First of all, despite all of my planning and preparation I will not be at the All Whites game tomorrow. My accreditation was declined two days ago which was too late to purchase tickets (hindsight is a bitch).
However, Mike will be there taking photos from the sidelines so we're going to have some live coverage at least.
The promotion that everyone is talking about is of course the "All White on the night" which is much better wording than Dunedin's "We're all white down here" prior to a cricket test against the West Indies. The stores are doing there thing and Friday saw a large number of white t-shirts and jerseys being worn about the streets of the capital. Even Wynton Rufer was on TV last night ruining a new white shirt of his by writing a small "NZ" on the front in felt-tip pen. Yeah, go team!
And of course the Bahraini fans were out and about too. Easy spotted in red Puma uniforms. The Caketin might look a bit pink if the Bahraini fans spread out amongst the white.
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I had a few beers with Legbreak the other night and he told me about Iain O'Brien's issue with an article in the Hutt News. Here's O'Brien's twitter feed of the events (in chronological order):
has just had an article, featured in the Hutt News, read to him. Two very big misquotes. I'm onto the author about this & am very displeased
There is no way I'd hang up on somebody. No matter how pissed I was. And the next quote isn't close either... Feeling bad about it too!
Article found, 'print screened' (probably not legal) and here it is.... Did not hang up on Greatbatch......
......and the quote at the bottom of column one that continues into column two isn't not as I said it.
My guess is that O'Brien did say all of those things to the reporter basically because it seems like an odd thing to make up considering it's unlikely that you'll get another interview. The spelling mistakes and clumsy flow of the sentences suggest the quotes were recalled rather than transcribed ("If I have to miss out and were are a stronger New Zealand team that is fine – but that is not the case")
But really, O'Brien, if you said it (and unless I see a libel case I will believe that you did) then stand up for it! There was a time when fast bowlers were the swaggering gods of cricket. Gold chains bouncing of hairy chests, visible due to shirts that were open slightly too much. Loud and outspoken the fast bowler was the "bad boy" of cricket drinking daiquiris with the ladies rather than swilling beer with the boys.
Now he's someone who didn't hang up on Greatbatch. Or if you re-read that last tweet, "isn't not" as he said it.