A is for Ambrose

Cricket is an in-depth game, it’s full of idiosyncrasies and nuances unlike any other sporting theatre. We are all drawn to the great game for different reasons – the individual battles, the statistics, the history – the list is endless. 

My cricketing A-Z isn’t about detailing the basics – that path is well-trodden. It’s written for things I love in cricket - those that have made an impact on me, that draw me to the game. They may not be the played in the “V” but they are a part of what makes cricket sing for me. It’s unlikely they’ll match your list but they’ll offer a trip down cricket’s memory lane, and hopefully some debate – there’s little better than healthy discussion.

Please excuse the strong New Zealand and West Indian bias – they shaped my love of our great game.

Over the coming weeks (read: months) I’ll work my way from A to Z, and given more time to reflect I’ll no doubt have to back track and make some additions, but here’s a start.

The Bride’s perspective

By the Buddha’s Bride

Who better to provide an insight into the mind of a cricket tragic than those who have to live with one? After much coercion the Bride/her indoors/one of the most tolerant women I’ve ever met, agreed to pen a short piece for Donning the whites. Enjoy – and welcome to a little slice of the life of a cricketing Buddha.

I am the Bride, as I am (affectionately?) referred to in this blog. I don't pretend to be an expert on the game DH (Dear Husband) loves so much, I am useless when it comes to statistics and I can't recall the ins and outs of certain games. I. Just. Like. It. That's all.

I can’t put my finger on why I like the game - I just do. It’s certainly not because of all the gorgeous hunks and their six packs (oh whoops, that’s rugby), although I do have a bit of a thing for Jesse Ryder. Maybe it’s because he reminds me of DH – on the cuddly side and doesn’t give a s@#t what people think. It’s got to be that it’s a thinking person’s game – there is so much more to it than going out on the pitch and having a bash. Although that’s fun too.

Why not Kallis?

“…surely our trio (Lara, Ponting and Tendulkar) should be a quartet? For all his feats and constancy, Jacques Kallis tends to slip under the radar when it comes to idolatry…..Kallis commands more awe than affection”.                                                                                            
                            Rob Steen - ESPNCricinfo

“Tendulkar, Lara, Richards are cricketing royalty and so is Kallis - yet too often he is forgotten like Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh and, let's face it, Old Phil is pretty close to the top".                                                                                           
                            Mark Richardson - Herald on Sunday, 26/02/2012


When the red ink is marked against the score of J H Kallis for the final time and he bids farewell to our great game, his exalted place in cricketing history is guaranteed – but conjecture will remain about whose company he’ll enjoy near the summit. Surely even Kallis’ harshest critics cannot deny his unparalleled influence on South African cricket or the legacy he will leave the world game. Why is it that so many deny him his place amongst cricket’s modern batting greats?