Cricket, the sport

India versus Pakistan. It doesn't get bigger than this. No, it's not war time again; the nations are well and truly on the path to peaceful co-existence. It is the cricket series between these neighboring nations that makes the news. Cricket? "It is just like baseball" is what we tell most people who cannot differentiate between cricket, the sport, from cricket, the insect. (In fact, my word editor underlined the word cricket here, saying it should be crickets! Cricket lovers in Microsoft, something to work on, guys.)\nYes, there are similarities in cricket and baseball, including a ball that is hit, a bat used to do so and the idea that the team with the most runs wins. I believe there is one more similarity -- the passion cricket and baseball fans share, cheering for that extra run or crying after a dropped catch. \nHowever, cricket is different with two ends separated by 22 yards, and one has to bowl over-arm, and the batsman does not leave after scoring a run, and so on. Moreover, many more runs are scored in a game of cricket which also lasts longer. (It has many versions, the popular ones being one-day Internationals lasting eight hours and Test matches lasting five days.) \nI won't waste time and space by going into the intricacies, which you can find easily by searching online.\nComing to America after living cricket in India for 22 years was different (although my main purpose of landing here remains further education and career, cricket comes built-in). The usual sports channels and media coverage have no mention of this international sport. But thanks to the freedom of Internet, we are not deprived and life goes on. (However, if you can read this article, I think the Indiana Daily Student is quite sensitive to cricket, the sport.)\nAshes, played between Australia and England, was the hugely hyped series last year. The name of this series has a very interesting history. England lost on their home soil for the first time, and the following day, a mock obituary ran in the Sporting Times "in affectionate remembrance of English cricket, which died at the Oval on 29th August, 1882. The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia." \nIn the year 2005, with the same weird name, the England-Australia series has become a commercial bonanza for many companies. However, the India-Pakistan series starting Jan. 13 is perhaps the biggest cricket series of 2006. Traditional rivalry combined with patriotic fervor makes it even more awe-inspiring. The scene in India, and perhaps Pakistan as well, is barren streets, low productivity in offices, empty classrooms and loss of business for shopping malls and cinemas. We (the cricket fans in the United States) have to take on the added burden of different time zones. So if you see a cricket-crazy guy going to work with red and swollen eyes, safely conclude that there was some interesting cricket being played last night that just could not be missed.\nMay the best team win.