Interview with Albie Morkel

Albie Morkel seems quite a recognisable bowler operating in International cricket as part of team South Africa and the Chennai IPL Team. He was quite unkown when I interviewed him last year on my mobile. I found it through some random search on Youtube.

Check out excerpts of my interview with him

The Week in Pictures

Last week was quite a week. There were dull elements as well as exciting elements. The dull part were all those subjects scheduled during day 2 and day 3 of the Chennai Test Match. The more interesting thing was of course being right there at Chepauk, when Sehwag played a masterly innings. It made me tired as I had to appluad, by getting up every now and then. It was great sitting at the stadium, as it felt a great sense of unity whenever India played well, as with 40000 people you feel as If the whole of India is watching the match with you. The above video was the moment Sehwag scored his 200, and the crowd reaction in the D stand.

I had also been to Mumbai on Saturday, the 4th day of the test match, missing my session with Mr T.N.Seshan at college. I was flown in to Mumbai for an interview with a web company. The morning flight was in JET Airways and I was pleasantly suprised to see the in-flight entertainment system that JET had. They had divided it into audio and video podcasts, apart from licenced television archival content. I was hearing Atif's album and some classical music, apart from watching a 23 minute Malgudi days show modelled on the "Vendor of Sweets".
The Kingfisher in-flight system looks better than JET as they give Live TV, and I was watching a movie shown via DISH TV's network and the ICL match between Hyderabad and Chandigarh teams.Kingfisher no doubt is one of the finest experience in the skies.

The interview location was Worli in Mumbai on Annie Besant road, and before I went to the interview, I had lassi on the road, and after the interview had 2 nice coconuts to quench my thirst.

I managed to hook up with my classmate Prakritish, who's come there for a brief 10 day training session with the Bayer Group(he joins them in June). This training seemed to be mandatory, as his superior needed to pass on some knowledge transfer. He stays in Thaane, so we decided to meet at VT, and then spend some time together at Lunch

We took one of those ubiquitous MumbaI Black Taxis, and we went to this place called Leopold Cafe. The food I had there is easily better than those branded pizza chains offer. We also went to MCdonalds for a McAloo Tikki Burger.

That's the sensex, on Dalal Street, the Bombay Stock Exchange, This is where the epicentre of the Indian financial earthquake happens when the nifty falls :-).
I left for Churchgate station at 5 pm to reach the airport for my 7 pm Kingfisher Flight. The train was pretty crowded and I was literally pushed out at Santa Cruz station , 1 station ahead of the Vile Parle station, that I wanted to get down. I took an auto from Santa Cruz railway station to the domestic airport and this is how the drama unfolded

5 59 pm:
Father calls, asks m if I am in airport for the flight, and when is the flight?
me: Dont worry, I am not so careless, I am near the airport, stuck in a traffic jam, flight at 7 i think?
Father: What do you mean by "think"? dont u know exactly when your flight is?
Me: I remember seeing a 55 in the minutes column, so it must be 18 55 or 1900 hrs. I will check. bye for now.

I opened my ticket, it was 6 pm now, As thought there was the 55 component, BUT
the flight was supposed to reach Chennai at 19 55, and starting from Mumbai at 18 05. I have never stared so long at the ticket and with such animated horror. I paid the Auto guy his fare and ran out from the traffic jam to the airport, which was half a kilometre away. I ran, and I was getting breathless and when I reached the counter of the airport, the guard saw the ticket as it was some japanese script and said " Yeh to Kingfisher hain... doosra terminal...1 b jaana hoga". At 18 10... here I was trying to find the terminal for a 18 05 flight, and I ran across a few gardens sensing the shortcut to the 1b terminal, and when I reached there, the guard at 1b said "Yahan Nahi... upar jaana padega"...18 15, and I lost hope, but since I had run as if my life depended, I decided to still run. I was totally drained of my energy after that run and reached the Kingfisher terminal in the first floor 2 minutes later

I barged in and mumb0 jumboed in an apolegetic way, for the Chennai flight, and the attendant said that boarding is closed. I put up an even more apologetic face and told that I am not from Mumbai and was unaware of the traffic jams, and tried reaching the airport number franticaly, but of no avail. He smiled at me, I thought it was a wicked smile, but fortunately it wasnt. He said the flight had some problem and was still on the runway. I was gleaming within, that I had made it and would be going home in a couple of hours. I just rested in peace as the kingfisher bus transported me to the flight, and drank 4 bottles of water as I celebrated within the fact that had made it to the flight.

In the flight, my nerves were lightened by watching some movies and live cricket... and readied myself for a presentation the next day on Small business Marketing. What an end to a week :-)

2 days to go for the Chennai-Test Match

Cricket matches that I have watched in Chennai over the last decade




How does the Ground look 3 days before the match?









Pictures Taken at Chepauk, last evening


Thats the view from the B stand. It has seats now instead of squatting on the cement flooring

The side on view is good when you want to watch the cut and the pull, but somehow I've always preferred a mid on or straight view,as side on, you would hardly have any indication of the swing or a catch in the slips

Ticket prices for the various stands. If you are not familaiar with Chennai, and would want to know where to buy tickets. I suggest you take the MRTS( Parakkum Rail in Tamil) train from Velachery/ Tidel Park and get a ticket to Chepauk station and the ticket counter is right outside the ground floor entrance of the Chepauk MRTS Station.

Should be a new beginning for Chennai B stand folks, as they would now not jostle for cement space inside the stadium.

I had gone with my friend Madhan to the stadium. He was going for a wedding at triplicane, and I went with him from the Velachery station to Chepauk station in the MRTS.

One of the best matches at Eden Gardens

I came across this video on Youtube, and was reminded of my days in class 6 at School. I was having a LOGO test the next day, a Thursday, and I chose to ignore it, as I was glued on to this match, and witnessed one of the best matches at Eden gardens. You couldnt get a game closer than this and when India wins at Eden Gardens, a volcanic eruption happens.
Check the match below, has around 9 minutes of video time.

Interview with Albie Morkel(South Africa)

Albie Morkel

I happened to meet up with Albie Morkel, the rookie South African Pace bowler, during the Afro Asia Cup. Here is a small 2 part Interview with him





First a heads up about him

"Albie Morkel, like Lance Klusener, is a right-arm fast-medium bowler and left-handed batsman. He rose to prominence playing for his provincial side Easterns against the touring West Indians in 2003-04 when he defied food poisoning to score a century and take five wickets at Benoni. Ray Jennings, his provincial coach and a former South African wicketkeeper, predicted some time ago that Morkel would become a world-class allrounder, and Morkel was promised his first taste of international action when picked for the tour of New Zealand in 2003-04. Morkel comes from a cricketing family, with father Albert having played for Transvaal B and brothers Malan and Morné having represented SA schools. Morné also plays for Easterns."

Source Cricinfo





THE INTERVIEW : (Taken on my Sony Ericcson W550 i Mobile Phone)


Part 1




Part 2