So It’s Come To This: Things We Found On YouTube Part 6

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Nichael Bluth in Opinion

 

These are tough times in the 51allout office. Once the office buzzed with life as a number of wannabe cricket reporters debated the issues of the day before rushing to get that day’s article to press. Nowadays the tumbleweed drifts casually from desk to desk, unbothered by anything other than the local wildlife. Where typewriters once pinged as we rushed to review Shane Watson’s Power Play Cricket or found excuses to show naked pictures of Chris Tremlett, now there is only silence. Editor Steve hasn’t been seen for months, his desk hidden beneath a thick layer of dust.

On the plus side, this means we are basically free to look at YouTube all day, without fear of being thrashed with a kettle cord. Here’s what our wanderings found this week:

Waqar Younis or Makhaya Ntini: Who’s The Greatest?

The WT Greatest series (as the cool kids call it) returns with two class quick bowlers. Both had pretty decent records but only one of them ever got a fridge for playing 100 Test matches. We did genuinely try and get the polls working again so that you could vote on which is better (although the answer is very clearly Waqar) but, as we’ve already pointed out, Editor Steve hasn’t around for months and won’t return our calls. Things are pretty grim: we’ve even been reduced to slumming around in an old version of WordPress, the words “WordPress 4.1 is available! Please notify the site administrator” mocking us at every turn. Still, er, enjoy the video:

 

teve Smith’s partner Dani white hot at Allan Border Awards Steve Smith Wins Allan Border Medal

That’s right: teve Smith. You might know him as #evereux.

Let’s be honest: this video is just plain weird. Who puts these things together? And most importantly, why? Does anyone really want to see some incredibly low quality photos from the Allan Border medal being slowly zoomed in? Yes, they do have Devereux in them and yes, the music is quite catchy. And yes, there’s a surprisingly exciting picture of Michael Clarke’s missus moving in for a tender kiss. But beyond that? This is madness. To the extent that we had to watch it three times just to make sure that it definitely wasn’t us that was a bit odd.

 

Dropped catch of the season contender from Geraint Jones

34 Test matches. 49 One Day Internationals (plus two more for Papau New Guinea). Two T20’s. That’s a pretty impressive collection of international appearances for a wicketkeeper who can’t actually catch. Or bat. Even the Official England Cricket channel are more than happy to lay into Jones, hence the appearance of this truly special effort from 2013.

 

Ben Hollioake 63 on debut vs Australia 1997 Lord’s

The recent death of Phil Hughes led to an understandable outpouring of ‘what could have been’ opinion pieces. At the age of 25, the vast majority of his career remained in front of him, with many firmly believing that his upcoming return to international colours would see him fulfill all his obvious potential. The same can sadly be said of Ben Hollioake, who died in 2002 at the even younger age of 24. This sparkling innings from his debut ODI includes some genuinely gorgeous on-drives, plus clearly deliberate edges just out of the keeper’s reach. It remains as a brief testament to what could have been.

Also the fact that everyone is wearing whites is enough to blow our tiny minds. Where are the pyjamas?