Saturday 29 November 2008

Dirty Dozen (or so)

If, as looks likely, England's refuseniks won't return to India for the Tests, I favour a Dirty Dozen-style squad of renegades, bad boys and nearly men who would get on the plane. 

Those who covet an IPL contract can't baulk, so KP and Fred go, along with Ravi Bopara, Ace Shah and Monty Panesar. Vaughany wants a Test place back, so he can jump aboard, as can the Hog. Can't imagine James Foster and Matt Prior knocking it back, or Rob Key, Saj Mahmood, Dimi Mascarenhas, Joe Denly, Graham Napier. Corky would be on the plane before you'd finished asking the question. Even Goughy might be talked into it.

They may not win. They may not even get close, but it would be worth watching. And it would somehow have the right spirit to it, something the bunch who are on their way back seem to have misplaced.

Let's be honest, it's going to be no more or less safe in India in two weeks than it is next April. 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are a few things i would like to confirm.

1) There is no official record that the terrorists targeted only Britishers and Americans. This terror plan was drawn six months before and they wouldn't have known in dvance who will be staying here after 6 months. The fact that Britishers and Americans were attacked is a plain rumour, floated about by one so-called victim. The irresponsible news channels in India prostituted the rumour to cash in.

2) It was just a coincidence that the terror attack happened to take place the day before Middlesex and vics came to stay in the same hotel that was attacked.

3) Pakistan militants have been trying to create unrest in India for quite sometime now and we have been witnessing such sporadic attacks off late. The problem is the ruling party in India is a minority governement that doesn't have enough votes to stand on its own. So its muslim-appeasing policy (to gain minority votes) has contributed to this increase in violence as they revoked the Prevention of Terrorism Legistation.

4) India is safe, and will continue to be safe as ever. It will take sometime for people to realise it though. India is still far from being an Iraq or a Pakistan.

The Old Batsman said...

Agreed, especially with point four. Several of the newspapers here have drawn the parallel with the attacks on London in 05, when the Australian side stayed and played. Taking a team back will have real meaning.

Damith S. said...

No place for Ol dancing with the starts Rampy ?