KNOCKED
FOR SIX
PRODUCTION NOTES
A film by Boyd Hicklin
Starring Brendan Cowell, Stephen Curry and
Damon Gameau
For further information please contact the Metrodome Press Office:
Chris Lawrance / clawrance@metrodomegroup.com / 0207 535 7308
Woody Southcott / wsouthcott@metrodomegroup.com / 0207 535 7309
In Cinemas: 13th June 2014
Certificate 15 / Running Time 92 Minutes
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT:
It was the year 2001. Before kids. Before mortgages and renovations. Over a few
beers, a friend tells me that he and his D-Grade cricket club are planning a cricket
tour. And not just any tour. India; five matches in five cities over five weeks.
„Internationals… Us!‟ he says.
I signed up immediately, bringing to the party not just a camera and tripod, but my
own faded sporting ambitions of representing my country on the world stage. An
epic adventure. A wild rickshaw ride from the suburbs to the subcontinent, as a
bunch of 30-something mates lived out their dreams in a time and place where
anything and everything seemed possible. Anything perhaps, except winning.
That was my first documentary. Now more than a decade later, inspired by that first
journey, the ride rolls on and KNOCKED FOR SIX! has become my first feature.
The friendships forged and memories made through those halcyon days have
magnified and become myth, feeding the fantasy now being played out on big
screens from Melbourne to Mumbai.
I feel incredibly fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time and to have
shared this adventure with so many amazing people. And I’m privileged to share
with you this tall tale, told large.
KNOCKED FOR SIX! is a film for anyone who has ever had a dream.
A film for anyone who’s ever been afraid of growing up.
Or a film for anyone who’s ever had a dream about being afraid of growing up.
Enjoy.
- BOYD HICKLIN
SHORT SYNOPSIS
KNOCKED FOR SIX! is an inspirational journey from the heart of Australia to the
soul of India. It's the story of one man who refuses to lose his park cricket team to
the realities of growing up. Inspired by true events, KNOCKED FOR SIX! is an
uplifting adventure, filled with comedy, cricket and Bollywood music; an odyssey
from the suburbs to the sub-continent in pursuit of a boyhood dream.
LONG SYNOPSIS
Edward „Teddy‟ Brown is obsessed with cricket. His whole life has revolved around
the game, his park cricket team and his mates. Now that they’ve hit their mid
thirties, his friends are starting to move on, trading in the team for their careers,
wives, mortgages and kids. With Ted’s precious Abbotsford Anglers on the brink of
extinction, he makes one last, desperate attempt to keep his mates passion for the
pitch alive and convinces his boss Sanjeet to let the Anglers “represent Australia” on
a cricket tour of India. Once there, Ted discovers that his dreams of winning an
international cricket tour might be harder than he thinks, as his two best friends are
more interested in sampling the local customs than they are with picking up a bat.
Dealing with pitch invasions from goats, hallucinogenic smoothies, street parties
and dry cleaning disasters, Ted’s grip on the team begins to fall apart. Soon his
passion for the game threatens to cost him not only the team and his mates, but
also the heart of Sanjeet’s beautiful daughter Anjali. Inspired by true events,
KNOCKED FOR SIX! is an inspirational adventure, filled with comedy, cricket and
Bollywood music; an odyssey from the suburbs to the sub-continent in pursuit of a
boyhood dream.
PRODUCTION NOTES
THE KNOCKED FOR SIX! JOURNEY: FROM THE
SUBURBS TO THE SUBCONTINENT
First Innings: From Abbotsford to India
KNOCKED FOR SIX! began life as a documentary about the Melbourne cricket
team, the Abbotsford Anglers who toured India in 2001.
“Expanding a documentary into a feature film is a delicate process,” said Hicklin.
