MOMENTS OF THE TOUR

Funny moments are part of any cricket tour. They come anytime, anywhere, but the rib-ticklers were at a premium during the just-concluded World T20 tour to England. Perhaps, it also has to do with India's poor outing in the event that cast an all-round ennui among the Indian contingent.

However, here are some of the nuggets that brought a smile and much more on many faces.

1 The unity show

You might need a little background for this one. It was the first press conference of Indians after the report of rift between MS Dhoni and Virender Sehwag appeared in a newspaper. We were waiting in the Squash Courts at Trent Bridge for Dhoni to address the media ahead of the first league match against Bangladesh for the customary pre-match press-do, enjoying the drizzle and a cup of Twinings.

We saw the entire Indian team trooping into the cafeteria just behind the PC hall, but still there were no hints of the bomb that was going to explode minutes later. Suddenly, the team members, support and administration staff entered the PC hall led by Dhoni sparking the rumours of an open media session.

"Come on, we cannot manage so many players. 4-5 of them are enough," one of my colleagues told V Chamundeswarnath, the team manager, who smiled wistfully in return. "Oh my God, I have not taken my voice recorder. Have you taken? Who will transcribe all these? How will we share the work?," another colleague panicked.

But it all lasted just 5 minutes as an entirely different episode panned out soon that wiped out the smiles and enthusiasm, and it's too cumbersome to narrate again.

It was my first official day of the tour. I wondered silently, "Will it get any better than this?" Well, it never did.

2 Yuvi-Mahi show

This came immediately after the Unity Show. During a pracitce session couple of journalists including this blogger were engaged in a light conversation with Yuvraj Singh. The left-hander was in good mood while discussing various matters with us, and the session was progressing quite nicely along.

MS Dhoni, who came to the pavilion area for a short break, shouted on his way back to the nets "Don't tell too many things. They will write there is rift between you and me." There were laughter all around, though the chit-chat came to an end, but only temporarily.

At the end of the nets, Yuvi playfully punched Suresh Raina on the shoulders and then yelled at the scribes and TV journos "We are fighting.. we're fighting." Once again peels of laughter echoed at Lady's Bay.

3 Gayle storms in

There were not much to cheer for the men in blue in the World T20. But 15 minutes they spent with West Indian skipper Chris Gayle were certainly full of cheer. During a training session at Lady's Bay, Ishant Sharma, Gayle's team-mate in Kolkata Knight Riders, dragged the Jamaican to Indian camp, and moments of fun followed. Pathan brothers, Raina, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Pragyan Ojha and Harbhajan Singh were seen speaking to Gayle and sharing a lot of laughter -- a rare commodity in the Indian camp on this tour.

Later I asked Gayle what they were talking and he replied, "Man, this Gayle brings a lot of happiness." Nobody could have doubted that!

4. The Simmons effect

Ireland's entry into Super Eight prompted this story idea in me -- interview their coach Phil Simmons. So, I approached my old friend Barry Chambers (media manager of Ireland), the good Irishman was happy to see me and even happier to oblige my request. Here a slight deviation, we went out that night to a pub, and the Irishman was the winner by a mile.

Back to Simmons. I gave ring to him at 930 am, and the first thing I heard was a roar "I am sleeping maaaaan," before the phone got disconnected. I tried him again in the afternoon, but without any luck. The big West Indian called me back when I was in the stadium and I could hardly understand what he was telling amidst the din. But I assumed that he was telling me to meet him at 3 pm at Crowne Plaza the next day.

I arrived at Plaza at 230 pm, and after several rounds of security checks I was ushered to the receptionist. She said the Ireland team had already left the hotel for London, and of course Mr Simmons was asking for a visitor who was supposed to meet him at 1.30 pm at lobby.

I walked into a hotel for my lunch with that old line ringining in my heart -- assumption is the mother of all goof-ups. Though the wordings were slightly different!

5. Flight trouble

The in-flight entertainment system on long trips is a bliss since you don't have to sit and wonder what to do next after sleeping 4-5 hours. But one of the journalists found out it as in-flight no-entertainment system. Mr Gentleman Journalist (he is truly a gent) was very happy after getting a seat upfront that offered a lot of leg space.

But the trouble started soon as he was unable to locate the personal TV screen even after finding the meal-tray. He had to spent the next 9 hrs gawking at the flight's route-map being displayed at the common screen. We were in fits of helpless giggles all the way when he was narrating this experience. When we were able to stop our laughter, one of the fellow travellers asked "why didn't you asked the passengers sitting next you." Alas! There was only one passenger in the row -- Mr GJ.

Alvida London

During the last few weeks I was unable to post on a regular basis due to the hectic nature of the World T20. Before leaving to London I promised to myself of posting on this blog once in 2-3 days (there too some indecision right!!!). But that promise never turned a reality.

