Cricket-hater’s lament

Press, 25 October 1984, Page 23

Cricket-hater’s lament

NZPA-Reuter Islamabad An exasperated crickethater has appealed to Pakistan’s Ombudsman and Council of Islamic Ideology to ban live radio and television broadcasts of cricket matches. “For God’s sake don’t let this game paralyse the whole nation,” a Lahore resident, signing his name as “A.T.,” wrote in the Gov-ernment-owned “Pakistan Times.”

“Because of its colossal, nation-wide, time-wasting impact, it must be restricted to the playing field only," said A.T., whose home town has been mesmerised by the first India-Pakistan test, which ended in a draw. He said that the prospect of live cricket on television and radio until the middle of December — the New Zealand team will arrive next month when India’s three-test tour ends —

would disrupt studies at universities and colleges more effectively than student strikes. Government offices were paralysed during the matches because bureaucrats stayed glued to their radios, he alleged. “The only argument that will disarm me is why I can’t enforce discipline in my home and office,” A.T. lamented. “My children and colleagues, too, are part of the same crowd.”