(Transcript from World News Radio)
Fourteen nations will be vying for the 2015 Cricket World Cup, which gets underway this weekend in Australia and New Zealand.
Amongst them is Bangladesh, participating in its fifth tournament.
And while the team may be long odds to lift the World Cup trophy, Sydney's Bangladeshi community is deeply engaged, even using the game to fight teenage crime.
Attila Mosonyi reports.
(Click on audio tab to listen to this item)
Even though Bangladesh has never won a major cricket tournament, there is no shortage of passion for the game.
In its 19th year, Sydney's Gold Cup cricket tournament for Bangladeshi community teams boasts 20 teams and more than 300 players.
It has become a major cultural event in the life of the local Bangladeshi community.
Gold Cup coordinator Nasim Samad says it is a celebration where just two basic rules apply.
"Here, politics and religion is a no-no. So that is what is the big achievement, another achievement. So here, we are friends. Political ideology or what religion you come from, Bangladesh has too many political divides. You need that cohesion."
Omar Khalid Rumi is a former Bangladesh all-rounder.
He says, due to its huge popularity in Bangladesh, cricket has the power to transform lives
"Have you been to Bangladesh? You go out there, and you see everywhere, everybody's playing cricket, even on the cornfields and the fields. Everyone is playing cricket. I mean, soccer was once upon a time a big thing, once upon a time. But these days, cricket has got the imagination of the people, all of them, everybody."
Nasam Samad believes one of the main purposes of the Gold Cup tournament is to harness the power of cricket to teach wayward teenagers pertinent life skills.
"When you come here to play, you have to be very disciplined, you have to follow rules, and you have to be very sober and a gentleman. They know that, if the umpire puts up his finger, you are out, you just go. And another thing is that your honesty is always on the test. Did you catch the ball, or no? Were you outside the boundary? We don't know. The umpire doesn't know. So there is another honesty test. And I think we are doing good."
Omar Khalid Rumi says, apart from cricket, the cultural activities surrounding the Gold Cup bring the community closer.
"Oh, everyone, even my daughter, my son-in-law, they are all watching what is happening. The food and everything ... they are cooking food, cooking good food. And the women here, also, the girls, the women, they all seem interested, because their husbands, brothers, they're all here at the ground. So, automatically, they are attached."
These passionate Bangladeshi fans are looking forward to their national team taking on the likes of England, New Zealand and Australia in the World Cup.
Samad knows his side is not considered amongst the title favourites.
But he hopes the team will make the Bangladeshi community proud.
"Well, we should be doing good, and we should be very near to the Cup. Maybe we cannot touch it (win it), but we should be very near to the Cup. So that is what our expectations are."
Others, like Omar Khalid Rumi, have even bigger dreams.
"It's like ... this is the the only thing we've got. So we got to win, we got to win. Everyone is expecting somewhere up there. So, well, you never know." (laughs ...)
Bangladesh will begin its campaign against Pool A rival Afghanistan on February the 18th.
Share
