Random Dip

It was quite a happening weekend in Dubai where I was attending a conference, meeting up and socializing with some old friends, and doing everything unrelated to cricket.

But for some reason, cricket refuses to leave me.

Inzamam Ul Haq happened to be staying at the same hotel where my conference was. He was there with family in tow. Probably enjoying the summer heat of Dubai.

Its definitely the worst time of the year to come to this part of the world so I'm not sure what Inzi was doing here.

I heard Younis Khan is in Saudi Arabia for an Umrah (the religious pilgrimage) - maybe Inzi stopped by on his way there.

In striking contrasting styles, another cricketer, namely Yuvraj Singh, chatted up Well Pitched blogger O2's wife at the Mall of the Emirates when a polite request for an autograph was met with demands for taking him partying around Dubai's night spots.

All this while his team mates Sachin, Karthik, and Gambhir piled 50s against a Sri Lankan Board XI.

Speaking of Karthik, I wonder why fellow blogger Ottayan keeps calling him "Kaarthick" - someting to do with numerology Ott?

Later at night I sent an SMS to O2 asking if he was partying with Yuvraj and I got an instant reply that read:

"Hahaha. No Scene. Sleazy B£$&%^*!"

Well thats Yuvi for you I guess.

Kapil Dev today had his thoughts on him too when he said "He must exhibit his talent at a proper place rather than elsewhere".

India's test series against Sri Lanka seems to be building up well with the hype around Mendis along with the return of Sachin and him aproaching Brian Lara's record for most rest runs.

I just hope the matches aren't high scoring boring draws.

My blogging frequency dipped during last week as I got busy planning my month long sabbatical in August, which was quite a tough task.

Its almost done now. I will be away for all of August but I'm sure Obaid, Sledge, Nazhar, and O2 will be able to keep you entertained.

I'll be back in time for the Champions Trophy, the location of which we still don't know.

What I also don't know is how I will keep track of the cricket blogosphere while I'm away.

I disappear for a weekend and I find that J Rod has posted more than what other blogs do in a weeks time. This is a month I'm talking about.

Oh well, I'll find out soon enough.

There won't be much cricket to miss though or will there?

Sachin getting to 12,000 test runs, Mendis breaking the record for most wickets in a 3-test series, South Africa winning their first series in England since their readmission, Asif winning his doping case, another doping scandal for Pakistan cricket as yesterday's test results come out may be just some of the stories that would be written on while I'm away.

I'm here for another week though but still doing quite a bit of planning.

Opium or Hashish?

Thats the speculation as of now, though reports are saying that no case has been filed yet against Asif.

I for one know that both the drugs are quite common amongst Pakistani cricketers. They are a serious offence in Dubai but in placed like Pakistan, they are commonly used.

Definitely not performance enhancing drugs, but I'm not sure what WADA's take on this is.

Reports are also saying that its not sure whether Asif has been arrested or is in custody.

What I want to know is what was going on during the last 48 hours since the "arrest".

Cricinfo has this to say:

"Dubai's laws on drug possession and use are among the strictest in the region, though the top hierarchy of the PCB has always enjoyed close ties with leaders in the United Arab Emirates."

So they are already implying that the connections would let Asif off.

PCB is due to give a statement shortly.

Another addition to the Paki Bad Boys List.

The Cricket Bloggers' Island

Following the successful launch of the Allen Stanford University for Cricket Bloggers in collaboration with Uncle J Rod of Cricket with Balls, Well Pitched is proud to present The Cricket Bloggers' Island, this time with support from Miss Field.

Miss Field has already started raising funds by requesting the bloggers to pledge an amount towards the cost of the Island - US$ 25-30 million.

She has also talked about the Island having its own cricket stadium, cricket team, awards nights.

A great start that, but we needed something more. Something for the bloggers, the inhabitants of the island, to do. A job that would help them survive on the Island.

Thus, here are the jobs that Miss Field and I have found for all of you.

