The Flamboyant Eleven

Recently, there has been a spate of articles on different kinds of World 11s on Cricinfo. Aside from the usual, there have been some fairly interesting elevens chosen by Ram Guha and Ian Chappell. Cricketers are dour characters, compared to others sportsmen like footballers and tennis players. So, I thought I would come up with a list of the most flamboyant cricketers, crickets who were not only swashbucklers on the field, but lived life on the edge off it and captured public imagination like few others did.

Herschelle Gibbs - When in form, Gibbs was the most exciting South African batsman to watch post their reinstatement in international cricket. He had natural flair, was a sweet timer of the ball, not afraid to take the aerial route as evidenced by his six-hitting spree in the 2007 World-cup and at his best playing in the cover region. He was never a favorite of the coaches- not fond of net practice and believing in playing more by instinct than anything else. Off the field, he often courted controversy, being hauled for smoking marijuana and making racist comments and most notoriously, for being involved in the match-fixing scandal. As it turned out, he was not very reliable as a fixer, either, scoring a matchwinning 74 in the game he was supposed to throw.

Geoff  Boycott - Many would dispute this choice for Boycott was anything but an exciting cricketer on field, known for his soporific batting. Yet, off field he remained an extremely unpopular and controversial figure for England's most accomplished batsman of the era, uncompromising in the way he played his cricket. He was known for his bad running between the wickets and his tendency to scream at his partner like a virago during mix-ups, getting a lot of his partners run out during his time. He went on a self imposed exile for a few years, while at the peak of his powers, probably due to being overlooked for English captaincy. Later in his career, he excused himself from fielding in a test match in India citing illness as the reason but was out playing golf while his teammates were still on field, later claiming he went to the golf course to get some fresh air on medical advice! Finally, he was banned for organizing a rebel tour to South African which ended his career. After retirement, he developed a successful career as a commentator, opinionated and often caustic. In his late life, he also revealed a Rhett Butler side to him, claiming he was being sued for assault by his former girlfriend as he refused to marry her, for he was 'not the marrying kind.'

Viv Richards - King Viv, widely acknowledged as the most destructive batsman ever to have played the game and probably the best player of ferocious fast bowling. Like Gavaskar, he never wore the helmet even while facing the like of Lillee, Thomson, Imran, Hadlee or the famed qaurtet of his own side. The word 'swagger' has not been used to describe anything more aptly as Richards' presence at the crease. He looked relaxed, with a ready smile and a general air of disdain. He was at times a fairly interesting character off the field; his affair and love-child with Neena Gupta are stuff of folklore but the incident that stands out for me is Richards scoring three ducks as a 16 year old in a domestic match. He was out for a duck in the first innings but refused to leave the field causing a mini-riot that he had to be recalled and scored another duck. He came back in the second innings and was out again for naught.

Brian Lara - Lara was the most stylish and easily one of the two best batsmen of his generation. Unlike Sachin, he was much more flashy with an extremely attractive back-lift and had the capacity to attack for extended periods of time. Where Richards was brutal, Lara used to dazzle and there was an air of performance about his batting. Off the field, he was often controversial with his love-child with a journalist, problems with authority and tiffs with the cricket board over sponsorship contracts.

MAK Pataudi - Tiger Pataudi was a prince - handsome and an attractive stroke maker, son of  probably an even more accomplished batsman whose early death made him a Nawab at the age of 11, a one-eyed aristocrat who was then the youngest captain ever, married to the most glamorous actress of his age; everything about him had an air of romance which is exactly what the star-starved Indian fans needed in the 1960s. He was a very good batsman and would have been a great one but for the loss of one eye and led a weak team with a lot of pride.

Imran Khan - Imran at his peak could take the pitch out of equation, bowling full and swinging both the new and the old ball at a ferocious pace. Possibly the best all-rounder since Sir Gary Sobers, this speaks volumes for he played in the era of Botham, Hadlee and Kapil. He was an inspirational captain for Pakistan, always leading by example but could also be a divisive figure with his equation with Javed Miandad and his controversial speech on winning the World Cup. Off the field, there have been many faces of Imran, a regular in the London partying scene in his youth to a philanthropist to what would many would regard, as a failed politician.

