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Williams sisters brightest stars of tennis Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena had said, some time ago, that a day would come when his daughters would be in the Wimbledon finals, playing against each other. He was then seen as a comic figure. He turned out to be a seer. He had also said that Serena would turn out to be the better player and Serena showed that she was and the palm went to one who merited it. It was not a terrific final but it did not matter for the sisters had played terrific tennis in reaching the finals. Venus is 22 years old and Serena is 20. I understand that there is a younger sister and ‘Papa’ Williams says that she will be better than Venus and Serena. Who will dare to disbelieve him? Understandably, the opponents of the two sisters, on the tennis court, that is, are irked by this domination and consider it “boring.” Whatever else it may be, it isn’t boring. Was Don Bradman boring? Is Tiger Woods? The Williams sisters are the brightest stars in the tennis firmament. It is not for others to carp. It is for them to try and reach the heights that these two have. Jackie Robinson was the first Afro-American to play in the major baseball leagues. He had to put up with much racial abuse but he had opened the door. The Williams sisters are an inspiration not only for their race but for all sport persons, not born with silver spoons in their mouths. These sisters started from humble public tennis courts and one does not need too rich an imagination to see how stupendous an achievement theirs has been. Worthy finalists? Damn right. It seems more or less certain that the Australians will not tour Pakistan and the matches will be shifted to a neutral venue. I don’t know how practical it would be to just tell the Australians to forget all about it and the tour stands cancelled. I am not advocating that we should, for there are other considerations. Our team, probably the best in the world, needs to be kept busy. But I would dearly like to tell them that. When the idea or concept of neutral venues had first been mooted, I had, in this column, warned that it would set a precedent and if a team had the option, it would take it. In 1996, Australia had refused to play in Sri Lanka in the World Cup because of concerns for the safety of their players. Now, the ICC Trophy is being played in Sri Lanka. And Australia will be there. But the civil war, the longest in the history of Asia, is still raging. Life goes on in Sri Lanka as it did in 1996. There have been some bomb blasts in Pakistan but life goes on. I live in Karachi but the pattern of my life has not changed. If the Australians are worried about terrorist attacks then they should stay smugly in their own country for the terrorists can strike anywhere. There was a shooting at Los Angeles airport. The United States has been on high alert since September 11 last year but their baseball and football matches have not been cancelled or shifted to Canada. Pakistan is a front-line state in the war against terrorism and is a member of the coalition, as is Australia. Is this how an ally should be rewarded? The Australians say that they will be guided by their Foreign Office who, in turn, one presumes will be guided by their Embassy in Islamabad. Perhaps, the PCB should be talking with the Australian High Commission instead of the Australian Cricket Board. No one doubts that we live in dangerous times but terrorism is worldwide and not specific to Pakistan cities. The reasons being given by the Australian Cricket Board for not touring Pakistan do not wash. The Australian government have locked up illegal immigrants or asylum seekers in conditions that are only marginally better than those at Guantanamo. Almost all those locked up are Afghans. This, in theory, can attract the mischief of terrorists. Yet the Pakistan team went to Australia and made no fuss about security concerns for its players. It’s a bloody shame that Pakistan is being singled out and ICC is either helpless or unconcerned. There is an awful lot of Australian clout in the ICC. If it wanted, it could lean on Australia and try and get it to meet its contractual obligations. I am glad to see that South Africa has done away with racial quotas. A national team must be picked on merit and merit alone. When the South African public cheers for its team, it does so for the whole team, irrespective of race, colour or creed. The South African football that played in the World Cup was mainly black but it played in South African colours. So does the cricket team which is mainly white. Apartheid is dead and buried and it is foolish and counter-productive to practice it in reverse. In Pakistan as in India, there are regional and ethnic loyalties but when the national team plays, these loyalties become subservient. The purpose of sports is defeated if we bring to it our prejudices and our narrowness. The blacks in South Africa lived through hell in the days of apartheid. It was Nelson Mandela who healed the wounds. He visualised a multi-racial South Africa, both in letter and spirit. England sets a very high example with its cricket team. It has a captain of Indian origin and I might add one who is accepted by all, without any reservations and who happens to be one of the best captains in the game. There is no room for racism in sports, racism of any kind, including keeping deserving whites out of teams, which South Africa was starting to do until wisdom dawned on its cricket administrators. Well done! Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)