Uncle J Rod will be the Island's cable operator. Entertainment for all will be garanteed. Sexplicit stuff, cricket, lots of Natalie Portman, the cricket with balls TV show, the podcast video and so on. Lots of movies too directed by Uncle J himself.

AYALAC will be the mysterious milkman delivering the white bottles to your doorstep everyday. He will live in his own farm on one corner of the Island herding 1000s of cows. He will spend his nights crawling up the Island's streets taking pictures of bums and posting them on the internet the next day. The mysterious milkman.

Suave will run his own chain of butchery shops supplying the Island with their favorite meats. For a change he won't be butchering the England cricket team and will be content with running those sharp knives across chickens and goats and cows. The cows will be stolen from AYALAC's farm.

The chickens and goats and sheep will be procured from Sportsfreak's farm at the Island. Sportsfreak will be the sole supplier of all meat to Suave and eventually the inhabitants.

Leg Break, Sportsfreak's twin brother, will run the chain of grocery stores hence creating a monopoly of sorts over the food and drink supplies for the Island's inhabitants.

David Barry will serve as the only teacher on the Island educating kids and adults on history and mathematics and statistics and general knowledge. He will ensure that every kid on the Island leaves for the real world a smarter man, e.g. the cricket bloggers' son who became CEO of Oceanic Airlines.

Miriam will be the Island's notary, of Justice of the Peace, who'll double as a Magistrate. She will have to keep her cats away though as we don't want them eating away all the fish, which will be our primary source of food besides Suave's butchered products.

Straight Point, Som, Trideep, and Wasim will be the fishermen catching fish by the bulk for the entire Island. Their economical supplies of fish of all kind for the inhabitants will disturb Suave's butchery business but magistrate Miriam will ensure justice for all parties.

Mike and Ben will provide all the equipment for the fishing - the boats, the rods, the nets, the worms, the hooks, and all the works.

King Cricket will be the hermit who lives on the other side of the Island and doesn't talk to anyone. He runs his own secret business and is self sufficient and non-contributory to the Island's economy.

Martyd will run the art gallery complete with paintings of the Island's scenic locations and waters and mountains.

Naked Cricket and DS Henry will run their book stores selling to the literary types at the Island.

Arjwiz will be DB's best student that all the Island's moms will compare their kids to.

Soulberry will be the retired uncle who always has a kind word or 2 for everyone. He will be the one who everyone invites over for tea and listens to old stories about the Island's history and how we have come this far.

Nestaquin will be the Island's political leader, while Ottayan will run the Island's only newspaper questioning everything that goes on. Nesta and Ott will have this unholy alliance whereby each news article in the paper will ensure that the former stays in rule.

John will make a late entry into the Island to sue Ottayan for copyright violations for using "The Island Express" as the name for his newspaper. John will make a killing from the law suit and open his own publishing house launching the the Island's 2nd newspaper.

Chinaman will be the Island's doctor operating the only hospital / clinic in the place.

Homer will operate the Island's transport service - taxis, buses, trains, trams - all will be under his control. He will hire bus conductors from Northern India and give franchise licenses for other transport services to businessmen from Mumbai.

Miss Field will be the Island's nurse taking care of every soul along with Awmyth. Miss Field will also be the sole owner of the Island's cricket ground that will hold one test match per year. She will also be responsible for selecting the Island's cricket team. At the annual awards shows that she suggested, Miss Field will ofcourse play host.

We at Well Pitched will be the Island's police force, the keeper of the peace, attending all scuffles, ensuring that the love is free flowing.

Before Miriam, we will make sure that Suave's business is not hurt by the fishermen and that he doesn't steal too many cows from AYALAC. We will also ensure that Uncle J doesn't transmit sexplicit stuff in between cartoons for the kids.

We will make sure that we serve all of you and keep working towards your best interests and that of the Island.

Cricket Bloggers. Welcome to your Island.

You may pledge your contribution here or over at Miss Field's.