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India versus Pakistan and the power of a six: an analysis of cricket results

BMJ 2004; 328 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.328.7443.800 (Published 01 April 2004) Cite this as: BMJ 2004;328:800
  1. Kamran Abbasi (kabbasi@bmj.com), deputy editor1,
  2. Khalid S Khan, consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology2
  1. 1BMJ
  2. 2Education Resource Centre, Birmingham Women's Health Care NHS Trust, Birmingham
  1. Correspondence to: K Abbasi

    Introduction

    To paraphrase CLR James, “What do they know of South Asia who do not cricket know?” George Orwell described sport as war minus the shooting. South Asian cricket has been dubbed war minus the nuclear missiles. The result of a sports match can trigger cardiac deaths,1 and contests between India and Pakistan have prompted shootings, riots, killings, and sudden death. Cricket has been used as an extension of foreign policy—to instigate peace or prolong hostilities. However, regional cooperation will probably increase prosperity, with some commentators arguing that cricket is an important component of public health strategies.2

    Facing up to the future requires a dispassionate appraisal of the past. How have India and Pakistan fared against each other in cricket? To answer this question—uppermost in the minds of over a billion people in South Asia and many millions outside—we compared 50 years of test matches …

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