You knew it was not any given Sunday in Manchester when a Pakistani fan rode up to Old Trafford on horseback, resplendent in extravagant white robes that called to mind an 8th-century warlord eyeing his next conquest. As get-ups go for a cricket match between India and Pakistan, it was dauntless. This most febrile of World Cup instalments was taking place amid security befitting a G8 summit, and between two nations only ever a skirmish or two away from nuclear war. Gung-ho gestures were hardly to be encouraged.

The Telegraph London