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Darrell Hair: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Darrell Hair thinks its hairy that Saeed Ajmal could bowl at 45 degrees or more for so long.
What he said:
“Well, every man and his dog would have known that.”
Darrell Hair is bemused with the recent crackdown on illegal bowling actions launched by the ICC.
The Australian umpire, who famously called Murali Muralitharan in 1995, said:
“Whatever they’re doing now, they’re doing 20 years too late. They had a chance in 1995 to clean things up and it’s taken them 19 years to finally come back and say they want chuckers out of the game. I can’t believe that Saaed Ajmal has been able to bowl as long as he has, and they say he is bending his arm by 45 degrees [the legal limit is 15 degrees] or something. Well, every man and his dog would have known that.
I suppose what it does show is the general weakness of the umpires over time to do anything about it.”
He added:
“People say ‘you should be happy with the way things turned out’…with the chuckers being weeded out. But it doesn’t give me any personal satisfaction whatsoever. All I was doing at any time was just doing my job and I think I did it to the best of my ability. The fact was that no other ICC umpires were willing to have a go. Ross Emerson was very adamant about his thoughts about chuckers but they soon put him into the background.
I suppose I was lucky I had a few games under my belt so they didn’t want to target me, but they certainly got him out of the way fairly swiftly. It’ll be interesting to see how many umpires are brave enough to get involved in it. I said it in the late ’90s that if something wasn’t done about it you’d have a generation of chuckers on your hands and now you have. They try to emulate Harbajan Singh and Saqlain Mushtaq and Murali and that’s the problem. The crackdown should have happened on those players and the ICC should have let it be known that it wasn’t acceptable.”
ICC general manager of cricket operations, Geoff Allardice, believes the game has reached a tipping point on this issue.
He said:
“The game had reached a tipping point on this issue, when many groups within the game felt that there were too many bowlers with suspect actions operating in international cricket.The most prominent of these groups was the ICC Cricket Committee at its meeting in June, when it observed the ICC’s reporting and testing procedures were not adequately scrutinising these bowlers. They weren’t the only ones talking about this issue, as similar views had been expressed by teams, players, umpires, referees and administrators.
Since that time the umpires have felt more confident to report their concerns with certain bowlers, and their concerns have been supported by the results of the testing of these reported bowlers.”
In India, the irrepressible Bishan Singh Bedi could not resist firing a few salvoes of his own at his favourite peeve.
He said:
“I would like to see what happens to Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh) and Pragyan Ojha, now that umpires are reporting bowlers for throwing and action is being taken against them.”
Bedi added:
“The rectification had to come from the establishment.It’s no doubt late, but better late than never.”
On the timing of the clampdown:
“Timing doesn’t matter for goodness. It was ugly to watch chuckers floating around – someone throwing javelin, some shot put and others darts.”
What Darrell Hair really meant:
“If you know it, your best friend knows it.Besides, should the umpire be looking at the bowler’s arm or at the batsman? How do umpires measure the angle with the naked eye? Trained dogs, perhaps? Something like sniffer dogs, eh? Can we umpires have compasses please?”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I knew it and I was labelled a dog for it, wasn’t I?
Kevin Pietersen: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Kevin Pietersen is utterly professional.
What he said:
“The IPL is professionalism taken to its logical extreme. All the bullshit and hypocrisy have been turned off.”
Kevin Pietersen has extremely positive things to say about Indian cricketer, Rahul Dravid, and the Indian Premier League (IPL) in his autobiography, ‘KP: The Autobiography’.
Pietersen writes:
“Rahul was a great and heroic Indian batsman in his day. He is also a genius at dealing with spin bowlers. Our conversations and emails were a private masterclass from a genuine guru.
Rahul improved my cricket and helped me develop the way I think about the game. His generosity will stay with me always.”
Rahul Dravid, the former captain of the Indian cricket team also represents Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Dravid emailed him thus:
“KP, you are a really good player, you need to watch the ball and trust yourself… Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t play spin, I have seen you and you can!”
KP says:
“My playing of spin has gone up a number of levels since I’ve spent time in the IPL, and in particular, since I’ve spoken to Rahul Dravid…In England, batsmen get taught to play with the spin against spin bowlers. In India, the best players of spin get taught to play against it.”
On the IPL:
“The IPL is the future… I could talk about money and the IPL all day to you, but for the friendships alone I would play for free.
I’ve built all my relationships with foreign cricketers while in the IPL. That doesn’t help in the England dressing room… there are not many of those friendships.
