The Record That Must Not Be Named

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After 15 consecutive Test victories, Australia head into the Sydney Test just one win away from equalling the, well, from now on it shall be referred to as the Record That Must Not Be Named. That's right, it's the cricketing equivalent of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle which postulates that by observing the event, you influence the outcome. Similarly, by even mentioning Australia's impending and historic record, you run the risk of jinxing it.

This comes from the Australian captain himself. Ponting says the Record That Must Not Be Named is never discussed. Riiggghhhhht! I'm reminded of the Champion's Trophy where Ponting insisted Australia weren't thinking about reclaiming the Ashes, just on the (meaningless ODI) matches at hand. After they won the trophy, he came clean and confessed yes, the Ashes were ALL they were thinking about. Yes, we knew, Ricky, it was all we were thinking about too.

There's even talk Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is looking to pass legislation through parliament that makes mentioning the Record That Must Not Be Named a federal offense. During the 1st Test, Rudd was on ABC radio assuring listeners that he's just as much the cricket tragic as John Howard (and even cast aspersions at Howard's off spin technique). This rings true when you consider the best Howard could offer was some symbolic wording in the Constitution Preamble that inferred mentioning the Record That Must Not Be Named was un-Australian.

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Posted by JC on Mon 31 Dec

6 comments

Yes, I listened intently to what Kev07 had to say. And while I had a bit of time for Johnny because of his love of cricket, Kev seems every bit as articulate and tragic as his predecessor when it comes to the great game.

In fact, he came out of the interview very well I thought - humourously saying that during his playing days, he "did for wicketkeeping what Mr Howard has done for bowling".

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Posted by virtualgaz on 2007-12-31 14:55:19

I voted for Rudd and like what I've seen of his leadership so far. But Gaz, would you agree he's got a bit of that Mark Nichols smarmy thing going?

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Posted by JC on 2007-12-31 15:09:34

Mate, I think you might be getting charisma mixed up with being a... well, you know.

Besides, Kev-0-sev has actually come up through the ranks while that smarmy git was thrust upon, without any vote, for reasons unknown, after playing a few games for Hampshire... see you've got me going again...

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Posted by virtualgaz on 2008-01-01 09:29:53

Isn't it Mark NicholAS? Or in your case Gaz, Nickolikolikolas?
Rumour has it he is heir apparent to Richie which will please you Gaz.
Is he now an Australian resident, or a transient? As for KO7, he doesn't seem to be out of election mode yet. Someone ought to tell him its over, that he won and can revert back to being himself.

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Posted by Dan Tas on 2008-01-01 14:53:27

I've said it before and I'll say it again Dan: why Mark Nicholarse? He's a "really, really" substandard commentator and not even an Aussie OR ex-Test player... WHY??????

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Posted by virtualgaz on 2008-01-01 20:26:49

I quite like Nicholas - his commentary is usually pretty good, though when compared to Bill and Tony it's easy to impress. He's comfortable in front of the camera and comes across well.

The Kev07 radio interview was pretty good. Was particularly interested to hear that he was in the UN group monitoring the rigged Zim elections in 04.

Skull described Johnny as 'possibly the most bio-mechanically correct off-spinner since the war'

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Posted by Moses on 2008-01-02 23:39:50

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