"A gun is no more dangerous than a cricket bat in the hands of a madman." - Prince Philip
On January 24, 2024, forty-five thousand cricket lovers gathered to see the Big Bash League (BBL) Final between Sydney Sixers and Brisbane Heat at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
I, Mohammed Ifteqaruddin Badge #140948, bought entry tickets for the entire family well in advance. For my grandchildren, it was the first experience of seeing a cricket match and the Sydney Cricket Ground. So we started early to reach the ground to see the opening ceremony and the fireworks.
All roads were full with the slow-moving cars towards the ground’s car parking. We reached the ground on time and took the assigned seats. It was sunny, but the game was played in the lights after the sunset.
My grandchildren were new to the game of cricket, so to make them enjoy and understand the game, I prepared a PowerPoint Presentation and explained the rules and terminologies to them such as:
Wicket, Bells, Pitch, Boundary, no ball, Leg before wicket LBW, Bowler, Batsman, Empire, Third Empire, Run out, Catch out, the fielding arrangements and the Scoreboard.
The orientation worked a lot, all the time they were in the game, clapping, shouting, and appreciating the players’ actions.
While watching the game, cold drinks and snacks were an added value gift for all of us as refreshments.
The whole crowd was cheering and clapping, on a few occasions there was pin-drop silence in the stadium while waiting for the empire’s decision about whether the batsman was out or not.
End of the match to appreciate the winning team fireworks took place with thunder of fantastic music.
Cricket is a sport that brings you together with people from all over the world.
My son Zubair Mohammed Iftekhar, the Cricket Lover, was behind the planning, of this family fun away from home in a vast open, and green stadium.
He requested and insisted me to see and show the award ceremony to all.
I suggest the global Aramco Expats readers to see the short format cricket game back in their country, really it is a mesmerizing and interesting game.