There is a culture in India that appreciates if you double down and go for the big shot. It’s a game of cricket, not economics. Not life or death. Take a risk. IPL crowds don’t want to see you batting out singles as you pick and choose which balls to hit. Life is too short.”
What Pietersen really meant:
“All the bullshit and hypocrisy is turned off. Including mine. Or is that especially mine?”
What he definitely didn’t:
“The IPL players, coaches and specially the co-owners are professional in all respects, even the betting. Oye Sressanth, tell them.”
Brad Haddin: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Brad Haddin and his team-mates have fast breakfasts.
What he said:
“Guys are up there trying to eat their breakfasts quicker than each other now.”
Brad Haddin makes no apologies for his rabid behaviour towards Pakistani batsman Ahmed Shehzad in a Twenty20 clash in Dubai. The Australian keeper bluntly told Shehzad to stay out of the path of a ball. This was in response to Shehzad handling a throw from an Australian fielder.
Haddin said:
“I don’t know why he touched the ball.It’s not his place to touch the ball when we’re fielding.”
Haddin added:
“We haven’t changed our style. We’re a very competitive group.”
What he really meant:
“We’re very competitive. We even race each other to the loo and back.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Now if we could only stop trying to get back to the pavilion faster than the previous guy…”
Mario Balotelli: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
https://www.instagram.com/p/tH6yYELj0l
Mario Balotelli is gifted a banner.
What he said:
https://www.instagram.com/p/uAegyBrj39
“I have nothing to declare except my genious? Wow thanks to whoever did this. I know all of you expect more from me .. More gols expecially and more “genious” but give me time and I ll show is true.”
What he really meant:
“So what that I’ve scored only once in eight games for Liverpool so far. More such banners = more goals. And my English will get better too. If only goal-scoring were as easy as writing Instagram and Twitter posts.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Now if only Antonio Conte (Italy’s manager) could read this. He’d soon learn how to appeal to me.”
Roy Keane: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Roy Keane is unforgiving of critic Alex Ferguson.
What he said:
“… for him to criticise that when you think of what he made out of it. He made millions of pounds out of it. He got his statues. He got his stand named after him. To come back and criticise …”
What he really meant:
“Alex Ferguson is a great coach, he coached me. And he made millions. But so did I. Did I criticise him? Or his assistant coaches? And why isn’t a stand named after me?”
What he definitely didn’t:
“The reproval had nothing to do with me shooting off my mouth on MUTV about not staying with United before discussing it with Fergie. Definitely not.”
Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United F.C. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Geoffrey Boycott: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Geoffrey Boycott bats for Kevin Pietersen with both eyes wide open.
What he said:
“But all diamonds are flawed. They are not perfect and you have to learn to love and nurture a diamond.”
Geoffrey Boycott , in Kevin Pietersen’s defense, likens the South African born cricketer to a solitaire.
He said:
“I am not blindly sticking up for Kevin. But most very talented sportsmen are like diamonds. They sparkle and glitter and light up the game. They catch the eye and enchant the public. But all diamonds are flawed. They are not perfect and you have to learn to love and nurture a diamond. They have not done that with Kevin.”
The Yorkshire man is disgusted with the way the English Cricket Board sought to discredit Pietersen’s outbursts about the bullying culture within the English team by leaking a confidential document outlining his indiscretions to the media.
Kevin Pietersen after training at Adelaide Oval (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Boycott writes:
“Kevin is a sinner but he has been sinned against by the ECB. There are rights and wrongs on both sides and whatever Pietersen’s faults, the ECB is not blameless.
For me, it reached its lowest point on Tuesday when a ‘strictly confidential’ ECB document was leaked to the media. The points it contained were pathetic and it was a crass idea to put together such a report to try to trash Kevin. It stinks.”
He adds:
“Yes Kevin was awkward, difficult, different and at times his own worst enemy. But his record and his performances do not deserve a character assassination. The ECB should be dignified about it all and not try to belittle him.
I hope the ECB is investigating how one of its confidential documents reached the public domain. If it discovers someone within the ECB leaked it then they should get the sack. If nobody is sacked then we can only assume that the ECB was happy or even complicit with the document being leaked in order to denigrate Kevin.
Some of the points contained in this document are so trivial it beggars belief. He had rows with the captain and coach about the way the team were performing, that sort of thing has gone on forever. It is OK if it happens within the confines of the dressing room. You are supposed to have open discussion in the dressing room and get things off your chest. In fact, the way we played in Australia, I would have said some far worse things to my team-mates if I was still playing.
