Cricket: No Play and Yet, He’s Not Salty

Wot’s this?? Apparently, boycandy Sreesanth will not be part of India’s opening line-up at the World Cup (damn you, Khan, Agarkar and Patel…damn you all!).
My Baby Daddy Sreesanth.jpg

Paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth looks likely to miss out on a starting place for the World Cup but said that could be the best thing to happen for him.
…”I like it this way,” he said at a team net practice near Port-of-Spain on Wednesday. “I like to struggle and get something rather than get it easily. I’m sure I will get the opportunity.”[Reuters]

I dig a good chase too, but if my sweet little neyyappam ain’t playin’, suddenly, I am way less inspired to impersonate Mandira Bedi poorly. Many of you might recall that my fling with Cricket commenced with a post which celebrated Sreesanth’s glorious obnoxiousness towards Andre Nel:

After hearing about Mallu hotness Sreesanth (thanks, DTK), I had to visit ye olde YouTube to find out about this right-arm fast-medium-pace bowler, who is a right-handed tailender. Apparently, excessively lippy South African Andre Nel questioned Sreesanth’s heart/courage/skillz after Sreesanth evaded something called a bouncer. Sreesanth responded by hitting Nel for a six and then performing a dance I’d normally associate with an end zone. Oh, that was just brutal to write. I can’t imagine how many men I’ve just annoyed. 😉
I may not know a damned thing about what is arguably the most popular sport in all of South Asia, but I know the art of trash talk well and if anything could get me to fall in love with this very Brown game, it’s the video I’ve posted…[SM, biatches!]

Sigh. And we have so much in common, too:

Sreesanth, 24, one of India’s new crop of pacemen, has impressed with his spirit and wicket-taking abilities which won him Cup selection despite being expensive in one-dayers.[Reuters]

Hello??? I am too expensive for one-nighters! TOTAL SIMILARITY, I think.

Also this:

His natural aggression has caught the imagination of Indian fans since his debut against England in late 2005.[Reuters]

…sounds familiar, too. I’m naturally aggressive and I’ve caught the imagination of many Indian fans…though all of them are male…and for some reason, they’re way more in to my Flickr than my blog. Hmmm. I need to chew on my hair while I like, ponder this…wow, my conditioner smells fab. Wait what was I typing? Ah yes, I was discussing the kid who shares my nick:

The Kerala player was confident he would gain from his past Caribbean experience at the World Cup.
“I was lucky to play all the matches here last year,” he said. “One big lesson I learnt was to be patient, wait for the wickets to come rather than go looking for them.[Reuters]

I concur. The same philosophy has served me well; for example, I patiently wait for sales to come rather than go looking for them…and I nearly always score.

“It is not enough at this level to just run in fast.”[Reuters]

Enough talking darling, you’re ruining it for me. 😉 And stop with the fakakta highlights already, would you? You look better with dark hair. Oy, I sound like my Amma…thankfully, since she does not read blogs, she’ll never learn that and use it against me. 😀

248 thoughts on “Cricket: No Play and Yet, He’s Not Salty

  1. In case anyone is still sober…

    I know, one more chalked to ‘The Luck of the Irish’ – plus it’s on St Patrick’s Day! On the other hand, who would be watching in Ireland itself, given that?

    Can someone confirm that the Irish actually celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? ‘Cause the Mexicans don’t give a shit about Cinco de Mayo, and it’s basically the same Americana — get all “ethnic” and “celebrate” their… uh, what exactly…? eh, nevermind, who cares when there’s colorful food and booze?

    I sincerely doubt if there’s any match-fixing involved. Surely they’re not foolish enough to face the wrath of angry fans back home? It can get pretty physical.

    Reeeally? Like, what happens?

  2. Can someone confirm that the Irish actually celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

    Good point, Shruti! It’s huge in Boston, but Dublin might be another story.

    Also, is this Northern Ireland playing, or the Irish Republic? Normally, I couldn’t imagine Eire fielding a team, then again, I can’t imagine how Kenya, for example is in, or Bermuda.

  3. Bangladesh team, more so, as risible also noted, is full of teenagers.

    Just imagine how good they will be when they actually start shaving.

