Make Time For Sports.
News
Stuart Clark: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Stuart Clark cares for Test cricket.
What he said:
“The Test series is big but at the end of the day if they do well in the World Cup no one will care about the Test series over there.”
Stuart Clark articulates what every dyed-in-the-wool Indian cricket fan openly admits—that recency and ODI wins count more than any overseas Test results.
The former Australian pacer said:
“I’d suggest India are very, very concerned about the World Cup.That’s a big thing in their cricket calendar, one-day cricket and the World Cup.”
On India’s performance after the first two Tests in England:
“But as soon as they moved to a wicket that did a little bit the white flags went up.”
Clark does not believe that Indian spinners will make a huge difference in the series against Australia Down Under.
He said:
“If India are going to come out and bowl spinners at us I think we’ll come out and smash them everywhere. They’re going to Brisbane first. Other than Shane Warne, no spinner has ever really done a lot there and been overly successful. In Adelaide they’ll be OK, but Sydney the last couple of years has been quite pace-friendly – it’s been carrying through and seamed around everywhere.
They’ll play Ashwin – he’s a good bowler in Indian conditions but I can’t see him being overly successful here.”
What Clark really meant:
“India are the ODI world champions after all. And their fans will not accept anything less than a stellar performance at the World Cup. The Test series? The guys were whitewashed 4-0 the last time around. Can they fare worse? Anything less would be a major improvement.”
What he definitely didn’t:
” But it’d be so nice to thoroughly demoralise the Indian batsmen going into the World Cup. Nothing like another whitewash to do the job.”
Wayne Rooney: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Wayne Rooney desires a Cup of Joy.
Wayne Rooney (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
What he said:
“I could sit here saying I’ve got 200 caps and 100 goals for my country. But the ultimate is to win a trophy and that’s what we all want to do.”
Newly appointed skipper of the English national soccer side Wayne Rooney is quite sure of his place in history.
Rooney plays his 100th tie for England this Saturday when the Lions take on Slovenia on Saturday in an European Cup qualifier match-up.
Rooney is seven goals away from overtaking Sir Bobby Charlton as his country’s all-time leading scorer. Charlton has 49 goals from 106 appearances.
English: Sir Bobby Charlton at the British Council for School Environments (BCSE) on 9 November 2010 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Rooney said:
“Obviously I’m not going to be as big a legend as Sir Bobby Charlton – he’s won the World Cup.To eclipse that I’d have to win the World Cup.”
What Rooney really meant:
“I wish playing for England were as easy as playing for Manchester United. At least, with them I win something. And we have a larger budget too.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I’ll take another Fair Play Award. We have a couple from the 90s.”
Jordan Perez: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Jordan Perez hopes to be the Rock of Gibraltar, not Brazil.
What he said:
“Anything below seven goals and I’ll be satisfied as then we can say that we’re better than Brazil (routed 7-1 by Germany at the World Cup).”
Amateurs Gibraltar take on world champions Germany in a mismatched battle in the European Cup qualifiers on Friday the 14th. Their goalkeeper Jordan Perez will be happy if they fare better than Brazil who lost 1-7 to the Germans in the World Cup semi-final this summer.
What he really meant:
“At least, our defence will be better (than Brazil’s) with me in citadel. We can’t just be torn to shreds even though our current record stands at 0-17.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Well, at least, our morale is higher than Brazil’s and we have no great expectations neither from our fans nor our press.”
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge made Van Gaal “Van Gone”.
What he said:
“As soon as he presented his autobiography in a snobby restaurant, I knew hard times were ahead.Louis van Gaal was not always easy-care. He wanted to ‘Vangaalise’ our club. He has a huge ego.”
Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge terms former coach Louis Van Gaal “egoistic”.
Van Gaal was Bayern’s manager from 2009-2011.
The club clinched the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal in his first year.
What Rummenigge really meant:
“There’s only one alpha-male or alpha-dog at Bayern and that’s me. Van Gaal reported to me and any attempt to remake the club in his image would find opposition in me. PS: I have a huge ego, too.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I don’t have a queasy stomach. And restaurants are not where I would release my autobiography.”
