Wednesday 19 January 2011

Very Superstitious [Part 234]

If you had to guess which member of the England squad had 'a slightly strangely formed kneecap on his left knee', you'd probably head for Graeme Swann, and you'd be correct.

It hasn't held him back. He can counterbalance any effects of its weird shape with the application of superstition and ritual, a tip he tried to pass along to his old Northants mucker Mike Hussey in Melbourne.

'I said to Hussey that day, and I’ve said to him since, he messed with the cricketing gods. He changed his stickers. He had blue stickers before, when he scored all those runs, but his sponsor had obviously got a new range out and they made him bat in orange pads and orange stickers. Never do that! I’m a very superstitious character.'

'I’ve always believed that if something works, don’t change it. I don’t agree in upsetting whoever’s up there looking down over us.'

Swann did not explain how he copes with his own switch in stickers, but we await...

4 comments:

Brit said...

Fantastic stuff from Swanny, that: "I don’t agree in upsetting whoever’s up there looking down over us."

Of course, finding supertition amongst cricketers is like shooting fish in a barrel, but it's a rare treat for one of them to explicitly state his literal belief in a Divine Being (or Beings) that is directly interested in the success or otherwise of Northamptonshire's right arm offspinner...

Tim Newman said...

The best quote of the article is this:

“Oh yes. He’s got OCD [obsessive-compulsive disorder]. That’s different. You can’t scratch your mark after the game’s finished — that’s not superstition, that’s just craziness.

"Trotty’s round the bend.


Lol!

The Old Batsman said...

Brit, yes, you've struck at the heart of all religion there - the ego involved in thinking it's all about you...

Tim, I liked Trotters' explanation of it though - it's a superstition that he's going to return to the crease and bat well next time. I'm down with thatone...

Tim Newman said...

Tim, I liked Trotters' explanation of it though - it's a superstition that he's going to return to the crease and bat well next time. I'm down with thatone...

Oh, I don't think an explanation is even necessary. Even if he stands on his head an hour before the game, all is forgiven if he bats as well as he does. I think actually asking Trott why he does it would be a pretty idiotic question, TBH.