Howzat for name play?

Humour

Theresa May became Britain’s prime minister — only the second female prime minister after Margaret Thatcher. But May may or may not be a popular one like her lady predecessor. Brexit happened. Meanwhile, pat came the reply from Pat (Patrick was Pat for us) that this is a strange world! Anything can happen at any minute in any part of the world.

While silly jokes can be an icebreaker and get a good giggle to lighten up the atmosphere, it’s not good to be silly when you’ve Sally as your colleague, particularly when she is an able ally in all your business initiatives and campaigns. I hesitated talking to a friend of mine about general things in a particular month when I stayed in the US — “What plans over the next 2-3 weekends in April would you have, April?” was my question to her. It appeared strange.

The England squad has a few cricketers with interesting last names. ‘What keeps you busy when you are not playing cricket?’ Stumped you will be if Alastair Cook, one of the successful blokes who is best placed to eclipse Tendulkar’s record in tests, says, “I like to cook and experiment with new dishes in the kitchen.”

It’s no wonder that this bowler, Jake Ball, got his maiden test call-up in 2016, and only time will tell whether he is good with the new or the old ball. Stuart Broad has established himself as a front line bowler and a match-winner, and it’s only apt if a newspaper carries his game-winning heroics as: ‘Not only does he stand tall but stands Broad, above and beyond his teammates’.

For all of us who follow cricket, we know there’s a glorious career ahead for this young and exciting cricketer — Joe Root, one of the root causes for the success that England has had in recent times. Would the wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Butler condemn it as ‘butler English’ if a cricketer from a non-English-speaking country speaks to him on the field?

It flummoxes you that Gareth Batty is in the team for his bowling and not necessarily for his batting talent! And it would be unfair to always expect Gary Ballance to provide a balanced look to the team eleven.

The northern state of Wisconsin has a city by name Waukesha. When,  many years ago, my wife and I were driving through this city, she remembered her college friend Vageesha. I blurted out: “Imagine if your friend Vageesha visits Waukesha, then goes to a neighbouring town and introduces himself to a local thus: ‘My name is Vageesha and the last city I visited in the US was Waukesha!’” And what fate the American would embrace given the proverbial ‘tongue in a knot’ experience with Indian names.

There are many more names like Smith, Button, Bush, Hooker, Case; and closer home, a few names like Daruwala and Panda, which can unruffle a few feathers if we even attempt to ape.

Do parents even think when they consider names for their offspring?