They meet every Sunday on the beaten earth of the Meloni “This is our sport, we would like to teach it to the people of Olbia”
OLBIA. The air of the house can be breathed deeply even at a distance of five thousand kilometers, on the banks of the very Olbiesissimi rio San Nicola and Canale Zozò. In the Fausto Noce park, on Sunday morning, the dusty spectacle of a sport that arrives from the other side of the world is staged. While everyone else usually goes to play football, tennis and basketball, they put on their tracksuit and find themselves on a clay court armed with white balls and sturdy wooden clubs. They are all Pakistani. And as good citizens of the Commonwealth, their favorite sport can only be cricket. The people from Olbia who run along the circuit of the park throw their eyes and try to understand without success the complex rules of the game. Instead, they are totally immersed in the different phases of the heartfelt match: they beat, defend, run, rejoice. Dozens of Pakistanis bring back a piece of their sporting tradition in the city. Nothing too organized, however. It is the classic Sunday match that breaks the frenetic rhythms of the weekly work. Even if a dream actually exists: to have a minimum of structure. Maybe found a sports association, look for a couple of sponsors who can somehow contribute to the purchase of gloves, balls, clubs and shirts.
Like at home. Cricket has ancient English origins. And it is mainly practiced in countries that were part of the British Empire, such as Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan. «Our first national game is hockey and immediately after there is cricket – explains Ali Asghar, baker, in Olbia for 19 years -. We have always practiced it. So we have been meeting up for some time and spending Sunday together, playing. We work all week and we really need a moment of leisure ». The Pakistani Olbiesi find themselves inside the Fausto Noce, in the Meloni field. They play on clay and mark the pitch with what they find here and there: a couple of bricks and the plastic chairs of the old football benches. Years ago, however, the Pakistanis found themselves at Nespolino and in a piece of land in the Basa area. «Now we have found this space – continues Ali Asghar -. We all live in Olbia and every now and then some compatriots who live in Arzachena also come. It is a beautiful game, they play it in many countries and now also in some Italian cities. In Sardinia, however, almost nobody knows cricket. In Olbia there are only us. It would be nice to have some kind of support, to allow children to practice it quietly. We would also like to teach it to the people of Olbia. Who knows, maybe one day we will succeed ».
The team. The rules say that matches can last up to a few hours and that you need to field eleven players per team. “Often we do not reach the number and therefore we form two teams with fewer players – says Nadeem Ghumman, who has been in Italy for 17 years to distribute flyers -. I have always practiced it, at school, on Saturdays and Sundays. So I wanted to continue here too, in Olbia. Now we come to this field: when it is free we enter, when there is someone playing football we await our turn ». The youngest of the group is called Sajjad Ghumman. He is 21 and he was 15 when he moved to Italy to look for work. He, too, now distributes leaflets. “I also worked a lot in Pakistan – he says -. And as a hobby I played cricket. I follow him a lot. My favorite player is now in Australia and the team I support is naturally Pakistan ». The game is about to begin when Nisar Ahmed, baker, arrives in Olbia for almost 18 years. “The rules? You have to hit the ball a bit like in baseball – he explains -. But the two sports are still different. It is not easy for those who do not know him. By dint of looking at it, however, you learn ».
