On Nov. 11, we will be hosting an India vs Pakistan cricket game. The members of our club, from both sides of the border will play a 20 over match as a call for peace. So come, sing along with the patriotic tunes, eat desi snacks and watch India take on Pakistan, invites Vedant Jain.

With blood red eyes, he stares. Like an angry bull, he marks his ground feverously. The home crowd is silent – petrified. His opponent is a mere speck of blue in the distance. He breathes in. The engines prepare for take-off. Lean muscles ripple, his loose green shirt flutters in the wind. Nobody move. Something magical is happening here.

He launches.

Like a thousand horses, he thunders to his mark. With a swan-like elegance, he propels the ball at the batsman. This is left-arm perfection. The ball scythes through the air, veering, swirling. This is not cricket. This is art.

The home crowd hushes, they know they’re in trouble. He’s their main man, this batsman. He’s their captain, their only chance. He’s God in this country, you don’t understand. He can’t get out!

Pin drop silence.

In a flurry of blue he adjusts, corrects, synchronizes and plays. Straight through point for four. What! That’s not possible. The silence breaks. It explodes. Flags wave, children scream as Vande Mataram blares through the stadium speakers. It’s crazy in here. Lights dance as people wave. The woozy evening turns electric sharp as bursts to life. 90,000 people sing along, it’s the greatest party on earth. It’s India versus Pakistan, and it’s only just begun.

But not anymore.

Vote bank politics and power-mongering have left two societies fractured. A people, once joined by borders and cricket now split apart by the power-hungry. Wounds, festering from a partition as bloody as it was unnecessary, refuse to heal, salt added regularly by those in charge. And in the end, it’s the people that suffer. Guns and bullets for bats and balls.

We, at the Trojan Cricket Club, have frankly had enough. Cricket has been and always will be a means for peace, not just another pawn in a demented political game of chess.

We call out to you, the people, to come and take a stand with us. On the 11th of November, at 3pm, we will be hosting an India vs Pakistan cricket game. The members of our club, from both sides of the border will play a 20 over match as a call for peace. So come, sing along with the patriotic tunes, eat desi snacks and watch India take on Pakistan.

It could be our last chance.

India vs Pakistan

Cromwell Track and Field

3PM, 11th November 2017

Support your country.