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
-
EnglandCricket West Indies approves proposed Test tour of England in July
Plans have been drawn up to create “bio-secure” environments around each Test match, which are tentatively scheduled to start on July 8, 16 and 24.
-
UKThe key questions on the impact of coronavirus in cricket
England hope to squeeze in a near full international campaign, despite the lengthy setbacks faced by the sport.
-
EnglandCricket West Indies approves proposed Test tour of England in July
Plans have been drawn up to create “bio-secure” environments around each Test match, which are tentatively scheduled to start on July 8, 16 and 24.
-
UKOn This Day in 2015: Sir Alastair Cook surpasses Graham Gooch’s run record
The then-England captain became the country’s top Test scorer five years ago.
-
UKMovement could mean a welcome break for England cricketers
Players expected to have “a bridge to the outside” if international action is given the go-ahead.
-
UKThe key questions on the impact of coronavirus on cricket
England hope to squeeze in a near full international campaign despite the lengthy setbacks faced by the sport.
-
UKA look at England’s fresh faces in this summer’s international squads
England have named 14 uncapped players in a 55-man training group.
-
CricketEngland prepare for busy summer with bumper training group
A total of 55 players have been invited to work under ECB guidance in the coming weeks.
-
UKOn this day in 2015: James Anderson joins the 400 club
The swing bowler completed the landmark at Headingley.
-
UKTwenty20 World Cup under threat as host Australia says schedule ‘very high risk’
But the ICC has rejected claims the tournament will be postponed, insisting a number of contingency plans are being considered.