Scour the news for an entirely uninteresting story. Consider how it connects to your life. Write about that.

The game of cricket is completely uninteresting to me. That is the first observation. The nation of Zimbabwe is absolutely foreign to me. I have never been there, and I do not know as Zimbabweans.

Why am I explaining all this? The performance of the Zimbabwean cricket team, playing against England in May this year, was a source of immense joy for me personally. Why? I am not a cricket fan, nor am I Zimbabwean.

I am always overjoyed when small nations, especially those that have experienced trauma and prolonged suffering, find success in the field of sport. I am happy for diasporan communities, who live with a sense of melancholic disconnection from their homeland, when they confront nations that have traditionally dominated professional sport.

England is a cricketing powerhouse, its team one of the most successful in the world. In the days of the British empire, cricket was exported to its colonies. Constructing a cultural identity based on the imperial power is a necessary concomitant to empire-expansion. Empires have never relied on force alone to control their subjugated populations.

Cementing cultural and ideological links with the imperial centre of power is a vital prop for reinforcing colonial power. Winning the consent of the governed through sport and culture is just as important as projecting imperialist military power.

Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia, learnt cricket from the English. Its team has not played against England since 2003. The economic and social problems of Zimbabwe are widely known. Media coverage of that nation’s economic travails is motivated perhaps more so by British sour grapes over the loss of their former colony, rather than pure humanitarian considerations for Zimbabwe’s farming and poor communities.

Playing a Test match against England in Nottingham earlier this year, the game was an occasion for Zimbabweans resident in England to come together and celebrate. Hundreds of Zimbabwean flags fluttered proudly, cuisine from the mother country was available at impromptu stalls, and songs rang out from the passionate crowd.

The Chevrons, the Zimbabwean cricket team, were roundly defeated by England. The latter’s experience in cricket showed. However, that did not diminish the carnival and community spirit of the Zimbabweans in attendance.

While the Chevrons were resoundingly trounced this time around, they will learn from their defeat, improve their skills, and bounce back the next time. I am quite certain they will recover from their initial heartbreak to achieve supreme successes in the future.

In the meantime, I will be cheering them on from Sydney.