“It’s a balancing act between being respectful to the original material, but also
ensuring that the feature narrative is as dynamic and „bold‟ as possible. In our
case, we’ve used the documentary as a starting point and enhanced the drama and
comedy of the situations, whilst hopefully staying true to the heart and soul of the
original tour. And it was great to have the documentary to fall back on, as a rationale
for how weird and wonderful things can occur so organically and magnificently in
India.”
“I was completely engaged by the idea of a group of men, unified by a sport that
they, like myself, loved, but were not particularly good at,” Hicklin said. “I could just
see that it had the makings of a terrific and funny film.”
But the idea didn’t really progress until 2007 when producer Nick Batzias and
actor/writer Brendan Cowell both attended the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
“I was in Sundance for a movie called Noise,” recalled Cowell, who was joking
around and playing a few cricket shots. Nick Batzias, who distributed Noise,
watched Cowell’s form closely.
“We hung-out together that week,” Cowell said, “listening to the Ashes back at his
place on his computer, and I guess we started a bit of a „bromance‟, Batz and I. He
sent me a copy of the documentary KNOCKED FOR SIX! and I wrote back, saying,
„Mate, fabulous to meet you, love the documentary; you guys should turn it into a
big, bad, blokey, comedy feature film.‟ Batzias‟ response was, „Funny you should
mention that; we’re thinking the same thing…and maybe you could write it!‟. “So I
went to Melbourne and met Boyd - who lives next door to Nick in a weird sitcom of
their own – and after four years of working on it, we developed a story which is
essentially about men in their mid-thirties and the way their lives start to change at
that age.”
“You wake-up at thirty-five,” continued Cowell, “and look at your friends and go,
“how the f**k did you come to be my best mate? Who are you? What do we have in
common?‟ But how do men break-up? We’re not like the characters in Sex and the
City. We can’t just chat over Cosmopolitans about how we feel; we’re different
creatures. My mates are starting to say to me, „You know, Brendan, I’d actually
prefer to be with my kids, watching DVDs, having a cuddle and going to bed, then
spending my Friday nights drinking beers with you.‟ That’s nothing against me, it’s
just that guys‟ priorities shift, and this movie explores that.”
With their script nearing the final stages of development, Batzias approached
independent producer, Robyn Kershaw. A one-woman dynamo with feature credits
including Looking for Alibrandi, Bran Nue Dae and through her work at ABCTV, the
hit TV series Kath & Kim. Kershaw and Batzias had known each other for several
years, through their respective roles as Producer and Distributor.
“I was quite touched that Nick invited me to join the team and work on KNOCKED
FOR SIX! – it was the confluence of my father‟s great passion for cricket and
sharing my little known tertiary studies in “Drama, Ritual and Magic of SE Asia”
which focused on the Raslila – Indian texts and dances of Brindavan”.
“Although we hadn’t worked together,” said Batzias, “I had always been impressed
by Robyn’s strong vision, willingness to tackle cross-cultural material, her clear
understanding of the balance between heart and humour, and of course, her
commercial sensibilities. She was the ideal producing partner; someone with the
right approach and experience, to not only help realise our vision, but assist in
taking it to the next level. Initially, we spoke about the project in early 2009, and
continued our discussions, on a more formal basis, later that year. By 2010, we
were a tightly knit team on the path to making a major motion picture!”
Second Innings: The Story
A road-trip with a big heart, KNOCKED FOR SIX! is a tale of adventure, mateship
and coming-of-middle-age. It highlights the story of Edward „Teddy‟ Brown, an
average guy in his mid-30s, whose existence revolves around his mates and The
Abbotsford Anglers, a suburban D-Grade cricket club.
Ted is a traditionalist; loyal, honest and caring. But unlike his two best mates, Rick
and Stav, there’s little more in his life than cricket and their friendship, which has
always been bound up in their shared love of the sport.
“As his buddies become older and move on with their lives,” observed Hicklin, “Ted
realises that his dream of playing for Australia is just that – a dream – which is
fading, along with his precious mates and club.”
