If Cook drinks, I drink

Pakistan 523-8 declared
v England 569-8
close on Day 4

Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Friday 16 October 2015

Twitter @ball_sup

Dry Day #7
All Balls. No Sup.

Hot off the press. Here is booze news. With it being Friday, there were lots of English expats in the ground today. I had a good squint in one of their hospitality boxes. Sure enough, there were bottles of Heineken and Corona. Big signs up saying not to be taken outside. Nothing for me there of course. But interesting to note.

Some disgraceful ethnic and social cleansing in the ground today. A lot of Pakistani migrant workers turned up yesterday on the New Year holiday. So I think today, on the normal Friday holiday, the security had been beefed up.

We're sitting in the cheap seats. £3.60 a pop. Basically if you come up the aisle you are sent one of five ways. Premium seats, coloured wristband, go to the right, through the gate. Got a lady or kids with you, down there on the right in the family section. Wearing a branded England shirt or Barmy Army gear, down there on the left. Other nondescript white faced fellow, up there on the right. Brown faced fellow, up there on the left.

There were some hybrids. Brown faced fellow wearing western clothes, polo shirt and jeans, up there with Whitey at a push. Brown faced fellow, wearing loose Eastern garbs. Deffo up there on the left. As. Far. As. You. Can.

Now, the Pakistani migrant workers are all comings and goings. Trying to keep out of the Sun. Looking around for friends and extended family. Gathering around cheerleaders and flag wavers. Up and down. Up and down. So inevitably, they are wandering into the so-called wrong section. The worst scenes are when they are openly asked to move into another section. They happily show their ticket. It is the same ticket as everyone else in that section. But as their face literally does not fit, over there you go fellow. Disgraceful.

A group of Pakistan flag wavers inadvertently wandered into the self declared Barmy Army section. Big fat tattooed Englishmen grassing them up to the nearest steward and asking for them to be moved. Give me strength.

I've come to a series against Pakistan. I'll happily sit with & talk to Pakistanis. How weird is that?

Cook started batting in the last Islamic year. Two days into this year. He was still at it. I got dehydrated today. If the Captain has a drink of water, so will I. But, if he don't need one, I'll go without.

He's a Camel. Or is it a lizard.

As we were leaving some Pakistani fella has walked the entire row to get to me & Mrs Ball-Sup. "Allah Go With". He musters in his best English. I'm an atheist. Maybe his grandkids will be. And the World can bumble on better than it does now. And, one day, maybe that lovely fella will be allowed to sit next to White Faced Me in a bleeding cricket ground.

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