Teymur Rajabov: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Русский: Теймур Раджабов (Азербайджан) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Teymur Rajabov clocks in for Magnus Carlsen versus Viswanathan Anand.
What he said:
Azerbaijani chess Grandmaster Teymur Rajabov makes it obvious that he expects partisanship on the lines of nationality in the play-off in Sochi between current world champion Magnus Carlsen and title contender Viswanathan Anand. The former prodigy was commenting on the third game in the series that Anand won to level scores 1.5—1.5.
What Rajabov really meant:
“Time is relative. Indian fans are in a hurry to see their champion reinstated; the Norwegians (and Carlsen’s supporters) are none-too-keen. The winner always seems to have all the time in the world to make his moves; the loser none.”
English: Viswanathan Anand, world chess champion (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
What he definitely didn’t:
“I wonder if Carlsen’s clock is broken. Could we have cuckoo clocks instead for the players?”
Emmanuel Adebayor: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Emmanuel Adebayor chased a ball for his first ever walk-about.
What he said:
“Anyway, I was in the church laying down and, around nine or 10 o’clock on the Sunday morning, I could hear children playing outside.Suddenly somebody kicked a ball into the church and the first person to stand up and run was me because I wanted to get that ball.”
Togolese footballer and Tottenham Hotspur forward Emmanuel Adebayor recounts how he was a late bloomer when it came to walking as a child. The young Adebayor had not toddled yet in his fourth year. His mother travelled all over the Dark Continent seeking a cure.
What he really meant:
“Believe it or not, I was meant for soccer and soccer for me. Ask my mother.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Actually, I couldn’t stand the long-winded sermon by the priest on the pulpit and I simply grabbed the first opportunity to go walk-about.”
Sanjay Manjrekar: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Sanjay Manjrekar perks up the Indian batting order.
What he said:
“Numbers 1, 2 and 3 in the batting order, in One-Day cricket in Asian batting conditions, is like travelling first class. You just get better perks.”
Sanjay Manjrekar makes it clear that most Indian pitches are so docile that batsmen at the top of the order are—for all purposes—handed free tickets to big scores.
The cricketer-turned-commentator was writing about Virat Kohli’s decision to promote Ambati Rayudu up the batting order in the second ODI against Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad. Rayudu made the best use of the conditions to notch up his maiden ODI century.
Manjrekar said:
“Now it must be said here, that there was no cricketing compulsion or logic for such a move.
As we discovered later, from Kohli’s post-match views, it was a move to basically give Rayudu the pleasure of batting in the top three against a moderate bowling attack in Indian conditions.”
He added:
“I thought this was a tremendously selfless move by Kohli the captain. I have seen many stalwarts of Indian cricket who never let go of such an opportunity , an opportunity to score some easy international runs. Virat, being the kind of player that he is, it was like saying `pass’ to an international hundred.He forsook his own hundred so that Rayudu could get his first one. What that has done is, it’s lifted Rayudu’s confidence sky-high. I don’t see him as a regular No. 3 for India, but whatever position he bats in now, he will be bursting with self-confidence.That’s what a 100 does to a batsman that a 50 or a 60 never does.”
What Manjrekar really meant:
“Numbers are very important in Indian cricket especially in Indian conditions. Get your eye in and you can bully your way to a flat-track century in the blink of an eye (if you are the cashing in kind).”
What he definitely didn’t:
“I shouldn’t be saying this. I was a No.3 batsman myself.”
Rahul Dravid: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Rahul Dravid relives a tale of Multani Mitti.
What he said:
“If I charged a penny for every time I was asked about the Multan declaration, I would be a multi-millionaire by now.”
Rahul Dravid responds to yet another query about the controversial declaration against Pakistan when he was the stand-in skipper that left Sachin Tendulkar stranded on 194. “The Wall” was present at the release of Sachin’s autobiography, “Playing it my way” together with Saurav Ganguly and VVS Laxman.
Rahul added:
“My greatest memory of that Test is asking Sachin to bowl the last over of the day after the declaration. He got Moin Khan out and he was visibly overjoyed because he was again doing what he did so many times – helping India win. We walked off as a team.”
