The Wonderful Sport of Cricket
My house is unintentionally a tribute to the great sport of cricket.
When you first enter my house, you are greeted by a painting of a local cricket game in a dusty country town, accompanied by a framed collage of photos from my Dad’s trip to Lords Cricket Ground, to cheer on the Aussies at The Ashes.
It doesn’t stop there. Our lounge room could almost be classified as an unofficial cricket museum, full of cricket memorabilia ranging from a cricket bat signed by the Australian and English teams, to the many accolades and photos from the local cricket premiership, where my Dad claims he valiantly lead his team to a close win.
Naturally, this achievement as celebrated as though he had in fact won The Ashes. The cricket-themed décor continues throughout the house, with almost every second painting in the house paying homage to the great game.
In my family, our love for cricket is in our blood, with generations upon generations first playing the sport in England, and then Australia.
This relationship is one we have been able to share not only with the local community, but the entirety of Melbourne and Australia.
Watching the cricket has always been a special event, where individuals become one, as we all jump out of our seats to celebrate a wicket, shed a tear when the opening batsman goes out for a duck, and finish the day by having a drink with the opposition. Despite the results, it has been about the love of the sport.
There is nothing more heart-warming than watching people from different backgrounds, interests and professions, come together to share and celebrate a profound love for cricket, in all different forms.
You can find yourself watching the cricket and commenting to a stranger how “that should have been given out” and receiving an affirming murmur in response, because we all agreed that the umpire was wrong. Or even challenging the siblings to a game of backyard cricket, to only chuck a tantrum and storm off when I wasn’t allowed to bat first, because who really wants to field?
Yes, there can be controversies in cricket, but the unity and mateship is the essence of the game, and qualities that I both love and adore. Cricket and sport in general instills a sense of community morale. Cricket can be the cement that binds many individuals and groups from all walks of life and experiences together.