When we first meet Ted, Stav and Rick, they’ve all been members of The
Abbotsford Anglers for 20 years. And Ted has spent 14 of them working at a local
cricket centre, run by his boss Sanjeet (Darshan V. Jariwalla), a former professional
cricket player.
Stav, played by Damon Gameau, is a confident, successful and larger-than-life
character. He has a showcase home and an aspirational wife. She thinks Stav
should concentrate on more important things than his small-time cricket club and
annoying friends like Ted, who lives on a semi-permanent basis in their garage.
Rick is the wild man of the team. The one who was never going to get married and
has always regarded life as one big party. But times change, and Rick, portrayed by
Brendan Cowell, has fallen in love with a backpacker, whom he’s planning to wed . .
. before their baby arrives. If Stav’s take on life was the coffin for the Anglers, then
Rick’s news is a set of shiny nails.
Ted sees life as he knows it slipping away. So he conjures a plan to take his best
mates, along with the rest of The Abbotsford Anglers, on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to
India to play cricket against the locals. For Ted, it’s a do or die scenario; a last ditch
attempt to keep together the things he holds sacred. But Stav sees the trip as a
chance to share his „personal legend‟ on a bigger stage, and Rick sees it as an
extended buck’s party.
“We wanted the film to explore the themes of „mateship‟ and the changing relations
of men as they grow older,” explained Hicklin. “KNOCKED FOR SIX! is about men
learning to appreciate the friendships we have as we mature, and how as
individuals we have to adapt to the changing nature of our priorities having wives,
being fathers and having a family. It’s also about chasing dreams . . . taking a shot
at something, despite being terrified of the unknown. It’s about adventure and the
way people from different worlds can connect through sport, transcending cultural
differences. Ted hangs onto the dream of wishing he could play for Australia and his
naivety is in thinking that all of his mates still share his dreams. The situations our
team find themselves in are surprising and often quite odd, but totally plausible.
Mostly, it’s a subtle blend of farcical comedy and heart, as everything that can go
wrong, does – and in a uniquely Indian way.”
Batzias adds that “at its heart, KNOCKED FOR SIX! is a story about three long-time
friends and the „coming of age‟ of our central character. Teddy Brown. However, on
face value, you have a rollicking tale of three mates who take their D-Grade
suburban cricket team on a tour of India, and through the laughs and challenges of
the adventure, learn a lot about themselves and each other. Oh . . .and there is
dancing.”
With an upcoming international shoot that promised more than its usual share of
obstacles – assembling the right cast and crew was crucial.
“When I first met Boyd,” recalled Robyn Kershaw, “I was struck by his insights into
the heart of these characters – men he knew – I felt like I had been given a look into
the secret world of men…their thoughts about women, about children, about each
other. This was in spite of me having a father a brother and being married to a man!
I made very specific suggestions about delivering the script and with whom I thought
would be effective in delivering the story - casting is like creating an exquisite
mosaic; each piece has to fit perfectly. In our instance, we also had the complication
of not just getting the story right, but the added challenge of being on tour in a
foreign environment for a lengthy period of time. Therefore, we spent some time
looking for people – actors and crew and the right production company in India –
whom we felt would be able to cope with our conditions and circumstances.”
Renowned Australian actor Stephen Curry was cast in the pivotal role of Teddy
Brown.
“Stephen’s „Ted‟ is a beautiful everyman,” enthuses Hicklin. “He’s charming,
unaffected and boyish, with an enthusiasm for the simple things in life that is
infectious. Stephen shares Ted’s unbridled passion for the game, for India and his
mates and it shines through on screen.” Remarks Batzias, “It also helped that aside
from being a fantastic actor with great comic timing, he is a cricket tragic who
immediately got what we were trying to achieve . . .!”
For his part, Curry was delighted to be involved.
