Random Cricket Photos Post 33


#RandomCricketPhotosThatMakeMeHappy

If to have been born with the name of the most popular rockstar of our generation and appearing exactly the opposite wasn’t unfortunate enough, Chris Martin had a batting prowess that earned him seven pairs in Test cricket and an average of 2.36. The average, mind you, is massively buttered up by the number of times he remained not out in his 104 Test innings.

In fact, Martin was out on a duck for 36 times, a dubious record only bettered by Courtney Walsh who played almost double the number of Tests. And he could have easily gone past Walsh’s record if not for the partner who deserted him not out on 0 twenty-seven times. And twenty seven is exactly the number of times he was out bowled in Test cricket, the compilation of which has got more than 1.5 lakh views on YouTube over the years.

A terrific bowler who had 110 Test wickets more than the runs he scored in his career, Martin just couldn’t bat and he knew it. And it didn’t take long for Kiwi fans to know it either who accepted him the way he was. They applauded almost every time his bat made connection with the ball. In fact, when Martin once hit Harbhajan Singh over his head for a four in a 2009 Test, he got a standing ovation from the crowd.

The good-natured bald man even appeared in a short TV skit called “How to Bat Like Chris Martin.” In the skit, Martin is shown teaching his disciple the art of batting, putting the kid’s right hand up on the bat handle and the left one below it, which is obviously a faulty way of holding a bat for a right hander. He then takes a dig at his own lack of footwork by tying bricks onto the shoes of the child.

The punch line at the end said of the video: “Like Chris, it’s out now.”

You can’t help but have a soft spot for such characters from the game who are brave enough to take the joke well even when it’s on them.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Quiz on India-Australia Tests

Image
1 .     When Australia toured India in 1969, Calcutta went up in arms protesting a player’s inclusion in the Australian squad who they wrongly believed had served in the Vietnam War and killed Viet Cong members. Which cricketer? 2.     In the 2000’s, Jagmohan Dalmiya was seeking the role of the BCCI’s patron in chief and to install Ranbir Mahendra as President. On the other hand, Sharad Pawar had forged a cricket alliance with IS Bindra and was looking forward to become the BCCI supremo.  It was in this background that Pawar’s loyalists declined a certain request by someone considered close to Dalmiya for a match that he eventually didn’t play but would go on to change his career. Which match and what was the request? 3.   Greg Mathews picked up 10 wickets in the 1986 Madras Test to ensure a tie. What crazy thing did he during India’s second innings as a psychological ploy, that Ricky Ponting also did during his 1999 Barbados century? 4...
Read more

Random Cricket Photos Post 128

Image
# RandomCricketPhotosThatMakeMeHappy Seems like a fairly harmless photograph, right? Well, some English fans did get 'harmed' as a result of this moment in the photograph. This is a photograph from the West Indies vs England Test at Lord's in 1966. It shows a cricketer who has just completed his ton in the second innings being lifted by an over enthusiastic fan who has found his way to the middle, as fans so often used to back in the day. The batsman was none other than the gr eat Sir Gary Sobers whose 274 run partnership with his cousin David Holford had rescued West Indies from a precarious 96-5 in the match. In England's second innings and the fourth innings of the match, several English fan inspired by the West Indies fan decided to fete their hero of the innings the same way. The only problem this time around was that the man who scored a century for England - Colin Milburn - weighed 112 kilograms. So, once he completed his ton, out came several ...
Read more

The story of the only time I played cricket in 2020

 As much as I love cricket, I have to admit I suck at playing it. I always have. This bit of information is important for the story that I am about to tell. A story of a friend. A story of a friendship. This short story began a long time ago in my life. I was probably twelve years old when I began playing cricket with the kids from my colony. After years of dominating my drawing room cricket where the opposition primarily consisted of the wall and the furniture, I found the going more than just tough initially despite finding a group of kids who were extremely supportive and never nasty. However, when you are young, being shy and introverted with terrible skills means that you’re often ‘hidden’ in a team sport i.e you are batting lower down the order and are the last bowler whose services the captain will ask for. You neither are good enough to participate more actively nor are you vocal enough to ask the more established players to give you a go. For much of my growing up years, t...
Read more