I cop plenty of flack, hate mail, industry colleague cold shoulders and the wrath of accreditation boards for having views that may not align with the preferred cricket narrative.
Yes, I don’t like match fixers or drug cheats. That Wasim and Warne and M Waugh are all in that bucket, bad luck. It was their choice to be arsehats. I think Anderson is overrated…. well, was overrated. I’m softening. Sachin’s record stumbles when objectively scrutinised and he committed perjury in regards to Monkey gate. Channel Nine is ruining the game. Cricinfo is difficult to navigate. McCullum gets praise for being a beacon of light yet has cheated on the field. Sreesanth was cleared by a court so should be free play. Amir should not be. The ICC needs to have independent board members. Cricket Australia’s links to gambling are a disgrace and presented in a willfully misleading way.
I also make jokes. It is a legitimate form of communication. Like satire is. Like poetry is. Like musical theater is. Like novels are.
Most of my jokes aren’t funny, but they amuse me.
However, some people like to deliberately take offence at jokes and shout abuse from the rooftops. I feel sorry for these people. Humour is so important in life.
Some call it trolling. But that’s a huge misrepresentation and a poor perspective. I simply call it independent thought.
No, I’m not perfect either. But if someone finds my life that interesting, let them start a website and podcast about it.
I have worked hard over the last four or so years to build my own cricketing soapbox.
No one handed me the Dennis Does Cricket website. No one handed me the Can’t Bowl Can’t Throw podcast. No one handed me my video camera or this Facebook following. No one was forced at gun point to join my mailing list. No one pays for my hosting fees, my time spent learning how to do this stuff, maintain it or gifted me a microphone.
I didn’t just turn up unannounced at Shikhar Dhawan’s house to interview him, or find Lalit Modi’s home number in the yellow pages or have pieces magically appear in print organisations world wide or plug in my headset and appear on sports radio shows in the West Indies and South Africa.
All of this is because I got off my slowly growing arse and had a crack. As anyone can. As many do. In all walks of life.
Ok, I may have received a little help with my twitter following, but I didn’t ask nor pay for it. Twitter just decided to recommend me to new users.
I’m proud of the fact that people choose to have firm views about my work. It means it is cutting through, being read and being heard. The world doesn’t need anymore vanilla boring follow the formula reporting. It’s like death by elevator music.
Unfortunately, we now live in a world where those that think they are right believe that those that oppose their view are racist, or trolls, or bigoted, or nazis or any number of other words that have been used to describe me.
The art of objective debate is quickly being lost. Rather, personal attacks is seen as normal or required.
What is wrong with us?
Being abused used to bug me. Get under my skin. I’m only human.
But now I see it as a badge of honour. It means you read my stuff and it forced a reaction. Much better than reading something and forgetting about it two seconds later right?
So to those that interact with me, negatively or positively, thanks for supporting my journalism. I try my best to engage with anyone who engages in a polite manner.
Be firm with your views. They don’t have to be the same as mine. Most times, they probably won’t be. But that’s ok. In fact, it’s awesome. I’ll respect you for it.
Imagine if we all thought the same way? What a disaster that would be.
Fall into the name calling trap, and I’ll probably ignore you. Have I ever called you a name?
For without having a view, you are simply reporting. And what does reporting really add to any debate?
- Why I’m Scared of Travelling to Pakistan - February 19, 2020
- Why Islamabad United Won’t Improve Your Sex Life and How To Fix It - January 2, 2020
- The Only Honest Review of The PSL 2020 Draft on the Internet - December 7, 2019
- Dennis Does The World Cup: My essential guide to a very un-international international cricket tournament - June 2, 2019
- Dennis Does Pakistan – Full Documentary - April 14, 2019
Well said !
Please sir can I have some more?! Too many sheep blaring out of the same mouths lately, always happy to follow a rule bender.
Sachin Varadarajan Isanga Nainhabo Vinay Lakshman he’s softening, you’ve got him on the ropes!
I like your opinions, great to shake things up
Well said!! Keep this going.
Why doesn’t Russell Jackson like you?
wise words. nobody is above ridicule and humor. not politicians, cricket administrators, teachers, the pope, or even cricketers who take 900+ wickets and bribes to fix.
didn’t know why you called warne, waugh, and akram cheats. but a few months on, having read some of your stuff, including the uneasy relationship with akram piece, and after months of ocassional yet compulsive google search usage, it is obvious they are cheats. i just assumed they were clean because they’re all over TV.
