Cricket Thread -4

[Naresh]

[center]<b><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Letter Number 7 : Religion and cricket</span></b> <!--emo&:flush--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' /><!--endemo--> [/center]

<b>Sir : The defeat in the final of the Twenty20 tournament should make it clear to the nation that religious beliefs have nothing to do with sports. Everybody was expecting Pakistan to win the final as it was being played in the month of Ramadan. The 1992 World Cup was won in Ramadan with the wrong conception that the title was won due to the prayers of the faithful in the holy month.</b> The clear message of Islam is that whosoever works hard will be rewarded. Prayers without effort have no consequence. For the first time the bowling and fielding was much improved due to hard work and not just prayers. The religious brigade in the team should change their attitude towards the game and avoid bringing religion into cricket. The faith of the nation must be coupled with hard work in training and consistent performances on the pitch.
<b>MOHAMMED RAFI
UK</b>

Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->