Channel i farmar world cup

Story:

A unique cricket match was held in a remote Bangladeshi village on Sunday (January 2) to spread enthusiasm for the cricket World Cup outside the city and into the villages.

Bangladesh, together with Sri Lanka and India, will host the cricket World Cup from February 19 to April 2 and for the first time the Tigers national team will be hosting World Cup cricket in Bangladesh.

Channel i, a leading private television channel of Bangladesh, hosted the game at a makeshift stadium in a paddy field at Charpuliamri village near Mymensingh district town, 120km north from capital Dhaka.

Some 20 farmers aged over 60 participated in the 10-over-a-side match representing Australia (yellow jackets) and Bangladesh (green) national teams.

Many of these farmers had no idea where Australia is. To some of them it is just the name of a cricket team and to others Australia is a neighbouring village.

 Shaikh Siraj, head of news at Channel i and host of the event, said that more than 110 million people of Bangladesh's total population live in villages, so it was important to engage with the villagers to make the cricket World Cup a success.

"It is just to boost up our cricket, to boost up our rural people, that's it," he said.

The villagers turned out en masse to watch the game under makeshift floodlights, and Channel i cameras recorded the action.

Many of the spectators were blowing vuvuzela-type horns, and a giant television screen meant everyone could see the action.

Before the match, a president of a symbolic Farmers Cricket Council (FCC) and a symbolic local sports minister were introduced to barefooted players, who were wearing their traditional dress of a Lungi, a sarong-style cloth around their legs.

The players made up in enthusiasm for their lack of traditional cricket skills. Balls were thrown rather than bowled and batsman sometimes failed to realise they were out even though they were clean bowled.

Two popular Bangladeshi radio commentators gave a running commentary of the game, and the farmer of the match award was a goat and money. Inevitably it was the Bangladesh players who raised the trophy at the end of the evening as the crowd cheered and fireworks were ignited.

The match will be aired in a progamme anchored by Siraj on February 11, eight days before Bangladesh play the World Cup opening game against another co-host India at Dhaka's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium. Close