If you’re from England, Australia, the Caribbean, South Africa or the subcontinent, I’m sure that you will be aware of the game of cricket.

George Orwell (1903-1950), an English novelist, has expressed his thoughts on cricket so rightly in the following words:

“Cricket is game full of forlorn and sudden dramatic changes of fortune and its rules are so ill-defined that their interpretation is partly an ethical business.”

Orwell’s quote is a true narration regarding street cricket around the globe, considering what he has written and how correct it is. Street cricket is often called the ‘informal version of the game of cricket’, and it is basically an incubation centre for future professional players.

If you talk about the rules in street cricket, they surely are ill-defined, a cause of argument and are open for interpretation. I will now give you a few examples:

• Since catches are quite rare in street cricket, a one-bounced catch will still be admissible (this rule is called one-tip catch). If someone gets out by this way, many arguments result due to this. One says it has bounced just three times, while the other may say it is a ‘clean catch’.

• Since in street cricket (just as in rooftop cricket, where a batsman is playing against a wall) there are no wicketkeepers, a rule called “edge out” is there. Sometimes all this becomes highly unfair because you don’t even have Snicko Metre in street cricket, so you don’t know whether the ball has hit the bat slightly or not. This leads to arguments among the players.

• In street cricket (when you’re again playing in a house or rooftop), if the ball goes out of the house, it is also considered out, because you’ve possibly mishit the shot and it is a false shot. Perhaps it is the only form of the game in which even if you hit a six and it goes out of the house, it still is out. Funny, isn’t it?

• No runs are awarded to the batsman in case of a wide or no ball, in most of the places where street cricket is played. It isn’t like this in international cricket, but just in street cricket which is quite peculiar.

Pakistanis, they simply love cricket. They adore it. If there’s one sport that every Pakistani is crazy about, it’s cricket, undoubtedly. In every city, village, neighbourhood, street, ground and rooftop, you will see people of every kind playing cricket. May it be kids, grown-ups or teenagers, they all play cricket. Even the elderly in Pakistan keep a watch on what is happening in the cricketing world. At least my granddad does.

For how much Pakistanis love cricket, I can proudly say that it has become a part of Pakistan’s history and culture. It brings joy, and at times, it also brings despair to the Pakistani people. But Pakistani supporters are so energetic, hopeful and positive about the future that nothing lets them down. They keep supporting in the wildest of storms and in the brightest of days.

To give you an idea of how much cricket is widespread in Pakistan, let me just give you a few real-life examples. In every shopping mall you see a TV that shows live cricket matches when they are being played. In every house you witness the same. In every discussion, either formal or informal, in an invitation or in a phone call, among seventh graders or 70 year olds, the discussion almost always starts with cricket as an appetiser.

Even our current prime minister, Mr Imran Khan, was a cricketer. Even though hockey is the national game of Pakistan, it isn’t as popular as cricket, which is quite astonishing.

Furthermore, recently the Pakistani government has implemented a lockdown amid the Covid-19 crisis, which resulted in the decline of ‘street cricket’ in Pakistan. However, this didn’t stop some from playing cricket on their rooftops.

This reminds me of a quote by the basketball legend, Michael Jordan, who said the following words: “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

Jordan’s quote is certainly a wonderful depiction of Pakistanis’ love for cricket. Even during this lockdown, cricket lovers have worked around and have found ways to pursue their passion, even if it means hitting the ball at a wall.

My entire family loves cricket. We love to play cricket, as well as to watch cricket. We know a lot about cricket too. I and my father play cricket almost daily in our rooftop and we keep all our records in a ledger, too. We usually play what we call ‘mega-series’, and whoever wins nine matches first, wins a mega-series.

We started these mega-series in late 2019, and so far we’ve played about 15 of them, out of which I’ve won seven and my father has won eight. He is leading by a small margin, which I hope to end soon. For after all, I consider myself a very good cricketer — way better than him, at least.

My love and craze for cricket is immense! In a nutshell, I just absolutely adore cricket — especially street cricket!

Keep social distancing and playing cricket if you have a safe rooftop or driveway!

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 16th, 2020