Cottrell celebration named official meme of The Hundred

In a move ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said would “light a fire” under English cricket’s new marquee not-quite-T20 tournament, West Indies bowler Sheldon Cottrell’s popular salute celebration was today unveiled as the official meme of The Hundred.
The celebration, which has been termed “funny” and “yeah, I like that, cheers” by someone in Shrewsbury it was forwarded to on WhatsApp, will be shown on the big screen any time a wicket falls during the new competition. Cottrell’s military-based antics will also be set to music after initial trials at Loughborough found the tempo of his three wacky marching strides correlates exactly to the “Dum, Dum, Dum” bit of Sweet Caroline.
👉 Sheldon Cottrell – we salute you!
Check out the paceman's military celebration, complete with march and salute, as he picks up career-best ODI figures of 5-46! https://t.co/K7bC3uXN3t
Watch the third #WIvENG ODI live on Sky Sports Cricket on Monday from 1pm. pic.twitter.com/2mugI6jOps
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) February 23, 2019
Having decided he would undo a second button on his shirt, an excited Harrison addressed the media to explain the vision behind the optics or vice versa.
“Remember that kid who ate a watermelon at the Big Bash? The one that went viral? Well our research – yes, same firm, they’re on a two-year retainer – indicates only 15% of men and 0.3% of women in Australia had heard of cricket before that. So clearly we need the same sort of catchy content for our own target crease interface demographic moving forward.”
The plan inevitably brought criticism from those both inside and outside the game, with supporters groups claiming the idea “may alienate existing fans of traditional irritating celebrations such as Imran Tahir’s”. Likewise former England bowler Harry Gurney took to social media to note that Cottrell’s elaborate routine, which seems to last an extra few seconds with every viewing, would take far too long for busy club cricketers to replicate at the weekends.
Some opponents of The Hundred surprisingly welcomed the idea, however, with one county fan admitting he was all for the meme’s use as “between you and me I’d nearly run out of things to complain about.”
As made up by James Marsh (We can’t stress that enough: this is made up.)
Latest
-
News
Sri Lanka v England Day 2: Joe Root excels alongside Dan Lawrence
The England captain and his new team-mate added 173 to build England’s advantage.
-
News
Nine rookies in Pakistan squad for South Africa series
Pakistan have included nine uncapped players in their 20-man squad for the two-Tests against South Africa, starting on January 26.
-
News
Labuschagne upset after not scoring ‘big’ hundred
Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne might have been the star of the show on the first day of the fourth Test against India.
-
News
Joe Root backs up plea for strong England start with century against Sri Lanka
The skipper had urged his team to impress from the word go and led by example with 168 not out in Galle.
-
News
Joe Root century strengthens England’s grip on first Test against Sri Lanka
Dan Lawrence hits 73 on debut as England reach 320 for four at tea, a lead of 185.
-
News
England captain Joe Root celebrates a century against Sri Lanka
Root brought up his 18th Test ton after being stranded on 99 at lunch in Galle.
-
News
Joe Root 99 not out at lunch as England look to build big advantage
Root and Test debutant Dan Lawrence have steered the tourists to a lead of 71 with seven wickets intact.
-
News
Heather Knight excited by freedom on offer after New Zealand quarantine
England Women will be able to break out of the coronavirus ‘bubble’ lifestyle in a country which has effectively contained the disease.
-
News
Sri Lanka v England day one: Tourists carve out dominant performance in Galle
The tourists skittled Sri Lanka for 135 then replied with 127 for two.
-
News
Stuart Broad and England in ‘dream world’ after superb first day in Sri Lanka
Broad took three wickets and Dom Bess five before Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow took England within eight runs of their hosts’ total.