How to play the game

After it became known earlier this week that Sri Lanka had entered the finals of the Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean, and had earned for herself the honour of challenging the incumbent world champions -- the world was agog at the fact that here was a unique country; a country battling through a raging insurgency, yet delighting in its sporting prowess at the same time.

It was "good copy" for international media agencies to write, on the intriguing contradictions of a nation and her people that gives some credence -- though in a different context -- to the Tourist Board slogan A Land Like No Other !!

Sports in Sri Lanka, like in most other countries, is the glue that binds the nation together. And cricket more than any other sport, as we all know, has that inexplicable magic that holds this nation in its thrall.

That was why we joined in the condemnation of human rights group Amnesty International's ill-advised campaign to try to exploit the deteriorating human rights situation in Sri Lanka by targeting the World Cup.

For a country that records the second longest unbroken cricket match in the world --- the Royal-Thomian (second only by a year to a schoolboy match played in Australia), cricket has long been a passion with the people cutting across race, religion and all other barriers.

Cricketers of yesteryear still recall with nostalgia the bonds created between players from the north, south, east and west and the central highlands, the bonhomie and warm hospitality they shared during an age when racial tension was not whipped up as it is now.

The playing fields of schools and clubs were completely devoid of racial discrimination -- and even if some did practise it on the sly -- it could never be raised as an issue. An oft-repeated example is the fact that the 1963 cricket team of one of the country's premier state schools, Royal College had only one Sinhalese in it, and no one at the time even raised an eyebrow, no one cried about reverse discrimination -- basically, no one even thought on those lines. Today's national cricket side is as multi-ethnic as it can it get.

And it's the best XI that is selected -- not on ethnic quotas -- not on religious quotas -- not on geographical quotas -- but on pure merit. And in this scenario, nobody says that a Sinhalese-Catholic was dropped to make way for a Muslim. There were no political party considerations, no square-pegs in round-holes appointments, no appointments based on nepotism -- surely the recipe for disaster for any professional team. The entire mindset was different. Casting aside these divisive tendencies, the national team gave us a fine example of what the principles of meritocracy can achieve.

And we saw the entire population making their fervent prayers to different Gods this week for the success of their team in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, this country is being dragged in different directions on the rest of the burning issues it faces.

The focus is not on nation-building, but on ethno-building -- not on a coming together, but on going in separate ways. The Sri Lanka One Nation One People concept is being drowned by the cacophony of voices advocating federalism, devolution, homeland theories, separation, ethnic superiority, ethnic quotas, geographic quotas, etc.

If the national unity generated by the successes of the Sri Lankan national cricket team is worthy of emulation by the powers-that-be, it must extend beyond the realm of its World Cup campaign.

How they clinically set about it, selecting the best performers, mapping out strategy, "the captain's hand on his shoulder smote" in the face of a bumpy pitch and fading light, the combination of experience and youthful exuberance, and finally the execution of the task at hand to the best of their ability.

The fact that the team came through with heads held high -- with exemplary conduct both on and off the field is also worthy of commendation. There were no accusations of doping, or contacts with bookies -- or falling off a pedalo into the sea after binge-drinking parties -- there was none of this as far as the Sri Lankan team was concerned. On the contrary, the reports focused on their humility and over-riding team spirit, also the sheer joy and enthusiasm that characterised their game.

On a national footing, the Sri Lankan cricket team's World Cup campaign was a success -- and it would be wise for modern Sri Lanka to emulate the professionalism that they have displayed in other areas of national life. What is more, the team can take immense pride in having brought this divided nation together even for a fleeting moment -- much the way their predecessors have done before them.

What more could one ask for?
When you know 'our boys' are doing their best in all sincerity, with a genuine love for their country, defeat can be faced with dignity. Nobody goes around burning the cricketers' homes and their effigies when they lose, because you know they have given their all for their country. And when they win, all of Sri Lanka rejoices, basking in the reflected glory of their success. And that is the way it should be -- in every sphere of national life.