I'm all excited about the newly-introduced New Zealand cricketer.
I've always been a fan of New Zealand Cricket. It probably started off with my fascination with the country, and escalated because my favorite cricketer, Shane Bond, was a Black Cap. So it's always been with keen interest that I've followed the fortunes of the New Zealand cricket team, or the Black Caps, as they're called. And it interested me when, in the third Test match between New Zealand and England, the name of Tim Southee was being thrown about.
Timothy Grant Southee is a player who's been in the pipeline for quite some time. I've been reading about him, first as an excellent schoolboy cricketer, and then as a very, very good player in the U-19 team of New Zealand. He played a massive part in NZ U-19's win against Ireland in the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup in 2006 -- when he was just seventeen. He played again in the 2008 U-19 World Cup, and this time, was the Player of the Tournament, with an amazing 11 wickets, in spite of playing one match lesser than his closest contender for the title. I was all eager to see the young boy play.
When he was selected for the third Test, I doubt anyone thought initially he would be actually used -- with Kyle Mills present, there was very little chance of a 19-year-old rookie being offered the new ball. But Mills pulled out of the match, Southee was given the new ball, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Southee was excellent. I couldn't see every ball he bowled, but I managed to see a few overs in between -- and he bowls impeccably. He's not Shane Bond -- I doubt there will ever be another -- but Richard Hadlee? Yes, perhaps. He bowled with control, and swung the ball beautifully. His first wicket was a beauty -- four balls dished out to English captain Michael Vaughan, all outswingers. When Vaughan was expecting a fifth, Southee bowled a straight one, and trapped Vaughan leg before. Beautiful. His second over in Test cricket, and Southee had a wicket -- that of Michael Vaughan!
He went on to capture four more, two of them being Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pieterson, two of the most dangerous men in the English batting line-up. Wonderful, wonderful bowling. Kid, I thought to myself, consider me impressed. His final figures? 23.1-8.55-5.
He was out for 5 batting, and didn't get a wicket in the second innings, though he bowled quite well, in my opinion (not that I got to see a large part of the innings). But he was scintillating in the final innings of the match! He smashed 77 runs off 40 balls, which was studded with 9 sixes -- the most by any number 10 batsman. He hit his fifty off just 29 balls, the fastest ever by a New Zealander, and the sixth fastest ever. He was a revelation, in every sense of the word.
Tim Southee seems to be here to stay.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Harris Park Horror
To those who live near the North Campus area of UT, Harris Park needs no introduction. It's that green stretch of land between San Jacinto and Red River streets, that looks refreshing in the daylight and terrifying at night. Many a tale I've heard of murderers lurking in the undergrowth, waiting to slice through the throats of hapless passers-by. The leaves rustle at night, sounding downright creepy, more so than ever when you're returning home at 3am after a session of heavy-duty coding. Yes, Harris Park's an interesting place.
In the daylight, it's pretty innocuous. There are some swings and picnic tables there, and I've seen families there, having fun. It's usually inhabited in the mornings by joggers and people taking their dogs for walks. All-in-all, it looks like a very nice place in the morning. I've spent time with friends on those swings. Another reason I like the place is because it's a short-cut from my apartment to my department (hey, that rhymed!). Going down Dean Keeton takes a good ten minutes more than it would take to cut through Harris Park.
With this in mind, my friend Archana and I decided to take Harris Park when we were returning from a satisfying dinner at Thai Kitchen on 30th St. We looked at the park before entering it. It looked sinister, with large dark patches. There were a couple of lights shining bleakly, giving pale blobs of yellow light. Most of the park was shrouded in darkness. There was not a single soul there. A light wind blew through the trees, rustling the leaves. Archana and I looked at each other.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Archana.
"Sure," I said, exuding bravado, though I was quaking inside. It looked creepy, and it didn't help matters any that we'd been discussing ghost stories on the way, with Archana telling me how she thought her apartment was haunted, and how she and her roommate heard random sounds at night that had given them the creeps. All this raced through my mind as we entered the park.
We walked through the lighted patch, my breath quickening. I gave a nervous laugh. "You wouldn't want to have a go on the swings, would you?" I asked Archana.
"NO!" Archana returned firmly. She probably thought I was eccentric enough to do that!
"No, of course not," I said, and we moved on ahead, till we reached the end of the lighted area. Then we stopped.
The part ahead was darker than black (borrowing the phrase from a favorite anime series of mine!), and looked like something out of a horror movie. Large trees barred our way, and made funny noises (wind whistling through the branches, but my overactive imagination thought otherwise). Strange shadows flitted across the area. It agonized me that the apartment was just across the "twilight zone" as I dubbed it, but it was too much for my limited stock of courage to try to make my way across the area.
"Er....." I asked. "Are we making our way across that?"
"No," said Archana, firmly. "I don't think so."
"It's a short cut," I told her. Just then, something seemed to move in the shadows, and it seemed to move at superhuman speed. I jumped, and grabbed Archana's arm in a vice-like grip, probably making her jump as well.
"What was that all about?" she asked.
"S-something moved," I told her fearfully. We took another step into the darkness, with me literally quaking. My breath was coming fast now -- I was close to hyperventilating.
"That's it," said Archana. "We're not going through there." She led me back to the lighted area.
As soon as we came out into the light, I let out a huge breath, my heart fluttering. For some reason, that had shook me up a lot more than usual! We started walking back toward the entrance to the park, when a shadowy figure ran by us. I jumped violently again, and the state of our minds wasn't eased by the fact that it was a large-ish black dog that had passed us.
