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Sports: What’s in a game?
In these times of endless wars, conflicts and other diseases that afflict humanity and give it little time to smile, sports is an interesting diversion that can take people’s minds off the harshness of reality, even if just for a while. Even though global sporting events have been increasingly commercialized, so much so that the love of the game is given a lower priority in favour of massive marketing campaigns, still, major sporting tournaments do succeed just a little bit in bringing large swathes of humanity together, briefly, to put aside their differences and cheer on their favourite athletes.
As far as the major sporting events of the year 2003 are concerned, without a doubt, one would say that the Cricket World Cup, held in South Africa from February 8 to March 23, beat out its rivals by a long shot. Why does one think so? Surely not because this is a cricket-mad nation! But in all seriousness, probably, the only other events that come close to the Cricket World Cup include the Summer Olympic games, which were last held in Sydney, in the year 2000, and are next scheduled for Athens, in 2004. Or there is the football, or soccer as it is known in the US, World Cup, also held every four years, which probably draws the largest global audience to watch ‘the beautiful game.’ That extravaganza was last held in 2002, jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan.
Hence, by default, cricket’s premier one-day international showcase beats out the others through lack of competition in the year that was. That is not to say that other premiere sporting events such as Wimbledon, The US Open, golf’s Master’s tournament etc., are any less important, but, viewed from a global perspective, an event like the Cricket World Cup beats them out mainly because these events are annual, whereas huge tourneys like the World Cup are held after gaps of several years.
The 2003 World Cup had it all: drama, politics, comedy and loads of sweet strokes. But it was the blackest of days, a period we’d much rather bury deep, deep in the collective consciousness, for Pakistani cricket, when our hyped team failed to make it to the second round of the tournament, the first time in a long time. Apart from Shoaib Akhtar breaking the 100mph barrier with his warp-speed bowling, there was very little else for Pakistan to celebrate. But where the boys in green failed, others shined, quite brightly. Minnows such as Namibia and Canada put up brave fights in the face of giants like South Africa, India and England, with Kenya going as far as the semi-finals. This was the world cup that saw the aristocracy of cricketing nations eat humble pie, as the underdogs fought bravely for their place in the sun.
However, with all the back-patting out of the way, when it came down to the final in Johannesburg’s Wanderers Stadium, a final watched by a crowd of 32,827 people (ICC press release) and millions of TV viewers the world over, played between India and Australia, it was clear that the tournament belonged to the uppity Aussies, known for their brash attitudes, sledging and, undoubtedly, top form. Scoring 359 for the loss of two wickets in 50 overs, the Australians made short work of India in the final, handing them a crushing 125 run defeat, while arriving at that position undefeated throughout the tournament.
Yet the event was not free from controversy, which started even before the tourney began, with Australian spinner Shane Warne banned for using illegal substances. New Zealand refused to play in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, citing security concerns, wherea,s due to a political stalemate between their governments, England also refused to play in Harare, Zimbabwe. Many of the participating Asian and African nations took this as a sign of European arrogance, whereas the so-called ‘white’ nations stuck to their guns claiming the moral high ground. This proves that it’s not just a game; rather, it is also a battleground for ideologies, ideologues and politicking.
As far as the sportsman, or woman, of the year 2003 is concerned, if truth be told, no one player really shone above the rest. There was no Pele, no Beckenbauer, no Jimmy Connors, and no Javed Miandad in the past year. Rather, individuals did perform remarkably well in their own disciplines, but there was no reigning name of international repute.
German born Michael Schumacher, considered the best Formula 1 driver in the globe, claimed his sixth world title in the past year. But things weren’t too easy for him, as he had to stay in pole position ahead of such tough rivals as Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya. Other newsmakers in the world of sports included French footballer Zidane, English football poster-boy David Beckham and Russian tennis player Anna Kournikova (though the lass is more known for her looks then her debatable playing ability).
Coming back to the realm of cricket, Wisden, a magazine considered to be the locus classicus of the cricketing world, awarded its Cricketer of the Year 2003 award to no other than left-handed Australian batsman Matthew Lawrence Hayden. No doubt, his record breaking Test knock, 380 against Zimbabwe at Perth, late in 2003, the highest score in Test history, helped in winning him top honours for the year.
But as records were broken all over the world, two of Pakistan’s greatest hung up their green jerseys for the last time in 2003: Saeed Anwar and Wasim Akram. Saeed’s left-handed strokes were pure poetry in motion. When he was in his rhythm, there was no stopping him as he punished bowlers with his masterful strokes. One of Karachi’s favourite sons, Saeed owns the record for highest score in an ODI. Saeed took some time off after the tragic death of his daughter in 2001, and when he returned, he was only a shade of his brilliant, former self. Though he cracked a hundred against India at the 2003 Cup, just before the home series against Bangladesh, he called it a day, retiring gracefully.
Just as Saeed Anwar was the pride of Pakistan’s batting line-up, the Lahore-born Wasim Akram, a terrifyingly accurate left-arm fast bowler, was the scourge of batsmen across the cricketing world. Some have even gone as far as labelling Wasim the best left-arm fast bowler of all times. Though his career was blemished by match fixing controversies, Wasim did reach the 500-wicket mark at the last World Cup, one of the few high points of this country’s miserable campaign. Despite whatever scandals they might have faced, and however their careers waxed and waned, these two legends will be missed not only in Pakistan, but by cricket and sports fans the world over.
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