Simply stating that we are a cricket-loving nation does not do justice to our passion for the sport. From the gentleman’s game being played out in the street to the cricket field being brought into mobile phones in the form of apps and games, our relationship with the game runs deep.

It is 7:00 am in Dubai and as the sun peeks above high-rises, it reveals an animated scene below: about 200 people, mostly men, wielding bats and taped-up tennis balls in a weekly festival of street cricket.

Our very own pocket-sized Melbourne Cricket Ground.