Another claim is he took some younger players out for a drink in Adelaide. Give me a break – drinking has always gone on and that should not be dignified with a reply. It was only last year after a drinking session we had England players peeing on the Oval pitch after an Ashes win and the ECB or Andy Flower did nothing about it. We had Andrew Flintoff full of drink and trying to ride a pedalo in the West Indies but it did not finish his career. We had Joe Root drinking in the early hours of the morning when he was attacked by David Warner during the Champions Trophy last year. On the field James Anderson uses personal abuse every Test and nothing has been done about it.
The report also claims Kevin looked at his watch and out the window during team meetings. He was probably bored to death. I am sorry but the ECB is making itself look like a laughing stock.”
Boycott claims that he is no stranger to blackballing tactics elaborating thus:
“The Yorkshire committee tried to do the same thing to me when they had an ‘in-depth investigation’ into why we were not winning championships. They tried to blame me for everything. They even got a tea lady at Warwickshire to write a letter of complaint saying I had taken the crusts off my sandwiches which had upset her.”
Geoffrey Boycott, however, does not mince words when he says that he found the ace bat sometimes displaying an insouciant nonchalance and lack of commitment to the national side.
He said:
“This is not a one-eyed support for Kevin from me but a defence of fair play. There is no excuse for some of his stupid shots when England were in trouble. He gave the impression, rightly or wrongly, that he could not care less. There was also no excuse for KP constantly agitating to play a full IPL season to earn his $2 million for eight weeks’ work. England compromised and allowed him half that but told him he had to be back for the first Test of the summer. England were right on that. He had been given an opportunity to play for England and he was contracted to the ECB on good money. Do not forget, his IPL deals only came about because he had been given the chance to showcase his talents by England.
Kevin wanted the penny and the bun. He did not want to give up anything.”
What he really meant:
“Diamonds are forever. But you have to know how to wear them and camouflage the flaws.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“You do know Pietersen’s originally South African? See, how I’m being clever here with the metaphor.”
Kevin Pietersen: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Kevin Pietersen is no paperhanger.
What he said:
“Success papers over a lot of cracks.”
Kevin Pietersen does not regret his utterances about the culture of bullying within the squad despite the intimidation coinciding with English cricket’s most triumphant periods.
What he really meant:
“Success is rarely dissected. It’s a question of whether you want to get on with the party or not. Failure is lonely and a time for introspection. Besides, critics can hardly argue with favorable outcomes less they be termed ‘sour grapes’.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I just wish I had published my biography at the apogee of my career. It would have been a real hoot.”
Graeme Swann: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Swann bowling against Sri Lanka at Lord’s in the second Test. Scorecard. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Graeme Swann hopes to bury Kevin Pietersen and his autobiography 20,000 leagues under the sea.
What he said:
“I expected it to be the biggest work of fiction since Jules Verne and that seems to have happened.”
Graeme Swann has little time for Kevin Pietersen and his rantings. The former England off-spinner and KP’s ex-teammate dismissed his allegations of being a bully during his tenure with the squad.
“The one thing will say. I immediately realised it was codswallop when I read the character assassination of Matt Prior. Tragically I don’t think Kev realises the one person who fought tooth and nail to keep him in the side is the one person he is now assassinating: Matt Prior.
Kevin has been quite clever because the guys still playing he has left alone and he hopes to get back in again one day. He has picked on people who he thinks can’t answer back.”
He added:
“If that was the case a lot of people would have flagged it up before. We had a magnificent team ethos and team spirit until Mitchell Johnson took his blindfold off and then it all fell apart.
It was strange to watch my team-mates this summer, all those people I’d bullied all those years. I’d have loved to have been out there giving them Chinese burns.”
Paul Downton said:
“What I do know is there’s been no formal or informal complaint about bullying.”
Matt Prior tweeted:
https://twitter.com/MattPrior13/status/519041265036693504
What Swann really meant:
“No one really expected KP’s book to be complimentary of his teammates or the then-administration. Of course, I’m surprised by the allegations. But what did I lose out on? Nothing! So I’ll keep mum and say nothing about being a bit of a bully on the field. An atmosphere of fear? Ha! Not something to complain about when I’m the one held in awe.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I’m going to be attending a seminar by Mitchell Johnson ‘Bullying and harassment on the cricket field: How to confront and overcome it’.”
