The charm of Ashes for anti-cricket people
Cricket is a strange game. It is one of those sports which either a person understands and follows religiously or feels bamboozled and completely mystified about due to the rules of the game.
For example, the sport is leaving the Chinese people confused as the sport made its debut in the Asian Games 2010 two weeks ago. In a bid to make the poor spectators understand the game, a ball-by-ball commentary was arranged in Chinese. But such efforts couldn't generate enough buzz in the Asian people as they were put off by the complex rules of the game (even though it was the most simplest form of cricket; 20-20).
The same could be expected from all those people who must be scratching their heads as to what the latest hoopla around a certain thing called Ashes is? Cricket fans reading the article would be shaking their heads in disbelief. Is there anyone on this planet who does not know a thing about the Ashes? This seems unreal to the cricket enthusiasts as it is the world's biggest sports rivalries ever, the greatest contest of its kind on Earth.
But, dear cricket enthusiast, there are people who might be more interested in, say, Paris Hilton and Justin Bieber. Or the more serious type of people who would be interested in world peace and war on terrorism. Why would they want to have anything to do with the Ashes?
The dictionary defines Ashes as the “unburned particles or white/greyish powdery residue which is left when something is burned.” The non-cricketing people might think about what this has to do with cricket. Who gets burnt?
Well, of course, the English and Australians know what the story behind the whole commotion is.
But for those who don't know, the story can be summarized as follows: England lost to the Aussies in a cricket match many, many years ago (1882 to be exact) and someone decided to write a sarcastic obituary for English cricket saying that the “body will be cremated” and “the ashes are taken to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746,”, hence the Ashes was born. The winning side gets a prize- the world's smallest trophy called the urn, which is said to be containing burnt particles of wickets, bats or balls presented by some Aussie women to the losing team. The last thing is just a legend which might be true as Aussies have a great sense of humor. But no one has actually recorded to have seen the ashes in the trophy so it might just be a myth.
Anyways, so now the anti-cricket people must be bewildered as it still fails to explain the huge hysteria around the series. Well, it is hard to express in words- the feeling is something phenomenal, especially for the Aussies and the English.
The media labels the game as war. Insults are posted and the players get into the action with sledging (Aussies are famous for insulting players on the field) which is known as the pre-Ashes hype.
Cricket enthusiasts would be carrying out vigils, unable to sleep the night before the battle.
So is it all about the cricket? Well, honestly, it is not. It is about the Kangaroos and the Poms’ egos. It is about the glory that one side carries with the title. It all comes down to the guts as grown men get personal, taunting about each other's WAGS (wives and girlfriends). The players would be doing anything and everything to come out victorious, even if it requires getting a little dirty. It is a “do or die” situation for both the teams and that is what makes it so exciting.
Therefore, the non-cricketing world should pull up their socks and get into the banter. If you want to see how the world unites and divides, then prepare to witness World War 3; prepare to witness the Ashes.
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