Stars and star gazers lure cricket fans

CRICKET: The Cricket season is in full swing with matches beamed over the many satellite TV stations from all parts of the world where the game is being played. The main focus among cricket connoisseurs of course is the current Ashes series between the two old enemies England and Australia being played Down Under.

There is also the encounter between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Kiwi land. It is this latter that is currently having not only cricket fans but even ordinary folk rivetted to a private local channel that is beaming the action live.

This is not only to take in the thrills and spills on the field when Sanath Jayasuriya is in full cry but also to view a novel Chat Show preceding each game where a popular young actress currently very much in the scene takes centre stage.

Never mind if what is being said is anything but that related to cricket but her presence coupled with that of self styled soothsayer strategically drafted into the Chat Show,has got people to rise at the ungodly hour of 3'o Clock in the morning to lap in the action.If the viewers have gone gaga over the actress they are also bound to be equally if not more interested in the astrological discourse that precedes the game.

Both the young actress and the Astrologer keeps the viewers entertained in the run up to the toss. The Channel has done well to bring in a star as well as a star gazer into the equation.

However more than the star it is the stargazer who in this instance is the biggest draw at least among cricket fans. For, not only does he deigns to predict the performance of each Lankan player based on their individual planetary positions he also forecasts the course of the game which invariably ends in Sri Lanka's favour.

According to this individual our boys can do no wrong since they are being guided by the planets and fours and sixes would rain at precise times synchronising with the stars of a player. This of course is a new dimension in 'Cricket Chat' shows, which channels such as Dooradarshan who cater to populous enamoured by Astrology is bound to follow.

The novel concept would also give the English Cricket authorities something to mull over given the pathetic performance of the English team down under. If only they had foreknowledge of their players' performances before the Ashes series England would not have suffered such a reversal. Anyway even some pre match mumbo jumbo might have worked. All they would have done was to install soothsayer to speak positively of England's chances.

'Suggestion' in phycological terms work wonders and Flintoff and his men would have got their act together. England's batsmen would have been emboldened to such a degree by the man's predictions that they would no doubt have fronted up to Shane Warne without demure.

The topic of 'Cricket Astrology' would no doubt be a topic top on the agenda of the next ICC meeting with the Sri Lankan Cricket Board requested to provide the World Cricket Governing body with inputs. This latest episode of predicting the fortunes of players on the field could also lead to the re-emergence of illegal betting that once sullied the name of the gentleman's game. Why wait for pre-match Chat shows.

The man could be imported well before the start of a series by a country and birth charts of players supplied to ascertain their performance based on which the team would be picked.

A whole new cricketing culture is bound to emerge and a batsman will be expected to know how many runs he would score. He will be expected to know the propitious time when he would belt a six. All he needs to do is consult an Astrologer from Sri Lanka.

The country could turn out to be a ready source of fortune tellers who could seal the fortunes of an opposition side. This could have promising export potential which would favourably view with Tea and Garments. There would be a frantic search for astrological talent throughout the country to boost the market. Sri Lanka would be placed on the world map for its Cricketing Astrologers.

Rambler