If you thought cricket and population control belonged to two different worlds, think again. Come January 19, people watching live telecast of the one-day cricket series between India and England will be bombarded with an important message: stabilise national population. After every hour of play, there will be a slogan: 'Singles and twos can also win matches, there is no need for threes and fours.' Similar slogans would flash on the screen each time a batsman gets out, hits a six or a boundary. 'Yorked: You can block it. Join us to stabilise population.' 'Sixer: In the game of life, singles and twos are better.' Catchy lines have been coined -like 'Highest partnership: India breaks yet another record' and 'Highest run rate: Indians excel off the field' - to rub in the reality. In fact, there are slogans to match the entire cricket lexicon. For instance, extra cover has an addition, 'yes, we need it', and wide ball has been supplemented with the comment 'no excuses for adding to the burgeoning population'. The idea of clubbing cricket with birth control was the brainchild of the National Population Council, which is struggling to put the issue on the national agenda. 'We have chosen cricket to create awareness for a host of reasons,' said council member-secretary Krishna Singh. 'It is one game that has uniform following and even cuts across gender lines. There is no language barrier.' The council has worked out a deal with Budha films, a Zee subsidiary, to market the population message during the six international matches on Doordarshan. Budha Films will release these catchy five-second ads to DD I and DD Sports. After every hour, the population clock will be on display with a comparison -- runs scored and the corresponding increase in India's population. 'The whole campaign is likely to make people sit up. Once we make people think about population-related issues, we will succeed in our mission of creating awareness,' Singh said. According to the council's records, the population clock is ticking fast. Every five seconds, there are three additions, while 34 babies are born every minute. By the time the day is over, India's population has increased by a whopping 9,792. The council plans to rope in skipper Sourav Ganguly and other cricketers in their campaign but money is becoming a major constraint. The council has signed up former captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and his actress wife Sharmila Tagore as its brand ambassadors to spread the important message. 'We hope to get more cricket icons,' said a source. The council also wants Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, Geoffrey Boycott and David Gower and commentator Harsha Bhogle to chip in.