11 years ago, I had the privilege of teaching a huge number of Indian and Bangladeshi students in their late teens and early 20s. Almost all of whom lived and breathed cricket in a manner I'd never come across before.
They all played cricket during lunch and in late afternoon.
They all played cricket during lunch and in late afternoon.
I organised a live stream of the India-Pakistan and India-Sri Lanka World Cup semi and final, and a match between the Indian and Bangladeshi students.
Which I umpired and made a bit of a mess of.😳 Some of my decisions were so bad, the Indians were accusing me of matchfixing 🤣
Which I umpired and made a bit of a mess of.😳 Some of my decisions were so bad, the Indians were accusing me of matchfixing 🤣
The whole experience left me with a heck of a lot more respect for officials in all sports: it's a bloody hard job, believe me.
When you get a call wrong and KNOW you've got it wrong, then unless you're a narcissist, you start second guessing yourself. Which leads to chaos.
When you get a call wrong and KNOW you've got it wrong, then unless you're a narcissist, you start second guessing yourself. Which leads to chaos.
But I digress. All these students were humble, but the Bangladeshis consistently most of all.
Many of them faced extreme hardship back home: probably the most densely overpopulated country on the planet, which floods so horrendously often, destroying so many lives.
Many of them faced extreme hardship back home: probably the most densely overpopulated country on the planet, which floods so horrendously often, destroying so many lives.
Their parents (the father of one of them, for example, had lost his business, and forbade his son from coming home to nothing) were desperate for them to make their futures in Europe, which several of them went on to do.
One in Italy, another in Spain, while another actually works for the Bangladeshi Cricket Board back home now.
All of them overcame enormous, mighty odds, the details of which I won't go into but horrified and moved me greatly, in order to succeed.
All of them overcame enormous, mighty odds, the details of which I won't go into but horrified and moved me greatly, in order to succeed.
So when I saw Bangladesh had beaten New Zealand, it was them I thought of. Some of the best people I've ever met.
Who lived in tiny flats in Oxford, six to a room; invited me to tea or to end the Ramadan fast with them, and who all loved their poor, benighted country.
Who lived in tiny flats in Oxford, six to a room; invited me to tea or to end the Ramadan fast with them, and who all loved their poor, benighted country.
Blood doesn't run through Bangladeshis' veins. Cricket does, in a manner scarcely paralleled anywhere else.
I'm toasting all those students this morning. The adversity they'd experienced and grace and humility they showed put most Westerners completely to shame.
I'm toasting all those students this morning. The adversity they'd experienced and grace and humility they showed put most Westerners completely to shame.
And the next time I'm in Europe, I'll be visiting one of them for sure.
He has a wife and son now, is one of the strongest humans I've ever known, and I couldn't be more proud of him. 🙏
He has a wife and son now, is one of the strongest humans I've ever known, and I couldn't be more proud of him. 🙏
Never underestimate what sport can do in giving people a sense of purpose and hope.
The achievements of the Bangladeshi cricket team lift their people up. I know how trite that might sound - but sport has the power to unite, inspire, and help people believe in something better.
The achievements of the Bangladeshi cricket team lift their people up. I know how trite that might sound - but sport has the power to unite, inspire, and help people believe in something better.
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