#almostcricket, 10 rules for #cwc23

It's day one for CWC 2023 and my last day of writing this column so I will keep it short.

A few rules to remember as you commit to watching #cwc23 and I free you of the obligation to return here.

1. Sometimes, all it takes for your team to win a match is for you to wear (without washing) the same jersey (seven days in a row, if required, and yes the key is to let it wear the aroma of sweat and dirt) all through the tournament.

2. Standing all through the rest of the match, for standing the first 15 minutes of it worked in your team’s favour.

3. And yes, please, nobody sneezes at all for the next few weeks. Thank you.

4. Eating a concoction of yogurt and sugar, just a few spoons, just before the match.

5. Reciting shlokas and mantras.

6. Shouting instructions on the television screen.

7. Praying that the empire and the third empire can’t see the obvious.

8. Giving up on alcohol and meat all through the tournament.

9. Saving all sick days from work for the tournament.

10. Just letting the players do what they are meant to do and trained for.

I had fun with this experiment, and I hope you did too! I will keep writing about this and that, meanwhile here's wishing you days full of SPORTSMANSHIP!

Rewind to how it all started (and support it if you want it to last)

• Number of World Cups I’ve missed in my lifetime: 12

• The names of cricketers I knew before I got married

• Reasons that intrigue and amuse me when people want to match at the stadium

• Questions I’ve asked and I shouldn't

• Comments and questions that concern cricket and the spouse, raised recently by the readers (yes, I have a few now)

• At the pub, with the Mr

• It’s the fans that make a game

• P.S: I love you

• Art gallery vs. stadium

• Sound knowledgable

A hashtag I thought I'd never use

#cwc23

P.S.: I'd hoped to write for the days until CWC23 kickstarted, and you happily suffered (with me) and kept coming back here for daily doses! In a world of REELS and EMOJIS, you read about CRICKET as someone who didn't know anything about the game scribbled. We did well.