In a barren Athens parking lot, young Pakistanis get in position for a game of cricket. On one end of the dust-covered concrete is a trash can; on the other, a pile of rocks. That is their pitch, and those are its wickets.
In football-loving Greece, cricket is an alien concept. But for its migrants from Pakistan, one of the world’s most cricket-crazy nations, it is a way of life, according to to a recent report by Reuters
On Sundays, a growing community of street cricketers travels across the Greek capital to the unlikeliest locations, from car parks to abandoned industrial grounds, engaging in tape-ball cricket – an informal version of the game invented in Pakistan, played using a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape.
With the Cricket World Cup underway, they compete in local tape-ball tournaments, and homes and restaurants are abuzz with fans.
Nearly 50,000 Pakistanis live in Greece, the embassy estimates, many of them laborers in fields or factories. Others own shops or restaurants.
RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations, Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC-BY-SA Copyright: Like tears in rain
