Punter turns into gamble
May 1st 2008 08:13
In his quiet moments back at the family home, Taswegian-turned Sydneysider, and Australian Captain Ricky Ponting, may have been justified at having a little sulk after the IPL auction concluded in February.
Fetching a relatively paltry $400 large, when compared with current and former teammates, Symonds ($1.4 mill) and Gilchrist ($700K), it seemed the demand for one of world cricket’s leviathans (ICC 2007 World Player of the year, no less) was weak.
In fact, Punter may have even considered staying at home to follow his beloved dishlickers around Wentworth Park with the news that even David Hussey, Victorian Pura Cup player, snatched an extra $225 gorillas over the man considered by most as the dominant batsmen in world cricket of recent years.
As it turned out though, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ owners had examined the form, and decided an each-way bet was all he was worth.
On a stage tailor-made for the little man, he failed. Flat out, true blue, fell on his face, and in a big way. The stats tell the story. Four matches, four innings, four disappointments, with a couple of golden’s thrown in for good measure. Even old warrior Pidge McGrath could’ve topped Ricky’s eventual average of 9.75 from his mortgaged slot of number 11. So what happened Skipper?
Let’s hope this is not the start of another installment of that great Australian sporting soapie, “Aussie Captain Under the Pump to Keep His Spot”. Surely not, but recent jitters at home, and a looming ‘danger’ tour of the Windies could very well be a catalyst. And let’s face it, dropped as Capitan usually means early retirement in Australian cricket, and no Punter striding out to the crease at first drop would be a sad day.
Let’s not part without considering the Bollywood star that flushed $450 big ones down a Kolkata loo for a return of 39 runs at 9.75 from North Melbourne’s number one ticket holder. Goodness gracious me…what were you thinking?
Fetching a relatively paltry $400 large, when compared with current and former teammates, Symonds ($1.4 mill) and Gilchrist ($700K), it seemed the demand for one of world cricket’s leviathans (ICC 2007 World Player of the year, no less) was weak.
In fact, Punter may have even considered staying at home to follow his beloved dishlickers around Wentworth Park with the news that even David Hussey, Victorian Pura Cup player, snatched an extra $225 gorillas over the man considered by most as the dominant batsmen in world cricket of recent years.
As it turned out though, the Kolkata Knight Riders’ owners had examined the form, and decided an each-way bet was all he was worth.
On a stage tailor-made for the little man, he failed. Flat out, true blue, fell on his face, and in a big way. The stats tell the story. Four matches, four innings, four disappointments, with a couple of golden’s thrown in for good measure. Even old warrior Pidge McGrath could’ve topped Ricky’s eventual average of 9.75 from his mortgaged slot of number 11. So what happened Skipper?
Let’s hope this is not the start of another installment of that great Australian sporting soapie, “Aussie Captain Under the Pump to Keep His Spot”. Surely not, but recent jitters at home, and a looming ‘danger’ tour of the Windies could very well be a catalyst. And let’s face it, dropped as Capitan usually means early retirement in Australian cricket, and no Punter striding out to the crease at first drop would be a sad day.
Let’s not part without considering the Bollywood star that flushed $450 big ones down a Kolkata loo for a return of 39 runs at 9.75 from North Melbourne’s number one ticket holder. Goodness gracious me…what were you thinking?
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