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South Africa Cricket: Dale Steyn Will Holiday Against Australia At Home

What he said:

“I go on holiday for longer than that series is going to last.”

South African pacer, Dale Steyn, is disbelieving that just two Tests against Australia at home will test (pun intended) both sides’ character.

Steyn is that disappearing breed of quickies who believe that the longer form of the game is where men prove their mettle.

Steyn said:

There’s a lot of guys who can bowl 150km/h when you give them the ball when they’re fresh in the morning, but can they do it late in the afternoon when it’s boiling hot and they’re bowling their 20th over for the day? I want to be able to do that and I want to be the only guy who is able to do that.

I want to be in your face all day, not for little periods of time, that is pretty much my inspiration. I want the opposition to walk off and say, ‘Shit, that was tough’.

On the two-match series:

I won’t lie to you, I’m very, very disappointed. Everyone is talking about Test cricket still being the ultimate in everybody’s minds and yet we are only playing two Test matches. Also in England next year, our series has been changed from five Test matches to three.

‘We want people to want to play Test matches. We want kids to aspire to that, and yet two of the biggest Test nations in the world are only playing two Test matches. I go on holiday for longer than that series is going to last. I hope somebody gets up and decides to do something about it. We want it to be competitive and hard and, seriously, two Test matches is not enough.

Steyn claims he is a smarter bowler nowadays:

I think I am a little bit more street-smart. Each day you play you don’t necessarily get better but you get a bit wiser and that can work against you because you don’t use your natural instincts, but I think I’m at the stage now where I use a bit of both.”

I would love to bowl 160 km/h. Any fast bowler would love to do that. But for me that is almost impossible. Someone like ‘Taity’ who is only playing T20 these days, it’s very possible for him to do that all the time. It’s like asking Usain Bolt to run the 100 metres in under 10 seconds every day of the week for 30 days, it’s just not going to happen.

The thing I’ve got to concentrate on for South Africa is bowling at good pace and if the ball is in the right area that will cause enough trouble.

What Dale Steyn really  meant:

“Two tests, ten days of Test cricket! I take off for two weeks—at least!”

What Dale Steyn definitely didn’t:

“Don’t pay me my match fee. It feels as though I’m vacationing.”

Jonty Rhodes Won’t Sing Nor Dance

What he said:

“Bollywood actors sing and groove. I know my limitations. I don’t sing, I don’t dance, nor do I have the looks of a hero — it’s zero out of three for me.”

Former South African cricketer and Mumbai Indians fielding coach is not Bollywood hero material.

Rhodes was celebrated for his dare-devilry on the field but the idea of appearing in an Indian pot-boiler gives him the heebie-jeebies.

Rhodes disclosed his eagerness to meet model Poonam Pandey:

“A lot of people were waiting to see the show that she was going to put on for the Indian team. I, too, had put my hand up for that. If she needs a little practice or wants someone to advise her, I’d be happy to help… as a father figure.”

What he really meant:

“I can fly, though. I wonder why Shah Rukh Khan didn’t come calling for ‘Ra.One’.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I’m all jaunty about acting.”

Dean Jones Is Conscientious In Deciphering Inexplicable Virender Sehwag

What he said:

“He has no conscience when he bats and plays the hardest stroke for any batsman with complete ease.”

Former Australian batsman and commentator, Dean Jones, attempts to explain Virender Sehwag’s uncomplicated approach to batting.

What he really meant:

“The ball is there to be hit and Sehwag hits it. No second thoughts, no second guessing.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“If batting’s a crime, then Sehwag is it’s ‘Jack The Ripper’.”

Dale Steyn Will Not Burn Himself With Philip Hughes’ Frying Pan

What he said:

One of the things we said was that we didn’t want to bowl wide to him, and then we did. It was one of those childish things where you say to a kid, ‘don’t touch the frying pan, you’re going to burn yourself’, and then you end up touching the frying pan and burn yourself. The English side found a way of getting him out, and quite easily getting him out, so I will go through those videos. I’m a little bit wiser, a little bit smarter now.

