The title is a pun on the “It’s just not cricket” saying. An English saying that something is unjust or just plain wrong done to someone or something. This came from the game of cricket which is regarded as a gentlemans game were fairplay was paramount.
A little over six weeks ago, I shared the joy I felt when Liverpool pulled off one of the biggest upsets in world football by beating Barcelona in the semi-final of the European Champions Cup. Liverpool went on to win the competition against Spurs a couple of weeks later. It was a fantastic experience.
Today is a little different. I’m sitting at my desk this morning still reeling at the loss by New Zealand’s cricket team to England over the weekend (Sunday) in the Cricket World Cup final. It’s Tuesday now and it’s still stinging. The game is being heralded as the greatest game of one day cricket ever played.
But New Zealand lost.
“We” came so close.
Inches in fact. Literally inches.
I was able to watch the game on my laptop. None of the American networks were carrying it so I had to trick my laptop into thinking I was in the UK (using a VPN service) and connected to Channel 4. I woke up at 4:25am to read that NZ had won the toss and had decided to bat. I followed the score on my phone (I was half asleep) until I knew we had a game on our hands. The reason being is that leading up to the final, NZ had shown dreadful form and were lucky to be there (in my opinion). On the other hand, England were red hot favorites and on fire. A few days earlier they had handily demolished old foes Australia on their way to the final. The final was being played on home soil at the famous Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. This was England’s game; it was preordained. Seeing NZ wasn’t going to capitulate, I dragged myself out of bed and settled in for the morning in front of my computer.
I won’t go into the nuances of the game or a ball by ball analysis. I really just wanted to explore how emotionally involved one can get by watching (experiencing) sport and that the difference between winning and losing can sometimes be so infinitesimally small. I experienced the highest of highs when it was clear that NZ was going to win; screaming and yelling at the screen – willing them on to victory. But then I got to experience the lowest of lows when absolute freakish events unfolded that tipped the win to England coming down to the final few seconds of the match. And that’s the kicker – when a game of this magnitude comes down to the final few seconds involving a precious few inches.
Success in sport is measured in seconds and inches. Compare the times between competitors in downhill skiing or bobsled: the difference between victory and the silver medal can literally be a thousand of a second. The difference between a game winning grand slam and a foul ball is sometimes a yellow foul pole with a diameter of 12″.
Success in sport (and life?) also sometimes comes down to pure luck. Luck is a thing.
I was left absolutely numb after the game. I couldn’t (and I haven’t) watched the trophy presentation and I wasn’t able to fully engage in any highlights until a good 48 hours had passed. It’s killing me right now thinking about inserting a YouTube link into this post. I’ve lost count at the number of times I’ve recalled those freakish events that unfolded and “what could have been” had lady luck not given a wink to England and turned a blind eye to the men in black from New Zealand.
Why is that? I watched them lose. They played and got so agonizingly close; but THEY lost – not me. I’m hurting because they are hurting; I’m an empath. As with everything, time will heal and it will become a memory. History will allow me to re-frame the memory of losing into a memory of having witnessed the greatest game of one day cricket. Let’s hope.
Until then, I’ll continue to stew and ponder what could have been. While I do that, you can all take a few minutes to watch this fabulous three minute montage of the defining moments of this incredible game. Knowledge of the rules of the game isn’t necessary – the expressions on the faces will tell you the story. It’s well worth it even if the ending truly sucks for this kiwi cricket fan.
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