  4. Shruti,

    Colloquially Paddy’s Day, St. Pattie’s Day or St. Patty’s Day, is the feast day which annually celebrates Saint Patrick (385–461), the patron saint of Ireland, on March 17, the day on which Saint Patrick died. The day is the national holiday of the Irish people. It is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland, and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Montserrat, and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. In Great Britain, the United States, Australia and the rest of Canada, it is widely celebrated but is not an official holiday.

    St. Patrick’s Day is also closely linked to Irish politics (both in N. Irealnd, Republic of Ireland), honoring people from potato famine days, IRA politics, hobnobbing of Irish politicians with Irish-American politicians, and towards the turn of the 20th century, the PM of Ireland used to do radio address for entire Irish diaspora*** on St. Paddy’s day.

    *** South Asian diaspora is tiny, tiny compared to Irish (and also Chinese) diaspora.

    Indian cricket team still has a chance, Pakistan might have become history for WC 2007.

  5. @62:

    “Ayyappante Amma Neyyappam Chuttu”.

    Means: Ayyappan’s mom cooked “neyyappam”. Neyyappam is typically deep fried in a mould, or is that unniyappam…same difference I think.

    In other news the men in blue sucked egg. I hope the “boy candy” shows up in the next game and makes us all proud 😉

  6. What a brilliant day of cricket! Respect to Bangladesh, and as for Pakistan, what can you say? The biggest upset in one day history? Putting Pakistan out of the World Cup — amazing. What a day of cricket.

  7. Drowned my sorrows at a Brit-Desi restaurant. Watched Man U clobber Bolton. Rooney 2 / Park 2 (now there’s an Asian who did not embarass himslef). Surreal scenes of Rooney hugging Ronaldo.

    Much respect to Bangladesh and Ireland.

    Bright Side II: Sehwag gets a long overdue GPL.*

    *XXXX pe laath in taporese.

  8. I heard there is someone in effigy business here. Can you take my order for 11 of those please! 🙁

    Sir,

    We are not taking any further orders at the moment due to the unexpected explosion in demand. We have already sold out all our stocks and have run out of raw materials as well. My entire family is off to the Windies to cheer for Ireland and Bangladesh who have contributed to our largesse. Since the recent developments have been completely opposite to what our Astrologers had predicted, our preparations came up short; we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We hope to serve you again four years from now.

    Sincerely,

  9. Of COURSE, its all match-fixing. how can india lose to bangladesh and how can countries like ireland even have a team. You young desi people these days have no morality, none at all. Corrupting a game like cricket, once the game of aristocrats! Very bad, i tell u, VERY bad. gets up and leaves shaking head

  10. Andrew Flintoff has been dropped from the England side facing Canada after a breach of discipline — he led some players out to a nighclub after the NZ loss and got up to some 4am drunken antics. Good news is that Ravi Bopara is playing in his place.

  11. flintoff got drunk and toppled over in a pedal boat at 4am and had to be rescued. lucky he didn’t drown and someone was there to help him. all those complaining about michael vaughan as captain, looks like they need him as a stabilizing influence.

    in worse news, heard that dhoni’s new house, being built, has been torched or attacked by some people. this is a repetition of the exact same start to the world cup 2003 for india.

  12. It seems someone rounded up all the Desis and Jamaicans tossing a cricket ball around in a Toronto park and dubbed the bunch the National Cricket Team; there might be a prep schooler or two there too, as the commentators claim that cricket is played in “up market” Canadian schools. Batting practice for Australia v. the Netherlands, but some good moments… Ponting just wiped by a terrific catch.

  13. wow, this world cup is proving to be eventful in some very negative and depressing ways. flintoff sacked as vice captain and now pakistan coach bob woolmer rushed to hospital after being found unconscious in his hotel room.

  14. Yeah this World Cup is like spaghetti western or something it’s amazing hope Woolmer is OK but what on field and off field drama.

  15. Just heard on the BBC commentary of England v Canada that Woolmer is ‘seriously ill’ 🙁

  16. yes, woolmer has died. this is devastating. i hope he didn’t take his life. but i can only imagine the stress he was under yesterday. this is heartbreaking, really. 🙁

  17. Yes, very sad indeed. Just listening to the BBC commentary team discussing it and they are devastated and in shock. Very tragic.