“The script was very funny which is essential for comedy, because surprisingly, you
read many scripts that aren’t. The dialogue was snappy and the characters were
really recognisable and likeable. The friendship between Ted and his mates was
also very reminiscent of pretty much every experience that I’ve had in the last
decade. The „Peter Pan Complex‟ is pretty rife in this society and in some ways it’s
almost celebrated. And I guess that KNOCKED FOR SIX!, if you will excuse the
term, is about the „coming of middle-age‟, which so many people, nowadays, try to
delay by several years. It’s very reminiscent – almost painfully reminiscent – of
many experiences that I’ve had.”
Up to this point in his life, Ted’s love affair with cricket has pretty much excluded any
other sort of romantic entanglement. But this changes when he arrives in India and
encounters Anjali, his boss Sanjeet’s stunning and sophisticated daughter.
Anjali’s role is twofold: she represents a possible future for Ted, if only he can break
free of his cricket cocoon, and she also reflects the face of India. Beautiful,
educated and intelligent, Anjali is a contemporary smart career woman who
embraces Western culture, whilst still respecting the many traditions and values of a
traditional Indian/Hindi upbringing.
“This balance of taking on the new, whilst respecting and keeping the best of the
old,” said Kershaw, “not only mirrors India, but is also a metaphor for Ted and his
journey. And clever Anjali sees the potential of the man in Ted, but is aware that
until he acts upon it, they have no future.”
Pallavi Sharda, a classically trained dancer, who is emerging as one of Bollywood’s
brightest new talents, portrays Anjali. Sharda auditioned for the role in Mumbai and
was cast immediately.
“We were aware of Pallavi’s work through friends,” recalled Batzias, “but after
seeing her audition in 2011, it was obvious that she had to play Anjali. She was just
perfect for the role. And having been raised in Australia, she totally got the
sensibility of the men we wanted to have portrayed on screen.”
Leading Indian actors Darshan V. Jariwalla (Gandhi My Father) and Sid Makkar
(The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) also feature in key supporting roles. And in the
early part of the film, cricket legend Sir Richard Hadlee makes his debut feature film
appearance in a cameo as a local umpire.
Stumps: The Abbotsford Anglers Return to India
Following a one-week shoot in Melbourne during December 2011, the film’s cast
and key crew travelled to India in January 2012 for the bulk of filming. Shoots took
place in Varanasi, Kolkata (Calcutta) and Mumbai (Bombay) over a five-week
period.
In India, the KNOCKED FOR SIX! crew collaborated with the team at India Take
One Productions (ITOP), the company behind Indian shoots for productions such as
Mission Impossible 4, Eat Pray Love, Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi and The Best
Exotic Marigold Hotel.
“The Indian cast and crew were astounding, fabulous to work with,” Hicklin said. “As
a first-time director, I needed help and guidance through the madness and they
were always on the same team, working for a great end result. There were some
cultural communication and aesthetic differences and you could never quite predict
where the next curve ball was coming from. But the actors and crew were A-Grade
Professionals, in particular my first AD, Ananya Rane, who was a superstar.”
With a cast and crew of enthusiastic, amateur cricketers, there was never any
shortage of cricket knowledge on-set to ensure authenticity.
“The cricket scenes were shot as naturalistically as possible, so that the audience
gets a sense of what it feels like to be out there on the pitch, playing park cricket,”
said Hicklin. “Everything was captured in-camera so that the Anglers‟ abilities have
been allowed to be as raw and honest as any D-Grade park team should be. It‟s
not so much about skill, it‟s about passion, and passion for cricket comes from an
understanding of the absurd and a shared sense of humour. What other game
encourages men to dress in white slacks and stand around in the sun for hours on
end? It‟s also about heroes, as cricket provides a fabulous stage for them. Cricket
is a great vehicle for establishing a hero . . . one man with a bat versus 11
opponents baying for blood, the eyes of the crowd and the world watching . . .”
And did Stephen Curry, as Teddy Brown, undertake rigorous cricket training for his
role? Apparently not.
