Cricket diplomacy highlights Commonwealth meet

Taking a cue from the Indian Premier League (IPL) fever, the British Deputy High Commission hosted a friendly cricket match in Mumbai on Saturday. Planned as part of a series of events that run up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting London, slated to take place from April 16 to 20 this month, the friendly match sought to celebrate shared values and invoke the sporting spirit.

“The theme of this year’s Commonwealth Meeting: ‘Towards a Common Future’ highlights the same,” said Mr. Crispin Simon, Trade Commissioner of India and South Asia.

Former women’s test cricketer Diana Edulji tossed the coin to kick off the morning’s proceedings, who then joined the spectators for the first innings.

The match was dubbed as a mini-IPL by Mr. Simon, who said “As a fan of cricket, I felt, through this match, we could celebrate common values and cultures. We are looking at this as an opportunity to strengthen the bonds,” said Mr. Simon, who also took to fielding for a few overs while also live tweeting the match.

Following the T20 format of cricket, and encouraging a mixed gender team, players representing the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Australia competed against the veterans and former players of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA).

Mr. Jordan Reeves, the Consul General of Canada, said, “The cricket match is a great way to bring different nations and consulates together. It is aimed to focus on common values in friendship and sportsmanship. Cricket also serves as a mutual interest among nations. We are also working at hosting a Premiere League in Canada in a couple of months.”

Among the audience, were a bunch of Commonwealth scholars, cheering for their team. “As cricket is a popular sport played among many nations of the Commonwealth, it is a great place to come together and exchange common interests and beliefs,” said Ms. Seema Nath, scholar and the captain of the Commonwealth team. The outcome of the match was perhaps inevitable as the professionals from the MCA beat the total of 111 scored by the Commonwealth team, by scoring 113 in the 17th over.