I agree with all the commentators that the current scandal in cricket re match fixing is bad for the game. But I think we have to look at a bigger picture here. Pakistan as a country is fanatical about cricket. Boys play it on the street, on any spare piece of land like boys in Brazil play football. In Pakistan 24% of the population lives below the poverty line (only 1% less than India). One Pakistan player told the News of the World that he was offered so much money he could 'live out his dreams'. If you consider that most of these players probably come from poor backgrounds, you could see how tempting this must seem. Don't get me wrong I do not condone this practice in any way shape or form, but I do believe that it is important to contextualise these things.
Following on from my comments about Hague and his cap Chris Addison (of In The Thick of It fame) made a comment on Andrew Marr's show yesterday re the photo I posted the other day - something about looking a bit silly when you're aged 40 and wearing a baseball cap! (Apologies Chris - a very rough paraphrase).
No comments:
Post a Comment