I don’t know much about cricket, except that they use a flat bat and that little Jenga thing where the catcher should be, but I know a prominent Aussie actor getting hit in the nuts when I see it. Yes, this is the probably-not-gay Hugh Jackman, international star of stage and screen, getting his doorbell rung in what looks like a little BP. More like “little pee pee.” Oh man, that’s the funniest thing I’ll write all week.

But seriously, just look at the stage presence. Does Jackman go down in a heap? No. Does he cry for his mommy? No. He gets back in there and takes his cuts. What fantastic human storytelling. What a great lesson in life. Hugh Jackman, we salute you and your manly balls, and may God save the Queen. And by “the Queen,” I mean that interior decorator that you visit at the clubs all the time.

With Randy Johnson set to go for win No. 300 here very shortly, it seems like a good time to bring up another instance of bird death, this one in That One Sport That The Rest Of The World Sorta Treats Like Baseball. There’s a throw from the outfield and…hang on, is that the “outfield?” I know nothing about cricket. Hey, can I bet on cricket anywhere?

Actually, that bird’s probably gonna be fine. He’s not dead, he’s, he’s restin’! Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, isn’t it? Beautiful plumage! He’s probably pining for the fjords. Read the rest of this entry »

HEADS-UP: The video after the jump contains brief, yet awesome nudity, and should be considered NSFW.

Unprofessional Foul brings us this video of…well, there’s really no way to set this up. A blonde takes her shirt off during a cricket match. She has photographic mammaries–everyone remembers her!

And that’s really about it. If you were hoping to glean any insight about the one sport more time-consuming than baseball…Sorry.
Read the rest of this entry »

My oh my, but that is one nice lookin’ cricket highlight. That’s Australia’s Adam Voges making a great catch against New Zealand. Way to, um… save… a bunch of wickets? Is that what he did?

When’s that NCAA tournament start again? March? Cool. I’ll just be slamming my hand in this car door for the next three weeks if anyone needs me.

[Deuce of Davenport]

Cricket fans in the West Indies didn't particularly enjoy their team's 84-run loss to Australia, littering the field with bottles and turning their anger on — No!  No, don't do it!  Not the fried chicken van!

In addition to a bottle-throwing incident, a mini-riot erupted in between innings when more than a thousand spectators broke down a fence to loot a utility vehicle packed with fried chicken. Several people were knocked to the ground in the crush, and the driver of the van was accosted by several angry youths.

The West Indies gets a good rap because of all the nice resorts, but you step off the white sand beaches and the place is straight gangsta.  Tourism officials recommend that visitors to the islands keep their fried chicken in a sock or a hidden passport belt, and NEVER go out alone at night with a bucket of the Colonel's original recipe.

[The Sporting Blog]

David Fulton is a retired professional cricketer who, according to Wikipedia, is now a cricket journalist.  Wiki also says:

Whilst preparing for the 2003 season, Fulton was hit in the eye by a ball from a bowling machine, whilst practising the hook shot. The injury ruled him out for the first eight weeks of the season, and Fulton admitted upon standing down from the captaincy three seasons later that his eye was still troubling him.

According to all-star commenter Angel Eyes Van Cleef, "He's made the clip available to warn about the dangers of getting hit in the eye with a hard ball at 90mph. I think that's the lesson to be learned here."  I agree.  We should definitely only use this video for learning purposes.  And if you're anything like me, what you learned is that slo-mo replays of injuries are still totally fucking awesome.