It is never easy for cricketers to go out and perform at the peak of their abilities when travelling to another country. Acclimatising oneself to the alien conditions is of vital importance, irrespective of whether it is on or off the field. Apart from the cricket, a trip to another nation opens up a world of opportunities for players to explore new horizons and have some fun at the same time.
During and after tours, we often learn about some fun-filled adventures that cricketers from the visiting team embarked upon while they were in the host country. On quite a few occasions, these incidents turn out to be really crazy and present a different side of the players which not many may be aware of.
Here are some crazy things which cricketers have done on tours to other countries:
5. Australian cricketers enjoy a rainforest dip in the West Indies
Australia’s short trip to the West Indies last season saw them play 2 Tests, both of which they won quite convincingly. The first Test was played at the Windsor Park in Rosseau, Dominica, and the Aussies inflicted a crushing 9-wicket defeat over the hosts within a span of 3 days, leaving them ample time to relax and enjoy themselves.
Taking this opportunity, a bunch of players including Shane Watson, Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Peter Siddle slipped away into a Dominican jungle in order to enjoy a tropical dip under the Trafalgar Falls. The group clearly had a good time during their adventurous trip and returned to wipe out West Indies in the second Test, too.
4. England cricketers go to rock concert in South Africa only to get booed
The English cricket team had a largely successful outing during their last tour to South Africa as they won the Test series 2-1 and conceded the ODI series by a narrow margin of 2-3. After having taken a 2-0 lead in the ODIs, Eoin Morgan and his team decided to take time off and attend a concert by British rock band Mumford and Sons.
During the concert, the popular band decided to be gracious to their fellow Englishmen and dedicated one of their songs to them. This drew the ire of the home crowd who turned hostile and began booing the England cricketers attending the show. Despite this, though, the players enjoyed their time and posed for a few pictures with Mumford and Sons post the concert.
3. Sourav Ganguly averts a gun pulled on him and Navjot Singh Sidhu in England
Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly has enjoyed a special love affair with England and has always had a good time in the European nation. During his first tour to the country in 1996, Ganguly scored two back-to-back centuries and etched his name in India’s cricket history. However, what many people don’t know is that he used his negotiation skills to save his and fellow team-mate Navjot Singh Sidhu’s life.
This is an incident narrated by Sachin Tendulkar in his autobiography ‘Playing It My Way’ about how Ganguly and Sidhu got involved in an altercation with a man on a tube train in England and it ended up in him pulling out a gun. Sourav first dropped to the ground out of fear but later successfully persuaded the man to let him and his partner go.
2. England players attend a Christmas Party in Australia
In the 1990s, most Ashes series ended up in disaster for the England team as the Australians won quite convincingly on nearly every occasion. The 1994/95 Ashes, too, presented a similar story as hosts Australia hammered the Englishmen 3-1 in a largely one-sided affair.
However, the visitors never let their spirits down as they attended a Christmas party with all players dressed up crazily in fancy costumes. English cricketers dressed as Batman, Robin Hood, Elvis, James Bond, Freddie Flintstone and even Darth Vader were all under the same roof.
1. Indian cricketers put on burqas and enjoy street food in Pakistan
India’s landmark tour to Pakistan in the year 2004 was extremely special as they were touring to their neighbouring country after a gap of more than a decade. As things got underway, the Indians went on to prove their mettle on the cricket field by winning both the Test and ODI series quite impressively.
In what was the first Pakistan tour for most of the team members, the Indian players enjoyed great hospitality from the host country and had a lot of fun. One of their craziest stories from the tour came when a few of them including the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid disguised themselves as women by putting on burqas and tried the sumptuous Pakistani street food.
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