Dannie Byrne, Travelling Reporter Extraordinary, provides a Day-by-Day Account of England’s Descent at Mount Maunganui
Category Archives: Dannie Byrne
A British Interloper Dissects Indian Cricketing Stardom at Pune
Dannie Byrne
Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin celebrates after dismissing Faf du Plessis during the third day of the second cricket test match between India and South Africa in Pune, India, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade) … AND Shammi to can dabce
DAY ONE: Another Agarwal century gets India off to a flying start; Day one in Pune
It was the festival of Durga Puja that led to the venue for the second Test being switched from Ranchi to Pune. The official dates for the celebration were listed from 4th – 8th October but in reality the festivities are extended over a ten day period. According to legend the festival signifies the birth of Durga with blessings from the gods in the form of collective energy to be used to fight the demon King Mahishasura. Apparently Mahishasura was blessed with immortality and couldn’t be killed by god or man which is why a goddess had to accomplish the feat. Durga would take a different form each day to fight the demon until finally on the tenth day ( Dashami ) – the last day of Durga Pura she was finally allowed to kill him. It always appears to me as a good excuse for people to try to make money by selling all sorts of things along the side of the road and I have no doubt there are plenty of examples of this kind of activity currently taking place in Ranchi. However after ten days of haggling most of the stall holders would likely have run out of plastic statues, balloons, incense sticks and fireworks and would have been relatively happy to pack up their belongings and head off back to wherever they normally made their rupees.
Filed under cricketing icons, Dannie Byrne, Indian cricket
A Perennial Cricketing Traveller penetrates India’s Present SAF Series
Dannie Byrne
ONE: Arriving in Visakhapatnam and getting a ticket for the match
When my international flight landed in Delhi it was inevitably raining and I had to splash my way through a series of puddles and potholes to reach Terminal 2 and check-in for the next fight to Visakhapatnam. Once the flight was called from Gate 29 a bus was required to ferry us across another series of deep potholes before we were able to climb aboard the relatively small Indigo aircraft. I’d read in the Times of India an article by Aasish Nehra claiming Bumrah’s stress fracture to his lower back had nothing to do with his unorthodox bowling action. There won’t be too many pundits who agree with that but perhaps he’d had one too many Indigo flights leaving from Gate 29. I had to admire the staff working for the airline for their determination to get more rupees out of me. I had the foresight to purchase an additional 5 Kg baggage allowance when buying the ticket. When I checked the bag in at the Etihad desk in London it weighed 17.4 Kg. By the time it reached the scales at Indigo it had put on another 2.4 Kg and now registered 19.8 Kg. Normally I’d be worried about shampoo and other things that can spill being stolen from the unlocked part of my bag to potentially make it lighter. I couldn’t see the staff in Abu Dhabi adding a few extra bricks for a laugh and could only conclude that the scales were deliberately set in a very creative manner at the Indigo counter in Delhi’s Domestic Airport.