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CRICKET was developed in England in the mid-16th century. It is a bat-and-ball game similar to baseball, with each team of 11 players taking turns to bat and bowl. The batting team's objective is to defend the wicket, made up of three wooden stumps placed at either end of a grassy 22-yard pitch, against the bowler of the opposing team, who throws a small heavy ball at the wicket. If the batsman hits the ball away, he can then run to the other end of the pitch and score a "run." The British introduced the game to the region, and Pakistan now has one of the best cricket teams in the world.
It would be difficult to be in Pakistan between October and March without realizing that cricket season was in progress. If Pakistan is playing at home in a test match, the host city often declares the final day of the match a school holiday. While the game itself may be played in Lahore, almost 500 miles away, near the Afghan border, tribe members will huddle around a radio listening with bated breath and roaring with delight at every run scored by their country's team.
While the commentary to an international match is blaring from every radio and television set in the country, boys will be lined up in teams, playing the game in a nearby field or side street. They hope to emulate their country's great cricket stars, who unlike the majority of Pakistanis who achieve fame and fortune, were not born in the lap of luxury and privilege.
Sometimes, the excitement and passion generated by a game of cricket goes beyond the matter of sport. Any encounter between the national teams of Pakistan and India can take on political overtones, especially if the political relationship between the two countries happens to be particularly heightened at the time. In 1986, when Pakistan for the first time defeated India in a series played on Indian territory, the returning heroes were greeted by a crowd of over a quarter of a million.