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saj mahmood
Surely this is the end for Harmison
By Will last year, mid-October, 3 Comments »
Well what an odd feeling it was reading (as opposed to doing, but I digress entirely) the England selection today. No Ravi Bopara, whose cocksure waves to the pavilion against West Indies to acknowledge his hundreds were greeted with initial surprise, followed by widespread admission that England had on their hands a great talent. His arrogance should therefore be embraced. We did, but he regressed without so much as a whimper.
And no Steve Harmison, presumably for the last time. He himself gave England a ridiculous ultimatum at the end of the Ashes that he didn’t want to be a part-time England player. Right – so, that’s full-time then Steve, except you don’t tour very well, you’re as consistent as a bowl of porridge with a sausage stuck in it, and you retired yourself from ODIs. And then you unretired. For his and his family’s sake, if not the media’s – it’s incredibly frustrating writing about players whose belief in their ability is so at odds with their results – let this be the last time we speak of Harmison in an England shirt.
His replacement is hardly a shining example of consistency himself, but at least he has youth on his side. For now. Liam Plunkett has had a fairly decent season, but more a surprise – and a pleasant one too – is the name Luke Wright. He’s quick with the ball and potentially a powerful hitter, with plenty of bottom-hand, and undeniably quick in the field, but Tests will stretch him to the absolute limit. I’ve always thought he has a bit of ticker about him, but his technique could be cruelly exposed by South Africa’s seamers.
England weren’t finished there with the giggles. Saj Mahmood – ha! – and Alastair Cook – honk! – were called up to the ODI side. In fairness, as much as it genuinely pains me to say, Cook went bonkers a couple of times this season for Essex in domestic ODIs. But, still, you can’t help feeling he might not fare quite as well against a side of South Africa’s quality. I hope he does. As for Mahmood, well, who honestly knows where the ball’s going to go, but at least we can enjoy his befuddled facial expressions as a result.
3 Comments »Proof that Bob Willis has utterly lost the plot
By Will last year, at the start of July, No Comments; be the first!
Further to his extraordinary alter ego, Bobby’s Dazzlers, I’ve further proof that Bob Willis has now utterly lost it. Saj Mahmood just lost his wicket when Brett Lee hammered one in, the ball smacking him on his back then rebounding into his stumps.
And here’s Bob’s version. Get this man his own show immediately.
No Comments »Saj Mahmood finds his niche
By Will 2 years ago, at the start of January, 4 Comments »
Happy new year. Hope your hangover is every bit as filthy as mine, and may you have many more. The following post will not help one iota, though.
Saj Mahmood, the England fast bowler desperate to be the new Devon Malcolm, has found his niche: acting. He is to appear in Bollywood.
“Victory” is a film about cricket, starring some of Bollywood’s biggest names – with hundreds of millions of people throughout the world expected to watch it. Shooting of the film will commence this month (January) in Australia during the Australia-India cricket series and will feature 20 current and recent cricket stars from around the globe.
Saj will be joined by fellow countryman Simon Jones, Australians Brett Lee, Allan Border, Mike Hussey and Jason Gillespie; whilst New Zealand will be well represented by Craig McMillan, Daryl Tuffey, Nathan Astle and Martin Crowe.
God help us all. I have to admit that I’m not Saj’s biggest fan, and don’t see much of a future of him with England. He is a mediocre fast bowler whose action, to me at least, looks about as polished as a lump of coal (on landing, his foot seems to slip. Every delivery…) I hope he proves me wrong and all that malarkey, but perhaps Bollywood is his calling.
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