Imran, Azharuddin, Mortaza… Corbyn – the Parliamentary World Cup is here

HUW TURBERVILL: Yes, you read that right. Pakistan’s prime minister, one of the greatest all-round cricketers to draw breath, is scheduled to take part in a tournament that will hopefully also involve Her Majesty’s Leader of the Opposition

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And Imran Khan is charging into bowl to Jeremy Corbyn…

Yes, you read that right. Pakistan’s prime minister, one of the greatest all-round cricketers to draw breath, is scheduled to take part in a tournament that will hopefully also involve Her Majesty’s Leader of the Opposition.

As enough Conservatives to fill a cricket team jockey to be the next PM of the United Kingdom, a squad of MPs are uniting in preparation for a tournament that will see them face counterparts from seven other nations.

The Inter Parliamentary Cricket World Cup is being staged in England from July 8–15 (the final week of the ICC World Cup).

Chris Heaton-Harris, the Conservative MP for Daventry, has organised the tournament in conjunction with the England and Wales Cricket Board.

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Imran Khan

Teams of politicians from Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa will play alongside the UK at Beckenham, Blackheath, Chiswick House and Teddington. They will be divided into two groups of four. Each team will play three 15-over-per-side matches, with the semi-finals and final T20.

Corbyn hopes to take part. His “lifelong dream is to open the batting for England” apparently, and he says the thrill of his teens – he is now 70 – was meeting Sir Garfield Sobers in Jamaica.

Alongside him in the UK team is expected to be Matt Hancock, 40, a well-known enthusiast of the game, who was running for the Tory leadership at time of going to press.

The South-Asian countries are – unsurprisingly – taking things seriously. Imran, who became PM in last August, is 66 now, but can still boast a record of 3,807 runs and 362 wickets in Tests; he also famously led Pakistan to the 1992 World Cup. The Pakistan Cricket Board has organised a week-long training camp at Shalimar Cricket Ground, with 47 politicians under the age of 45 participating in trials. Presumably Imran is an automatic pick.

India’s line-up is expected to include Mohammad Azharuddin, 56, one of the most elegant batsmen ever to play international cricket (he won 99 Test and 334 ODI caps) – although his career was later tainted by alleged involvement in match-fixing; and Chetan Chauhan, who was Sunil Gavaskar’s Test opening partner. Now 71, he won 40 Test caps. Both are former MPs.

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Mashrafe Mortaza

Bangladesh are planning to field Mashrafe Mortaza, who is captaining them at this World Cup, which seems a bit unfair; and Naimur Rahman, who was Bangladesh’s first Test captain. Both are MPs.

In a statement sure to upset half the population – well the second sentence anyhow – participants are being told: “This event is a wonderful opportunity for parliamentarians from all nations to meet and engage, and to demonstrate the power of connections across the world. As we leave the European Union, it will be important to foster these connections with our friends in the Commonwealth and allies around the world.”

It will also be a lively week off the field for the politicians. Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, another leadership contender, is holding an evening of cocktails and canapes on July 10, and the teams will watch the ICC final at No.10 Downing Street on July 14.

Heaton-Harris said: “It is wonderful to see the enthusiasm for this tournament, and the number of politicians, as well as excellent cricketers, coming to the UK for the Inter Parliamentary Cricket World Cup. I look forward to meeting and engaging with MPs from around the world, and welcoming them to the UK for this wonderful summer of cricket.”

This article was published in the July edition of The Cricketer - the home of the best cricket analysis and commentary, covering the international, county, women's and amateur game

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