Ian Botham - Sir Beefy is the ideal candidate for this team. He was, according to Mike Selvey, a double-O cricketer with a license to thrill. Botham was already a legend before he made his international debut. As a teenager, he had been hit by an Andy Roberts bouncer. Where others would have retired hurt, he spat out his broken teeth and won the match for Somerset. He was a man of extremes, who could be best in the world on his day but constantly in trouble over smoking marijuana, public spats with Imran Khan, Peter Roebuck and Ian Chappell and extra-marital affairs.

Godfrey Evans - Among the finest keepers the game has seen, Evans was the first to make tumbling while taking a catch fashionable. According to Herbert Strudwick, he sometimes made simple catches look difficult, yet made the nearly impossible look easy and was one of the rare keepers to fling themselves infront of the wicket to take the bat-pad catches. He was an interesting charcter off the field too, always full of energy, settling down with a drink for an evening at the piano after a hard day's play.

Shane Warne - Warne was the coolest cricketer of his generation, a rockstar. For someone who just takes a couple of steps to wicket and bowls, he could bring a surprising theatrical element to his bowling - getting the crowd behind him, sledging, playing mind-games and plotting the fall of batsmen. Be it his first Ashes ball, the traumatising of Daryl Cullinan or his ominous observations about Gibbs' tendency to throw the ball much too quickly after catching it, Warne was coolness, personified. Off the field, he always kept himself in news with his text-messages, smoking, declarations of yet another mystery ball or ruminations on John Buchanan.

Shoaib Akhtar - At worst, he couldn't really do much apart from hitting a teammate with a bat, allegedly slapping the coach, getting caught for ball-tampering and talking in a weird accent. At his average, he could turn in an odd fiery spell for Kolkata Knightriders and maybe, beat Salman Khan in a race. At his best, he left Dravid and Tendulkar dumbfounded and turned in the most exciting run up I have ever seen.

Dennis Lillee - Considered by many as 'the complete bowler,' Lillee combined talent with showmanship. He scarily fast and an exponent of swing and cut. His career almost ended when his back break down, yet he returned after months of physiotherapy and a remodelled action to becomes one the best ever seen. He also took time off from all this to get an aluminium bat made, kick Miandad and almost cause Gavaskar to stage a walk-out.

A Bit on Fry and Laurie

A Bit of Fry and Laurie is my favorite comedy sketch show of all time, even eclipsing the likes of Monty Python's Flying Circus for me. Nobody can do comedy like the Brits, and this show was typically English, with quirky and odd humor, clever wordplay, sexual innuendos and laced with references to British politics. The show often had Hugh Laurie playing a musical instrument and singing a hilarious number with it, with Stephen Fry taking upon himself to provide some perfectly idiotic choreography as accompaniment, which were a complete riot. Another quirky aspect of the show was the use of some nonsensical phrases supposedly from Strom, a Central European language invented by Stephen Fry! According to Wikipedia, it "comprises nonsensical single-syllable words often meaning different things in the same sentence, even shorter words that can only be expressed in over a full sentence in English, and vulgar faux amis." The most popular Strom phrase was 'soupy twist' uttered at the end of most episodes by both the actors, which in all probability meant 'cheers.'

The double act of Fry and Laurie, in fact is not limited to this show but they have collaborated most brilliantly in prominent works like Blackadder, Jeeves and Wooster and Peter's Friends and innumerable lesser known radio and TV programmes. Both Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie go back to Cambridge Footlights which has produced some of the finest British comic figures in the last 40 years, be it Douglas Adams, John Cleese,  Eric Idle, Emma Thompson or more recently, John Oliver. 

Both Fry and Laurie were born in the late 1950s. Fry overcame a felony  as a minor and three months in prison to come to Cambridge and majored in English Literature, immediately taking to theater and joining the Footlights. at the insistence of his friend Hugh Laurie. Laurie followed in his Olympic Gold medal winner father's footsteps and was a promising oarsman in high school and college, earning his Blue while at Cambridge before a bout of glandular fever nipped his athletic career in the bud. He then tried his hand at acting, joining the Footlights. He was introduced to Stephen Fry by his college girlfriend, a certain Emma Thompson. In 1981, Laurie served as the President of the Footlights, with Emma Thompson serving as vice president.

