The Cowdrey Lecture

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 Next year you
need to get Fantasy Bb

Fantasy Bob commends to his 3 readers the Cowdrey Spirit of Cricket Lecture given earlier this week by Kumar Sangakkara.  It is touching, inspiring and terrifying all at once.  Sangakkara is eloquent, passionate and insightful.  This link will take you to the transcript.

The press has concentrated on Kumar's criticism of the current administration of Sri Lankan cricket, its croneyism and its politicised corruption.  That is obviously a serious issue but the lecture places this as a regrettable, but it is to be hoped passing, development in the history of both the game in Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka itself.  For Sangakkara and his fellow players have found cricket in country ravaged by civil war - have seen how cricket has united that country - have seen that country devastated by the tsunami in 2004 - have survived an attack in 2009 on their team bus - and come through with a strengthened identity and sense of purpose.  The game faces a challenge but this is slight compared to what it and the Sri Lankans have overcome before.  His lecture shows the triumph of the human spirit through the game of cricket.  Nothing can be more inspiring.

This Cowdrey Lecture seems a jolly good thing to FB.  He has therefore advised the selection committee that he himself is available next year, since they will need a decent speaker to keep up the standard.  His first approach has not met with overwhelming enthusiasm, much to his surprise.  In fact he has been advised that the committee's expectations are demanding and they will not put up with a biscuit obsessed monologue or a load of old tosh about dead poets not playing cricket or gratuitous references to Poonam Pandey.  The tone of this communication lacked the warmth that FB might have expected.  So far the committee seem unconvinced that FB's suggested subject matter is of essential importance to the continuing health of world cricket.  FB is not optimistic of a successful outcome.