Tour Diary
An encounter with Joe Hussain
Joe came to England first in 1963 and admits the first 15 years were spent in dilemma, with regard to which team to support.
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
Tucked away in a quiet corner of Essex, about half an hour from Chelmsford, is the Illford Cricket School, a nursery with a rich tradition. Located in an inconspicuous corner behind the Harvesters Pub at Gants Hill, it's a coaching centre that's produced five international cricketers - Graham Gooch, John Lever, James Foster, Nasser Hussain and Ravi Bopara - and close to 40 who've gone on to play the game at the first-class level.
In charge of the school is Joe (Jawad) Hussain, Nasser's father, who welcomes you in an accent that's a delightful mix of Chennai and Illford. "I'll tell you what the problem is," he says with a crisp Tamil tongue before quickly changing tack, "this place is almost hidden innit?" Joe was born in Madras (not Chennai but Madras, he insists) and managed a solitary Ranji Trophy game for Tamil Nadu. "Sardesai passed away man," he says thoughtfully. "What a batsman. I'll never forget the hundred he made for Mafatlal against my club, MCC."
Joe loves to talk. Mention "Asian cricketers" and his eyes twinkle with excitement. "Just wait for five years and half the English team will be players of Asian origin," he states emphatically. "There's so much talent you know but the problem with Asian cricketers is that they're very talented but not able to take their game to the next level. Cricketers like Owais Shah, Kabir Ali and Vikram Solanki should have made it long back. Take a chap like Collingwood, compare him to Owais Shah - Shah is way more talented, miles ahead but Collingwood through sheer hard work has made it. So many Asian boys get country contracts for one-two years and then disappear. Something happens."
Full postThe locals of Clontarf
Irish cricket really is a family affair
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
Irish cricket really is a family affair. I had a long chat with a local, Jim Gallagher, this afternoon at the friendly, picturesque ground of Clontarf, who was enjoying several pints of Magners. He pointed out Ed Joyce's father, and several other parents of current and former cricketers fluttering around the boundary edge. Today's third umpire - whose name eludes me - was also milling around sharing jokes and tales with everyone. The atmosphere is more like a club match than an international - and the press conferences are held on the steps by the car park, with the burger-and-chips van's engine still whirring. All very Heath Robinson, as my Dad would've said, relaxed and good fun.
Today's match was attended by three journalists, Chris Gayle, and 20 autograph hunters. It's a frenetic two minutes of sound bites and quite clearly the future.
Clontarf really is a beautiful ground - but I very nearly missed the delayed start due to my taxi driver not understanding my ridiculous estuary English. "Clontarf cricket club please," was my humble request, but he simply couldn't decipher where I wanted to go. Before reaching for my pen and paper, he cried "ClonTARF!", slapping his hand on the steering wheel in a euphoric gesture of victory. We were on our way.
But back to Mr Gallagher. Towards the end of the day, Imran Khan, West Indies' media manager, kindly asked whether I would like to speak to Fidel Edwards. I agreed, and grabbed a pen and paper to write a few notes and come up with a unique question which no one had ever asked him. Ever. Bereft of inspiration, I asked Jim and his friends. It was a dreadful mistake.
Full postRandom spottings at Chelmsford
Ronnie Irani, the recently retired Essex captain, talking loudly on his mobile and after a point is not able to decide whether to get into his car or just stay out
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
Ronnie Irani, the recently retired Essex captain, talking loudly on his mobile and after a point is not able to decide whether to get into his car or just stay out. At one point he opens the car door, begins to get in, head still out, mobile at his right ear, hollering … you get the picture.
Meanwhile Alastair Cook, England’s opening batsman, is checking out a bagful of golf clubs. Sleek, brand new ones but there’s just one problem: “They’re all right-handed.”
Danish Kaneria lurks outside the ground aimlessly, suddenly surprised when someone stops him to say hello: “Marwadoge yaar (you’ll kill me, man).
Full postScoreboardless at Stormont
Much of the first 94 overs we witnessed on Wednesday were humdrum
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
Much of the first 94 overs we witnessed on Wednesday were humdrum. But before Netherlands imploded, and Kevin O'Brien came to the fore, the real drama was to be seen outside the boundary.
The day began under clear blue skies, in a sea-blue media tent, in which we discovered our umbilical cord - the internet - had been cut off. It somehow worked its way back into life once we'd discovered the best (and most awkward) position to sit with our laptops, but worse (or better, depending on your point of view) was to happen.
Towards the end of Ireland's innings, the scoreboard packed up. Gone. Finished. Apparently a fuse had blown, which sounds easily replaceable. But in spite of the engineer's best efforts - which included receiving detailed maps of the fuse box being emailed to him - the board shut up shop for the day. Much arm-waving was seen from the referee's box where Chris Broad, sat directly opposite it, was officiating, but not even he could fix it.
The lack of a scorecard prompted the announcer to reveal the scores every two or three overs over the impressively ear-shattering PA system, seemingly located inside my eardrum - a situation which caused much hilarity. With Netherlands fielding the indecipherable Eric Szwarczynski and the tongue-twisting Bas Zuiderent, there were frequent amusing pauses. "The incoming batsman is...Bas......Zweedurran...t". Well, at least he got their first names right. Also spotted around the boundary was West Indies' coach, David Moore, who, camoflaged in civvies, gave a knowing nod, no doubt keeping a close eye on Ireland's progress ahead of their clash on Saturday.
Full post'Mind the gap'
Another of Mikes’s sayings comes to mind: "Many Continentals think life is a game; the English think cricket is a game." The Indians, though, it’s often said, think cricket is the only game
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
George Mikes, the Hungarian born British author, wrote in How to be a Brit: "The trouble with tea is that originally it was quite a good drink. So a group of the most eminent British scientists put their heads together, and made complicated biological experiments to find a way of spoiling it. To the eternal glory of British science their labour bore fruit."
