Iain O’Brien, the Mule
New Zealand's Iain O'Brien is not a devastating wrecker with the ball, but he is an increasingly important player in the New Zealand Test team and one of its more interesting characters
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
New Zealand's Iain O'Brien is not a devastating wrecker with the ball, but he is an increasingly important player in the New Zealand Test team and one of its more interesting characters. “OB”, as he is known in Derbyshire cricket circles, is one of the more popular players on the local circuit and regularly makes contributions to the county's website. Paul Holden, in his blog Sideline Slogger, profiles him in stuff.co.nz.
As an interviewee, his answers are quirky. He was recently asked on Radio Sport where he thought the heads of the top six New Zealand batsmen were at: “The top six? They’re at lunch most probably. No, really, they are actually having lunch.”
Also read O'Brien's take on the Gabba crowd.
The crowds here are pretty good, ruined by a few, actually quite a few, idiots who think a day out at the cricket is just to abuse the guys playing any way how. You get called anything and everything. Embarrassing for these guys really, as a lot of the others around them are cringing. I don’t know how many times I’ve was called a ‘faggot’ this afternoon.
Kanishkaa Balachandran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo