999, Which service? Towels

Pakistan 234 all out
v England 222-4
close on Day 2

Sharjah CA Stadium

Monday 2 November 2015

Twitter @ball_sup

Dry Day #24

That is nee 5, because of the injury to Stokes. Slow going, but they're putting themselves in a position to put themselves in a position. You'd have to count that as a failure by Moeen. Just looked ugly. Didn't seem the right shot to play. You know, full stop.

Bell put runs on the tins. Survived some balls. But, has got done coming down the pitch. Turned past him. Stumped by miles. I won't count that as a failure. But, out ugly nevertheless.

Both teams have struggled at times. You don't get value as the outfield is slow. England have to win to square the series. They mixed watchfulness with some aggression. So, they can have some slack. As they're in a position. Need a lead.

Look. This Blog & my Twitter account are a conceit. Ooohhh look at me. Going all over the place to watch stuff & have a drink. I sometimes do the hotel & logistics information in the hope it'll help someone down the track. But, I do try & stick to writing about the beer (not out here) & being at the event. Colour.

But, I'll allow myself some travelogue today as I've had a Blinder. What sort of mental tit would phone the police to tell them he needed clean towels? Surely there's a programme on tele about ridiculous reasons for phoning plod. I'm on it.

We got back after the cricket. Needing a shave & a shower. To find the room had been done. They'd taken the dirty towels away. But, not left any new ones. So, I pushed the button marked housekeeping on the phone & explained. I waited, but nothing arrived. So, I rang again. Eventually, a lovely fella turned up. With just one towel. So, I grabbed that. And asked for more. He gave me some story about “no more”.

Nonsense. So, I thanked him. But, decided to ring the front desk & say, misunderstanding, still need more towels. So, I pressed the button marked front desk. It rang & rang. Some fella answered. But, not in English. I kept saying “is that the front desk?”. Very little coming back at me in English. Something about “report an incident”. Which I thought was a bit strong. I only wanted another towel.

Rang off. Counted. Pressed the button marked front desk again. Answered in Arabic. Is that the front desk? Does anyone speak English? Something about “car accident”. Ah, come on. Who am I speaking to?

Sharjah Police. For reasons unknown, the Front Desk button on my hotel room phone had been hardwired to Sharjah Plods Emergency Line. Oh yes. That is how I ended up asking the Police for some clean towels.

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