I like your stuff and your humour.
Just to clarify, when you say McCullum is a cheat, is that because of fixing that im just not aware about? Or is it because of incidents like running out Murali and claiming catches he didnt take?
WicketWolf Slapping against my head?
DennisCricket_ it was yours to do with as you please…!
WicketWolf I’ve totally missed whether that was praise or a whack. Either way, thanks for engaging 🙂
DennisCricket_ you choose place and time, he chooses weapons… as your second, I top him if he cheats, finish you off if he won’t?
You are doing a great job.
“Channel Nine is ruining the game” – pretty sure this is widely acknowledged. Any opinion that stated otherwise would probably be controversial.
DennisCricket_ musical theatre a legitimate form of communication? Grrrr rant rant etc etc
AJRobertsWriter Have you not seen “Shane Warne – The Musical”?
Sit in a Channel Nine executive meeting.
Love it Dennis, you do talk a lot of bollocks but it’s funny bollocks and some of it I agree with, keep up the good work.
DennisCricket_ did it upset the little twerp? If so, I might be interested
I’m all for free speech so yay on that front . May I ask which court found Sachin guilty of perjury ?
He told Mike Procter one thing and then changed his story in front of a NZ High Court judge. How else would you describe it?
AJRobertsWriter Didn’t see it 🙂 What about Pirates of Penzance?
DennisCricket_ no, it’s all nonsense, although did like all that funky wahwah pedal in JesusChristSuperstar. Made it sound like BobbyWomack
Seriously, who would call you a Nazi??
AJRobertsWriter See. There is good in everything
DennisCricket_ except NRL, there’s nothing good there
Arbabasu random people now and then
AJRobertsWriter Outlier
DennisCricket_ what/who is an outlier?
AJRobertsWriter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlier
DennisCricket_ oh, I thought he played for Parramatta. I’m pretty sure it’s not really though as even fans secretly know it’s a silly sport
For what it’s worth, I listen to the podcast and usually really enjoy it, particularly for the humour. However, sometimes it is difficult to tell whether you are just poking fun or whether you actually mean what you say. Now that’s alright – you don’t have to spell it out all the time – but some issues do deserve a little bit of extra sensitivity, mainly the transformation issue in South Africa. For that case there are several valid perspectives on the issue, and each of them need to be treated with some respect and caution. On most other issues I’m sure you would find many cricket fans who would agree with you or at least understand that view. Finally, I am a huge B Mac fan, and I would make the point that those of us who praise him are generally talking about what he became as a cricketer, a leader and a man – it’s easy to find fault in anyone, what really matters is what we aspire to be and how we work towards it. Best of luck Dennis, your commitment is outstanding and I never miss an episode.
DennisCricket_ Amen Dennis! I disagree with a fair bit of what you say, but hell, it’s interesting to read. Spare me those “offended”…
I can excuse all your views on cricket but not that you follow Carlton
DmitriOld How could you possibly disagree with anything I write? It’s gold!
DennisCricket_ You’re Australian. Therefore you are wrong. Does that offend you? 🙂
DmitriOld Not even close. I’m white and privileged. I’m not allowed to be offended about anything.
DennisCricket_ What brought that post on, sir? You been copping some stick (more than usual)?
DmitriOld One particular recent incident. I had to purge. It’s now done. I feel better 🙂
He’s cracking, just like the wicket keeping, or his stumps in the GF. Ooooooh
Thats absolute bollocks Dennis. If you trust Ricky Ponting and Monkey Symonds and Michael Clarke’s word over Sachin, you’re crazy!!
Not sure if you have seen this Tom Clark? https://dennisdoescricket.com/white-non-south-african-view-quotas/
I once played 4 reserve games at Keysy. That’s worse right?
pleas keep doing what you are doing. from SA
Nikhil Purohit I make no comment on who I trust. I only make comment on the fact that Sachin changed his story.
Dennis Does Cricket Is there any evidence that he did change it? Obviously Gilly and Ponting will say he did. They had to defend their teammates. Do you think the NZ judge was stupid to not have realised Sachin changed his story? The verdict didnt claim anything about Sachin changing his story. Who said he did? The disgruntled Aussie media who were angry at the BCCI? The Aussie players, who Gilly apart, you couldn’t trust even with one’s pet dog?
