And now for the cricket...<\/p>\n
As The Jakarta Post rarely carries stories on the game of
\ncricket in its sports pages, I shall contribute some -- but for
\nthe letters page:<\/p>\n
* It is said the late American comedian Groucho Marx was taken to
\na cricket match and after 30 minutes of watching players in white
\nclothes moving with ballet-like movements over the green, was
\nasked how he was enjoying the game. \"Fine,\" he said. \"But when
\ndoes it begin?\"<\/p>\n
* It is the year 2007. On the BBC one morning, the newscaster
\nsolemnly announces: \"World War III has started. There have been
\nnuclear exchanges, and major cities are devastated. Whole
\npopulations are in panic on four continents: millions are fleeing
\nto the countryside.\" After a pause, the announcer continues:
\n\"More news on the war later. Firstly, we turn to... the cricket!\"<\/p>\n
* King George III's German-born son, eager to prove his English
\nheritage, was president of the London Club, which published the
\ngame's first rules in 1774. Sadly, he died after being struck on
\nthe head by a cricket ball. Of course.<\/p>\n
* At Lord's cricket club, the world headquarters of the game,
\nsmoking has finally been banned from its Long Room, the sacred
\nplace for gentlemen. But the \"gentlemen\", even to this day, still
\nban women from the club. The 19th century will one day end at
\nLord's -- perhaps in the year 2001.<\/p>\n
In Hong Kong, due to be returned to China on July 1, a group
\nof expatriates is now working hard to ensure that \"this great
\nlegacy of an empire\" survives the Union Jack. A campaign is on to
\nteach more Chinese children to play cricket. The sport's local
\nchairman, Peter Slack, said recently: \"It is a great game given
\nto those countries fortunate enough to have been colonized.\"<\/p>\n
Oh sure, Mr. Slack. Let's ask the never-colonized people of
\nThailand if they envy the history of say, Angola, where
\nindependence movements were brutally suppressed by the
\nPortuguese. Perhaps that is why I am not enamored with cricket. I
\nequate it too much with colonialism and the Europeans -- only
\ncricket clubs of the past.<\/p>\n
There is still hope for cricket, though. The best players
\nthese days are those who were considered less fortunate in the
\ndays of the British Empire.<\/p>\n
FARID BASKORO<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/and-now-for-the-cricket-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }