Poem: That Cyclone Sanath

THAT CYCLONE SANATH

by Renuka

T'was a humid day in Singapore,
On the fine old green grass Padang,
And the Singer cup got off,
To a damn explosive bang.

It was Pakistan/Sri Lanka,
The Lankans batting first,
And out came th dynamic duo,
One with a craving thirst,

Cyclone Sanath turned round to his mate,
The great Lightning Kalu,
And said 'Today will be our day'
Lets smash a old record or two.

The great Waqar Younis ran in to bowl,
And pitched too short for one,
And Cyclone pulled it to the  fence
An omen of things to come.

Like a cat amongst the pigeons,
Sanath smote them true and well,
And tore up the opening bowlers,
Like a demon out of hell.
The Singaporeans were quite impressed,
At the blazing batting blitz,
'We thought cricket a boring game''
'Played by old crusty Brits  

They said ' Marvallous'' in Mandarin
And ' Crikes'' in Cantonese,
In Tamile they said 'Terrific!'',
And in Malay they said 'More Please!''


'Cyclone Sanath's not bad lah?''
They said  in Singlish too,
And on the field a few other words,
Were muttered in Urdu.
Captain Sohail was not impressed,
At his team feeling so small,
'You strike Bowlers are useless''
'Give me that bloody ball''


He rubbed it on his jock strap,
And kissed his lucky clover,
Then bowled a group of six balls,
That redefined the word 'over''
The first when over the carpark,
The second over the CBD,
The third went towards Malaysia,
At the speed of sound  times three.

The Sing government was in panic,
'Quick, someone ring Johore''
Before our good neighbours think,
That we're trying to start a war

The fourth flew right up in the air,
Then divebombed the town too,
Creating the greatest  airborne panic,
Since Nineteen Forty Two,

At raffles they ran for shelter ,
They covered their heads at Boat Quay,
And even the frightened Merlion squeaked,
'How about a Helmet and pads for me''

Twenty nine runs off the first over,
And poor Sohail gave right up,
And was heard to mutter a couple of words ,
That rhymed with 'Brother Duck''

But the locals just loved it
As they saw the fastest ton ever,
Even old uncle Lee Kwan Yew,
Said 'Crips this lad is clever''

'Let's offer him a new job''
'Down at Changi prison farm
'If he can strike like that with a bat
'What could he do with a Rotan?

But in the Karachi they were crying
And bawling in Lahore,
'Hockey and squash arent bad games''
'Isn't cricket such bore?

In Baluchistan and Panjab,
and the NW Frontier too,
They said 'We havent felt so helpless
'Since Alexander marched right through

And in Benazir's cabinet room,
She told  her generals-'Listen!'',
This country dosent need nukes,
It needs a Cyclone protection system!

And finally they got Cyclone out,
For a score of 130,
11 sixes,11 fours,
Balls  Faced: just 63!

The score ended at 349,
And Waquar picked up four scalps,
But looking at a score like that,
Batsman just said 'Yelp''

The Pakistanis batted  bravely,
And lost by 30 runs,
But of all the innings played that day,
We'll remember just one

And in the ancient lands of Pakistan,
Some names will always be spoke with fear,
Like Tamerlane the Terrible,
And Sanath Jayasuriya.

PS:
In the parks and street of Singapore,
That clean , green fine city,
You'll see a lot of Red circle signs,
Saying what you cannot do or be,

Like jaywalking , or littering
That are against the Singapore way,
Or spiting, chewing gums, or breaking plants,
Or trying your laces the wrong way.

Well they're putting a new sign up now,
Inside those circles red,
Of a slightly balding cricketer,
Two huge sideburns frame his head.

They'er saying ' We like the game of cricket''
'We give 10 marks out of 10
But if Cyclone Sanath's at the crease
No way is Sohail bowling again!

Source :: Daily News (http.//www.lanka.net)

 Contributed by Hemantha (hemantha@slt.lk)