The hope of audacity...

Oh ... what a match we saw yesterday... Canada took on Kenya and gave us all what we have been thirsting for... hope.

Hope that we can still, somehow, under some pretext, find a way to emigrate to Canada, and resurrect our cricket careers. Careers that have been stubbed out, by bad selectors who never saw the potential, bad umpires who gave us out the day we were going to score a triple hundred and break all schools cricket records, and of-course the wretched 'system', that doesn't allow sportsmen to grow to there full potential, what with exams and other tests always interfering with the "peak form" of the season.

Damn it... why were we not informed of the desperate need for a cricketer who can bowl straight and present a straight bat. We would have all gladly excepted the challenge... of crossing the great seas, hook or by crook, to get an opportunity to play the great game, at it's greatest spectacle, against the best teams.

Oh Mr Bhatti, your gallant efforts to confuse the batsmen with your flight and guile are a tribute to your ability to find a way, you have filled us with hope. The tradition of deception of the 'left arm' bowler has been given a new dimension. The perfect blend of Wasim Akram and Bishen Bedi. Ganguly would have been proud of your ability to fox the batsmen with your change in pace, of your run-up.

We have to be most grateful to the great organization that governs this wonderful game. They have, more than any other team or individual, given cricket a great boost by giving every failed cricketer (a lot of cricket-fans) the chance to prolong there dream.

The 'dream' is beautifully designed. Designed as well as the great religions of the world, give hope, there is nothing like it.

The beauty of the system set in place by the powers that be, it has been created to be the opposite of every other sport in the world. In Cricket, unlike all other sport, the largest and most important tournament is used to give "exposure", "encouragement" etc, to the 'up-and-coming'. Who will, after the tournament is over for them, be sent back to where they came from, and asked to qualify for the next WorldCup, at which point there will be some votes required from associate members(as they are referred to).

In most other sports, the teams that need "exposure", are given the opportunity to play smaller tournaments and individual players of merit are encouraged to play in the best professional leagues in the world and take that experience back to there national teams and grow the sport with a long term goal of seriously wanting the sport to spread.

But then... where would we be today without hope.

Thank you sir... Mr Bhatti.