Sprite Campaign to Harness the Street cricket Potential in Pakistan
Cricket is a passion in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 that edges more on fanaticism. With young boys not manning up till they have played tape ball street cricket, this is the phenomenon behind Pakistan’s success at producing world class cricketers time and time again. The ‘street’ teams normally comprise of 6 people a side, with a chair stolen from inside the precincts of the house stealthily evading the watchful eye of the house maid, to keep as the wicket. All the boys pool in money to get a tennis ball and tape, and behold the stage is set for a thrilling encounter between the teams of the neighborhoods.
Bowlers depend on sheer pace to beat the batsmen most of the time, with a usual mix of bouncers and slower ones. Sometimes, the bouncers turn out to be lethal and culminate into a blow to the head or eye. The bowler takes immense pleasure in tempting the batsman to fish at the ball and give him ample bruises before he gets out. On other occasions, the bowler is not spared with the batsmen hitting all over the place. This usually ends up with broken window panes, and the next door unforgiving uncle screaming his bald head off at the cricketing prodigies of the country. Girl’s also take great pleasure in watching these macho men competing against each other on the streets, normally standing on the balcony or the terrace with their friends and clapping every time a wicket is taken or a ball is hit out of the street for a six.
The match normally lasts for 20 overs, 10 overs a side. The young lads on a number of occasions also pool in money to get lights installed in the street to play night cricket which is another preferred mode of street cricket. Aspiring to be the longest hitter, the fastest batsmen or bowler leading the team to victory in almost every game, these young lads often wonder whether the six they hit went further than http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482’s or how fast they would clock on a speed gun, or whether they would ever have a chance to lead the national side to victory.
The soft drink brand Sprite, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Company has provided the perfect platform for the youth of Pakistan to play cricket with the best possible facilities, ensuring that these match the standards of international cricket. Normally, it is hard for players to make a transition from tape ball to hard ball on proper pitches. “Gali [street] cricket is a form of cricket that is often neither recognized nor supported despite being the most played one,” said http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rizwan-Khan-c85486, Coca-Cola’s Country Manager. “With this effort, we’re giving the raw talent present in neighbourhoods, schools and grounds across Pakistan an opportunity to showcase their talent.”
The “Sprite Cricket Next” campaign is set to visit seven cities of Pakistan, along their way supporting talented players who will then proceed to Dubai to show case their talent. “This is no talent hunt, we’re not promising the next http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Javed-Miandad-c66580 to come from this setup,” said Bassam Qureshi, junior brand manager Sprite. “All we know is that gali cricket is what matters to these kids and we’re here to take it to the next level.”
Street cricket has been absolutely instrumental in the growth of the game inside Pakistan with young boys aspiring to be world class cricketers. The amount of potential these young men hold is phenomenal with Mohammad Amir, Asif and most importantly http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wasim-Akram-c96292 as glaring examples of the effectiveness of this phenomenon.
With Sprites’ attempt to revolutionize street cricket in Pakistan, many young players will emerge on the domestic and national arena. Most importantly this will provide the youth with the proper facilities that will help hone their talent in the best possible way. This is a new direction that cricket in Pakistan has taken and one can surely hope that it will have a positive impact on the development of game in the country.
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