Blessed are the pure in heart

Match fixing is the blatant betrayal of trust. Sledging is nothing other than insulting your opponent. Swearing at the umpire goes down as an act of cowardice. Ball tampering is a pathetic display of incompetence. We all agree that this is not 'cricket'. Then what is cricket? A game that provides us with the complete picture of all facets of life. A game that could teach a young kid how to grow up as a decent human being. They are playing cricket in the suburbs of Los Angeles where kids still turn to drugs and guns. Cricket it seems is helping the kids in America to grow up as good citizens. Cricket taught me the basic rules of discipline, respect for the other person, good values and the lesson of understanding the ups and downs of life. For I could pick up five wickets one day and get none on the other. It taught me success is not the key to a good life, but a thing called accomplishment is. It is not winning by any means that counts, it is the goodwill you earn as a human being that matters to me. So many lives have been touched by this noble game. There would always be a few rotten apples in the basket; we always throw them out. But don't we cherish the good ones? We always remember the good times!

In February 1981, Greg Chappell instructed his brother Trevor to bowl an underarm delivery to conclude a one-day match against New Zealand. I had heard about it on the radio and read about it the following morning in the newspaper. I got to see the pictures on TV many years after that incident. I saw two men distinctly disturbed by their captain's actions. Two great Aussies in the form of Dennis Lillee and Rodney Marsh who finished their career with 355 dismissals each. They were convinced that their captain was making a huge mistake. I still see the disgusted Marsh walking towards the boundary line. Marsh and Lillee played cricket the tough way. They never gave an inch to their opponents yet they had the goodness in them to believe in their judgement. Winning was not it all for them, they wanted to play like decent gentlemen. You can't always win by being mean and aggressive; it takes lot of good will too. Men are like apples, when they are good they are really good, when they are rotten they are really rotten.

In the 1987 World Cup, Courtney Walsh had the great opportunity to run out Salim Jaffer who was backing up a bit too much. I still remember that look in Walsh's eyes when with hands folded to his chest, he refused to run Jaffer out. Perhaps that cost Windies the berth in the semifinals. Walsh, for one, rose above the mediocre lot and became one of my favourite players. It takes a lot in a pressure situation to keep your head. To keep your head and be graceful is what players of today should learn from Walsh. He might end up with more than 500 Test wickets but I'll remember Walsh for the great human being he has always been. The match fixers can look back at their lives and reflect on what might have been, if not for their greed. The men who lost their honour have lost it all. But there are young men like Stuart MacGill, Saurav Ganguly and a few others who have to learn the spirit of being a decent human being during this Christmas. Though I was not born a Christian, I have read a little bit of the Bible. The Sermon on the Mount stands apart for its message.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God"

Merry Christmas!