In a barren Athens parking lot, young Pakistanis get in position for a game of cricket. On one end of the dust-covered concrete is a trash can; on the other, a pile of rocks. That is their pitch, and those are its wickets.
In soccer-loving Greece, cricket is an alien concept, but for its migrants from Pakistan, one of the world’s most cricket-crazy nations, it is a way of life.
On Sundays, a growing community of street cricketers travels across the capital to the unlikeliest locations, from parking lots to abandoned industrial grounds, engaging in tape-ball cricket — an informal version of the game invented in Pakistan, played using a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape.
Photo: Reuters
With the Cricket World Cup under way, they compete in local tape-ball tournaments, and homes and restaurants are abuzz with fans.
“I love cricket. I’m crazy for cricket. I’m 30 years old and I’m playing for 20 years,” said Awais Mughal, a delivery worker who arrived in Greece a decade ago.
Dressed in the green jersey of his Athens team, Mughal and more than a dozen of his countrymen gathered in his apartment on a sweltering Sunday morning to watch Pakistan defeat South Africa over bottles of chilled water and soft drinks.
“In my country, whenever I go, I play all day,” Mughal said. “In Greece we play only on Sundays because we work six days a week.”
About 50,000 Pakistanis live in Greece, the embassy estimates, many of them laborers in fields or factories. Others own shops or restaurants.
“Cricket is in the genes of the people from the subcontinent,” said Yawar Abbas, the embassy’s charge d’affaires in Athens.
In Greece, the sole cricket ground is on Corfu, dating from the days when the Ionian islands were under British rule in the 19th century.
In Athens, where most migrants live, they resort to playing informally without proper gear.
“Many people play cricket here, but we have no grounds in Athens,” said Mehdi Khan Choudhry, a Pakistani former player in Greece’s national cricket team who has been living in Greece since 1993.
His home is adorned with trophies won over the years. A photograph shows him posing with a large Pakistani flag during a cricket match at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Choudhry, a mechanical engineer and cricket coach, has long campaigned for a ground in Athens and wants to open a cricket academy.
Beyond the enjoyment the sport brings, he said, it helps forge camaraderie with migrants from other cricket-playing nations, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh and even India.
“When we stay and play together, you know there is good relations,” he added.
The Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 36 points from Tyrese Maxey and a triple-double from Joel Embiid, on Thursday beat the Houston Rockets 128-122 in an NBA overtime thriller. Cameroonian big man Embiid scored 32 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out 10 assists, posting the ninth triple-double of his career to help the Sixers end the Rockets’ three-game winning streak. Rockets star Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Amen Thompson added 17, but Thompson was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Even so, the Rockets led by nine midway through the final frame, Maxey tying it at 115-115 with 40.1 seconds left. Durant missed a
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
RSS