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.