Mundane sightings of high-profile cricketers

[nightprowler10]

One take away from this thread so far is that New Zealand is actually a small town where everyone runs into everyone.

 

[social]

Back in the days before high performance centres where sporting organisations controlled everything, it was common to see sports stars training in local parks or running the streets

Same thing happened during COVID when they were shut down

2 of the most random were Matt Henry and Richie Mo’unga doing laps of our local park after being stuck on the GC while visiting family here

 

[thierry henry]

I've told this story many times before but: In the same night I met and chatted to Sangakkara, Vaas, Murali, Warne, Hick, Matt Elliott, Tuffey, Mills, McMillan, Sinclair, Astle, and BazBall Maximum.

The longest convo by far was with Sanga and Baz (which seems significantly cooler in retrospect than it did at the time, when Sanga was a gun player but still relatively early in his career, and Baz was a youngster) which was a genuine 3-way conversation seated at the bar. This was late in the night and I was absolutely steamed and sure they wanted me to **** off, but surprisingly I remember it fairly well.

Unfortunately my Warne interaction was pretty much a passing "gidday Warnie" so not much to divulge there.

Murali was happy to chat. Vaas was a surly prick who basically refused to talk to me. Hick was kinda grumpy but in an "I'm just an introvert and don't particularly want to talk to random people" sort of way.

Mills was cool, we were chatting away while lined up for drinks and I ended up buying a round for the Black Caps. McMillan took his drink and walked off without acknowledging me which may have been a genuine oversight but soured my interaction with him.

I didn't talk to Elliott much but he was the loudest man in the bar and literally dancing on the table.

 

[thierry henry]

2016 I went to use the unisex toilets at Mexico restaurant in Auckland CBD and Matt Henry was waiting for one to become free. He engaged me in a friendly but awkward conversation about the novelty of the toilet set up.

 

[thierry henry]

Actually I'd forgotten about this but I did walk past Ben Stokes on K Rd once. We mutually resisted the temptation to king hit each other.

 

[thierry henry]

One take away from this thread so far is that New Zealand is actually a small town where everyone runs into everyone.

Even more so for extremely high profile international cricketers who only have a limited number of places to hang out while in NZ.

In addition to the aforementioned Warne/Vaas/Sanga/Murali etc, and Stokes, I've also encountered Rahul Dravid, (walked past him on the street) Waqar Younis (we were both eating Nandos), Younis Khan and Umar Gul (clothes shopping at the same time) while just going about my business in Auckland.

 

[Chubb]

I sat next to umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge on a Hamilton-Wellington flight during the 2015 World Cup. I’d been there for Zim-SA and the umpiring team from that game, Ruchira and Roshan Mahanama among them, were heading to the next fixture.

Got talking with them at the terminal about the Windies-Ireland game which was on at the time.

Ruchira thought I was Irish because I told him I thought Ireland should have test status, but we had a long and detailed chat about cricket, Sri Lankan cricket and life as an umpire which was fun.

 

[thierry henry]

2) We were umpired by Billy Bowden out at North Harbour Stadium, and silly Billy overtook me - at pace, with his caricature face and name sign written on the side of the car - in the carpark. Not on the road, in the narrow carpark. This was moments after, sensing an outright win and an early finish, he'd given a direct hit runout where the batsman was basically past the stumps, not the popping crease.

Bowden was the guest speaker at my school sports prizegiving in, I think, 1999. He started his speech by singing the song "Oh What a Night" but with altered lyrics, in order to refer to his own birth - so I guess it was

Oh what a night
Early April back in '63
etc

I just remember his whole speech making me feel very uncomfortable, I guess because he was quite a "wacky" guy who was unsuccessfully trying to be funny but instead came across as arrogant and unable to read the room.

 

[NZTailender]

Saw Kane Williamson having a coffee outside Espresso Workshop a few years back, think 2020 or 2021. Think he had just come from the gym across the road. Made eye contact in such a "pls don't talk to me but if you do I'll be polite" way so i let him be.

Walked passed James Neesham in Ellerslie and did a double take because I had sworn he had played in the SC just a few days before...can't remember how where I read it but he had basically left ASAP and I wasn't mistaken.

Remember walking past KP in Dunedin in I think 2008. England were playing a tour match. I for the life of me can't remember the other player - it was someone who didn't stay in the side for long but I think it was Owais Shah.

 

[Line and Length]

Although not "mundane sightings", I've played with Bob Massie, against Tony Lock and umpired Robin Smith. The latter bought me a beer after the game.

 

[Daemon]

Although not "mundane sightings", I've played with Bob Massie, against Tony Lock and umpired Robin Smith. The latter bought me a beer after the game.

So was he a thrower?

 

[TheJediBrah]

I know this is show-offy but I don't really care, I hope and pray a lot of this thread becomes so.

I was having a net down the local park, Ricky Ponting was driving past but had to stop when he saw me and came out to ask for advice on playing the pull shot

 

[CricAddict]

Sreesanth boarded the same flight as mine when I travelled back from India at the start of this year.

 

[Adders]

I played pool with Merv Hughes a few months back........not much of a player tbh.

Was in town fishing with my mate, so he brought him along to our cash comp. Thanks for the 30 bucks Merv.

 

[Jarquis]

Have made coffees for Merv and Lee Carseldine, lol. Separately, not together ftr.

 

[h_hurricane]

As a 13 year old kid, I met the South African team on their 1996 tour of India at the school where my brother was studying. They were in the city for a First Class game before the test series and had come to the school for inauguration of the play ground. They were all generous and promptly obliged to our autograph requests and actively discussed professionalism in cricket and the role of fielding in the game.

 

[ma1978]

Unsure if I believe it. But you’d expect that out of many players surely. Pleasee lets talk about something other than cricket!

I used to do the Delhi Mumbai flight for work a lot back when he was in Parliament

wife sat next to him once too, she pretended to not know who he was

 

[kevinw]

As a 13 year old kid, I met the South African team on their 1996 tour of India at the school where my brother was studying. They were in the city for a First Class game before the test series and had come to the school for inauguration of the play ground. They were all generous and promptly obliged to our autograph requests and actively discussed professionalism in cricket and the role of fielding in the game.

Did Hansie lecture you on professionalism?

 

[wellAlbidarned]

My mate had Kohli eat at a cafe he was working at in Hamilton.

He does not give a single **** about cricket but loves India and often messages me for advice on how to talk cricket when he's over there because that's all anyone talks about the moment you mention you're a kiwi.

 

[social]

My mate had Kohli eat at a cafe he was working at in Hamilton.

He does not give a single **** about cricket but loves India and often messages me for advice on how to talk cricket when he's over there because that's all anyone talks about the moment you mention you're a kiwi.

Many cab drivers in Dubai & Mumbai would start talking to me about Ricky Ponting when they found out I was Australian

Rarely any other Australian