365 Sporting Days

An introduction from Guest Blogger Adarsh

As I sit here only one sleep and a few mere hours to go before the start of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, I just cannot contain my excitement! A home World Cup, where I will be attending 7 live games in 3 different cities, at 4 different venues! 

Let me introduce myself; I am Adarsh: a British-Indian, travel loving, cricket fanatic foodie who in between living life tries to earn a living as a Commercial Finance Consultant.

My cricket love-affair is not so simple as my support is divided straight down the middle for two mighty teams;  my country of birth England where I have made a wonderful life; and the country of my heritage India where I spent some of my formative years.  Before I get people jumping down my throat into choosing one or another – I simply can’t!!!  I am proud to be a British-Indian and cheering on the 3 Lions as well as the Men in Blue equally.

I am expecting a few highlights as a fan of cricket – so with my fortune telling glasses on, here are a few likely scenarios:

• The world has gone batting mad and I love it….
  Let’s hope to see the 500 plus runs per innings mark broken at this World Cup.
• It’s the time for All-Rounders to shine through with their X-Factor skills – Ben Stokes (England), Hardik Pandya (India), Mitchell Santner (New Zealand) and Andre Russell (West Indies)
• Chris Gayle to go out in style! The “Universe Boss” is retiring at the end of the tournament and he can go either way with spectacular collapses or massive innings – but I predict he will give the crowds what they want… 
• The highly talented yet “cheating” Australian duo – David Warner and Steve Smith to redeem themselves with enormous performances.
• The batsman of the tournament to be the mighty Virat Kohli or the explosive Jonny Bairstow?
• England’s Jofra Archer to be the Young Player of the Tournament and provide that exceptional raw talent that we all know he possesses.  
• The winner to come from the Superpower nations of England, India or Australia!

With all the positives, I have one point to make about the format of this tournament.  Cricket overall should be an all-inclusive sport where giant killings and surprise results add to the romance of big tournaments. So I am genuinely disappointed that it won’t have any of the so called minnows playing in this tournament. Who can forget the East African Kenya reaching the Semis in 2003 or the Emerald Isle of Ireland knocking out the mighty Pakistan in 2007!   Also it’s crazy where sports like football are coming up with ways to include more countries playing in major tournaments, whereas cricket is actually decreasing these numbers!   

Thank you to Debbie Knight for giving me an opportunity to fulfil this small dream of mine – to write about a beloved Sport. Also Thanks to my pal and bro Jason Cobine who will be accompanying me to all the 7 matches, as without his comradery it might become a dull affair!

Quoting the words of the famous English play writer Harrold Pinter, “Drama happens in big cricket matches.”     For me however, none are bigger than the World Cup!