Cricket enthusiasts... here's what you didn't know about your favourite players
Cricket enthusiasts... Here's what you didn't know about your favourite players
Cricketers are known for the innovative strokes they execute; the different ways they work out to outwit batsmen and not forgetting the captains who spend every minute on the field finding the balance between attacking and conservative captaincy. The willow wielders and leather-hurling personalities often come up with some smart nicknames for their teammates. The name-givers are not always known, but the names emerge all
the same. MiD DAY brings to you some of the most interesting of pet names alongwith their origins:
Bill Lawry acquired the nickname 'Phantom'
Allan Donald, the former South Africa fast bowler and now a much sought-after bowling coach was called White Lightning due to his sheer pace.Andrew Flintoff is known as 'Freddie' or 'Fred' because of his surname's similarity to comic character Fred Flintstone.
Anil Kumble was christened 'Jumbo' because of the way his deliveries took off with pace and bounce off the pitch --akin to a jumbo jet.
Aravinda de Silva used to play some shots, which either went over the fence or caused his dismissal. So, some smart guy started calling him 'Mad Max'.
Ashley Giles, the spinner in England's 2005 Ashes-winning squad got the nickname of 'King of Spain'. No, he did not hone his skills in Spain but these wereu00a0 the words inscribed on merchandise mugs at the Warwickshire Club shop at Edgbaston. Should have been 'King of Spin.'
Ashley Mallett, the former Australia off-spinner, who is an occasional MiD DAY columnist, was called Rowdy by his teammates. Not because he was just that in the dressing room, but due to his quiet nature.
Bill Lawry is a voice you hear in commentary during Test and one-day matches in Australia. "It's all happening at the Sydney Cricket Ground," one can often hear him yell. By the way, for those are not familiar with Bill Lawry's cricketing background, he is a former Australia captain. Lawry acquired the nickname 'Phantom' on his debut series in England, 1961. Our Australian informer tells us that it may have been fast bowler Frank Mission who gave him that name after he discovered Lawry's penchant for Phanton comics.
Gavin Larsen, a faithful servant of New Zealand cricket, was nicknamed 'The Postman' by his mates because he always delivered.
Glenn McGrath stayed a thin fast bowler throughout his career. He was called Pigeon because of his frame especially in the leg area.
Graeme Smith hit the ball pretty hard so a fellow South African compared to him a buffalo which became 'biff'.
Harbhajan Singh is known as Bhajji, but 'Turbanator' came into the picture (coined by the Aussies, it appears) when he troubled Steve Waugh's Australians in the Kolkata and Chennai Tests of the 2001 series at home.
Herschelle Gibbs, who not long ago, made headlines with his controversial autobiography To The Point was known as 'Scooter'. "When I was 16 and couldn't drive a car, the guys at Western Province joked that they would buy me a scooter," Gibbs revealed.
Ian Botham is called Beefy. The answer comes from his frame.u00a0 Beefy appeared on a range of frozen meat launched in 2001.
James Hopes' lack of facial hair earned him the nickname Catfish because it sprouts like catfish whiskers.
Jason Gillespie, the Australian fast bowler, who figured in the Indian Cricket League before making an appearance as bowling coach of Kings XI Punjab this year, is called 'Dizzy' after American jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.
Kamran Khan, the fast bowler, who played for Rajasthan Royals in 2009, was nicknamed 'Tornado' by his captain Shane Warne for his slinging action and pace.
Lasith Malinga, the Lankan and Mumbai Indians pace ace, is called Slinga, which is a reference to his slinging action as well as his name.
Lance Klusener, the South African fast bowler seen in India this year as part of Mumbai Indians' support staff is nicknamed 'Zulu' because he could speak the language fluently.
Michael Clarke, who took over the Australian captaincy from Ricky Ponting recently was called Pup when he was the youngest member of the Test side.
Mike Hussey is known as Mr Cricket because he is a good student of the game.
Rahul Dravid was nicknamed 'Jammy' by some smart pal because his father Sharad worked for jam and syrup giants Kissan.
Ricky Ponting has been called 'Punter' for long because he loves a bet. Not on cricket matches, it must be emphasised. In Tasmania, where he grew up, greyhound racing is a gambling sport which Ponting loved to indulge in.
Shahid Afridi is named 'Boom Boom' because he goes boom boom with a bat in hand.
Shane Warne had several nicknames apart from Warnie. He was called Suicide Blonde by his former teammate Greg Matthews after rock group INXS's big hit Suicide Blonde. He was also called Hollywood for his exciting lifestyle and good looks.
Shaun Marsh, who has served Kings XI Punjab with distinction is nicknamed SOS which stands for 'Son of Swampy'. Swampy is his father Geoff Marsh's nickname thanks to the marshy connection to the surname.
Steve Waugh was known as 'Tugga' which is a pun on tug of war (Tugga Waugh). He was also called 'Iceman' because he couldu00a0 perform under pressure
Stuart Broad, the England fast bowler, better known to Indian cricket fans as the man who Yuvraj Singh hit for six sixes in an over during the 2007 World T20 at Durban, is called 'Westlife' in the England dressing room for his boy band good looks.
