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Justin Langer: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Justin Langer has a mouthful of chilli.
What he said:
“It’s almost like Indians have chillies from a very early age, therefore if you eat chilli it doesn’t really bother you. But if we eat chilli, it burns our mouth, which is the same while playing spin.”
Perth Scorchers coach, Justin Langer, has an interesting analogy as explanation as to why Australian players struggle against quality spin bowling.
Speaking to CLT20.com, he said:
“No matter how much you try and prepare, it [playing spin] is very difficult.It’s like when India come to Australia, we have bouncier and faster wickets, which gets harder for them to play.”
He added:
“We are brought up on fast and bouncy wickets that swing around and not so much on spinning wickets. So when we come up here, it’s like eating chilli and it is hard to get used to it. I know in Australian cricket there is a focus in becoming better off playing spin bowling, but it is something that is going to take a long time to develop.
When you come here and you are not used to playing spin, and then you come out against world-class spinners like Sunil Narine and Mohammad Hafeez, you are always going to be tested.”
What he really meant:
“It might be easier to teach our guys to swallow hot peppers than have them move their leaden feet against top-notch spin.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“All quality players of spin are chilli eaters. And thus Mexicans (with their tabasco sauce) would be able to hammer Warney out of the park any day.”
George Bailey: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
George Bailey likes short-sleeved Akshar Patel.
What he said:
“Wicket-taker, contains, and he does it in a short-sleeved shirt, which is nice to see for a spinner.”
George Bailey has nothing but praise for his Kings XI teammate Akshar Patel, a left-arm spinner.
What he really meant:
“The short sleeves imply that he does not rely on tricks to hide any dubious bowling action. That’s a rarity in today’s game.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“How about a doosra, mate?”
Younis Khan: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Younis Khan’s 30-minute tirade.
What he said:
“Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf went while crying. When Inzamam was leaving, I was the one who went and clapped for him.”
Pakistani veteran bat Younis Khan is furious at being left out of the squad for the ODI series against Australia. The Pakistani Cricket Board (PCB) indicated that he will not be considered for next year’s World Cup either.
He said:
“Don’t select me, not even in Tests. I sacrifice my future.I am saying a simple thing, if they are saying that youngsters are future of ODIs, then where is the future of Pakistan in Test cricket? Don’t select me in Test matches and make [the youngsters] the future of Pakistan in Test cricket too. But what will happen if they can’t make a team for ODIs and Test matches after five months, will they again do recalling?
I won’t die and I won’t be 70-year-old in four-five months, if they don’t let me play with dignity then so be it. They have hurt me, they have hurt me when they said that players like me have no future. Then who has a future? So a player like me should shoot himself? When they are 35, 36, players like me wake up at seven ‘o’ clock, show commitment, I can do only this. Instead shoot ourselves, don’t play cricket at all, don’t play domestic cricket at all? I will wait for 4-5 months. They are saying that I don’t have a future, I will wait, I am not retiring, I will wait, may this team go ahead, if they make the team [strong] I won’t come back.”
Younis added:
“I came back after almost 17-18 months, but they said he is not in our future plans. Who has a future then? I give my 120% as a player, I am perhaps the only cricketer [who does so]. I am not saying drop a youngster and let me play. I am just saying that justice should be done with players like me, give us what we deserve. My nephew died and I came back. When they do such things with senior players, what will youngsters think. Change doesn’t come like this, you can’t wave a magic wand.
Don’t let everyone be treated in a similar manner, those who have raised the flag of this country, don’t disrespect them otherwise no youngster will play for Pakistan.”
The former skipper advised Pakistani youngsters thus:
“Is this my mistake that when youngsters struggle they come to me instead of going to coaches and I do help them? I try to help Pakistan, and still I am surprised that I have played for 14-15 years for Pakistan.
I never told anyone to back me in media or phoned anyone [about selection]. If I deserve Test matches and ODI I should be given chance. Is this my fault that I don’t go to selectors? I don’t call them? I don’t meet them before going for the match? England media was very harsh on us in 2009, when they used to allege us that we were doing ball tampering, then I stood firm and I defended Pakistan. I was the captain when Pakistan won the World T20. If this is my mistake, then my suggestion to youngster is don’t play for Pakistan. Don’t think about playing for Pakistan.”
What he really meant:
“Very few (Pakistani) cricketers are allowed to go out in style like Sachin Tendulkar. They are pushed out whether they like it or not. It’s just not cricket that they are (I am) unceremoniously dropped.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Can you lend me your kerchief, please? Mine’s soaked and salty.”
Ian Chappell: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Ian Chappell
What he said:
“Not only is it important to keep the contest between bat and ball fair, it also pays to remember kids are great mimics.”
Ian Chappell writes that bowlers with dubious bowling actions should be called early and their actions rectified before they go on to become successes on the domestic and international playing fields. The attendant adverse publicity casts aspersions on the game and its proponents.
Chappell said:
“…because kids are mimics and will copy the heroes of the day, and a sure way to eradicate dodgy actions is stop offenders before they reach the first-class arena.”
The player-turned-commentator adds:
“…the one area of the chucking issue the ICC hasn’t addressed is the law as it applies to on-field immediacy. How come a batsman is protected when a bowler oversteps the front line by a millimetre but he isn’t when a trundler suddenly pelts one after bowling the bulk of his deliveries?