Sorry Dennis. That is your opinion. While I can certainly respect that, it is not a statement of fact. Hearsay is not sufficient as evidence.
Actually, I interviewed the match referee who took Sachin’s initial statement. What Sachin subsequently said to the judge is on written record. Take a listen: https://dennisdoescricket.com/cricket-legend-mike-procter/
Proctor was probably unhappy at the fact that his ban on Harbhajan was overturned. Made him look silly.
DennisCricket_ you went too soft at the end! Let’s be honest and say which countries the vast amount of abuse comes from…
DmitriOld DennisCricket_ IPL? I get dogs abuse every yr. And it’s mindless, nonsensical. These teams didn’t fucking exist 3yrs ago!!!
AltCricket DennisCricket_ Probably a Country with a name starting with an I and ends with an A.
AltCricket UK
Nikhil Purohit Or, Sachin told Procter one thing and then Sachin told a judge something else?
DennisCricket_ I’m really tempted to write a rebuttal to this.
NickTheStatsGuy Do it!
DennisCricket_ I’m afraid that, in between homework and a s—ton of Euro stuff, I’m flat out for the next few days.
NickTheStatsGuy Your lack of commitment is something you need to work on.
DennisCricket_ Yes. It is.
DennisCricket_ AltCricket : surely not the Associate hipster gang ?
worldofBG AltCricket Haha
Dennis Does Cricket maybe, maybe not. We dont know in what context and in what way Proctor presented the questions to Sachin. The fact is that the judge was in charge of the final decision, and he didnt think Sachin or anyone else was lying. He ruled in favor of the Indian side. Just like you say we should accept the court’s decision on Sreesanth, we should accept the NZ judge’s decision in favor of the Indian side, no?
DennisCricket_ its very cool that twitter replies show as comment threads in ur blog
Its how internet should’ve been from start
DmitriOld
Hi Dennis,
Your hard work is to be commended, I do not know how you find the time.
I endorse the sentiment, but disagree with the self assessment. I’ve agreed with, supported, disagreed with and challenged you at various times but you have never once meaningfully engaged (and I’ve never called you names). The cynic in me would suggest there is more exposure in continuing a pointless argument with a high profile commentator (commenter?) than in engaging in real debate with a nobody. Is truth and enlightenment the prize or is fame (or infamy) the true goal?
Could be that I said something inappropriate once or my contributions really are unworthy of a response I suppose. Anyway, don’t let the bastards get you down.
Nikhil Purohit You are missing the point by a long way. The judge’s outcome is 100% irrelevant. I’m simply stating a fact that Sachin relayed the Monkey Gate story to two different authoritative bodies in two very different ways,
J_Mareeswaran DmitriOld that’s just a plug in. sometimes it picks up Facebook conversation also
Dennis Does Cricket Dennis, how do you know that he did? Is there any official claim of perjury? Do you think the high court judge wouldnt be able to tell if Sachin was lying?
Dennis Does Cricket also, you cannot say the verdict is irrelevant when the verdict is based on facts relayed by both the Aussie and Indian parties. The verdict in favor of India simply means the Indian side’s version of events was more convincing and was perceived by the judge to be more trustworthy. If the judge thought that a key witness on the Indian side was lying, he wouldnt probably rule in their favor. That’s all there is to this.
Nikhil Purohit We are going around in circles. Probably best to stop
Dennis Does Cricket okay, lets stop if you say so. its best not to be swayed by the biased and ill-informed comments of people like Malcom Conn who made up stuff to sway Australia into believing the BCCI and India lied to get their way in this case.
DennisCricket_ Well, this is your best post for a while.I like independent thought. I dislike wilful contrariness for the sake of it. (1/2)
DennisCricket_ (2/2) It’s a line you – in my view, of course – tread. The latter devalues the former, which makes me cross sometimes.
The only recall I have of the incident is that the judge was unaware or Harbhajan’s past conduct. And if that history were to be taken into consideration, the result would have been different. The bit about Sachin is new to me.
NickScribbler I don’t willfully take a contrarian view in a serious piece unless I believe it has merit being discussed. But on Twitter …
@morrisonshat Fair points all. I will be sure to take note of your next tweet to me and engage in a chat.
DennisCricket_ Yes, Twitter can be a red rag and I know you’re playing the larrikin role sometimes but don’t let it obscure your good stuff
NickScribbler I juggle hats. I respect the audience’s ability to recognise it as you have. Life is grey. Don’t box us!
