Easy Ashraful

Jamie Siddons has told his young captain Mohammad Ashraful to make more runs.

Jamie was a hero of mine as a kid.

He was the talented Victorian batsman I liked more than the other one as I grew up, even after he left Victoria.

When I found out he was taking over the Kittens of Bangladesh I was very excited.

I still am.

But Jamie, leave the next Aravinda De Silva alone.

Ashraful is a player of instinct, he is not a thinker, or a probot.

He has Chainsaws for hands.

With these hands he can slice an attack in half.

Unfortunately he usually cuts off his own legs.

But you need to learn how to crawl before you can walk, and by cutting off your legs that is a good start.

Ashraful is a free spirit, like Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider, he doesn’t need rules man, he doesn’t wanna hear about "expectation" or "responsibility", man.

This was a conversation the Siddons and Ashraful had in front of a confused media milieu.

Jamie Siddons: You know, this used to be a helluva good country. I can't understand what's gone wrong with it.

Mohammad Ashraful: Man, everybody got chicken, that's what happened. Hey, we can't even get into like, a second-rate one day game, I mean, a second-rate one day game, you dig? They think we're gonna get bowled out for 12 or somethin'. They're scared, man.

Jamie Siddons: They're not scared of you. They're scared of what you represent to 'em.

Mohammad Ashraful: Hey, man. All we represent to them, man, is somebody who needs a 9 international players.

Jamie Siddons: Oh, no. What you represent to them is minnows.

Mohammad Ashraful: What the hell is wrong with minnows? That's what it's all about.

Jamie Siddons: Oh, yeah, that's right. That's what's it's all about, all right. But talkin' about it and bein' it, that's two different things. I mean, it's real hard to be a minnow when you are bought and sold in the marketplace. Of course, don't ever tell anybody that they're not a minnow, 'cause then they're gonna get real busy killin' and maimin' to prove to you that they are. Oh, yeah, they're gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about being a minnow. But when they see a minnow, it's gonna scare 'em.

Mohammad Ashraful: Well, it don't make 'em runnin' scared.

Jamie Siddons: No, it makes 'em dangerous.

Perhaps they should both lay off the green.www.cricketwithballs.com "Now with extra juicy Podcast"