What Dravid really meant:
“I’ve been asked this question so many times now that I ought to just pen an autobiography myself and put all questions to rest. I’m sure it’d sell at least a million copies.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“It was a collective decision; we knew Sachin was no Sehwag to bring up his double ton with a six.”
Aaron Finch: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
Aaron Finch is almost eye-lined by a pyrotechnics eruption.
What he said:
“I might need to touch up my eyebrows.”
Australian T20 skipper Aaron Finch is understandably furious at nearly being singed by a coloured flame-thrower during the first T20 game against South Africa at the Adelaide Oval.
Finch said:
“It shocked me quite a bit. I sort of stood off, waiting for them to go off.And they didn’t. It wasn’t until I started to walk in. It gave me a bit of a fright.
I thought they must have pulled the pin on them for that time – and then bang. It was a shock, I can tell you. I might need to touch up my eyebrows.
I think it might have been last year or the year before when Dave Hussey almost got his head blown off. Probably a bit more care has to be taken towards the players and anyone who is nearby.”
Cricket Australia responded quickly:
“We have apologised to Aaron for the incident last night.We have clear operating procedures in place for the use of pyrotechnics at matches.
They include strict rules about safe operating distances with respect to players and fans.
Clearly there was a breach of that last night which we take very seriously and have addressed with the contractor concerned.”
What Finch really meant:
“I’m not flame-retardant especially not my eyebrows nor my hair.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Now, that was a fiery game of cricket, wasn’t it?”
Sachin Tendulkar: What he said, really meant and definitely didn’t
English: Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar Wax Statue in Madame Tussauds London (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Sachin Tendulkar: The 100 percent man.
What he said:
“I think whatever things I knew 100 per cent I have revealed because I back up those things. But the things I am not aware of fully, it would be unwise to comment on those.”
Sachin Tendulkar refused to address match-fixing controversies in his much-awaited memoirs, ‘Playing It My Way’.
The Little Master clarified:
“I should have some evidence, I should know something in detail to talk about it because then it makes sense and it will be appreciated by people. But if I just start talking then it will not have any value.”
English: Mohammad Azharuddin Sangeeta Bijlani (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Mohammad Azharuddin, Ajay Jadeja and Nayan Mongia were summarily punished by the BCCI with bans of varying durations in the aftermath of the match-fixing scandal in the 90s.
Asked whether some players deliberately performed:
“No, I mean the guys fail, but who doesn’t fail in life, everyone fails. It would be unfair to just pinpoint at someone and say that he was under-performing, didn’t try his best, I can’t. I have played the sport for 24 years and failures do happen.”
On why he never took a stand on major issues:
“If you see in my book, issues on which people believed I should have taken a stand, the only things which I was 100 per cent sure of I stood for that in my book.
If you have read some of the articles I have expressed myself whole-heartedly but on things which were not first-hand information, it is unwise to do that, it is (like) a loose statement and I didn’t want to fire loose statements.”
“Difficult, because there were times I felt like talking. I felt like I should focus on my game because one article would be followed by another article and I didn’t want to get into that tangle. It was always wiser, I thought, that I follow up with bigger scores rather than better articles.”
English: Image of Australian cricketer Ian Chappell. Courtesy of the National Archive of Australia. The NAA has given permission for the image to be used under the GDFL license. Confirmation of this permission has been sent to the OTRS system. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On Ian Chappell’s comment that `Sachin should look at himself in the mirror‘:
“I don’t think much about him. I showed him the size of the mirror in the VB Series in 2007. He has got nothing do with Indian cricket. Sometimes I feel people are given too much importance.
I don’t want his sorry . But in Durban, in 2010, when I was working out in the gym, we just bumped into each other and he said, `This is the secret of your success.’ I said, `You have conveniently changed sides.’ “
What Tendulkar really meant:
“In life, unlike on the batting pitch, I have to be on a strong ton before I start playing my shots.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”
Number of readers subscribed
Read it on Apple News
Read it on Apple News
Stat Counter
Sports, Health and Exercise
- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
Make Time For Sports. 