The first break for Fry and Laurie, and in fact, Emma Thompson, too, was when their annual revue at Cambridge, The Cellar Tapes won the Perrier Comedy Award. This gave them some publicity and led to the television adaptation of the revue. This showed led to a contract with Granada TV for all three to collaborate with Ben Elton in There's Nothing to Worry About, later called Alfresco. (which was a response to BBC's highly successful Rowan Atkinson starring Not the Nine O'clock News, written by among others, Richard Curtis) By this time, Fry and Laurie's double act had gained popularity and BBC offered them their own two man show The Crystal Cube which was soon shelved and later their most celebrated show A Bit of Fry and Laurie. In the meantime, they essayed various roles in Black Adder, another excellent comedy series from the 80s which Ben Elton co-wrote with the other set of twin comic collaborators, that of Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis from the Oxford Revue and were regulars as a comedy double act on Channel 4's Friday Night Live.

Their next big break was an television adaptation of several of PG Wodehouse's Jeeves and Bertie Wooster stories and novels. Both Fry and Laurie are ardent Wodehouse fans and this is evident in their portrayal of Jeeves and Bertie Wooster, respectively. While Fry seems perfect in the role of the impassive, supercilious, cunning butler, it is Hugh Laurie's quirky protrayal of Bertie as a well-meaning but complete twit with an air of optimistic carelessness that stands out. 

Thereafter, both Fry and Lauries went on achieve a lot of individual success, continuing to come together only for a few comedy acts, like reprising their earlier roles in the one off installments of Blackadder. Stephen Fry ventured into different roles on TV ranging from playing a game-show host (Qi) to documentaries (The Secret Life of Manic Depressive) to producing the legal drama, Kingdom. His also dabbled in films, playing various suporting roles. However, his most significant roles were in Peter's Friends (co-starring Hugh Laurie) and Wilde, in which he played Oscar Wilde in a much acclaimed role. Hugh Laurie, on the other hand, portrayed primarily supporting roles in films like the Emma Thompson written and starring Sense and Sensibility and the Stuart Little films. He played the lead in Ben Elton's Maybe Baby. However, his finest role remains that of Dr. House in the American TV show, a nacissistic anti-hero inspired from Sherlock Holmes. Both have written reasonably succesful books and have also tied their hand at direction.

Though Fry and Laurie have not collaborated in any substantial way in the past fifteen years, the remain the best of friends. Fry was the best man to Hugh Laurie's wedding and is the godfather to all of Laurie's children. They have both continued to acknowledge each other for their support and inspiration. 'M'colleague' is how they refer to each other and their books are usually dedicated to the other or acknowledge their contribution. A couple of days ago, I read that Stephen Fry has been signed on to play the role of Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock's elder and suposedly more brillaint brother in the second part of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes trilogy. Fry seems to fit the description of Mycroft as a large and stout man, astute yet lethargic. It is all the more fitting that his younger partner has been portraying a one of the finest character inspired from Sherlock Holmes for the last six years.

Even though Stephen Fry and Hugh Lauri haven't worked together in a long time, both have expressed a desite to renew their partnership at some time. Here's hoping it happens. Soupy twist!

25 Random Things About Me

1. I find things distasteful very easily - perverted jokes, slapstick comedy, metal, too much ginger but I almost never find something physically disgusting;  blood and gore, ugly pornographic scenes, bad hygiene, people taking a dump, poultry getting butchered - none of these would bother me, say, while I am eating.

2. I truly believe that as I get older I will grow handsomer, i.e. unless I go bald.

3. I have a thing for people's ears. I notice them, I compare them, I remember people by them and I like ear jewelery on women.

4. As a child, I was tricked into believing that Nana Patekar is a dwarf and that he stood on a stool to give his takes, which was later touched up by special effects. I believed it for longer than I am proud of.

5. For someone generally mild mannered and non-confrontational, I got into more than my share of fist-fights through high school. I don't know why.

6. For as long as I can remember, my most innate desire has been to be a cricket analyst. Someday, I want to have a blog on Cricinfo.

7. I am remarkably untouched by anything spiritual in nature. Nothing religious or spiritual ever moves me and I am completely untouched by the question of the existence of god. I sometimes find that strange.

8. From 1998 to 2006 i.e., roughly from the age of 11 to 19,  I went through a no tears streak. I did not cry even once in that period.

