Incessant rain, caused by tropical storm Marcia, welcomed the Bangladesh cricket team in Brisbane on Thursday as they are preparing to face hosts Australia in their second World Cup match. The category-five storm, accompanied by fierce wind, is expected to hit the Queensland coast this morning, making Saturday’s crucial match at the Gabba uncertain. The storm gust of 295km/hour has coincided with another cyclonic storm Lam, which is also going to hit Australia’s Northern Territory this morning.
The twin storms put Australia into red alert, leaving everything else, including World Cup cricket, as secondary element.
Even the prospective return of Michael Clarke into competitive cricket and the debate over who should make the way for him could not draw enough attention from local television channels.
News channels were busy giving the updates of weather bulletins as hundreds of people were being evacuated from Australia’s different territories.
Dozens of flights were cancelled as rain, under the influence of storm, continued to grow heavy.
Local meteorological department forecasted 100 per cent chance of rain for Friday and Saturday, which casts a dark shadow on the fate of the game despite Brisbane having good drainage facilities.
The chance of a truncated match is also slim, said the local cricket enthusiasts, predicting the Gabba to go under ankle-deep water, at least in Saturday.
While it has increased Bangladesh’s chance of escaping with a point the rain has come as a bolt from the blue for the local Bangladeshi community, who had long been planning for the game.
Mohammad Rasul, an engineering professor of Central Queensland University, who lives at Rockhampton, 650km north from Brisbane, told New Age over phone that they have now abandoned the plan for watching the game.
‘We have nearly 100 Bangladeshis living here in Rockhampton who all brought tickets about a year ago,’ he said. ‘We rented a bus, bought jerseys and booked our hotels, now we don’t have any choice but to drop the plan.
‘There is no point of travelling so long just to see some rain.’
Rain also dominated the talks at a reception hosted by the local Bangladeshi community in Brisbane for the Tigers and many were seen offering tickets to each other voluntarily.
Apart from joining the reception the Tigers were also mostly confined at their hotel and the scenario
is unlikely to be changed today.
The match was scheduled on a weekend, meaning Bangladeshi fans had a good chance to rival their Australian counterparts at the gallery. As the day is also International Mother Language Day, it also left every fan in Australia and back home excited.
Now it seems rain is going to pour cold water on all excitement.
-With New Age input