Dwayne Bravo: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
English: Dwayne Bravo at KFC Twenty20 BigBash – WA v VIC, 10 January 2010, WACA Ground (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Dwayne Bravo states his case to the West Indies Players Association (WIPA).
What he said:
“We believe we are being hoodwinked and are being treated like little school boys, yet we are being asked perform and play against professionals.”
Current Windies team skipper, Dwayne Bravo, makes no bones about his displeasure with the new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) whereby Test/ODI/T20 fees have reduced by 75%.
The West Indians are in India to take part in a five match ODI series. The players are considering striking in protest against the agreement signed by WIPA President Wavell Hinds with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) without player inputs.
In a letter addressed to Hinds on his squad’s behalf, Bravo outlined the disputed items as follows:
“
1) Our Test/ODI/T20 fees have been decreased by 75%.
2) No compensation for the use of our rights. That has been decreased by 100%.
3) Our ICC fees have been decreased by close to 100%.“
He further requested Hinds to question the WICB on the following points:
“
1) Have the WICB Board members and staff taken a pay cut as we are being asked to do or at all. Our information is that staff have been increased both in numbers and their salaries.
2) Have the WICB declared their million dollar television deal
3) Have the WICB declared how much they are being paid extra for the matches outside of the FTP like this India tour.
4) Have the WICB declared what they are getting from the sale of CPL to Digicel our most lucrative tournament.
5) Have the WICB declared what they are getting from Digicel as the team sponsor.
6) Have they declared their financial arrangements with Governments for the international and regional home series.“
What Dwayne Bravo really meant:
“The players draw in the crowds and the WICB profits from their efforts. Why are we being treated like errant schoolboys without any say or input into how West Indian cricket is to be run or administered? Are we clueless or numbskulls or simply freaks who entertain?”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Let’s discuss this over drinks during the first ODI at Kochi on the 8th.”
Ravi Shastri: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Ravi Shastri has cricket on his mind.
What he said:
“I’ve watched more cricket than I’ve played. So there’s enough in this upper-storey here (pointing to his forehead) that can be used before I forget it.”
Ravi Shastri eases into his new role as Team Director. The cricketer-turned-commentator believes that he can contribute not just from his playing experience but from observing as well.
He said:
“I have already started talking to them [the selection committee] and we have no issues on that. My job is not to select an Indian cricket team, it is their job, but my job is to at least communicate with them and see on what lines they are [thinking] so that we both are on the same page. Probably discuss talent, discuss what would be the kind of team you need in Australia.
See, combinations are very important. You have got to identify your strengths and see who are the right people to manage those roles and areas of your strengths. That importantly comes up with the team. Prime importance, I believe, will always be given to current form. I think form is very important.
My job is to communicate with whoever is there and I will not take a step back. At the moment, I have been communicating with all the five.”
He added:
“My job [as director] is to ensure that everything is in order. It’s not just about communicating with the players. It’s also about giving your views, your inputs as a former player, and as a broadcaster. I’ve watched more cricket than I’ve played. So there’s enough in this upper-storey here (pointing to his forehead) that can be used before I forget it. That’s what I tell the players. Don’t be afraid to ask me questions, because there’s enough there for me to be able to contribute. Yes, obviously you’ll have to have a dialogue with the selectors as to where they’re coming from and what their train of thought is. What we feel as part of the Indian cricket team, so that there’s healthy communication and you get something that’s best for the Indian cricket team.”
On working with Duncan Fletcher and MS Dhoni:
“Absolutely, he is brilliant. He is a seasoned campaigner. He has over 100 Test matches as a coach for various teams. The good thing is Fletch and me go a long way back. We know each other. I captained the U-25 team against Zimbabwe in 1984 when he was the captain of Zimbabwe. He has got a fabulous track record. It is how we use the knowledge that he has in the best possible way and communicate with the players.
The boss is the captain on the cricket field. I am in charge of the coaching staff. That’s put into place. My job is to oversee things and see things go all right. Who cares who’s the boss? At the end of the day, you win and to hell with it, yaar. Jisko boss banna hai bano. [Whoever wants to be the boss, let him do so].”
What Shastri really meant:
“Now that I’m director I’ll be able to force the players to work on my freely provided suggestions from the commentary box. Theory becomes practice, eh?”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Now this is what I call life coming full circle: From player to commentator to super-super coach!”
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Make Time For Sports. 