Cricket, Mt Everest, wars, guns, Africa

I say!

By the way, wonderful news about the Duneditin 2009 conference.

How wonderful that the ICC World Twenty20 is about to start. England will surely win it, with South Africa coming second. I doubt whether the Aussies will do very well at all.

How wonderful, also, that the great game of cricket is now being played on Mt Everest. The organisers of these matches haven't asked me to inspect the pitch yet, but I am available, should the call arise, and can look out my crampons, ice axe and fore-and-after. I imagine it might be a bit difficult to get a flat pitch so high up - perhaps just below the Second Step there might be some level ground. Good luck to them, anyway.

There is already an Everest Cricket Club, but it is in America. Eventually, of course, cricket will be played everywhere - I am sure of that. Even underwater.

Another book has been published on how to deal with the various problems in Africa. I have written on this topic many times. Here is just one example. The writer of the new book is called Paul Collier, and the title of his book is Wars, Guns and Votes. He recognises that elections are sometimes over-rated and proposes various solutions, some of which make good sense, but many involve a level of organisation by foreign organisations which is unlikely.

My own solution is to cut aid, in order to allow African economies to thrive without undue influence from outside, but most importantly Western countries must withdraw the subsidies they pay their nationals for agricultural and other products. If this happens, African produce can compete on a level playing field. You can't get a good game of cricket on a pitch which is not level, and neither can you get fair world trade. This is yet another example of how cricket can teach us how to live our lives.

MM III