JEDDAH, 28 June 2003 — As the night sky above south Jeddah roared into a blaze of color and thunderous noise over the Prince Abdullah Stadium on Thursday, shouts of “howzzat” resounded across the car park below.
For the three drivers awaiting the return of their employers, their extemporized cricket match was far more important than the few hundred kilos of explosives igniting tens of meters above their heads. The fireworks were to celebrate the official opening of the 24th Jeddah Festival.
The Pakistani opening batsman, Kamran Khan, wielding a new bat with more verve than style, faced ferocious deliveries from his compatriot off-spinner, Faisal Khan. Ever swift off the mark and with a safe pair of hands and, on occasion thobe, Indian wicket keeper Humed Ur-Rahman let nothing past him and offered every encouragement and advice to the outfield.
Nonetheless, Kamran Khan succeeded in lofting a couple of crisp balls to the boundary, serendipitously marked by a police Land-Cruiser, whence it was nimbly retrieved from slightly confused but very amiable constables by the Pakistani outfielder Farouk Munir.
Shunning the decision from the umpire — a shifting responsibility borne by the player who was currently looking for the ball under the parked vehicles — that “bad light stops play,” the game continued right through the pyrotechnic display.
During the break for tea, Kamran Khan explained that he was a player in the active cricket league that exists in the Indian and Pakistani expatriate community in Jeddah. Rarely traveling without bat and ball, he often whiles away time honing his cricketing skills.
“Whatever differences might exist at home,” he grinned, commenting on the eclectic international mix of the teams he meets and plays in, “this is cricket! No border disputes here.”
The match concluded in an honorable draw when, with a combination of acute survival instincts and unanimous decision, moving traffic stopped play.
