Stump Fight at the OK Headingley

What is the big deal about the matter ? … English media should be more concerned about British Hooliganism than some Pak-Brits invading a pitch .. Pitch invasion does not even come close to the amount violence and racial tone reflected in the English soccer culture … ‘We rather be a Paki than be a Turk’ was one of the popular slogans of 40,000 + Brits who were in Turkey for the European League championship game (not to mention the violence and fatalities reflected by British goons) … The pitch invasion is blown out of proportion .. it was just a mob mentality which frequently happens in stadium sports .. nothing much happened .. much of the blame lies with ECB after all they are the ones who defended and supported crowd on the ground. Now what do you think is going to happen ? Bunch of 50+ year old Brits (those are the only British fans in the stand!) are gonna take a stroll down the green? .. Reality check .. it will be the hot headed emotionally broiled fans ! .. what does being a Pakistani or not being one has to do with it … sip on your tea , get rid of yellow teeth stains Brits .. and for you all apologists ..stuff your sorry attitude in a sack and worry about more important things ..

``I felt ashamed``

i did too...so incredibly ashamed...couldnt help wondering WHY we as a nation have let go of everthing..morals, manners, ethics...it doesnt matter to me if these people were born in sialkot or blackpool..if they believe themselves to be pakistanis and are rooting for the pakistani team then their behavior, good or bad reflects on Pakistan.

a very well written article..i felt all the emotions you wrote off as i was reading.

Shafqat Mehmood says in The Friday Times:

````It is indeed strange that the burden of disgraceful crowd behaviour in this Natwest series is being dumped on the Pakistan cricket team. Pakistani supporters those ruffians may be, but they are British born and as English as Nasser Hussain and Owais Shah. If the good deeds of British Asians are a credit to England then so should the shame be. The British soccer crowd after all is as English as they come. There is no reason for us to be defensive about bad crowd behaviour in England.

In any case, it is the responsibility of the England Cricket Board and their law and order machinery to ensure an undisturbed game. How do we come into the picture is beyond me. It was indeed unfair of Bob Willis to go on and on about ‘Pakistani’ supporters and their disgraceful conduct. I am amazed how Ramiz Raja, who was sitting next to him, kept his cool. The simple fact is that racial tensions are very high in Britain this summer. There have been riots at Oldham and Burnley. That is purely a British issue and we can do little about it except offer our sympathy and support.````

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Nice well-written article. Englishmen reserve their fervour for soccer and formula one racing. Cricket is definitely not high on the popularity list as it is in India or Pakistan. Actually most(and by that I mean more than 90 percent) Englishmen would be hard pressed to name the current members of their national side. It would be highly ironic if it fell on the shoulders of the immigrant community to keep alive this English tradition!!

later

-sac

Nice piece!

Now I understand why do they have those huge iron grill fences in stadiums all over Pakistan. I guess it doesn`t matter where we are born or brought up. There are a handful in every crowd that are determined to spoil the fun for all. But having watched all the matches of the Natwest series, it wasn`t just a handfull.

And the beer can missile fired at the players balcony after the final at Lord`s was an icing on the cake. That idiot should be fully prosecuted.

I had always wanted to go watch a game in an English ground. I am not so sure anymore.

Aziz Ahmed

``Maybe one day Asians across cricket grounds will be careful in crossing the line between fun and rowdy behaviour.``

It`s not just Asians, it`s everyone. People become monsters at the height of passion for something or some idea.

There have been some interesting studies in psychology regarding this sort of negative mass group behavior.

Good article mr. maximillian. Very thought provoking.

I miss watching cricket...I`ve had my share of being rowdy, but only to the extent of being vocally deafening with the `narey` and songs...especially at Shahid Afridi`s fastest 100, in Nairobi Kenya. It was one of the most moving moments of my life. I regretted not taking his and Saqlain`s autograph because I thought they were ``nobody`s`` earlier that day.

Anyway, I enjoyed reading this a lot. I hope that little boy grows up to know more about Pakistan and its history than is speculated.

When people get together with other people, and sacrifice their individuality, they loose any understanding and compassion that they could have gotten otherwise. Suspicion and cynicism grips their reputation in that association. Its sad that crowds behave the way they do. Studying mob behavior in Sociology baffled me. The rapport between people of different backgrounds and unique experiences is truly fascination. The power of ripple effects is equally sprinkled across the stadium and that is what is exciting about it.

The high people get out of being in a role where they could be someone they have never been and that they could actually have people follow them to destruction...in a way it is understandably thrilling but what is sad is that most of the consequences of the acts are faced by others who had no part in it.

This should change. And yes, I am sure it must be embarrassing.

Aisha Fayyazi Sarwari