Nothing much to cheer about

Just how much does cricket affect one's life? In Bangladesh, with its crippled economy and flood-ravaged countryside, cricket is a distraction from people's troubled lives. But the team's recent performance - losing the Test and one-day series in Sri Lanka - has added to the country's gloom. Mohammad Isam writes in the Daily Star that cricket more often than not played the role of a healer of real life sufferings of Bangladeshis and a good performance in Sri Lanka would have fitted in nice amidst all this because it is a feel-good factor for them.

Cricket and the people of Bangladesh have had a brilliant relationship since the days of the ICC Trophy triumph in 1997. It hit the roof when they beat Pakistan in 1999 and it hit an all-time high this World Cup. Over the last 10 years, the country hasn't had much reason, except cricket, to cheer about.