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Remember Will - in Australia, bastard is virtually a term of endearment 
(from the Bodyline TV series btw lest I upset the convicts)
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Lucky? Don’t be such a bastard
By Will last year, at the end of July Leave a comment on this post
I am apparently, among other things, a bastard. I dared to suggest on Cricinfo’s commentary today that India had enjoyed a slice or nine of good fortune. Edges flying past fielders, or falling short; edges sneaking past stumps; balls passing the bat countless times. Yet the feedback we received from our loyal India fan-base suggested I was watching a different game entirely. “You bastard,” fumed one of them. “How dare you suggest luck has anything to do with it. India deserve their position.”
I don’t deny any team deserves their position - England are on the back foot, and rightly so - but the criticism was a little unfair to say the least, especially when the evidence was so damning. If a team enjoys their share of luck and then capitalises upon it, they fully deserve to have their noses in front, as India currently do.
But why is luck treated as such a dirty word? Judging by some of the emails, my use of “luck” implied India had had an easy ride; that they were relying on luck alone to drive them forward. This is simply not true and not what I meant in the slightest, but the India fan is a passionate beast and not to be argued with. Not often, anyway. India got lucky today, but England might enjoy all the luck tomorrow (and they probably will if it continues to tear down with rain, as it currently is).
But it did get me thinking about how much luck plays its part in sport, and of course it features heavily in cricket. The toss, the weather, the players themselves - how will they perform? Will they be fit and last five days? If a bowler gets a fingertip on a fiercely struck drive, and richochets it onto the non-strikers’ stumps, is that luck? Anyway, enough rhetoric from the bastard.
Sambit Bal, our esteemed editor, has written of similar musings so go and read it immediately.
Tags: bastard, india, india-in-england, luck, opinions, sambit-bal |
12 Responses to “Lucky? Don’t be such a bastard”
July 29th, 2007 at 10.16 am
July 29th, 2007 at 12.34 pm
That of course leads to the most famous quote in cricket fiction.
“Which one of you bastards called this bastard a bastard?”
I’ve considered Will a lucky bastard ever since he went to that Iron Maiden concert.
July 29th, 2007 at 12.47 pm
I must be a very lucky bastard then cos I’ve seen them twice and have Steve Harris’s autograph (a very long time ago I admit).
July 29th, 2007 at 12.58 pm
I’m afraid that makes you a wanker Sean
July 29th, 2007 at 8.02 pm
Yes Will, a very lucky wanker.
July 30th, 2007 at 5.49 am
I guess the luck has more than evened out yesterday. Ask tendulkar or Ganguly in case you don’t believe me.
July 30th, 2007 at 7.28 am
just like batsmen make errors in shot selection or bowlers err in line and length an umpire should be given his due of a mistake or two. lbw decisions are given in favour and against and in the end it all evens out. its like rain, u accept it and live with it and dont waste precious internet space over it.
2 the question if will is a bastard, i think he is a malicious bastard and even an insult to all the bastards contentedly living all over the world.
July 30th, 2007 at 11.42 am
so where do Jethro Tull and Fish count on the luck scales?
July 31st, 2007 at 1.22 pm
What goes around, comes around: England had all the luck in the 2005 Ashes.
Not that it sticks in my craw, mind. Not at all.
(All you Iron Maiden fans are wankers. Or bastards. I forget which is the endearing one.)
August 1st, 2007 at 1.24 am
Think of it as an endearment, Will. In Australia, it’s a term of affection. Anyway, Indians seem to be very thin-skinned - they are even affronted by jelly beans!
August 1st, 2007 at 7.09 am
yes, indians are affronted by jelly beans just like england is affronted by a swinging cricket ball!!!
August 2nd, 2007 at 10.02 am
Today’s article is a fascinating one. Moores wants stump mics turned down so his players can banter without getting heard. Perhaps wanting to take on the appearance of a gentleman while still being as dirty as the rest of us?
“They should be allowed to go out there and play the game without being worried that everything they actually say is going to be broadcast. It’s something we’ve discussed as a management team and we’ve spoken to the match referee about it.”
Funny - a different song has been sung over recent years over Australia’s use of on-field verbal assaults. Why the sudden change from the England upper?
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