Professional cricket is coming to West Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill at the end of July. Questions?
Q: Buddy Holly’s backing band is still around?
A: No. They were the Crickets. This is a sport.
Q: Is that the fancy one on a lawn with dainty little mallets?
A: No, that’s croquet.
Q: Oh hang on, cricket. That’s the one where the games last 5 days, right?
A: Sometimes. Don’t worry though; this is T20, the shortest form of the game. It lasts about as long as a baseball game.
Q: Hey, I like baseball! Wait a minute … is Jeffrey Loria in any way involved in cricket?
A: He is not.
Q: I see. Tell me more.
A: It’s the Caribbean Premier League, featuring teams from around the English-speaking Caribbean, where cricket has long been one of the most popular sports.
Q: Yeah, but you’re from Fort Lauderdale. You’re a fan why?
A: I used to live in England, and I picked up a lot of English habits.
Q: You don’t undercook your bacon and leave it to fester in a puddle of its own lukewarm leavings, do you?
A: Ugh, no. Other habits.
Q: OK then, tell me something about cricket that will make me want to go see it.
A: I once saw Kieron Pollard hit a 6 that almost cleared the Radcliffe Road Stand.
Q: I know what all of those words mean individually, but not when you put them together in that order.
A: A 6 is like a home run. The Radcliffe Road Stand is the tallest section of Trent Bridge. Trent Bridge is not an actual bridge; it is a cricket stadium in Nottingham, England. Although the cricket stadium does sit next to Trent Bridge, the bridge. Kieron Pollard is a large man from Trinidad and Tobago. If I wanted to make a cricket ball travel as far as he makes it travel, I would have to put it in my car and drive it.
Q: Wasn’t Trent Bridge a Dolphins quarterback?
A: Could be. I kinda lost track after Fiedler. Anyway, cricket …
Q: Oh right. Will this Pollard fellow be in Lauderhill?
A: He should be. He’s captain of the Barbados Tridents, a team that also includes South Florida’s best professional cricket player, Steven Taylor. We even interviewed Taylor in this month’s magazine.
Q: Cool! I love “Walk This Way!”
A: Tyler. Steven Tyler is the Aerosmith frontman. Steven Taylor plays cricket.
Q: With Buddy Holly?
A: Sure.