Dennis Freedman Damn, I was sort of hoping you’d ignore my comment to prove my point. Look forward to it.
DennisCricket_ Fair enough. Life is indeed grey & no-one will convince me otherwise.The Twitter filter can render things too b/w sometimes.
NickScribbler Yeah, there is that.
Lol i may take you on a lot but ill never stop listening to your show…its the best!
i want you to keep taking me on. That is the point! I just want to remove name calling from the equation. Not to suggest that is what you do.
Agreed. Though massive name calling happened when my sunday league T20 side got bundled for 74. After bowling the opposition out for 156 of which one bloke got 120
DennisCricket_ radio shows in South Africa!
followthebounce Are you not? Is Darren also not hosting a radio show?
followthebounce Oh, and Marc Lewis
DennisCricket_ but of course!
followthebounce I’m having the Tshirt made up as we speak: “I’m big in Sandton”
DennisCricket_ use Fourways instead
followthebounce It’s my Tshirt. I’ll do what I like. http://twitter.com/DennisCricket_/status/740809618742353920/photo/1
DennisCricket_ great piece Dennis. People also losing ability to listen. Sprouting their agendas is only priority
followthebounce Yeah, there is that too.
DennisCricket_ limited appeal, but it’s your shirt to live with
DennisCricket_ I’m totally making a #BehardienTime shirt
followthebounce Goes with this one: http://twitter.com/DennisCricket_/status/740811210015133696/photo/1
followthebounce Is there any other time?
DennisCricket_ #WaitingForBehardienTime
followthebounce Also known as #JunkTime
DennisCricket_ Rude? GTFO! U0001f604
DennisCricket_ Year ago I abused u for an article but reading,listening to u regularly made me undrstnd your humour and views -Weird butU0001f44cU0001f44d
I think you’re being far to harsh on yourself, Dennis. Your arse isn’t growing that much.
DennisCricket_ I suppose it’s part of the popularity you’ve gained recently.
DennisCricket_ this is very much your Jerry Maguire moment..
You are incorrect to soften on Wee Jimmy. All the rest is pretty much solid, I reckon.
DennisCricket_ Keep up the gd work. Nowt cuts thru stuffed-shirt hubris like sarcasm & well-appointed humour. All power to your funny bone!
Keep it up Dennis. Like to read your posts. 👍✌
Dennis, as usual you are in top form. I don’t always agree with you, but in this instance I am with you all the way. Keep on doing what you do best, that is telling it like it is and keeping us cricket lovers infomed.
DennisCricket_ no need to read it as you are wrong once again
SVucens haha
DennisCricket_ especially your fluid position on Anderson
biobot1 True. But I liked the line so I used it.
Harsh. Bit fair
Having an opinion on social media it’s seems is a dangerous thing. You posts wont please everyone, so don’t try. As long as it’s not offensive or racist in nature, most will find your posts entertaining.
If any of you still believe the rubbish about Harbhajan saying “maa ki” instead of monkey, you are the most gullible people in the cricketing world. That was not the first time he called Symonds a monkey either. He did it in the 7 match ODI series in 2007 as well. Sachin clearly lied before the judge to save his team mate.
I love your sense of humour, Dennis. A lot of it is dark, which may not be everybody’s cup of tea. Also, if you sell overratedson t shirts, I’d pay good money to buy one.
George Orwell – a very great man. Perennial wisdom.
Nice post but just tagging wasim akram’s wife in match fixing related posts or bringing in anushka sharma in some virat kholi issue is as some kind of personal attack.
“we now live in a world where those that think they are right believe that those that oppose their view are racist, or trolls, or bigoted, or nazis”
This this this this this this this this this. And I bet some of these extremist anti-pluralist social justice warriors have even liked this post.
Many of them write for the same publications I do
Can name another Australian from the top of my head. Infuriates me so much that I sometimes shout at him SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP. But Europeans excel at that lopsided craplogic the most.
DennisCricket_ DavidKHopps good article , didn’t know people get riled up easily.
denxap DavidKHopps Not riled mate. Abused. No reason why anyone should put up with it.
DennisCricket_ DavidKHopps dont think my tweet was abuse.anyway hope he unblocks …
denxap DavidKHopps No mate. It was abuse.
DennisCricket_ tried ‘[superlatively] underrated’ (reverse-swing psychology)?