate performances and winning the game as one unit. At the end of the day, to be a top team, you need a few world-class players surrounded by supporting players. As we fight this pandemic, we each know how capable we are financially, and how much we can do for society. While celebrities and the wealthier individuals (which some of us fortunately are) are able to do more and put their influence to good use - inspiring others in the process - I believe the rest of us should try to play the supporting role as much as possible, and donate/distribute food and other necessities as much as we can. One individual donating $500 to one place is good, but what's perhaps more effective is if 10 individuals collaborate and donate $50 to 10 different neighbourhoods, and spread the outreach that way (with the $ amounts just being an example). But the point is, we must work together.
Lastly, cricket teaches us to never give up, no matter what the situation. If Imran Khan and his men gave up in 1992, Pakistan wouldn't have won that WC. If Carlos Brathwaite gave up before that last over, he wouldn't have smacked consecutive sixes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. If Pakistan gave up after the spot-fixing scandal or even the 2009 attacks, we wouldn't have a competitive Pakistan side today that is now hosting international cricketers and teams regularly once again, Alhamdulillah. In fact, hosting cricket in Pakistan was a result of the cooperation of players/teams/boards around the world, their willingness to help Pakistan out, and the PCB's hard work - teamwork at its finest. It just shows that if everyone works together, anything can be countered. As Imran Khan says - we as humans have effort and intention in our control; success is in God's control. We have to do whatever we can though, in our capacity, and help humanity in these times regardless of where we're from. Yuvraj and Bhajji endorsed Afridi's foundation, which is doing great work - credit to them for that. But they mustn't receive backlash for that at all. It's about putting egos, nationalism, etc aside and just helping as many people as we can out, putting humanity's interests on top.
For any sort of competitive cricket to resume, we must fight and try to end the pandemic together in whatever capacity we can, using what cricket teaches us. I suggest we first help those around us i.e. those in our neighbourhood, and then expand outwards, depending on what we can each do with our own resources. If everyone reading this takes responsibility for those around them, we can help so many people and can collectively work towards ending this pandemic. Not only will this hasten the process of resuming normal life (which really is the most important goal here), but it will also hopefully see cricket resuming sooner rather than later. It's the least we can do sitting in the comforts of our home, with the extra time we have. On top of that, Ramadan is around the corner so there is no better time to do something charitable for the benefit of our humanity, as we will be asked one day what we did with our belongings and wealth.
As residents of the most popular, well-known cricket forum online, almost all of us joined PP with one thing in common - our interest in cricket. Therefore, I think this post really appeals to all of us, and shows how we can use what cricket has taught us to battle this pandemic. Let's fight this together - we can do it!
