THE FAN CLUB
Cricket crazy fans
Cricket World Cup fever was extremely high in just about every Sri Lankan household. Mine was no exception. It was madness to the point that I could see every kind of cricket fan under one roof. And I’m beginning to wonder if there’s life beyond cricket. Probably not!
When Sri Lanka played England, it was a ‘must win’ game if we wanted to have any chance of moving forward. Also, a victory would shut the haters up – at least for a short while. We batted first and I was confident that a score above 220 would be enough for us to win.
Meanwhile, the social media pundits were at work airing their ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs,’ and fans around the world were going through various emotions as Sri Lanka batted in their usual manner. For the first time in the tournament, both openers were out soon leaving the brittle middle order in charge of putting up a score of substance.
My mother-in-law loves the game to the point that she doesn’t tolerate nonsense. The moment Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera were sent back, she stood up in frustration and yelled: “Sack those fellows! What are they doing there in the first place?”
I fear that she harbours traits of fanatical extremism – she’s a passionate but unforgiving fan!
Avishka Fernando was in form that day and scored a brisk 49 off 39 deliveries. My wife was elated, and praised every shot he played and asked some tough questions like: “Where was he all this time? Why can’t he open the batting?”
She is the kind of fan who watches a game eagerly and asks rhetorical questions.
Kusal Mendis crafted his way to 46 off 68 deliveries. I wasn’t too concerned by the pace he scored because of the type of wicket they were playing on. However, my brother wasn’t impressed. He texted me: “This fellow is ruining the hard work of Avishka, he’s bogging the whole game down – I’m going to drink now!”
He’s the romantic fan who looks for any excuse to drown his sorrows with a chilled one.
Angelo Mathews was batting against a strong England bowling unit, serious odds and a barrage of already upset Sri Lankan fans. I sat there defending his approach, telling myself and everyone (including the social media pundits) that he will eventually catch up with the balls faced and score big – enough for us to win.
It then hit me. I’m the unrealistic fan! Even through the worst possible odds, I blindly stand by my team; not because I don’t see the fate ahead but in the belief that we can change the game on a whim.
The chase was on! Needing 233 for victory, England were off to a nightmare start – exactly what we wanted. Everything seemed to be going fine until Ben Stokes decided to unleash his wrath on the Sri Lanka bowlers… and for a
short time, England had a chance. “Bloody waste of time, we can never win a game with this team,” snarled my mother.
She is the passive aggressive fan whose disproportionate explosions take everyone by surprise.
Thankfully, Sri Lanka managed to hold their nerve and record yet another famous victory against England. Everyone was on their feet, celebrating this amazing comeback. And from the naysayer to the patroniser, we partied like we had won the World Cup.
We may differ in character, opinions and attitude towards the game but our cause keeps us united – because all we want is to see our boys win.