Armed with a group of grizzled veterans and retired greats reminiscent of an Eagles tour, Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar have turned into cricket evangelists, playing a series of exhibition matches in the baseball-loving United States of America.
Following a media blitz and a social media campaign channeling the 80s classic ‘Coming to America’, I was left to wonder if Sachin is playing Eddie Murphy, and whether that makes Warney Arsenio Hall? If so, can we expect our Shane to soon be hosting a mediocre talk show before fading to obscurity in coming years? One can only hope.
Back to the ‘All Stars’ tour, I have a few thoughts after watching the first game. While it is clearly evident that Glenn McGrath was ‘rested’ from the opening fixture after eating his bodyweight in bagels, is this whole experience particularly flattering for the players or the game itself?
My terrifying memories of Courtenay Walsh and Curtly Ambrose were immediately sullied by the combination of Courtney’s post-retirement girth and Curtly’s post-retirement hairstyle.
While Warney seems determined to appear slightly less lifelike than his Madame Tassaud’s replica, most other players have let themselves go with gusto.
It is difficult to know what to make of the whole circus. While a lot of the crowd appeared to have family ties to the subcontinent, one wonders how much of an impression the three matches will make on the broader population.
There is no harm in the whole spectacle, although such games usually feature ‘Johnny Walker’ in their title somewhere when played in Australia.
Perhaps the whole thing is a precursor to exhibition games featuring current players in coming years. After all, apparently the US has the same number of cricketers as New Zealand, which means we can expect them to face Australia in a series of one-sided matches some time in the next twenty years.
One final thought on the first game. I am quietly hoping Alan Wilkins is actually a cyborg, sent from the future to rescue cricket in the United States. Either that, or he is a tremendous ambassador for the progress of cryogenics in recent years. I am quietly hoping the boffins at Channel Nine bring him on board to replace Mark Nicholas next summer.
Wilkins’ leadership of the commentary team was exemplary, and it was a welcome relief to watch several hours of cricket without a single player being referred to as a unit. Well played, team. Well played.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
Check out some of the short-arm pull shots from Rocky Flintoff!
Harshal Patel was not a happy man!
David Lord has been remembered as an icon of Australian sports journalism following his death, aged 84. The renowned writer and broadcaster was an…
Sign the man up for a contract next season!
RCB have suffered a massive HEAD-ACHE after Travis Head smashed the fastest century by an SRH player in just 39 balls, as they amassed…
A brutal century by Travis Head has blasted Sunrisers Hyderabad back into the Indian Premier League play-off places in another match for bowlers to…