9. Significant influences in my adolescent years included The Godfather(novel),  Ayn Rand, Atticus Finch, Rahul Dravid, the Angry Young Man movies of Amitabh Bachchan, Letters from a father to a daughter by Nehru, Galahad Threepwood and Norman Lewis.

10. Despite having a deep baritone, I shriek girlishly in a high pitched voice when taken by surprise or in pain. Why this happens remains a mystery to me.

11. I like to collect trivia on any subject of interest to me. I spend hours on Google and Wikipedia.

12. I think VVS Laxman is the most gifted batsman I have ever seen bat.

13. I am not a big fan of the movies Bollywood churns out but if someone says that a certain movie 'insulted their intelligence', I find it extremely annoying.

14. I am obsessed with The Beatles, Hugh Laurie, Rahul Dravid, Kate Hepburn, A Suitable Boy and the song Autumn Leaves.

15. I went to what was primarily a girls' school for quite a few years, as a kid.

16. I do not think that there is another book as full of wisdom as The Godfather. I believe it truly contains the answer to all the questions in life. In the words of Nora Ephron, it is the I-Ching, the sum of all intelligence.

17. James Stewart is my favorite hero of all time.

18. I have a sharp memory and am generally good  at remembering all sorts of dates, entire conversations, people's faces, movie dialogues, short stories and songs. I want people around me to create history so that I can chronicle it.

19. I have not read or seen any of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

20. My favorite things would include the following - Billy Wilder's films, Salim-Javed's screenwriting, Nat King Cole's singing, Shane Warne's bowling, John Donne's The Expostulation, John Lennon's voice, the TV series BlackAdder, Bade Bhai Sahab by Premchand, the Beatles songs composed by George Harrison, Love Letters by A R Gurney, Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, the movie Dil Se, Ruskin Bond's essays, Rahul Dravid's late cuts, Amma's curd chicken dish and the Christopher Walken sequence from Pulp Fiction.

21. How Irfan Pathan could lose his prodigious swing bothers me a lot. Is it really possible? How can you know how to move a ball like that and forget it!?!

22. I enjoyed Biology a lot in high school. The cardio-vascular system was my favorite organ system.

23. English Breakfast is my favorite cuisine.

24. Wuthering Heights is my favorite classic.

25. My eyes are not particularly small. But they are deep-set and beady.

Top 5 Amitabh Bachchan Roles

Top 5 Amitabh Bachchan roles

No. 5. Bemisaal

This would not usually make it to the list of the legendary Amitabh performances. It is not even that well known a movie. Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, it portrays AB as a soulful pediatrician. In a tale of loyalty, sacrifice and revenge, AB has enough scope to portray his powerful suppressed rage, yet the parts that stand out for me are the flirtatious bits where he competes with his buddy Vinod Mehra to woo Rakhee and coldy seduces Sheetal to avenge his elder brother. (also played by AB)

No. 4. Deewar

Vijay in Deewar is perhaps the most analysed and dissected Indian movie character. I doubt I can add anything of importance to what has already been said. In the most taut and tense screenplay by Salim-Javed, AB is scorching, explosive and understated. Be it the famous “Uff tumhare adarsh, tumhare usool” scene or the explosive anger with which he grabs Sudhir all of a sudden, AB pulls off everything with aplomb.

No. 3. Don

In my perfect fantasy world, AB is Don, with a price on his head in eleven countries, jetsetting around in his Mercedes, sleeping with women and then using them as a bait to escape from the police and addressing the gentlemanly cop Iftekhar with the amused drawl “DSP” before flinging a suitcase in his face and blowing up everything. Don gives Amitabh his most stylish and cavalier role ever. The dialogues by Salim-Javed are an absolute gem, next only to Sholay. Midway, though the real Don dies, and his double Vijay steps in. Though I prefer the first half, the second half is more pacy and probably better cinema as a thriller, wherein the often at a loss, yet quick-witted double manfully tries to step into Don’s shoes. It is a very convincing performance and very soon, you set aside the disappointment of Don’s death and start rooting for his double.

