We at
Cricket360.com are trying to figure out a reason for the changing fortunes of the Australian cricket team. Sure there is the law of averages that is catching up with them; one can also say pride comes before a fall (and the Aussies were certainly guilty of arrogance), or perhaps it is just that the stars of other teams are now in ascendance. Then we also heard another theory, a cricket rumour if you like about the Aussie uniforms; more particularly the colour of the Aussie Uniform.
There is a whisper doing the rounds in more irrational cricket circles that it was around the time that the Aussies changed their uniform color from the usual yellow with the green trim to their present dark green with a gold trim that the cricket team started their current losing trend. Don’t dismiss this bit of cricket news out of hand peeps, there may be more to this than just a cricket rumour!
Call it superstition if you will, but superstition has always been a large part of cricket, the world over. How many of us, for instance won’t change our seats if our side is playing well, or let others do the same, lest there is an unfortunate change of good fortunes.
Apparently Neil McKenzie, South African Cricketer used to tape his bat to the ceiling, needed to have all the toilet seats closed and needed his wife not only to watch the entire match, but to do so while sitting in one place only!
Then there are all the kerchiefs that cricketers use: Ganguly and Sehwag’s headscarves, Lala Amarnath and his red kerchief to name a few. Azharuddin used to have a taveez (religious thread with pendant around his neck) that was always visible when he used to bat.
Cricketers also have superstitions that cause them to wear the same pants or shirts unwashed because they supposedly brought them luck! Not shaving and getting a hair cut are also some of the things that purportedly would continue a dream run!
As for numbers or numerology, that is another area where cricketing superstition runs amok: Tendulkar and the number 10 at the back of his shirt, Ganguly and the many consultations with the numerologist about changing the number on the back of his shirt. And what about the Nelson (score at 111 runs) and Umpire Shepherd doing his little jig to dispel bad luck!
These are just some of the interesting cricket superstitions we at Cricket360 thought of, can you think of any others?