South African pace spearhead, Dale Steyn, points out that he is much wiser now, unlike in 2009 when he allowed Australian opener, Philip Hughes, to collar the bowling and score a brace of tons in his debut series.

Hughes has struggled ever since once English bowlers discovered that he was uncomfortable against anything targeted at his ribcage. Hughes recently made a successful comeback under Michael Clarke in Sri Lanka scoring a century in the final Test and averaging 40.40. South Africa face Australia at home in a curtailed two match series.

Steyn said:

”Obviously he opens the batting for Australia, so anybody who is a good player can score runs somewhere along the line, but he will definitely have his weaknesses. We haven’t played a lot against him since then, so I will have to go through a couple of things and see where we went wrong and hopefully we can rectify that.”

The No. 1 fast bowler in the world had only words of praise for Hughes’ predecessor, Simon Katich:

The way he moves around the crease, he is able to control where he wants to hit the ball. It’s incredible.

It’s surprising that he is not there because he is one of those real Aussie players, a gutsy, strong character. He even looks like the epitome of an Australian opening batsman from years back. In a weird way I’m quite happy he’s not playing, but you want to compete against guys like that, and for his sake I think he should be there.

Katich has been dropped from the side—a victim of Australian selectors’ youth policy.

What he really meant:

“Recall how we handled Virender Sehwag the last time India toured here;Hughes is a poor Australian’s  version of the Delhi Butcher.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I never heard of mental disintegration.”

Yuvraj Singh Is Not Testing With His Words

Image via Wikipedia

What he said:

“The English media and the players have spoken too much. So what goes around comes around. The players should be careful with what they say.”

Yuvraj Singh is unable to hide his glee at the turnaround in the Indian cricket team’s fortunes.

The return ODI series against England at home was clinched in convincing fashion with the first three one-dayers going Team India’s way.

What he really meant:

“One English summer does not make a season.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“It’s not Test cricket, is it?”

Shane Warne Is All Giggly With Liz Hurley

What he said:

“I’m sure she giggles with me and not at me.”

Shane Warne and Elizabeth Hurley have not yet set a date for the marriage vows but have decided against a pre-nuptial agreement.

Warne said:

There has not been one chat about what date, where, anything like that. It hasn’t been brought up once. We’re in no rush to marry. We’re a bit romantic and old-school and are enjoying being engaged for a while. We just want to live our life at the moment and see how that goes. We’re enjoying each other, she makes me laugh.

The high-flying couple recently announced their engagement.

What he really meant:

“If our romance is a comedy, let’s laugh together.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Just call us ‘Giggles’.”

India Cricket: Rajeev Shukla Promotes English Cricket

What he said:

"England have been losing for the last 10 years, most of their teams, and at football also. So therefore we’re absolutely happy because we want cricket to grow in England."

New IPL Chairman, Rajeev Shukla, is a jolly good fellow.

Shukla’s horizons have broadened since ascending the BCCI ladder. The IPL chief believes that the recent victory over India at home will benefit English sport.

Shukla said:

“As far as the fans were concerned they were not very happy, but in games, defeat and victory go together, you lose and you win, that happens."

Ironically, Shukla is troubled about the deleterious effect of IPL on Test cricket:

The effect IPL is having on Test cricket is also our concern. That is why we are doing our level best to promote Test cricket now.

We are playing more Test matches, there will be a focus on the Tests. We need to promote all three forms of the game and we are not thinking only from the position of money. There may be more money in Twenty20, more money in one-day, but it does not mean that we should compromise with Test cricket.

We are thinking that we should organise more Test matches in B towns because in the populated metropolises people are always in a hurry, they’re busier, they want Twenty20, they want the one-dayer. But in B grade cities in India where they hardly get any international cricket but still have large populations, if a Test match is organised people will want to watch it.

