Thursday, November 20, 2008

Got it, had enough

I tend to think Peter Roebuck is an entertaining, but over-rated, cricket writer. He is very fond of his verbal cleverness of course, but I'm not sure that it directly translates to an ability to dispense cricketing wisdom. In any event, all those linguistic pyrotechnics can let him down, as in this piece where he works a decent idea to death, all to make the point that Ponting should captain differently. Did you really have to go on and on and on with the "Its a country where.." locution? I got the point pretty early - didn't really need to beaten over the head with it.

10 Comments:

Blogger Prabu said...

Exact thoughts here Samir. I zoned out after a few sentences and started searching for sentences without "this country"

-Prabu

9:39 AM  
Blogger Homer said...

Prabu,

there were none :)

Cheers,

10:17 AM  
Blogger Tony.T said...

One of the more ridiculous "cricket" articles ever put to print.

5:14 PM  
Blogger Samir Chopra said...

I'm glad we're in agreement folks :) I think Roebuck is a little full of himself.

7:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Does Roebuck have to keep on referring to bowlers as "leather flingers"? Every single column?

Gideon Haigh stands head and shoulders above most other cricket writers, but for every Gilly there must be a Haddin I suppose. Or a Watson for every Sobers :-)

6:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Looks like he is working up some lather to get back into the Aussie community.

7:24 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Can I second Ophuph Hucksake's comment? Leather fingers? Is this a bid at being cool? Or some specialist antipodean way of being idiomatic? It feels...wrong. Or do I feel creeped out because of desi lavatory habits? Like washing up with wicketkeeping gloves on?

11:12 AM  
Blogger Samir Chopra said...

Ophuph Hucksake: Thanks for the comment and welcome to the blog. Flinging leather indeed, how quaint. Without the Haddins and the Watsons, how would be appreciate the Gillys and the Sobers?

Scorpicity: Can you hear my groan :)

Mukul: Good to see you again. Your comment conjures up disturbing images. Definitely a creepy thought!

11:31 AM  
Blogger David Barry said...

Mukul, please don't suggest that Roebuck is Australian. He is English, and we will not claim him as Australian no matter how many decades he's lived here for.

11:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just discovered this site - and with some relief that it hasn't been taken over by ranting jingoists of every hue. Anyway, Roebuck is really losing it, in my view. He had a truly silly piece on Dhoni-Ranchi-and how the small-town guy is the true toughie. Full of pyschobabble of the first order. Btw, I am pretty sure he grew up in South Africa, moved to England for higher studies (Oxbridge, I think) and ended up staying a long time. Among other things, he's widely held responsible for Viv Richards leaving Somerset and has a fairly long history of unbalanced ranting.

11:57 PM  

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