Final Countdown

8th April 2011

As India slowly pic The Toss ks itself up bearing the scars of monumental hangovers from Wednesday's epic semi-final, it is worth bearing in mind that there was another game of cricket being played on the same day, one that will also, perhaps, affect this vast country's heritage.

In the tiny village of Tala, on the 'boundary' of Bandhavgarh National Park, a game of cricket between an England side and an Indian one was going on with every bit as much vim as the heralded semi-final between the World Cup poster boys and Pakistan. No, not the England international team - they are safely back home having left little impression on the tournament - a different sort of game, but an important one.

Each year Paul Goldstein takes a group of wildlife fans to Bandhavgarh to hopefully spot the area's elusive striped predators. This year was granted added piquancy by the extraordinary coincidence of the game (organised a year ago) being on the same day as the sub-continent grudge match. These fauna fans, many of them returning for the fifth and sixth year in a row, also had a big day yesterday.

It had three parts. Initially the goal was a tiger in the early morning, winning their game was the second phase and completing the triumvirate was India to win. This spiritual holy trinity was completed, in spades.

Five precious tigers were s Bengal Tiger ighted in the morning, for the second time only they triumphed at the local school and of course Dhoni's Xl beat Pakistan. The group were completely 'bowled over' by the tigers; an astonishing moment with two brothers sashaying down the road towards them, one veteran among them described it as 'the best moment of my life'. As they left the school where the cricket match was played, two boys remarked that this day is 'always the best of their year'. An event like this needs no gilt-edged 'spin'. It matters and the money they and Paul have raised will go a long way to fortifying this park, one of the few strongholds left in India.

Paul is doing more than just playing cricket; last year he ran the London Marathon, completing the course in just under six hours in his nine foot high aluminium-framed costume. This year he runs four in a week. This photo is the reason he does this; they matter to him, to his group and to India.

Sadly they are often thwarted in their efforts by traditional medicine from China that not only compromises these predators to the edge of oblivion but also does not work. Unfortunately, disgraceful holding facilities in China live by the motto of 'L.B.W' - lucre before wildlife. These ghastly abattoirs are delusional; they pretend that they are helping tigers but a quick check in their deep freezes will tell you otherwise. If holding them in medieval fortresses is their idea of conservation, then I'm a ‘chinaman'!

India will be playing in the World Cup final this weekend; cricket matters here and so do tigers. It could be quite a day... … again.

To sponsor Paul and his 4-marathon effort to raise money for tiger protection projects, please see his Just Giving page.

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