Cricket And Superstition

I am usually not a superstitious person. Usually. And we Bengalis have a lot of strange superstitions. For example, do you know you are not supposed to cut your nails after Maghreb (evening)? Now I don't know what led to this rule (probably in ancient times light in evening was precious and you did not waste it cutting nails, also nailcutters were not there so you could cut yourself in bad light - my theory). One of my aunts told me if you cut your nails at night you won't be rich. See, I don't believe in that kind of stuff - but I still cut my nails in the morning on the weekend. I mean, why risk it?

However, when it comes to cricket, superstition takes a whole new meaning. During the 1999 World Cup, Bangladesh vs Pakistan, every time I would check Cricinfo for the scores and keep the live score window running, Bangladesh would lose a wicket. When I closed the browser window we would do good. I was convinced it was my browser that was costing Bangladesh wickets. So I walked away from the computer and checked the scores after the game. It worked - we won.

Similarly, during India's tour of Pakistan, when Pakistan nearly chased down 350, I was watching with a few friends. One Indian was amongst them - he was pacing. I told him in jest that every time he sat down Pakistan would hit a four. At first it was funny, then it became eerily true. He never sat down. In the final over he went out of the room to pace in the next hall. It seems to have worked, as India won by 5 runs.

Currently Bangladesh and Australia are engaged in a good dogfight of a match. This is the number 1 team against the number 10 team, or as BBC never tires of reminding their viewers endlessly - the worst Test team. To have had the Aussies down on the mat for two days was amazing in itself. All across my MSN, people had various ways to affect the outcome of the match.

I am convinced if I open Cricinfo in Firefox Bangladesh will do well, but if I open it in IE they won't. Another friend warned me not to post anything on the blog about the game lest we jinx it. Another friend of mine was changing his MSN nick to reflect the scores. Last night, when Bangladesh was on 41/0, he had 'BD kicks Oz A**' - and then we started to collapse. We all messaged him to immediately change his nick back - never count your chickens and all that.

Then, religion is never behind from entering the mix.

During last World Cup final, India vs Australia, a friend's mother had promised Allah she would pray 10 rakats nafil if India won. When Australia scored near 350, then it became 10 rakats if there was rain. When there was rain, and India still lost, she was in a dilemma - pray or not - because by rain she had meant game abandoned, but she said rain. In the end, she prayed.

And that's what we all are doing now. Hoping, praying, and closing browser windows (IE only). C'mon Tigers!

Tags: Cricket Bangladesh