During the long rain break after their innings, some Indian players, including skipper Dhoni, did not mind indulging in a game of soccer.
‘What have you learnt from the Australian tour?’ That was a question put to Yuvraj the other day. Swift came the reply: “never play football.” The India vice-captain, who was sidelined because of an injury he sustained during a football game at a nets session, may have learnt his lesson, but some of his teammates don’t seem to have.
During the long rain break after their innings, some Indian players, including skipper Dhoni, did not mind indulging in a game of soccer. Suresh Raina, Manoj Tewary, Piyush Chawla, Rohit Sharma, Praveen Kumar, Robin Uthappa and of course skipper Dhoni himself swung their legs around for a long time.
They even looked unfazed about the prevailing slippery conditions. So did Yuvraj not pass on his lessons to his teammates? It seems some will learn only by experience.
They are still gentlemen
The Gabba on Tuesday was near empty. A few expat Indians and Sri Lankans came out to watch, but like fish the big ocean of a stadium, the spectators were lost. Still, there was no let-up in the strict security measures. “Today, we’ve a bigger problem,” said Den, a security official of the Singapore-based Wilson Security firm. “You know mate, there is double cause for trouble today. You have Harbhajan Singh and Muralitharan. So we’re extra alert.”
Den explained why the booing against Harbhajan was loudest at the Gabba. ‘Because,’ he thought, ‘Andrew Symonds is a local boy.’ The security official, an Australian, said monkey cannot be a derogatory or racial word in the context of things said in other games. “I think cricket is still a gentleman’s game. Go to a rugby match. You cannot stand the abuses hurled from the stands,” he said before signing off: “Many Aussies hate many Aussies.”
No Brownie-talk
One of the cricket legends living in Brisbane is Bill Brown. A member of the Don Bradman-led tour party to England in 1948, he stays close to the Gabba. A batsman of high quality, Brown is already 96 and is too frail to entertain guests at his house. Requests to visit him were politely turned down by members of Brown household.
Brown was active till recently and the local media said he even had a few advices for Matthew Hayden, a local boy, who is a terror to the bowlers world over. The Invincible team was famous for being the first Test side to play an entire tour without losing a match in England. They won the five-Test series 4-0 but in total had played 31 matches. Bradman, the captain, died at the age of 92 in 2001. The surviving five members of the Invincible squad are Arthur Morris, Neil Harvey, Sam Loxton and Ron Hamence besides Brown.
Craig is grumpy
Craig McDermott. The very mention of the name used to evoke awe and fear amongst batsmen. The big Queenslander, who played for Australia in 71 Tests and 138 ODIs, is now in the news for wrong reasons. Having retired about decade ago, the outswing specialist settled on the Gold Coast, one hour’s journey from Brisbane, and started a property development business of his own.
Now one of his companies, Maxin, has gotten into troubles and the big man himself has got some small problems. In the local media lately there have been reports about him defaulting on payments to his bankers and financers, and he has not taken kindly to the media reports. He has been staying away from the media. “He is too grumpy these days,” said a local journalist. Unlike most present and former cricketers, McDermott did not come for any of the two Tri-series matches played at the Gabba.
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