for the love of cricket

The 2007 World Cup Cricket match will be held in the West Indies this year from March 13th - April 18th & Bermuda is one of the countries that's slated to participate. For the first time as I know it, Bermuda is actually offering direct flights to the Caribbean (which is not the norm). Many are making plans to travel to the West Indies & everyone's excited as they cheer on hoping Bermuda will win. Hey, you never know!

America does not understand the fascination & the hype that goes with cricket, but then again I am sure that the Commonwealth countries reciprocate those sentiments when it comes to America & baseball. Bermudians love cricket naturally - a love that they have inherited from the mother land, England. I used to be in the know about cricket, but after moving to Canada, baseball pretty much took over. And even though Canada does have its own cricket team, I have long since forgotten how cricket works. While I do remember the rudimentary of rules, I'd probably draw a blank if you were to ask me anything specific.

However, the commentary & plays of a cricket match, any cricket match, takes me back to my childhood days. Lazy sunny days where the Cricket Cup Match is all that anyone would be talking about. My grandparents & parents were ever so engrossed in the matches that would last the entire day. India's favourite country to beat would be Pakistan. Oh! those matches would yield excitement like no other. I'm sure many kids here are experiencing the same cricket fever that I did. Memories being created as families get together to watch Bermuda take on other countries. Who would Bermuda love to beat? Maybe England? If I were into cricket now, who would I root for? India, Canada or Bermuda?

In further cricket news, Nike India has unveiled its new ad. What's interesting is that the jingle is not in the official Indian language of Hindi. It's in Konkani - a mixture of a couple of Indian dialects & bits of Portuguese - spoken by Goans who originate from the previously Portuguese ruled Goa. It's also the second language I learned after English & it's so neat that it's the chosen one for the jingle. And while I'd translate the jingle that reflects the Goan style of music, I am a bit lazy to do so at this point. But enjoy!