Odd one out

As usual, music, colours, diversity of cultures as well as fireworks marked the opening ceremony of the 2015 cricket World Cup. It was a five-minute walk from the Melbourne Cricket Ground to the venue; the Sidney Myer Bowl and at that time many had enthusiastically said, “Oh! you were going to have some fun there.”

In the end, the two and a half hour ceremony hardly produced anything spectacular in front of 10,000 people other than some fun.

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In this ordinary show, the Bangladesh part too was ordinary when it came to show their identity. The program started with the official Indigenous Elders welcome and then it was turn to showcase the participating countries cultures and traditions.

All 14 participating countries displayed their tradition except Bangladesh ahead of the cricket's flagship event.

England had a beautiful “Beatles Concerto”, India performed traditional “Dhating Naach”,  Ireland had a traditional “Siuil A Run”, Pakistan put on “Jazba Junoon” , Scotland their traditional music of “Scotland the Brave”,  “A Hundred Pipers”. “Cock of the North” and “The Black Bear”, South Africa came up with “Gumboot Dance”, Sri Lankans danced to the music of “I Dream of you Sri Lanka”, UAE  sang “Khaliji”, West Indies tuned in with “Lord Invader and Lionel Belasco Morey Amsterdam” , Zimbabwe performed traditional “Kwayedza”  and Taqi Khan sang the song of Kabul for Afghanistan.

One could easily understand the cultures and traditions of the respective countries by seeing their dresses and listening to the music, but it was hard to identify Bangladesh, whose red and green jerseys were the indication of who they were. The boys and girls, who are living here to study, wore jeans and Bangladesh jerseys and danced to the rhythm of “Cholo Bangladesh”, sung by Habib Wahid, which failed to portray the rich culture of Bangladesh.

The star of the show however was a giant dubbed “The Don''. The 5.5m puppet produced the defining sequence of the event. Rising to his feet while the orchestra played around him, the puppet represented cricketers around the world, taking the audience on a journey from the dressing room to the crease. The 150kg cricketer ended with a big six that sparked with the lights.