Rolling into the lead of an increasingly hot, ripe and purple Phil Space Ashes contest comes the Times' Matthew Syed, a man not often associated with cricket, but on this blistering form impossible to ignore.
'Romantic relationships, I am told, are all about chemistry, and watching the Ashes you get the same feeling about sporting relationships. English and Australian cricket have what is known as a long-term relationship: it started not with a kiss, but with the first Ashes test in 1882'.
Effortlessly sustaining his theme for a mere 990 words, can he be possibly be beaten?
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7 comments:
...but, you know, in a funny way a game of Test cricket IS like a kiss, in that... Oh I can't go on. I must go on. I will go on... Will this do?
I remember that the ping pong merchant Syed was responsible for a quite horrific piece about sex and the Olympic village. I've found it, for god's sake don't read it.
I said don't read it!
Holy jeezus - all those 'indigenous lovelies' who were 'oozing oestrogen'... and he got laid twice. No wonder he's hoping the ashes gets sexy. He might get laid again.
I am NOT going to read that Brit - well not yet until I have fully digested the bit about Fred's balls having a different tonal quality to all else....
Matthew Syed: Sports Journalist of the Year. Apparently he won the coveted Fiona Richmond award.
For years I have thought that Matthew Syed is the best Sports writer in Britain. So I can't understand why I don't see more of his articles. They often contain the sort of different, exciting ideas and thought processes that make you want more. We don't get enough of him.
Having said that, when this article first appeared in my newspaper I was a little disappointed. But reading it again I liked it a lot better.
Patricia, I do know what you mean - I enjoyed his piece laying into John Terry the other day, but I've always thought that the problem with all but the really exceptional columnists is that there comes a week when they've got nothing much to say, or the editor says 'I want a piece on...' and they have to write anyway. That's usually when the purple prose comes out and the space gets filled. I admire your dedication in reading him twice though!
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