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India v Australia: let the fanaticism begin
By Will 2 years ago, at the start of October, 11 Comments »
Far be it for me to criticise Cricinfo, but I couldn’t help smile at my colleague’s piece today in which he offered an acute observation of the Indians’ net session. I remember when I was in India last year, staying with a friend, and one of his housemates reckoned he only had a passing interest in the game and that he knew bugger all about the game. He still knew more than Henry Blofeld, and cursed the heavy-handedness of the ICC, which rather sums up Indians’ attitude towards the sport (of sports in general, increasingly).
If, for some ridiculous reason, you have any lingering doubts that cricket in India is not followed closely – that it’s some vague fad that a few thousand people occasionally switch on the TV for – read this:
11 Comments »Rahul Dravid, on the other hand, looked to perfect his defence, testing his judgement of when to leave outside the off stump. Ishant Sharma and Sachin Tendulkar had a good little session, too, walking up to each other after almost every delivery and discussing what was right and what was wrong.
The bowlers got an intense workout as well: Ishant Sharma bowled for an hour and 10 minutes in two spells, Zaheer Khan bowled his two for an hour, and Munaf Patel bowled for an hour without a break. Besides the normal stumps, the bowlers had a fifth stump as a guide so that they could get used to bowling the just-outside-the-off-stump line.
It’s what the fans want. Or is it?
By Will 2 years ago, mid-May, 6 Comments »
Thoughtful piece from The Guardian’s Andy Bull on the mundane, line-toeing crap which make up the majority of sportsmen’s quotes.
Quotations command space, but rarely interest. If it wasn’t enough to know that a player was injured, we now also have to know that the manager and a selection of former players think he is a “huge loss to the side”, and we will be told all of this in print, on the radio and 24 hours a day by Sky Sports News. These quotes come in three forms: the interesting, the mundane and the untrue. The volume of lineage and airtime spent relaying other peoples’ words means that the majority fall into the last two categories.
Is it what people want? On the whole, I think it is. In an ideal world, the quotation-supplying cricketer would have Ian Botham’s candour, Steve Waugh’s miserable honesty, Stephen Fleming’s wisdom and Matthew Hoggard’s wit and general affable madness. In reality, sportsmen are best left on the pitch to do what they know best. The rise of “media training” for sportsmen has created several monstrous, inhuman creatures. Normal and likeable on the pitch, in front of a microphone they are reduced to a list of five or six safe phrases which answer (or nearly answer) a multitude of questions. Monty Panesar and his “right areas”. Duncan Fletcher’s obsession with players “putting their hands up” and “coming to the party”. I suppose the frequency of press conferences has understandably dulled their enthusiasm, but is it too much to expect an honest answer? Talking of cliches, Lawrence Booth wrote a superb piece on just this.
I know David Gower’s not a fan of the post-match quote (he famously cut short a press conference in 1989 saying he was late for the theatre. What a legend), but the players are the product and the public want to hear from them. Even if it’s mundane bullshit.
Or do you?
6 Comments »Aussie fans: a case study
By Ian 3 years ago, mid-April, 5 Comments »
“That’s a bloody disgrace, getting out like that! He should be ashamed of himself. Disgusting! What an idiot!â€
To listen to the Aussie next to me (this was a rough translation – please add expletives to taste), you could be forgiven for thinking that Matthew Hayden had missed a full toss first up. Of course, the big Queenslander had just helped himself to another hundred on a blazing hot day in Grenada. From a television screen behind us in this perfect cricket ground, I could hear the commentator Mark Nicholas pouring forth his usual treacle, hailing the innings as a treat for the crowd and a display of expert strokeplay. Which it was.
Perhaps, therein lies the difference between winners and losers. A hundred wasn’t enough, even if the score was 220 odd for 3. Imagine if Michael Vaughan had scored 100, would we be berating him? Hayden also stalked off like he had just swallowed a wasp, before saluting the massed ranks of jubilant Aussies that had swelled the ground to a record attendance. I sat in the party stand for an hour or so until it got too hot for my pommy skin and I marvelled at how the ‘Hayden strut’ is so much part of the Australian male. They all walk about like him, shoulders back, chest puffed and chin forward. My favourite example was a skinny wretch built like Mr Muscle, who still tried to make the most of what he had, posturing about like Arnie in a street brawl. But at least he was fully clothed, unlike the Speedo brigade who hugged and grappled every time something went their way. Aussies are real men!
Joking apart, it was great to see a proper total posted. Shane Watson was the surprise package, playing shots that defied belief, all of them pure and proper. I was one of the many who couldn’t understand why the selectors kept coming back to him. “He’s like chopped liver,†said one of the Aussies on the boat, which I presume is a bad thing. However, and not for the first time, I was proved wrong. He was brilliant.
Ian Valentine is a freelance journalist blogging his diary of the World Cup for The Corridor
5 Comments »Matt’s cartoon view of England
By Will 4 years ago, at the start of December, 3 Comments »
Blind faith of cricket fans
By Will 4 years ago, at the end of November, No Comments; be the first!
A Scotsman has sold his house to follow England in the Ashes.
In case you mis-read that, I’ll type it again. A Scotsman has sold his house to follow England in the Ashes. Here’s the big winner:
He got £180,000 for his pad and is now jobless, homeless and watching England get a pasting in Australia. It could only happen to a Brit. More at the Mirror.
No Comments »Bath Dodgers to continue to taunt convicts
By Scott 4 years ago, at the end of March, 2 Comments »
Big-mouthed banter between English and Australian supporters is set to continue despite hyper-sensitive ICC officials worried about racism.
The Fanatics and the Barmy Army yesterday both vowed to ignore “political correctness gone mad” and continue peppering opposing teams and fans with good-natured banter this summer.
Their comments come in response to suggestions the old barb “Pommy bastard” may fall foul of cricket’s crackdown on crowd racism.
The issue came to a head this week when an ICC report found “premeditated racist abuse occurred toward South Africa and Sri Lanka during the past Australian summer.
But Cricket Australia’s stance on Australia and England’s friendly feud is over-cautious, according to the Barmy Army representative in Australia Craig Gill.
“Where will it ever stop?” Gill asked. “‘Pommy Bastard’ has been used for years and years and it’s going to be used over and over again.
“As long as it’s said in the name of good humour and good banter no one is going to get upset.”
“Bring it on I say … we’ll definitely be singing about Aussie convicts coming here in chains.”
Last night an England cricket spokesman agreed, saying from London: “It would be more of a surprise if we didn’t hear it (Pommy bastard). Some of the lads probably see it as a term of endearment.
“One of the great attractions of an Ashes series is the fierce competition and good spirit.
“But everyone in world cricket is aware there’s a fine line between fierce rivalry and racism that should never be crossed.”
Which gives me the notion that I should distribute bars of soap to the Barmy Army when they come to Adelaide this summer!
2 Comments »From the TV cameras to the fan’s notepad
By Will 5 years ago, mid-September, No Comments; be the first!
Someone working out required run-rates for Monday’s play! Classic
No Comments »Win a Kevin Pietersen cricket bat
By Will 5 years ago, at the end of July, 25 Comments »
I get a disconcerting number of emails from KP fans; mainly female, mainly in love with him, or so they think. So, for his fans, you can’t meet him or speak to him via me…but you can win yourself a signed bat! [via Guardian Unlimited]
25 Comments »