Some time to explore London and a trip to Kent were the two good things happened on this tour. In 2007, I was rather new to this city and could not go out much apart from pubs. You don't need experience to hop pubs, just need the commonsense to follow the revellers!

Kent is a beautiful county, lush green lands and peaceful surroundings make it must-visit for any UK traveller. I strongly advise anybody visiting UK to include Kent in their travel plan. You will definitely enjoy the place, else you can ask me to refund the money of Kent trip.

Thanks Aleena for the invitation.

London.. it has to be my favourite place on Planet Earth. It's an amalgam of modern and ancient. The city can at once make you wonder about the progress science has made (take a look at London Eye, the tube system) and dip you into that feathery feeling of nostalgia (visit RAF musuem, Royal Albert Hall, Big Ben etc).

London is a also a city of contrast. The Central London area is so busy with people walking as if the world is coming to an end. Walk into Hyde Park and you will see a striking difference. You can people clicking pictures, sitting on a bench just staring at the river, sleeping in the shadows of bushes as if they have a remote control to regulate time.

I just love London and waiting to comeback here. Till then goodbye!

MALIBU DAYS

Helo Guys!! It has been a while since I posted something on the blog, courtesy the hectic nature of ICC World Twenty20 Championship. Well, here I am again from England and since my last post, a short one at that, from Nottingham I have moved back to London. I will reveal a fantastic discovery towards the end of the post. Good things comes a bit late, right?

The weather here is warmer than Nottingham and you don't exactly need to wrap yourself in three layers of clothing. You just a need a jacket to keep you warm as the temperature shifts between 15-18. Well, that will be considered as winter in India, but here it is summer!! I can't imagine then how an English winter will feel.

One of the most hilarious thing I have seen here is the urgecny of natives to apply sun screen at the first instance they are able to see the sun, though it's a rare sighting. Coming to the working part, it has been pretty hecitc over the last fortnight with matches lined up day after day. There are days when I have to cover two matches a day in the span of an hour. Since India are 4 hr 30 mins ahead of UK, I have to keep the clock ticking in my brain in IST while I am filing the copies.

The hecticness of the tour has, very very unfortunately, curtailed my pub-hoppings something I had enjoyed two years ago. But to be able to catch up with some cousins and old pals made this trip a worthy one. Guys, yesterday was a really bad one for me as West Indies defeated us with ease. What an innings from Dwayne Bravo!!! A real blinder!!

Hopefully, we can beat England and stay in contention for a semifinal berth. But I sincerely believe that we don't have the strength to beat South Africa in the decider (in case we beat England) at Trent Bridge on June 16 as the Proteas are playing some oustanding cricket of late. I hope to be proved wrong, though!

Itz getting late folks, of course for a drink. Here goes the secret I promised earlier. Yes guys, I have discovered the taste of Malibu White Caribbean rum here. Sensational taste and it goes well with cranberry juice and a dash of lemon. You can hear the rap straight from Jamaica!

In fact, me and my friend Moses K had almost zeroed in on Cocabana (a parady of Malibu), but we changed our mind last minute and what a moment it was!! Now we have renamed England as Malibu land.

See ya soon Geyser!

The natives wil

IN ROBIN HOOD COUNTY

Hello guys, finally I am here in the blustery, windy Nottinghamshire waiting for India to take on Bangladesh in their first match at Trent Bridge. The last three days in UK has been quite pleasant and at times adventurous.

I touched base in Heathrow on Wednesday evening after nearly 10-hr flight from Bangalore in a Kingfisher flight, and my wearly limbs instructed me to have a rest in London than dashing to Nottingham on the same day. Listening to my body's appeal, I decided to join my pals Nitin Naik (TOI) and Deba (Mumbai Mirror) at Barryhouse in Hyde Park before embarking on a 2hr15 mins train trip to the Robin Hood county.

The train journey was an exceptionally pleasant one since it revealed the beauty of English country side without the irritating presence of a guide or the hecticness of a package tour.

The first thing to strike you about this town is the weather -- cold, cloudy and windy -- a sharp contrast from London's balmy weather. I have got another five days to spent here, and I hope to sneak in some time to visit some of the places I had missed in 2007.

Holiday Inn, where I am staying, is in the City Centre which is the pulse of this place, and the hotel is surrounded by casinos, restaurants, bistros, business centres, night clubs and shops of various nature. It is quite interesting to see this part of town gradually shedding the cloak of silence and turns into an active place after 8.00 pm local time.

Here goes one curious piece of information as my cab driver, the ever-chuckling Yorkshire-man Atkinson, divulged during our short trip to Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. There is a police case against Robin Hood in the local police station, of course an effort to give further boost to the tales of 'Savior of the Poor.'
Will mee you soon with some more tales from Nottingham. Khuda Hafiz till then!!!