"Meh," I said, not sure what to do or say any more.
"Let's get out of there," said Archana.
"I agree," I said, and we practically ran out of there.
"That black dog reminds me of something," I told her.
"Yeah, me too," she said.
"Shall I tell you what it reminds me of?"
"No!" said Archana sharply. "Not here. Let's get out first."
We were practically running when we reached the entrance. It was then that I noticed the leash around the dog's neck. I almost stopped.
"Hey, it's someone's pet," I said, almost stopping.
Archana pulled me along. "Sure, whatever," she said, and with a few more steps, we were out on the road. We stopped to catch our breaths. It was then that we looked inside, and saw a man walk over to the dog and pick up the leash. We stared.
"So it was a pet!" I said, vindicated.
Archana laughed. "We were so terrified!" she said.
I laughed too, feeling much braver now out on the road. "Wanna do that again?" I asked, with a devilish gleam in my eye.
"No, thanks!" said Archana. "Let's walk back along Dean Keeton."
"Okay," I said. "By the way, what did that dog remind you of?"
"The black dog from Omen," said Archana. "What did it remind you of?"
"The hound of Baskervilles," I said. "The black dog of death."
We looked at each other for a minute, and then shivered. "Let's just get out of here," said Archana.
So we did just that, and walked back home. All the way we discussed the incident, almost laughing at our cowardice. But it sure was spooky when we walked through that park!
In the daylight, it's pretty innocuous. There are some swings and picnic tables there, and I've seen families there, having fun. It's usually inhabited in the mornings by joggers and people taking their dogs for walks. All-in-all, it looks like a very nice place in the morning. I've spent time with friends on those swings. Another reason I like the place is because it's a short-cut from my apartment to my department (hey, that rhymed!). Going down Dean Keeton takes a good ten minutes more than it would take to cut through Harris Park.
With this in mind, my friend Archana and I decided to take Harris Park when we were returning from a satisfying dinner at Thai Kitchen on 30th St. We looked at the park before entering it. It looked sinister, with large dark patches. There were a couple of lights shining bleakly, giving pale blobs of yellow light. Most of the park was shrouded in darkness. There was not a single soul there. A light wind blew through the trees, rustling the leaves. Archana and I looked at each other.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Archana.
"Sure," I said, exuding bravado, though I was quaking inside. It looked creepy, and it didn't help matters any that we'd been discussing ghost stories on the way, with Archana telling me how she thought her apartment was haunted, and how she and her roommate heard random sounds at night that had given them the creeps. All this raced through my mind as we entered the park.
We walked through the lighted patch, my breath quickening. I gave a nervous laugh. "You wouldn't want to have a go on the swings, would you?" I asked Archana.
"NO!" Archana returned firmly. She probably thought I was eccentric enough to do that!
"No, of course not," I said, and we moved on ahead, till we reached the end of the lighted area. Then we stopped.
The part ahead was darker than black (borrowing the phrase from a favorite anime series of mine!), and looked like something out of a horror movie. Large trees barred our way, and made funny noises (wind whistling through the branches, but my overactive imagination thought otherwise). Strange shadows flitted across the area. It agonized me that the apartment was just across the "twilight zone" as I dubbed it, but it was too much for my limited stock of courage to try to make my way across the area.
"Er....." I asked. "Are we making our way across that?"
"No," said Archana, firmly. "I don't think so."
"It's a short cut," I told her. Just then, something seemed to move in the shadows, and it seemed to move at superhuman speed. I jumped, and grabbed Archana's arm in a vice-like grip, probably making her jump as well.
"What was that all about?" she asked.
"S-something moved," I told her fearfully. We took another step into the darkness, with me literally quaking. My breath was coming fast now -- I was close to hyperventilating.
"That's it," said Archana. "We're not going through there." She led me back to the lighted area.
As soon as we came out into the light, I let out a huge breath, my heart fluttering. For some reason, that had shook me up a lot more than usual! We started walking back toward the entrance to the park, when a shadowy figure ran by us. I jumped violently again, and the state of our minds wasn't eased by the fact that it was a large-ish black dog that had passed us.
"Meh," I said, not sure what to do or say any more.
"Let's get out of there," said Archana.
"I agree," I said, and we practically ran out of there.
"That black dog reminds me of something," I told her.
"Yeah, me too," she said.
"Shall I tell you what it reminds me of?"
"No!" said Archana sharply. "Not here. Let's get out first."
We were practically running when we reached the entrance. It was then that I noticed the leash around the dog's neck. I almost stopped.
"Hey, it's someone's pet," I said, almost stopping.
Archana pulled me along. "Sure, whatever," she said, and with a few more steps, we were out on the road. We stopped to catch our breaths. It was then that we looked inside, and saw a man walk over to the dog and pick up the leash. We stared.
"So it was a pet!" I said, vindicated.
Archana laughed. "We were so terrified!" she said.
I laughed too, feeling much braver now out on the road. "Wanna do that again?" I asked, with a devilish gleam in my eye.
"No, thanks!" said Archana. "Let's walk back along Dean Keeton."
"Okay," I said. "By the way, what did that dog remind you of?"
"The black dog from Omen," said Archana. "What did it remind you of?"
"The hound of Baskervilles," I said. "The black dog of death."
We looked at each other for a minute, and then shivered. "Let's just get out of here," said Archana.
So we did just that, and walked back home. All the way we discussed the incident, almost laughing at our cowardice. But it sure was spooky when we walked through that park!
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