LOL! Funny and quirky nicknames of cricketers

Cricket enthusiasts Think you know your game But do you know who are the Muscles Jumbo Pigeon or Monkey of cricket Well read on to know moreCricketers 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 leatherhurling personalities often come up with some smart nicknames for their teammates The namegivers are not always known but the names emerge all the same Lets take a look at some of the most interesting of pet names alongwith their originsFormer Indian fast bowler Ramakant Desai who was a specialist at bowling bouncers during his time was only 5 feet and 4 inches tall This led to him getting the nickname TinySmartest nickname of allMichael HoldingHear it from the man himself former West Indian fast bowling great Michael Holding Dickie Bird the umpire described my runup as Whispering Death I never carried much weight was light on my feet and I didnt pound the turf on the way in In fact Holdings first autobiography was entitled Whispering DeathGlenn McGrathstayed a thin fast bowler throughout his career He was called Pigeon because of his frame especially in the leg areaGlenn McGrath Pic AFPAnil Kumblewas christened Jumbo because of the way his deliveries took off with pace and bounce off the pitch akin to a jumbo jetAnil Kumble left is known as Jumbo and Sachin Tendulkar as Tendlya or Little MasterAllan Donald the former South Africa fast bowler and now a much soughtafter bowling coach was called White Lightning due to his sheer paceAndrew Flintoff is known as Freddie or Fred because of his surnames similarity to comic character Fred FlintstoneAravinda 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 MaxAshley Giles the spinner in Englands 2005 Asheswinning squad got the nickname of King of Spain No he did not hone his skills in Spain but these were the words inscribed on merchandise mugs at the Warwickshire Club shop at Edgbaston Should have been King of SpinAshley Mallett the former Australia offspinner 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 natureBill Lawry was known as PhantomBill Lawry is a voice heard in commentary during Test and oneday matches in Australia Its all happening at the Sydney Cricket Ground one can often hear him yell By the way for those are not familiar with Bill Lawrys 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 Lawrys penchant for Phantom comicsGavin Larsen a faithful servant of New Zealand cricket was nicknamed The Postman by his mates because he always deliveredGraeme Smith hit the ball pretty hard so a fellow South African compared to him a buffalo which became biffHarbhajan Singh is known as Bhajji but Turbanator came into the picture coined by the Aussies it appears when he troubled Steve Waughs Australians in the Kolkata and Chennai Tests of the 2001 series at homeHerschelle Gibbs who made headlines with his controversial autobiography To The Point was known as Scooter When I was 16 and couldnt drive a car the guys at Western Province joked that they would buy me a scooter Gibbs revealedIan Botham is called BeefyIan Botham is called Beefy The answer comes from his frame Beefy appeared on a range of frozen meat launched in 2001James Hopes lack of facial hair earned him the nickname Catfish because it sprouts like catfish whiskersJason Gillespie the Australian fast bowler who figured in the Indian Cricket League before making an appearance as bowling coach of Kings XI Punjab is called Dizzy after American jazz trumpeter Dizzy GillespieKamran Khan the fast bowler who played for Rajasthan Royals in 2009 was nicknamed Tornado by his captain Shane Warne for his slinging action and paceLasith Malinga the Sri Lankan and Mumbai Indians pace ace is called Slinga which is a reference to his slinging action as well as his nameLance Klusener the South African fast bowler is nicknamed Zulu because he could speak the language fluentlyMichael Clarke who took over the Australian captaincy from Ricky Ponting recently was called Pup when he was the youngest member of the Test sideMike Hussey is known as Mr Cricket because he is a good student of the gameRahul Dravid is also called The WallRahul Dravid was nicknamed Jammy by some smart pal because his father Sharad worked for jam and syrup giants KissanRicky 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 inShahid Afridi is named Boom Boom because he goes boom boom with a bat in handShane Warne had several nicknames apart from Warnie He was called Suicide Blonde by his former teammate Greg Matthews after rock group INXSs big hit Suicide Blonde He was also called Hollywood for his exciting lifestyle and good looksShaun Marsh is nicknamed SOS which stands for Son of Swampy Swampy is his father Geoff Marshs nickname thanks to the marshy connection to the surnameSteve Waugh was known as Tugga which is a pun on tug of war Tugga Waugh He was also called Iceman because he could perform under pressureStuart Broad the England fast bowler is called Westlife in the England dressing room for his boy band good looksStuart Clark Aussie bowler is called Sarfraz as his bowling style reminds teammates of former Pakistani paceman Sarfraz NawazINDIAN CRICKETERS WITH INTERESTING NICKNAMESWhile Sourav Ganguly left is known as Dada Dadi and Prince of Kolkata MS Dhoni is known as Captain Cool MS Mahi orMSDAjit Agarkar was called Bombay Duck bequeathed him after a remarkable run of seven zeroes on the trot against AustraliaSourav Ganguly was affectionately called Dadi by his teammatesVirat Kohlis Delhi coach Ajit Chaudhary gave Virat his nickname Cheeku over his spiked hairstyle and it stuckVenkatapathy Raju was nicknamed Muscles because of thin frame during his playing daysNavjot Singh Sidhu was named Sherry according to him because his father was drinking that particular product at the time of his birthAnshuman Gaekwadwas supposedly given the nickname Charlie by Bishan Singh BediThe ArmyMumbai 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 armyrelated nicknames Dilip Vengsarkar was called Colonel Suresh Tigdi was Major and Vithal Patil was called MarshalYuvi silencedWhen 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 sinceAll in placeJavagal Srinath was called Mysore ExpressShoaib Akhtar Rawalpindi ExpressWaqar Younis Burewala BomberVirender Sehwag Butcher from Najafgarh or Nawab of NajafgarhJonty Rhodes Maritzburg Mamba for his sharp and electrifying fieldingSanath Jayasuriya Matara MaulerKapil Dev The Haryana HurricaneSourav Ganguly The Prince of KolkataInitial utteranceAbraham Benjamin de Villiers is known by his initials ABKevin Pietersen KPMahendra Singh Dhoni MSAllan Border ABQuite obviouslyGautam Gambhir GautiSachin Tendulkar TendlyaVirender Sehwag ViruShaun Pollock PollyInzamam ul Haq InziAdam Gilchrist GillyMushtaq Ahmed MushyYuvraj Singh YuviWonder why English commentator David Lloyd is called Bumble Because his face bears some similarity to animation characters called BumbliesAnimal KingdomKersi MeherHomjiAn Indianborn Sydneybased cricket historianCricketers have strange nicknames Englands 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 He had also represented and captained England in Rugby Tests So one wonders what the hoohaa was about Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds in 2008 Thank goodness IPL has united them both playing for Mumbai IndiansHere are famous cricketers with animalfishbird nicknamesThere were three Tigers the great Bill OReilly Ernest Smith 11 Tests for England in 1910s and Mansur Pataudi Indias captain in 1960s and 70sMansur Ali PataudiNow 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 allrounder 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 childrens TV serial Sesame Street and Clive Big Cat Lloyd for his size and agility on the fieldAussie paceman Merv Hughes was aptly nicknamed Fruitfly because of his pestering habits Englands 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 kangaroolike approach to the wicket And the eccentric English spinner Phil Tufnell went by the pet name of CatMichael 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 pigeontoed bowling approach to the crease Pigeon flew away from the Test scene in 2007 and Pup grew up too and has now retired back to his kennelWith inputs fromGulu Ezekiel andShreyas Bhat