Batsmen need immediate protection in this case rather than getting a letter from the ICC six months later apologising because they have discovered the delivery that uprooted off stump was illegal.”
What Chappell really meant:
“Kids are impressionable and bound to imitate their heroes. If they (heroes) have feet of clay, kids have no firm ground to fall back on for their mimicked actions. Besides, the mentality becomes one of ‘ If they (apparently) can get away with it, why can’t I?'”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I could teach apes to bowl and they’d bowl every ball cleanly.”
Dale Steyn: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
AB De Villiers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Dale Steyn at a training session at the Adelaide Oval (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Dale Steyn at a training session at the Adelaide Oval (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Dale Steyn
What he said:
“We’re definitely not predictable. You bowled two overs the other day.”
Dale Steyn contradicts himself without seemingly realizing it. The lanky pace bowler commented on his teammate A B De Villiers bowling for only the second time ever in ODIs. South Africa were playing Zimbabwe in Harare.
AB De Villiers recently came out strongly against Australian sledging terming it “personal.”
De Villiers said:
“There was lots of personal stuff and certain guys take it in a different way. I see that it’s part of the game… but they can’t expect us to be mates with them off the field then, if they get very personal.”
The South African skipper was referring to comments made during the third Test in Cape Town.
David Warner, meanwhile, apologized for accusing De Villiers of ball-tampering during the series.
Warner said:
“Obviously with myself coming out and saying the comment about AB de Villiers probably wasn’t the smartest thing, and I regret saying that.We set a standard where we want to go out there and play aggressive and hard cricket and not cross the line.
There are some times you do nudge that line a fair bit and the odd occasion you might step over that, but you do have to realize that we’re out there to win.
We do like to be aggressive and sledging is a form of the game when we’re out there.”
What Steyn really meant:
“Wasn’t that a pleasant surprise? …AB bowling two overs. I certainly didn’t expect that.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Outliers… by Malcolm Gladwell—yeah, that’s my favorite read.”
Mitchell Johnson: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Mitchell Johnson
What he said:
“I’ve been trying to hit as straight as possible instead of hitting across the line. So I’m not going to apologise, but hopefully I didn’t hurt anyone up there.”
Mitchell Johnson is unapologetic for shattering the safety glass pane of the television broadcast box at the Harare Sports Club.
Johnson scored 20 in Australia’s 350-6 against Zimbabwe.
Johnson added:
“I thought it was going to hit, and I was just wondering what it was going to do.I didn’t see it shatter, I just saw some of the commentators brushing away a bit of glass, so it was a good thing it didn’t shatter everywhere and the ball didn’t go through.
I think another window up here (outside the players’ dressing room) had that shattered look to it, and I’m glad no-one got injured out of it.
But it was a good feeling.
I didn’t see the first ball that was bowled to me from the other end, I was just trying to adjust to being out in the middle again but that one felt really nice, right out of the middle.”
The other shattered window Johnson referred to was broken by West Indian Chris Gayle in a T20 fixture several years ago.
Johnson laughed:
“I’m happy to be compared to Chris Gayle. He’s obviously a pretty powerful guy, so if you want to compare me to him that’s fine.”
What he really meant:
“I’m a straight-shooting kind of guy. I bowl straight and fast; I’d like to bat the same way too.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I’m gunning for the commentators. Would they like to step out and face a few of my lethal deliveries? If not with the bat, then with the red cherry.”
Shane Warne: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
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Kerry O’Keeffe: What he said, really meant and definitely did not
English: Hughes at northampton (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Kerry O’Keeffe Has The Final Word On P Hughes
What he said (via ESPN Cricinfo):
“If P Hughes is shaving tomorrow and gets a nick,M Guptill will appear from the medicine cabinet with a band-aid.”
ABC radio commentator Kerry O’Keeffe sums it up—succinctly—when Phillip Hughes departed once again in the second Test at Hobart—caught M Guptill, bowled C Martin.
This was the fourth instance in the two-match series that the Australian batting scorecard read as above.
The Tweetosphere was abuzz with reactions to Hughes’ unfortunate predilection.
Sample a couple via The Wall:
“Initially thought Chris Martin was giving Phil Hughes a send-off – turns out he was giving him some batting tips.”
“If Phillip Hughes was cheating on his girlfriend Guptill would be the one who caught him out!”
What he really meant:
“Nicks, cuts, Guptill, Martin and Hughes—The Inseparables.”
What he definitely didn’t:
Scott Styris: What he said, really meant and definitely did not
Scott Styris Scores A Ton—On The Golf Course!
What he said:
“Disappointed to hear I’m probably the only Nz cricketer to score a hundred today!”
Scott Styris tweets his reaction—from the golf course—to Team New Zealand’s dismissal for a paltry 150 runs in the second Test against Australia at Hobart.
James Pattinson claimed his second five-wicket haul in two games to put Australia in the driver’s seat on Day One.
What Styris really meant:
“At least, my handicap is not a guy named Pattinson.”
What Styris definitely didn’t:
“Hey chaps, keep this up and you can join me on the golf course from days four to five.”
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