The joke's on us
One has just started reading 'The Picador Book of Cricket', edited by Ramchandra Guha and more on the book later. But it recounts an extremely funny incident/ anecdote that one has no choice but to narrate it.
The little Pakistani's (Hanif Mohammad's) classical technique and monumental patience are analyased in this essay by Ray Robinson. Note that it was published before the most remarkable of all defensive innings, Hanif's 337 against the West Indies at Bridgetown in 1957-8. That knock was spread over 970 minutes of playing time. Watching Hanif bat from a palm tree high above square leg were a group of Bajan boys. As the afternoon sun rose higher, one of them could no longer stand it. Delirious from the heat , from Hanif's relentless thook thook and doubtless from a steady intake of palm wine, the boy fell off the tree and landed on his head some forty feet below. He was taken to hospital, recovering consciousness twenty-four hours later. Inevitably his first words were 'Is Hanif still batting?'' The answer, alas, was in the affirmative.
It rarely happens that one gets to hear/ read two really funny incidents in one day. But Wriddhiman Saha's inclusion in the Indian team for the 1st Test at Nagpur is extremely, if not equally funny. Rohit Sharma gets injured playing football, VVS was injured even before reaching Nagpur.So play five bowlers. That's against our fixed policy of playing with six batters so no can do. Can't take 3 seamers because both Tyagi and Mithun are too raw. Can't drop Bhajji because that sends out bad signals. So choose between Mishra and Ojha.
That completes the joke played on the poor Indian cricket fan.