Force India’s Sergio Perez warmed up for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix by trying his hand at a spot of cricket at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit yesterday.
Sergio Perez (right) plays cricket in Albert Park, Melbourne with cricketers Brad Hodge (left) and John Hastings. PIC/Sahara Force India
Melbourne: Force India’s Sergio Perez warmed up for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix by trying his hand at a spot of cricket at Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit yesterday.
Sergio Perez (right) plays cricket in Albert Park, Melbourne with cricketers Brad Hodge (left) and John Hastings. PIC/Sahara Force India
Guided by Test centurion Brad Hodge, Perez faced several slow overarm balls from former Australia international John Hastings on a makeshift pitch with plastic stumps on the shores of Albert Park Lake.
Quick learner
And even though the Mexican assumed the baseball-stance he was quick to learn. After a few wild lunges with his plastic bat that were more golf swings than cricket shots, Perez was able to lob the tennis ball over Hastings’ head and into the lake.
The promotional event was originally scheduled to be held at the hallowed Melbourne Cricket Ground but was later moved to the Grand Prix venue. “It’s always nice to try a new sport. I don’t have much experience in cricket, we don’t have it in Mexico so it was nice,” Perez said.
At one point Perez asked Hodge how runs are scored. When Hodge explained the rules to him and how batsmen needed to run to score if the ball didn’t clear the boundary, a perplexed Perez asked: “(Run) Up and down?” Force India head into the season after a difficult winter. Nonetheless, the car VJM08 ran reliably and Perez is optimistic the team can score points despite the lost development time.
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