Cricket is a global game. It’s tendrils reach into all the far corners of the world, this giant world that is also somehow so small. And so as a fan, especially in our connected, modern age, you learn about countries that you never really gave a lot of thought to. And you learn not just about their sport, but about their culture, their history, their failures, their triumphs. And, thanks to social media, you get to know their people. You make friends. You humanize what was previously an alien world. The game allows connections that never would have existed otherwise. It is, in that sense, a real gift.
I used to write a lot about New Zealand. About their cricket, but also about their people.
My heart is broken this morning. I am glad the people I know in Christchurch are safe, but my heart is still broken for New Zealand.
One tidbit I learned about this lovely nation a few years ago is that, in 1987, at the height of the Cold War, New Zealand banned nuclear weapons. Sea, land, and air space became what are known as “nuclear free zones,” a status that is enshrined in legislation. They won’t even let nuclear powered submarines dock in their harbors.
I mention it because it reminds us that the people in New Zealand are a peace loving, progressive people. And because of that they will get past this, and be better for it.
Let us all pray for peace.
Limited Overs 
I spent a year in New Zealand, a place seemingly untouched by such nonsense but now there will be fear amongst the people of that beautiful country.