Spectacular spectators

It will be a hard ask to find a more indomitable section of people than a Bangladesh cricket crowd. Yesterday, the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur was packed to half its capacity by 6:15pm, 75 minutes before the start of the Asia Cup T20 final. Tens of thousands were waiting outside to at least be in the vicinity when their beloved Tigers' play their second major final.

It was then that a fierce storm descended upon Mirpur, so fierce that scaffolding around one of the electronic scoreboards was torn off. Then the ground was engulfed in darkness as the floodlights remained off for more than 20 minutes.

Approximately 10,000 people gathered together in darkness with nothing more than cell phone lights in hand is a legitimate security hazard. Those outside had no shelter from the rain. Such conditions may have been enough to drive most crowds away, but after the hour-long downpour relented, the faithful not only came back but brought with them more of their kind, so that the ground was near full by 7:45pm, with the covers still on.

Those still stranded outside may have thought that the match had started, so loud were the cheers that greeted each cover being taken off. One of the largest cheers of the night came when the players came out to warm up a few minutes past eight.

Fans gathered in Mirpur did eventually witness a match, but not before facing some trials and tribulations. However, once the rain subsided, they were back in the seats and in full voice. Rain haid earlier caused a bit of havoc to the ground. Photos: Star

Yet, in sharp contrast to the happy on-field events that led Bangladesh to the finals, the game's lifeblood, the spectators, had a much rougher time getting here. The ticket-buyers' clash with police on Saturday cast a pall over the festivities surrounding the Tigers' success.

Yesterday, the streets of Mirpur-10 and Mirpur-2 were filled with fans. The islands were lined with people sitting and looking at those lucky enough to get their hands on some tickets. There were also small crowds gathered around scalpers, who were making a killing.

“I don't have a ticket,” said Maruf, a small business operator. “I queued at the Mirpur branch of UCB (United Commercial Bank, the official ticket selling partners of the event) all night, and still wasn't able to buy a ticket.”

Maruf had started queuing on Saturday night along with at least 250 others, he said. But he made it to the ground anyway, on the off chance that he will get to cheer on his team. But even buying from scalpers was not an option.

“They are selling Tk 250 or Tk 400 tickets for more than Tk 4,000,” Maruf lamented, and offered a solution. “They should make tickets available on the net or on cell phones. So many countries do it.”

There were many others like Maruf. Saiful and Riman, two brothers who work in the private sector, were sitting in front of Gate 2 of the stadium, looking wistfully at the ticket-holders waiting patiently in line.

“We queued along with 500 others through last night, and the number swelled to a thousand by the morning. But all we got was the police throwing hot water at us when it turned out that a majority of us would have to leave empty-handed,” related Saiful.  

Even those who got tickets were not spared, with some reports emerging of gate officials taking the ticket and shoving spectators through the gate without handing it back. There were also reports of fake tickets being sold.

Ticketing troubles have become a constant sub-plot of Bangladesh's cricket events. It is high time that the powers that be start treating the game's real heroes with the respect they deserve.