By Suwanda H J SugunasiriƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  (writing from Canada)

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Canada may not have made it to the Quarter finals of the World Cup. But our participation made us get a glimpse of what a multicultural sport this game of Cricket truly is!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Watching the game in Sri Lanka during a winter holiday, and on Rogers Cable (for a cool $ 199.99) back in Canada, this is the thought that occurred to me. Watching the ICC (International Cricket Club) games, I couldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t help note how multinational, multiracial, multiethnic and multireligious the game has come to be.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ To begin with, there are in the tournament fourteen nations, including Canada. And significantly, they represent all five continents ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Europe (England, Ireland, Netherlands), Australasia (Australia, New Zealand), Africa (Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe), Asia (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) and the Americas (West Indies, Canada).

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If England, Australia and the West Indies dominated in my time (1950ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s),ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  no team can claim an exclusive Cricket supremacyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  anymore. True Australia has won, in historic fashion,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the past three World Cups (1999, 2003, 2007), but England has come nowhere near.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Nor has the West Indies. Sri Lanka won in 1996 and Pakistan in 1992. It could be IndiaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  in 2011, or will it be Sri Lanka with a repeat performance?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ No country is second league any more either. In my time, the Aussies and the EnglishƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  did play a game or two in Colombo. But that was an ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”ExhibitionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ game to allowƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  for our little colonized hands the excitement, and the bragging rights, of touching aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  player like Don Bradman of Australia, Len Hutton of England or Everton Weeks of the West Indies,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  going past us at the Oval. TodayƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s ICC games are played in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In other years, it would be the turn forƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  African, European or West Indian venue.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Oval and the Lords in the UK are not the only Stadiums either that can hold large numbers of Cricket fans either. In Sri Lanka alone there are three: in Colombo, Kandy and Hambantota.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, not to mention the participating African countries,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  have their own, too.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In human terms, no longer does a single team come in a single skin colour,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ethnicity,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  race or religion either.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Batting forƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the Netherlands are Mudassar Bukhari and Adeel Raja,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and Ajmal Shahzed for England. PatelƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  catches a long driven and high ball for the Kenyan team with Mishra watching elsewhere in the field, and Ravi Ramphal plays for the West Indies. World champion spinnerƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Muralitharan comes to be a prize catch in the Sri Lankan team for whichƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the Sinhala openers Tharanga andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  DilshanƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  make history for the highest opening partnership. India sportsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Hindu,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Muslim andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  SikhƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  players.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ But the Canadian team, of course, takes the prize forƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  its truly multicultural Brown, Black and White makeup, and within that a wider geographic representation -ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  of Indian,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  European,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Pakistani, Sri Lankan and West IndianƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  origins.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ No longer are all players clean shaven and cap-wearing,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  playersƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  in all teams sporting different hair-styles ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” cropped, long, curly, dyedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and in turbanned.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The players come from Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and African Native spiritual backgrounds. As if to highlight variety, every team is identifiable by its own colour, a total departure from the white flannelƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  for all in the days of yore.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The multicultural flavour does not wither away when it comes to the Umpires either ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Bruce Oxenford of Australia, Shavir Tarapore of India,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Asad Rauf of Pakistan, Richard Kettleborough from England, and Andy Pycroft from Zimbabwe as Match Referee, among others. Just like the teams themselves, they come from the very participating countries.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Not to be outdone are the Commentators in the Media box, taking turns for the harrowing full day games.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Canadian advertising industry seems to beƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the only one who seems to be blind to the reality. In Canada, ChevroletƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  was alone sponsoring the World Cup,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and Bad Boy alone in giving a break in furniture. As a member of the Ontario Canada Day committee in the eighties, I had urged an Advertising Exec to make capital of an emerging multicultural reality. Though ignored, I was happy when a few years later I saw the industry walking happily to the bank on multicultural shoulders. Has the industry not learned its lesson?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Also, is setting up cricket teams all around the country ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” in schools, parks, neighbourhoods and cul-de-sacs the answer to CanadaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s multicultural woes of self-segregation and ghettoizing? It may also mean, with a wider base to choose from, we may even field a winning team!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ (A formerƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  columnist at the Toronto Star (Canada), and the Dawasa (Sri Lanka), novelist, poet and scholarƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Suwanda H J Sugunasiri played school cricket (Nalanda, Ananda)ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  in Sri Lanka, and is a pioneer in, and has written on, Canadian Multiculturalism).

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ March 31,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  2011