  18. “Well, it really puts things in perspective doesnt it. Rest in Peace Bob.”

    true. i just hope the loons in india and pakistan who are attacking cricket players’ houses and calling for their arrest or worse will realize that it’s just not worth it. losing hurts and reasonable criticism is ok, but this loss is beyond hurt. i feel so badly for mr. woolmer’s family.

  19. …and for the pakistani cricket team who will now have to deal with this as well as the turmoil back home.

  20. Amen to that. Woolmer was a stand up guy. The BBC guys are telling stories about him, very nice man he was.

  21. This is awful. Poor chap. I don’t have access to the commentary, but my inner suspicious desi thinks daal mein kucch kala hai.

  22. Unbelievable. May he rest in peace. What, with effigy-burning rabble running rampant in South Asia, with an Indian media that cannot but lead with cricket stories every day, the stakes are very high in brownland, more so than anywhere else. OTOH, the players are also rockstars there, and well-compensated, and will be even better compensated as the region continues to grow economically.

  23. Link

    Excerpt:

    Coach Bob Woolmer, whose contract is unlikely to be renewed after the tournament, later said he was considering bowing out of international cricket. He said: “I’m going to sleep on this one as I’ve had a very bad day, which ranks along with my worst days as a coach. Coaching is what I like to do but whether I continue to do that at international level is under discussion. I’m going to give it some thought.”

    Famous last words. RIP Bob.

    In the “add insult to injury” column:

    Meanwhile, Pakistan were fined by the International Cricket Council for a slow over-rate during the match. … Inzamam was fined 50% of his match fee and the rest of the team 20%.

    Paresh Soni also has a nice post-game analysis on the BBC Site.

  24. Canada surpassed India and Pakistan’s total. They were facing England. Couple of their players are in or around 40s. A round of chullu bhar pani for the magnificent 22.

  25. Is Mohinder Singh Dhoni a sikh? Or is his middle name singh for some other reason.

  26. Well, it really puts things in perspective doesnt it. Rest in Peace Bob.

    You’re right. I do hope people in the subcontinent start treating Cricket as a game, which it is. Sad…

  27. condolonces to Woolmer’s family.

    in other news, India vs. Bermuda is on

    20/1 in 4 over. Uttapa gone!

  28. This is sad. A promising young player and a legendary coach dying in a space of few days.

    Re: current match — India continues w/ Sehwag, who’s gone century-less for three years. I am rooting for his early dismissal. I am sure I’ll be denied of even that little slice of joy. This is just the sort of rubbish bowling he’ll use for his comeback.

  29. Shodan, That’s exactly what I was hoping for to get Sehwag out early so they can give opportunities to young players like Karthik or Raina. But Sehwag has reached his half century in 43 balls. GRRRRR

  30. sehwag got his 50. not against the best bowling but if this is what he needs to get some confidence back before sri lanka match – and it’s almost certian that the team will persist with sehwag – then i guess that’s one sliver of a silver lining. plus he’s useful right now in getting that run rate up. we have a huge deficit to make up.

    sad to see inzi retire from odis on this note.

  31. WGIA has a point. Even a hater like me has to agree that Sehwag, for once might be doing his team a favour. Run-rate is extremely important for India’s unlikely crawl to Super 8. And I don’t mean the motel, where they truely belong.

  32. we may yet go out of the world cup, but we set a record. woohooo! 🙂

  33. So now if we beat Sri Lanka, 11 black cats cross Bangla players’ path and the Bermudans smash a few mirrors — we just might sneak in?

  34. “So now if we beat Sri Lanka, 11 black cats cross Bangla players’ path and the Bermudans smash a few mirrors — we just might sneak in?”

    right now i think we have to do an anti-rain dance 🙁

  35. There is a reserve day tomorrow and in case we don’t have 20 overs in today, it will be continued from where it stopped. They won’t restart the game but will just continue.

    its all good man

  36. SREESANTH!HE IS A CUTIE AND HOTTIE.I LOVE HIS AGRESSION AND THE WAY HE BOOSTS HIMSELF BY TALKING TO HIMSELF IS ADORABLE.MY ONLY WISH:I WANT TO MEET HIM AND SAY THAT HE IS THE CUTTIEST GUY I EVER MET.(would it ever happen)