David Shearer
On a less political note for the school holidays, was it not great to see both New Zealand and India do so well in the Cricket World Cup?
As a sporting spectacle, it was extraordinary, attracting the biggest audience of any sporting event in the world.
It has been reported that 1.3 billion people watched the India vs Pakistan game.
It does not get much bigger than that.
NZ Pride
Although the Black Caps did not make it over the line to win the Tournament, they did us proud and gave us some of the most magical moments of New Zealand cricketing history.
Who will ever forget 36-year-old Daniel Vettori’s heroic one-handed leap to catch Marlon Samuels, and the jubilation that followed among his teammates.
It was great to see so many Indian cricket fans in the crowd at Eden Park, cheering for New Zealand against South Africa in the Auckland semi-final.
Sporting wonder
That was one of the wonders of sport; the way it sweeps us all up in the atmosphere and unites us. It is not often that you end up hugging complete strangers, but that is what happened to many of us when Grant Elliott hit the six and got the winning runs that night.
What an electrifying game that was! It was equally brilliant to see New Zealand through to the final in such style.
In the end, both New Zealand and India were beaten by Australia in the last exciting games of the Tournament.
Dinner chats
India’s loss to Australia meant that New Zealand did not meet India in the final and that probably avoided a contest of loyalties; and perhaps some spirited dinnertime conversations in a few Indian New Zealand households.
It is great to have such fanatical cricket fans in New Zealand, and all in good fun.
Best wishes for the school holidays and perhaps some backyard cricket with the children if the weather holds.
David Shearer is Member of Parliament elected from Mt Albert and Labour Party’s Spokesman for Foreign Affairs and Consumer Affairs.
