The two teams were selected by the Imams and Vicars of Dewsbury and Batley, two small towns in West Yorkshire, England. According to Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, the aim of the match was to show that religion and appearance have little to do with friendship.
However, this is not the first match of its kind that was played. In the earlier month, the Imams and the Vicars of the same locality met in a football match, organised by the Dewsbury community group Kumon Y’all. The football match ended with the Imams snatching victory.
The football match, which was held in the town of Savile last month, was also shown on BBC’s One Show.
According to Molana Farook Yunus of the Imams, “The aim is to show that people are different in looks and belief but can still be friends and enjoy each other’s company.”
He also revealed that the football match has been a revelation for both the communities to make new friends. “We have made lots of friends in events like these and we build on these friendships afterward,” he added.
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The cricket match is being played at Sands Lane playing fields in Dewsbury. In order to pull a significant amount of crowd to the match, the organisers had declared the match to be a free-to-all basis.
The match will see every player in action with bat and ball for two overs. Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Rev Tony Robinson had also taken up the request to play in the match.
“It is very important to bring people together especially nowadays as people drift apart and don’t mingle as much as they used to,” said Yunus.
He also thinks sports of different manners are very effective in order to bring people together, “Sport is very effective in bringing people together and we at Kumon Y’all will use whatever we can to create better understanding and peace between communities.”.
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Reportedly, the previous match has led the nearby communities to organise archery sessions, litter picking in Thornhill and Staincliffe. Further matches are expected to be conducted in the coming months.
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