For the love of the game
As a Bangladeshi, cricket runs in our blood and nothing short of the end of the world can get in our way when it comes to this beautiful sport. We stay up till 3am and swear to never watch another match when we lose by 3 runs but we always find ourselves glued to the sofa every time the Tigers step onto the pitch.
To watch or not to watch
While the timing of the matches for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 are slightly odd, thankfully four of Bangladesh' matches begin at 10am. The bad news is most of us have that horrid thing called jobs and unless you work in sports, chances are you'll miss some of the matches.
Fear not though - it's the digital age and there is always a way to make sure that doesn't happen. You can stream the games live for free or get live sms updates from your service provider.
Star Lifestyle by no means endorse skipping work and we are not liable if your company goes down in flames. There are some helpful sites that you can use for live streaming such as http://crichd.in/live and http://cricket.watchcriclive.com.
Make sure your PC or laptop has the latest flash driver and JavaScript. If this is your first time streaming here is a golden rule that you absolutely must abide by -- do not click on any links telling you to download the latest software.
It never works and you just end up with an unwanted extension on your browser that slows it down. When you need to update, Google the name of the software and only download from official or well known sites. Also be aware of your computer's specifications.
If you are running on a 64-bit Windows you shouldn't download any software built for a 32-bit Windows. In case you get a lag while streaming make sure you shut down all other windows that require an internet connection.
Food runs
Sadly only one of our matches falls on a Friday and with our quarter final hopes hanging in the air go all out. The Friday match between New Zealand on the 13th of March is at 8am. This calls for a huge breakfast feast. Gather around your family or call over your friends and set up your bean bags and pillows on the floor to make the perfect theater in the TV room. I suggest dumping the food duty on the chirpy morning person. It keeps them far enough from ruining your mood. Apologies if you're the chirpy morning person.
There are plenty of food options on the table. The burger craze is evident in practically every major street of the city and with good reasons. It's cheap, huge and excellent in terms of quality. There's brunch, which is quite possibly man's most brilliant discovery since it combines breakfast and lunch.
What's not to love about that? The possibilities are endless. You can take the traditional route and have a combination of our most beloved dishes. Or do a fusion of foreign brunch dishes with a 'deshi' twist.
Make sure to add a colourful assortment of bhorta and some pitha. Winter might be over by then but there are plenty of pithas you can enjoy all year round. Lastly cricket is a long game which means at some point or the other you're going to get the munchies, so start stocking up on snacks.
All things cricket
The cricket fever is upon us, the streets are paved with makeshift wickets made of bricks and thousands of people; old and young playing cricket. But stumps and other cricket accessories can be found in any shop nowadays. Stumps are very cheap falling around Tk. 200-300. They're far less likely to cripple your legs if there is a wicket. The bolder folks out there prefer wooden balls to tennis balls. That is a bit tricky to find. General stores don't usually have wooden balls so you're better off looking for it in a sports shop. For newcomers to the sport here's a helpful tip - tape your tennis ball up. That way it won't break and it'll bounce better.
When purchasing bats, pick one according to your size. Other helpful items are gloves, helmets and leg pads. They're not usually necessary for the occasional street game. Original jerseys are a bit pricey falling between Tk.1000-1500. But generally T shirts or jerseys are affordable at Tk.350-500. Original wristbands have become a rarity; the ones you usually find are poor in quality and tear in a few months. Unless you find any of the original ones steer clear of wristbands. You will find these in just about any sports shop. The clothes shops opposite Dhaka College have jerseys of just about any team in the second floor.
My most favourite part of the world cup isn't any of this, it's how the country seems to come alive. When Mashrafee hits a 6 in the last over, you can almost hear every person in the country screaming at the top of their voices. The best part is the passion, it's the tears on our faces, the red and the green paint on our cheeks and the victory cry in our throats. It's the thousands of people who flock to the streets bearing flags and celebrating. It's on moments like that when the country really comes alive. And with all the trouble that's going on, this is just what we need. Let the fire burn in our hearts and not the buses.
Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed
Model: Dipto, Sakib, Rabbi, Raihan, Sohan, Hritika, Arin
Special thanks to Shehzan Lincon for the jerseys