Corridor of Uncertainty

Nihar Suthar

Description

In 1979, Afghanistan erupted into one of the most brutal civil wars ever. The fighting lasted almost a decade, throwing the country into a period of political instability, harsh leadership, and extreme danger. Hundreds of thousands of civilians died, and millions relocated to refugee camps. The rest of the world began to believe that violence would always define Afghans. However, deep in the refugee camps of Pakistan, displaced native Afghan children had a dream to unite their country once again with peace. The solution was disguised in the game of cricket. These children began to learn cricket, and persevered against the danger, criticism, and unrest to create the first-ever Afghan national cricket team. With unrivalled access to the team and players during the 2015 Cricket World Cup, Nihar Suthar tells the story of their inspiring journey to change Afghanistan in one of the most under-told, heart-warming sports stories of all time.

Sujets

• Críquet
• Pakistán
• Afganistán
• Pakistan
• Cricket
• Afghanistan

Informations

• Publié par: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 01 février 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781785311543
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2016 Pitch Publishing A2 Yeoman Gate Yeoman Way Durrington BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
Nihar Suthar, 2016
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the Publisher.
A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library
Print ISBN 978-1-78531-117-8 eBook ISBN: 978-1-78531-154-3
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Contents
Acknowledgements
1. Back Story
2. Destined for Violence
3. Life of a Refugee
4. A Dream to Create Peace
5. Reality of the Taliban
6. Unexpected Luck
7. The Streak
8. Facing International Failure
9. Gunning for the World Cup Dream
10. A New Generation
Rules of Cricket
Bibliography
Photographs
This book is split into two different dedications:
First, to the people who assured me that writing it would be impossible.
You now have proof that anything in this world is possible with hard work and a bit of faith.
And second, to my teacher Pramukh Swami Maharaj, who stuck with me until the very end.
Because surrounding yourself with the right company truly makes all the difference.
Acknowledgements
I T is difficult figuring out where to start when expressing gratitude to those who have sacrificed somuch to help make your book a success.
First, many thanks to the hundreds of generous fans who donated money to my fundraising campaign. Your contributions fuelled my research and ultimately made this book a reality. I am truly fortunate to have such a caring group of people following me.
Second, I owe a lot of appreciation to my good friend Trent Cortazzo, for inspiring me to complete this entire story. I do not know anybody else with such a contagious work ethic.
Lastly, I cannot acknowledge my family members enough for the unconditional support that they provided throughout the writing process.
Author s Note: This book is written in such a way that even readers without any sports or cricket knowledge will find it exciting, appealing, and easy to understand. Some basic cricketing terms have been used throughout the story, though. If readers would like clarifications on these terms, they can refer to the appendix, where a brief guide explaining the fundamental terminology and rules of the game has been provided.
1
Back Story
A ONE-DAY international cricket match consists of a total of 600 deliveries, give or take a few extra to make up for bowler mistakes, such as wide balls that are out of the reach of the batsman. Regardless, each team in the match bowls at least 300 balls and bats another 300 balls. With so much bowling and batting, rarely does the outcome of a game played for over seven hours come down to one last delivery. Cricket fans anywhere would die to see such a climactic match. Players also have ambitious dreams of being the shining hero in such a tight contest.
Somehow, this is exactly the scenario that fans and players were presented with on 3 March 1990. The English national cricket team had travelled over 4,000 miles to face off against arguably the most powerful squad in the world at the time, the West Indies. Both sides were playing a highly anticipated, official one-day international match at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. English captain Graham Gooch won the coin toss in the morning. He decided to have his team bat first and get off to a dominant start. The intense sun beat down on the earth, sucking away moisture and threatening to drain all the players of their vigour. England’s batsmen were unfazed by the suffocating heat. They posted a formidable score of 214 runs from the 50 total overs.
After switching roles from the batting innings, English bowlers also managed to stifle the explosive, stand-out West Indies batsmen Viv Richards, Jeff Dujon, and the rest of the team – until the very last over. With batsmen Richie Richardson and Ezra Moseley at the wicket, West Indies captain Richards instructed his team-mates to attack every single one of the final six balls, no matter what. The strategy worked well in the beginning of the last over. It looked as though the West Indies were on pace to devastate England with a win that would be close to the end of the available time, but commanding. Unfortunately, in cricket, looks can often be deceiving.
