A meeting with Australian cricket legend Steve Waugh at Lord’s cricket ground is a great dream for any cricketer and perhaps more than that if he happens to be a Bangladeshi.
The two times when Bangladesh played a Test match at this hallowed home of cricket none of the cricketers ever had had such opportunities as Waugh was not around to inspire them.
Before a no-less-significant ‘Test’ at this very ground, one Bangladeshi named Emdadul Haq Milon, however, surprisingly received the blessings of Waugh who had won three Ashes Tests here against England, twice as a player and once as captain.
Waugh is currently working as the Liaison Officer of the Australian Olympic squad and on Wednesday his duty was to escort the Australian archers to his once favourite Lord’s.
It was a great fun for Waugh, who guided the Australian archers through the prestigious Long Room and into the famous visitor’s balcony and dressing room and on his way back he noticed a boy training with a Bangladesh flag.
‘He came to me and touched my bow before wishing me good luck,’ said an overjoyed Milon.
‘Like any other Bangladeshis, I am also a huge cricket fan and I am well aware of Waugh’s status as a cricket legend. It was a great moment for me,’ said Milon, who was no less amused for having a chance to test his skill at Lord’s.
‘As a boy I also heard a lot about this ground. But it was never in my dream to be playing here as I am not a cricketer,’ said Milon, who will kick off Bangladesh’s Olympic campaign here today.
The Olympic archery ranking round will be held at the Lord’s nursery where all archers will receive their ranking from 1 to 64 based on their total score after 72 arrows.
Each archer simultaneously will shoot 72 arrows for a maximum score of 720 and archers will then be seeded according to their final score. There is no elimination in the ranking round, but a good score can help Milon get an easy draw for the individual round.
‘I am confident that I will be among the top 32 archers in the ranking round. If I can do this it will be a great help for me,’ said Milon, who took archery training for Olympics in Thailand.
The individual round will begin on July 30.
Bangladesh chef de mission Nurul Fazal Bulbul on Thursday told reporters that some of the athletes have become weaker as they are not familiar with the food available at the village.
Milon, however, said he is fine and ready to start his campaign where, according to competition schedule, a Brazilian and a Fijian will be lining up with him in the same row.
-With New Age input
