JEREMY COPELAND:
Cricket, peace and politics
CBC News Viewpoint | March 12, 2004 | More from Jeremy Copeland
Let's face it: cricket is boring. Any game that takes five days to play and often ends in a tie is a waste of time, if you ask me.
But in the historic cricket clashes between India and Pakistan in March and April the drama will be as much off the field as on. At stake, as well as some obscure trophy, are hopes for an elusive peace between the two nuclear-armed neighbours – and, possibly, the outcome of India's national elections.
Just two years ago India and Pakistan stood on the brink of war, with more than one million troops facing each across the Line of Control in the disputed territory of Kashmir. A series of confidence-building measures between Delhi and Islamabad since last April have led to the first substantial peace talks in years.
Diplomatic ties have been re-established; air, train and bus links have resumed. This progress has made it possible for India to play a cricket series in Pakistan for the first time in almost 15 years.
The tour has been called a goodwill series between the two countries, but security for the Indian players remains a huge concern. An isolated attack against athletes or fans could be a major setback for the peace process. Islamabad has taken unprecedented security measures, promising to give 24-hour "visiting heads-of-state level" security to the players. On game days, about 2,500 police officers will be outside the stadium and another 800 inside. The hotel where the Indian players will stay will have its own 250-officer guard.
To appreciate the significance of this moment, you have to understand that cricket is a national obsession in India. In a country with more than one billion people, 17 official languages and five religions with more than 10 million followers, nothing brings the country together like cricket. For India there can be no greater rival than the country with which it has fought three wars. The same holds true for Pakistan. Their team's captain has called this "the mother of all series."
The level of interest in the cricket will be phenomenal. The demand for tickets in Pakistan has already caused problems. When they first went on sale police had to be called in to deal with angry fans who realized there weren't enough to meet the demand.
In India, whenever there's a big game you'll find dozens of people standing for hours on end outside any store, restaurant or café that has a TV with the match on. In front of electronics stores with several TVs in the window display, fans overflow off the sidewalks and onto the streets. The unfortunate ones who can't find a TV gather around radios.
Last year when India played Australia in the final game of the Cricket World Cup, the country almost came to a standstill. Passions could run even higher this time around as a strong Indian team has an opportunity to go into enemy territory and embarrass their archrivals.
National pride is on the line. So much so that this series was almost cancelled because of the effect the outcome could have on India's national elections. India's 660 million voters go to the polls in April and May. The ruling BJP seriously considered postponing the cricket showdown until after the elections because it was worried about the repercussions should India lose.
Polls suggest the government is heading for an easy victory in the national elections; India's economy is booming, the main stock index has risen 74 per cent in the past year, and the prime minister is being given much of the credit for improved relations with Pakistan. The BJP hopes what it calls "the feel-good factor" will lead the party to victory on the back of its motto: "India Shining."
But if India's cricketers are humiliated by Pakistan's, the feel good-factor may disappear and the shine may be tarnished. In the end, the risk of upsetting India's hundreds of millions of cricket fans by postponing the Pakistan tour proved too great, and last month New Delhi announced the games would go ahead as scheduled.
That brings me back to the actual games. I know I will upset Canada's small but loyal group of cricket fans, but for this Leafs fan raised on a steady diet of the fastest and most exciting game in the world, cricket is dull.
Even the short version of the game, the one-day matches, take eight to 10 hours to play. The teams stop for lunch and again for tea. When I attended a game at the Oval in London, fans were given free newspapers to help pass the time. My New Zealander friends, who patiently explained the game to me, all brought books and magazines with them.
India's tour of Pakistan will include five of these one-day matches. It will also include three "Tests." I'm not sure why they're called Tests, but it could be in reference to what they do to your patience. Tests are played over five full days and, as mentioned, often end in a tie.
India has played 20 Tests in Pakistan with no wins to show for their 100 days of play. What I find amazing is that they lost only five of them. The other 15 ended in a draw.
The competition promises to be intense, but coaches and players on both sides say they'll try to keep things in perspective.
"Just now, winning or losing is not important," the Pakistani coach said. "The relationship between the two countries is."
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JEREMY COPELAND
FREELANCE WRITER
Jeremy Copeland is the CBC's videojournalist in India. From New Delhi he
also writes for the Globe and Mail and does news and documentaries for CBC
and BBC Radio. He joined the CBC in 1998 and worked as a senior writer at
Newsworld before moving to London in 2000. He joined BBC World Television
and worked as a senior broadcast journalist on the hourly newscasts until
moving to India in 2003.
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