Stuart Clark, Aussieu00a0 bowler, who recently bid goodbye to his playing days is called Sarfraz as his bowling style reminds teammates of former Pakistani paceman Sarfraz Nawaz.
Rahul Dravid was nicknamed 'Jammy'
Smartest nickname of them all?
Hear it from the man himself... former West Indian fast bowling great Michael Holding: "Dickie Bird, the umpire, described my run-up as 'Whispering Death'. I never carried much weight, was light on my feet, and I didn't pound the turf on the way in." In fact, Holding's first autobiography was entitled 'Whispering Death'
The army
Mumbai club Dadar Union for whom the likes of Sunil Gavaskar and Sanjay Manjrekar played for, was known for their discipline. It was only fitting that some of their famous names had army-related nicknames. Dilip Vengsarkar was called Colonel; Suresh Tigdi was 'Major' and Vithal Patil was called 'Marshal'.
Anil Kumble was 'christened' 'Jumbo'
Yuvi silenced?
When Sachin Tendulkar celebrated 20 years of international cricket in 2009, Yuvraj Singh revealed that the master batsman was called 'Grandfather' in the Indian dressing room. When Tendulkar was asked about it, he did not appear livid. He was not amused either. "I warned him to think twice before calling me grandpa because I have many names to call him in front of the camera," he reportedly said. Yuvi has been silent on that nickname since.
Apart from 'Warnie', Shane Warne was called 'Suicide Blonde'.
Pics/Getty Images
All in place...
lJavagal Srinath was called Mysore Express
lShoaib Akhtar... Rawalpindi Express
lWaqar Younis... Burewala Bomber
lVirender Sehwag... Butcher from Najafgarh
lJonty Rhodes.... Maritzburg Mamba (for his sharp and electrifying fielding)
lSanath Jayasuriya... Matara Mauler
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Initial utterance
lAbraham Benjamin de Villiers (South Africa) is known by his initials AB
lKevin Pietersen... KP
lTerry Jenner (Shane Warne's coach who passed away on Tuesday)... TJ
lMahendra Singh Dhoni... MS
lAllan Border... AB
Quite obviously...
lGautam Gambhir... Gauti
lSachin Tendulkar... Tendlya
lVirender Sehwag... Viru
lShaun Pollock... Polly
lInzamam ul Haq... Inzi
lAdam Gilchrist... Gilly
lMushtaq Ahmed... Mushy
lYuvraj Singh... Yuvi
Glenn McGrath was called 'Pigeon'
Wonder why...
...u00a0English commentator David Lloyd is called 'Bumble'? Because his face bears some similarity to animation characters called 'Bumblies'.
With inputs from Shreyas Bhat, Gulu Ezekiel
Animalu00a0 Kingdom
Kersi Meher-Homji
Cricketers have strange nicknames.u00a0 England's Albert N. Hornby was nicknamed 'Monkey' and was not offended. He had played three Tests for England from 1879 to 1884, opening the batting with WG Grace in his final Test. He captained England in the 1882 Oval Test when the legend of Ashes was born.u00a0 He had also represented and captained England in Rugby Tests. So one wonders what the hoo-haa was about Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds in 2008. Thank goodness, IPL has united them, both playing for Mumbai Indians.Here are famous cricketers with animal/fish/bird nicknames.
There were three Tigers: the great Bill O'Reilly, Ernest Smith (11 Tests for England in 1910s) and Mansur Pataudi (India's captain in 1960s and '70s). Now, for some seafood platter: Digby Jephson of Cambridge University and Surrey was called Lobster. Sir Henry DG Leveson Gower (three Tests for England in 1909) had the unflattering nickname of Shrimp. Tall and slim Australian all-rounder Hunter Hendry (11 Tests between World Wars) was known as Stork. Then there were two Australian Test cricketers in the 1970s, Alan Froggy Thomson and Bruce Mule Francis. Joel Big Bird Garner, the tall West Indian fast bowler, was nicknamed after a character in the children's TV serial Sesame Street and Clive Big Cat Lloyd for his size and agility on the field.
Aussie paceman Merv Hughes was aptly nicknamed Fruitfly because of his pestering habits! England's pace bowler Geoff Arnold was called Horse because of his initials 'GG', which is Cockney for horse. Australian spinner Bruce Yardley was Roo for his bouncing kangaroo-like approach to the wicket. And the eccentric English spinner, Phil Tufnell, went by the pet name of Cat.
Michael Clarke was nicknamed Pup on his debut tour of India in 2004 by his team mates as he showed the enthusiasm of a puppy. Glenn McGrath was nicknamed Pigeon for his pigeon-toed bowling approach to the crease. Pigeon flew away from the Test scene in 2007 but Pup is still with us, recently appointed as Australia's 43rd captain. Under him Australia has won nine of the 10 one-day internationals. The writer is an Indian-born, Sydney-based cricket historian.
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