Off in the distance, the sun was beginning to set. Five deliveries remained and West Indies needed five more measly runs to win the match. Exactly one run per ball. Effortless. Moseley kicked at the loosely packed, brown dirt on the pitch in front of him. He was determined to finish up the match in style. His confidence level went through the roof and gave him a false sense of invincibility. Instead of slamming the next ball far over the rope boundary for six glorious runs as he had imagined, he was barely even able to graze it. It made a dead, wooden sound as it came off the edge of his bat. The shot lollygagged up in the air, and fell directly into the hands of a fielder casually standing on the right side of the field. It was the easiest catch of the millennium that came at the perfect time.
The English side exploded in celebration, and the umpire authoritatively raised his index finger, signalling the end of Moseley. Moseley was the seventh dismissed batsman. Suddenly, a match that looked like a definite win for West Indies going into the final over hung delicately in the balance. Four deliveries remained. West Indies required five runs to secure victory. Ian Bishop, the ninth batsman in the line-up, would have to act as a saviour for the fallen Moseley. As Bishop grabbed his bat and stepped on to the field, he could immediately feel the urgency.
Players on both teams were tense. Moseley, meanwhile, was trudging off with his head down and helmet in hand. His dark skin was drenched in sweat. Bishop gave him a nervous high-five as they walked past each other. Moseley smiled.
‘Your time to shine, champ.’
Bishop made it to the pitch in the middle of the field and thumped his bat on the ground a few times. Ideally, most batsmen prefer to take a couple balls to get warmed up. Bishop did not have that kind of time. He walked over to the other side of the pitch to talk to his batting partner, Richie Richardson. They anxiously discussed their plan – swing hard and pounce on everything.
Bishop was the batsman on strike. He went back in front of his stumps and waited for the bowler. Besides the fact that his legs felt like jelly, he was ready to save the match. On the following delivery, Bishop attempted to drill the ball behind his body with a trick sweep shot, while simultaneously taking off in a sprint. It did not work. The determined wicketkeeper scooped up the ball in an instant by the stumps and Bishop dove back behind the crease line, narrowly avoiding a run-out. Dirt flew everywhere. Only three balls remained now, and West Indies still needed five runs to triumph.
The odds seemed to tip towards England, as the commentator broadcasting the game on international television questioned, ‘Well, can England pull this out of the bag?’
Bishop realised he needed to play smarter cricket, and not force such risky shots. He was in a situation that all cricket players dreamt of. His team had a chance to take the match. Individually, he also had an opportunity to become the prominent hero. Bishop studied the field, mentally taking note of where there were gaps in England’s fielding layout.
On the next delivery, he stepped up and expertly drove a shot into the right side of the field, through one of the gaping holes he had discovered. There was enough time to take two runs. Bishop pointed at Richardson. They were in business.
‘Make sure you keep watching me, and run for your life. We cannot afford a run-out here,’ Bishop instructed his batting partner.
Two deliveries were left. West Indies needed three runs to seal a win. The stadium gradually became pindrop silent in anticipation of the match finale. ‘They’ll run at anything here,’ the commentator restlessly narrated to the millions of viewers glued to their televisions.
Sadly, a chance to run never came. Bishop did not even make contact with the next ball. It looked like a blazing blur as it sailed right by him. West Indies were 212/7 (212 runs and seven fallen wickets) and it now appeared extremely likely that England, against earlier odds, would take the match. One final delivery remained. West Indies required three runs for victory.
Every spectator at Sabina Park held his or her breath. This was the deciding moment of the contest. Angus Fraser, the English bowler for the duration of the last over, handled the situation quite well. He calmly strode towards the outer field boundary to consult his team-mates on what type of ball to bowl and how to position the fielders. They came up with a game plan they felt would best prevent West Indies from scoring the final few runs needed to win. Considering how relaxed the English players were, it seemed that they had been in this type of situation several times before.
Bishop stared up at the darkening sky. There was no better time to wish for a miracle. Thousands of thoughts were spinning around his mind all at once. Why did cricket players ever fantasise of being in such a nerve-wracking scenario? After the match, would he be hailed as a hero or ridiculed as a loser? Thankfully, everything was going to end in less than a minute.
From the instant a bowler starts bolting towards the pitch to when a batsman swings at the ball takes