Random Cricket Photos Post 8



Umpires generally are bystanders to great cricketing action and aren't often known to hog limelight. With India's Swaroop Kishen, though, the case was slightly different. For obvious reasons, of course.

A lawyer by training and a wicket-keeper in his playing days, Kishen umpired in 17 Tests in India and his final Test was when he officiated in an India-England Test in Mumbai in 1984.

The English team, led by David Gower had their set of problems with Kishen, though, and the captain wrote to the board that they didn't want to play in a Test officiated by the big man. While wrong decisions were a major source of annoyance, they were not all. In fact, thanks to his massive girth, English bowlers struggled in their run-up and had to run wide of the crease.

And then there was another problem.

Kishen was well-known for his love for chewing betel-nut. And people known for chewing betel-nut are also known for spitting it out in rather ungainly fashion. And so did the portly umpire, unfortunately, on an English cricketer according to Graeme Fowler's book 'Mind over Batter'. Worse, Fowler recollected later that due to Kishen's 'throws', the English wicketkeeper had to stand on a land marked red by paan-stains every second over!

Well, it's not entirely surprising that Gower didn't want to see betel-chewing face of India's most popular umpire ever.

Photo by Adrien Murrell

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Sachin was God and Virat won’t be one

Image
There is little doubt that Virat Kohli is special. And comparisons of Virat with Sachin Tendulkar are pointless. But there is something that I want to compare today between the two – their fandom. And in trying to do that, I want to trace the change in the way cricket is consumed and how that has impacted its relationship with its fans, especially in Sachin and Virat’s country. To do that I will step back a bit and talk a bit about something that made Sachin ‘The God’ that he went on to become in the 90s. A cricket fan in the Sachin era (the ’90s) was characterized by an itch. This itch kept him distracted. This itch kept him motivated to get past his day. This itch also got him in trouble. This itch was to watch the game somehow. And if not able to watch, this itch came out in the form of those three beautiful words – score kya hua ? The relief of getting to watch cricket in the Sachin era was unmatchable. It was a festival of sorts to watch India play then, a fes...
Read more

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

Review of Capturing Cricket: Steve Waugh in India

Image
  Two decades ago, Steve Waugh brought his all-conquering team to the Indian shores with the hopes of capturing the ‘Final Frontier’ as he called it. The mission proved unsuccessful and one of cricket’s most successful leaders had to end his career without winning a Test series in India. The Waugh that we encounter on our screens in 2021 has grey hair to go with a bit of a paunch, has a small team of three, and doesn’t look half as tough as the man under the Baggy Green looked when he came out to toss in Mumbai, the venue of the first Test match two decades ago. His ambition this time though was in no way smaller than his ambition from two decades ago.   In Capturing Cricket: Steve Waugh in India, the veteran of 168 Tests takes on the challenge of capturing the country’s unparalleled obsession with the game through the lens of his camera. He has the company and the guidance of photographer Trent Parke as well his friend Jason Brooks who provides the flavor of humor in the do...
Read more