It's something I thought of soon after landing at Heathrow airport and headed to a snacks counter to gulp some tea. That particular offering wasn't as bad as Mikes made it out but again anything hot that tasted remotely like tea would have done the trick at the time. Close to ten
hours of grogginess needed treatment.
Full post'The Windies are coming'
All that is good in a city (and much of it that is bad) can be discovered in the first hour after landing, via that mine of knowledge, the taxi driver
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
All that is good in a city (and much of it that is bad) can be discovered in the first hour after landing, via that mine of knowledge, the taxi driver. In my limited experience, they are an indigenous group more-or-less identical the world over: fiercely patriotic, but aware of a city's pitfalls. And you learn so much from them.
And so it was that Connor, my guide and driver for the morning, told me all about Dublin, and not a lot about the cricket. Unsurprisingly he was completely unaware that a Quadrangular series was about to take place in the city he was born and raised in, but was pleased and amazed that West Indies ("the Windies are comin'? Fantastic!") were in town. No advertisements, no flags or posters - not a thing was to be seen promoting the tournament. The chequered blue and black flags forlornly draped on lampposts and pot-plant holders were for a Celtic football contest.
Of course, this comes as no surprise but it's a familiar and faintly depressing trend that an international series might go completely unnoticed. We will have to see whether the Irish Cricket Union's decision to lower the ticket prices - excellent though it is - is sufficient to entice the locals to Clontarf tomorrow. I fear not.
Connor's interest in cricket stemmed from the World Cup. Sat in a dingy local - "I love it, but it's certainly not one for the tourists" - supping "the milk" (Guinness, apparently), he and his friends were busily talking about everything and nothing when one local, propping up the bar, began shouting at the TV. Within an hour, most of the pub were pumping their fists and cheering Ireland on (against Pakistan), oblivious of the rules but attracted to the green uniform on the pitch, and the throng of distinctly Irish-looking fans in the crowd.
Full postGally and Channerpor
If I had any doubts lingering that I was in Ireland (or that I have Irish blood by my maternal Grandmother), then they have all disappeared now
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
If I had any doubts lingering that I was in Ireland (or that I have Irish blood by my maternal Grandmother), then they have all disappeared now. I had to take a short bus ride this morning and in doing so got chatting to the driver, who I approached cautiously, to ask for directions.
I'm a Londoner who uses buses every day and, via a plethora of warning signs, am advised not to to approach - let alone speak to - the man behind the wheel. It beggars belief what might happen if I did; London bus drivers are generally a depressive bunch who eye all passengers with immense caution. But Jim, my Irish bus driver for 10 minutes today, couldn't have been more welcoming.
In fact, he even gave me a little detour to show me some sights. He tried to, anyway - the road was blocked and we had to reverse. But what other country would this happen in? In the brief 10 minute journey, I spoke to him about cricket - "Ah, it'll never take in Ireland, will it? I like water polo m'self" - Guinness, Princess Diana and speed humps. He wasn't a cricket fan, however. At the ground in Clontarf - a picturesque little place with white-washed fences, every bit the small, local club - only a smattering turned up. True, it was a week day - and the weather threatened to tear down in true Irish style. So where were they? Has the effect of Ireland's stellar efforts in the World Cup amounted to nothing?
Full postThe Irish connection
The links between Ireland and South Africa go back a long way
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
The links between Ireland and South Africa go back a long way. During the match on Sunday, Alan, a young man from Cape Town, who now lives in Cork (Southern Ireland), had spent fours on a train getting to Dublin then another three on a coach getting to Belfast to come and watch South Africa.
He wasn’t amused to see the rain fall for five hours. “If I don’t see anything, I’ll be a bit miffed,” he said. In the end the weather relented in time for a 31-over match, but Alan had to leave to catch his return journey back to Cork where he works as a newspaper sub.
On the field there were two more South Africans with strong Irish connections. The opening partnership of AB de Villiers and Morne van Wyk will have felt right at home in the cold, blustery Stormont weather. de Villiers filled his boots while playing for Carrickfergus in the Irish leagues – once striking back-to-back double centuries (233 and 208) over a weekend – while van Wyk churned out the runs for Instonians.
Full postNotes from the Emerald Isle
Scores level
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
Scores level
Two of the umpires on duty in Ireland this weekend are Billy Bowden and Aleem Dar, who have been punished for their role in the World Cup fiasco by not being considered for the Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa. And, for a while, at the end of the India’s nine-wicket win over Ireland, it appeared Bowden may have cocked up again.
Thinus Fourie bowled a wide that, according to the TV, took India to their Duckworth-Lewis target of 171. However, the match went on for another delivery, which Ganguly guided to third man and ran two. Bowden then signalled the end of the match and everyone shook hands.
Full postFamily ties
Even as Bangladesh were surrendering at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Akram Khan, at 38 years and 206 days, was playing his last organised cricket match
Sidharth Monga
25-Feb-2013
Even as Bangladesh were surrendering at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Akram Khan, at 38 years and 206 days, was playing his last organised cricket match. Playing for DOHS against Sonargaon in the Dhaka Premier Division League, he led for the last time a team that could scarcely have got more interesting. There were veterans in Steve Tikolo and Khaled Mahmud. They had ultra youngsters in Tamim Iqbal and Dollar Mahmud – his name will catch your eye before his pace does, which according to locals will do too.
Akram made only three in his last game, but Tamim, his nephew, made 72 in true aggressive style, which has made him one of Bangladesh's favourite players. A past hero, who led Bangladesh to their first ODI win and led the team in the ignominious years, did not get to bat with the fearless youngster, the future of Bangladesh cricket, though.
Full post