Hit for six

Editor—As an exile in Canada for many years, one of the things I have missed most has been cricket. The sport is played here, but somehow the ambience is not that favourable, particularly in January. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to see the analysis of India and Pakistan test matches by Abbasi and Khan.¹

I have a friend who is a doctor in India. He has described to me how almost all activities in both countries came to a halt during the recent series. I think that this must have a notable impact on health in both countries. It would be illuminating if health staff on the spot could report statistics on the incidence of myocardial infarctions, strokes, anxiety attacks, bizarre behaviour, decreased surgical operations, etc, during the matches. This work could easily be extended to World Cup rugby games, international ice hockey games, Ryder Cup matches, and of course soccer games—for example, Rangers v Celtic.

I see the beginnings of a new field of study and thank the authors and the BMJ for their pioneering efforts.