Sledging

Poor old Zinedine Zidane was upset because Marco Materazzi insulted his mother (allegedly). Well, at least is mother is proud that he stood up for her honour. The rest of France is less impressed.

(In related news, it’s been an astonishingly bad few weeks for the lip-reading industry: there have been hundreds of versions of what was said to Zidane. It’s not as though there was only one camera there.)

An article in the paper earlier this week listed some of the best bits of sports sledging, and the one common theme is that there’s always an Aussie involved. It must be taught in school over there, alongside backpacking and barwork. (© Al Murray)

- Merv Hughes to Robin Smith: “Does your husband play cricket as well?”

- After Hughes tells Smith that “you can’t f***ing bat”, Smith hits him for 4 the next ball and replies “Hey Merv, we make a good pair, I can’t f***ing bat and you can’t f***ing bowl”

- The most famous though is the exchange between Eddo Brandes, the Zimbabwe tailender and Glenn McGrath. “Hey Brandes, why are you so fat?” “Because every time I f*** your wife she gives me a biscuit.”

Cricket Notes

Glamorgan crashed out of the 20/20 cup. After 3 wins, there was a rainout followed by 4 defeats. The last home game on Monday was hugely disappointing. Richard Grant made another great start, with 77 off 44 balls. Glam got 190, a reasonably challenging total. In reply, Gloucestershire went well early, but some great bowling from Dean Cosker (4 overs, 2 for 20 is wonderful in 20/20) hauled the game back in Glammy’s favour.

Then with Gloucs needing 36 off the last 3 overs, James Franklin imploded. OK, the ball was wet from the drizzle, but to bowl two no-ball beamers & get taken off mid-over was poor. The over ended up costing 23 runs and Glamorgan any chance of progressing in the competition. Franklin’s 3.5 overs cost 58 runs.

High spot of the batting was when Grant smashed the window of the BBC radio Wales commentary box with a clothesline six. It was the fastest Edward Bevan had moved in years.

The Haddocks pulled off another win on Wednesday in my absence. They knocked over top-of-the-table Penylan for 74 & got them with 6 overs to spare. Mid-table safety looms. It’s fitting that the club motto translates from the Latin as “aspiring to mediocrity”.

Snooker Notes

John Spencer, 3-time world snooker champion, died this week, aged 71. It seems like only yesterday when I was watching him and Ray Reardon dominate the sport in the Pot Black days.

Theatre Notes

Cath and I went to see Evita in the West End on Wednesday night. It’s a new version of the original show which has only been back in London since last month. Very good too. I saw the original on a school trip to London, which means that was over 25 years ago. I still couldn’t help hear the part of Che being sung by David Essex in a cockney accent though.

Travel Notes

Stayed at the Strand Palace Hotel when in London this week. Thinking of staying there? My advice? Don’t. With no air-conditioning or personality, it’s a tired hotel with aspirations to be average. Chock full of tourists getting a bad impression of London.

Aggravating – In the mobile-free “quiet” carriage home from Paddington, there’s a guy on his phone. When challenged he says “the train hasn’t started moving yet”. What an self-important ass.

Food Notes

Cardiff’s international food and drink festival this weekend. At the Roald (can’t spell Ronald) Dahl Plass (can’t spell Place). Top scoff!

Pub Notes

If ever you find yourself in Pontypridd and in need of some liquid refreshment, then this pub guide might come in handy. For my money, Alfreds in the middle of town is good, and of course my local, the Bunch of Grapes. The Wetherspoons pub in town, The Tumble, does reasonable food and as always cheap beer – but I’d probably avoid it at the weekends. www.pontytown.co.uk/pubguide.html

TV Notes

Sky have just brought out a new service for Sky+ viewers. You can now programme your Sky+ box by text message. From anywhere in the world. How cool is that?

Also coming so is the ability to manage your Sky+ system from a PC. So if you go to work & forget to set your system to record the cricket, then you can do it from your desk.