What he really meant:

“We don’t mind losing on the field; we’re winning in the board room.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I’m just learning the ropes; that’s the best positive spin I can put on an unmitigated disaster of a tour.”

Indian Grand Prix: Samir Gaur’s Jaypee Sports Hosts 24 Bridegrooms

What he said:

“In India, when marriages take place, till last moment one keeps arranging for flower, vermillion till the last moment. Here we are welcoming not one, but 24 bridegrooms.”

Jaypee Sports CEO and MD, Samir Gaur, brushed aside questions from the press as to whether work on the Buddh circuit was still underway less than a fortnight before the much awaited Indian Grand Prix on October 30.

India’s first ever Formula One Grand Prix is the epee of Indian sport this year.

Narain Karthikeyan, praising the track, said:

“I have raced on all the major F1 tracks across the globe and I rate this track as one of the best in the world.”

What he really meant: 

“The bride (Buddh) is being prepared for the Swayamvar. Surely, you’d expect nerves and last-minute palpitations?”

What he definitely didn’t:

“There’s enough wedding cake for all to go around.”

Formula One: Karun Chandhok Regrets That Not All His Fans Can Go-Kart

What he said:

“A kid watching a Karun Chandhok on TV can’t get into his go-kart and drive off.”

Karun Chandhok, just the second Indian Formula One driver after Narain Karthikeyan, admits that Grand Prix racing is an elitist sport.

Chandhok said:

When you come from a country like India, where you are one of the two people out of 1.2 billion, it’s a nice little exclusive club to be a part of.
One of two people out of 1.2 billion. That’s a huge disparity. Especially, when people throng to other sports.

Well, it’s only cricket, isn’t it? I think the main thing is infrastructure.

Chandhok made his F1 debut for Hispania Racing and is currently a test driver with Team Lotus.

On racing being glamorous and attracting WAGS, Chandhok shrugs:

This is a glamorous sport, and we shouldn’t apologise for it because there is nothing wrong in it. It’s a fantastic selling point for the sport. WAGs you even have in cricket; they have Liz Hurley now, I hear.

On the Indian GP in NOIDA, Chandhok says:

I’d love a great Indian crowd here. So far, we have sold about 60,000 tickets already which is great. I hope the teams and drivers enjoy it. They were asking me about Delhi and some of them want to go to Jaipur for a holiday, so I have become some sort of a tourism authority for them.

How did Chandhok get into the sport?

My grandfather used to race in the 50s, my father used to race in the 70s, and in India getting into your family business is normal. I started go-karting when I was just 6 and I started racing when I was 16.

What Chandhok really meant:

“A kid watching Sachin Tendulkar can’t bat like him either but at least he  can try.”

What Chandhok  definitely didn’t:

“You guys can speed race with souped up engines instead—a la ‘The Fast and The Furious’.”

Korean GP: Sebastian Vettel Laps Fastest—One Last Time

What he said:

“It’s probably more to do with the ego because there are no points, so it’s really stupid from my side, but now I’ve got one, I’m happy."

Youngest two-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel dedicates the fastest lap of the race at the Korea Grand Prix to his ego.

Vettel won 10 races this season but had just one fastest lap against his name until Korea.

Vettel pulled out all stops on his final circle to secure the fastest lap ignoring suggestions from his Red Bull team to take it easy.

Vettel said:

I think they will kill me now.On the radio they initially said ‘you didn’t get the fastest lap’ which obviously isn’t true. Then they came back on the radio and said ‘idiot, you got it’.

It’s really stupid. I think in other races it doesn’t really make sense, but on the last lap I had a good feeling, and yeah, I was pushing a bit harder to get the fastest lap. It’s a small thing.

What Vettel really meant:

“Smart driving wins championships; fast driving wins laps.”

What Vettel definitely didn’t:

“I’m atavistic,not bull-headed.”