No. 2. Mili

Mili stars AB as Shekhar Dayal, as the despondent, lonely, rich neighbor who screams at kids for making noise and cuts himself at random in bouts of depression. Hrishikesh Mukherjee was the first director to identify most of Amitabh’s talents; his long monologues and voice overs which became a regular feature in many of his later films, his gait, his repressed anger (Anand, and not Zanjeer was actually his first Angry Young Man role for me) and his flair for comedy. (Chupke Chupke) In Mili, he is at his handsome best and gives a restrained and gloomy performance as a man struggling against his background and seeking redemption in an ultimately ill-fated relationship.

No.1. Trishul

Trishul is the classic oedipal tale of love, resentment and revenge. AB, the illegitimate son comes to Delhi to avenge the treatment meted out to his poor, dead mother by his rich father who chose success over love. The entire film is bubbling with AB’s resentment, his dialogues with Sanjeev Kumar are laced with double meanings hinting at their past. He is willing to do anything to trouble his father; notable moments include trying to snitch away his half brother’s girl (Hema Malini at easily her prettiest), bribing and poaching his father’s employees and humiliating him publicly.

Time it was

and what a time it was

it was

A time of innocence

a time of confidences

Long ago, it must be,

I have

a photograph

Preserve your memories,

they're all that's left you..

Leg spinners pose problems much like love,
Requiring commitment, the taking of a chance.
Halfway deludes; the bold advance.

Right back, there's time to watch
Developments, though perhaps too late.
It's not spectacular, but can conciliate.

Instinctively romantics move towards,
Preventing complexities by their embrace,
Batsman and lover embarked as overlords.

- Alan Ross

Top 5 Romantic Scenes

No. 5: Where Mr. Darcy confesses his love to Elizabeth and she turns him down.
Despite my dislike for the much hyped novel, this is one scene which I love. He confesses his love and proposes marriage, a proposal seeking to present the depth of his feelings through the conflict of mind her circumstances put him in and his complete helplessness when it comes to her marked by the unwillingness with which he bestows his affection. She, to his complete surprise does not take kindly to it and turns him down flat.


No. 4: Where the number makes its iconic appearance
"You know something?"
"What?"
"I love you."
"How much?"
"Huh?"
"How much do you love me?"
"A lot. A lot lot lot."
"How much is that?"
"Umm...(lightbulb glows)..27.5"
"What?"
"Yeah. I love you 27.5. Thats how much I love you"
"Only 27.5?!"


No. 3: Where Mike(James Stewart)Connors kisses Tracy Lord (twice)
This is the night before Tracy Lord is supposed to get married to George Kittredge, a complete ass. But in the scene preceding the party, Tracy and Stewart seem to be getting drawn to each other.
"What's the matter with Tracy?" He asks.
"You tell me, will you?"
"Darned if I know. I'd like to."

After the party, they're both completely drunk on champagne. She's mocking him, calling him 'Professor', when his fascination with her comes to the fore.
"There's a magnificence in you, Tracy. A magnificence that comes out of your eyes and your voice...in the way you stand there, in the way you walk. You're lit from within, Tracy. You've got fires banked down in you...hearth fires and holocausts!"
"I don't seem to you made of bronze?"
"No. You're made out of flesh and blood. That's the blank, unholy surprise of it. You're the golden girl, Tracy...full of life and warmth and delight."

The he kisses her. "Golly!", she says. He kisses her again. "Golly Moses!"


No. 2: Where they almost kiss in Dil Se and the song Dil Se
They discuss the things they like and dislike the most in Ladakh. Shahrukh is still trying to court her, she gradually getting drawn to him; this scene and the one preceding it where they walk and discuss what sort of kids they would have is charged with chemistry. She actually never lets on how much she is beginning to like him, but you can see it in her glances. He, on the other hand is completely awed by the mystery surrounding her. ("Mujhe sabse pasand hai tumhari ye aankhein, kyonki main kitna inme dekhta hun mujhe kuch dihkai hi nahi deta")
The title track is shot most beautifully. He, imagining a whole whirlwind romance through the song, imagining himself as her knight in shining armour in a terror-ridden Assam.


No. 1: Where they steal glances in the listening room in Before Sunrise
This scene is absolutely brilliant and anyone who has ever been, nervously in love will relate to it, immediately. The keep glancing at each other and try not to let the other catch them doing it. Julie Delpy is cutness incarnate, and Ethan Hawke's expressions are priceless in various places, most notably where he takes a long look at her, smiling to himself all through that you can almost feel how much he is enjoying looking at her.