“In the film, I portray a D-Grade cricketer,” said Curry, “and in real life, I’m just below
D-Grade – I’d say probably E-Grade. I’ve never risked being graded, but I daresay
I’d probably just scrape into an E-Grade team. So I did have to learn how to have a
straight bat because Ted Brown is infamous for never playing a shot outside of the
„Geoff Boycott‟ style of forward defensive; that „getting your eye in‟ kind of shot.
So, yes, I guess a long answer to that short question is, „no‟, it came naturally to
me. I’m crap at cricket!”
Unlike Damon Gameau who also adds to his significant and substantial vocabulary
as a dramatic actor by giving a great comic turn as Stav – Stav-ishnu, Stav-alicious
and on occasion the battered Stav. During an earlier visit to India remembers „We
travelled from the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar to Chennai by bus and train before
finally hopping into a cab to make it to the MA Chidambaram stadium where India
was playing Australia. A buddy and I were the only Australians in the stands. With
India losing, we ended up being the sole duo among thousands, cheering the
winners hoarse.” Producer, Robyn Kershaw – probably the only key member of the
team who was not a self-professed cricket expert – was keen to ensure that
KNOCKED FOR SIX! would have broad appeal. “I don’t get to games,” she
admitted, “So I was very much the voice saying, „Let’s make certain you don’t have
to be a cricket aficionado in order to appreciate the games in the film.‟”
Said Batzias, “With cricket, we also get to build a wonderful bridge between two
very different cultures in Australia and India. As any Australian who has been to
India would know, as soon as you mention cricket, you have immediate rapport –
whether you are talking with a Bollywood star, a maharaja, a farmer or a child.”
Stylistically speaking, the filmmakers decided that they needed to strongly delineate
between Ted’s home-city of Melbourne and the exoticism of India. Melbourne was
shot so that it appeared green and lush, with a simplicity that evoked the style of an
English village, providing a stark contrast to the vibrant maelstrom that is India.
They were also keen to differentiate between the three cities that form the backdrop
for the Angler’s Indian adventure.
“To help the audience distinguish between Varanasi, Kolkata and Mumbai we
applied different color palettes to each,” said Production Designer, Paddy Reardon.
“It was also a good design solution for the „madness‟ of the colour palette that’s
awash throughout India. Varanasi, with its predominance of red, orange and yellow
tones, was an easy choice, and after surveying Kolkata, we decided to concentrate
on rich greens, whereas Mumbai was depicted with modern blue tones. Our Director
of Photography, Mark Wareham, also adopted this theme by using a primary lighting
palette for the majority of locations.”
Wareham ensured the selected cricket pitches also had personality at each of the
matches. “When we shot the cricket scenes, we were sometimes managing
environmental issues like fog and wedding tents on the cricket pitch, actor illness
and of course time is always the enemy. Boyd had a specific perspective on how he
wanted to shoot the matches so that in Kolkata (park match) we chose to shoot the
scenes (observational) in more landscape framing – to accentuate the vastness of
the maidan. In Varanasi we wanted to highlight the bleachers that emphasized the
ghats in Varanasi (campus style grounds). And in Mumbai we had a night game
which gave a stadium feel to the game – just like a Twenty20 Game.” He said “So
with the shooting style we went in closer and wider. We wanted flaring of the lights,
with the bright oval against the dark sky.”
And of course the comedy was paramount throughout and “Boyd talked a lot about
the camaraderie of THE HANGOVER as a shot style – that the characters were
seen in groups and he wanted this to be in juxtaposition with graphics and
animation. We both wanted to have a slightly heightened level of honesty in the
portrayal of India and Melbourne.”
Wareham had his own bromance with Paddy Reardon – a long time collaborator “I
couldn’t have done the film without him – he really thinks through the pressure of a
tight schedule and he is a seasoned overseas production designer. He is mega
experienced and I have great short-hand with him.”
From the birth of The Abbotsford Anglers in 1999, followed by the 2001 tour of India
that formed the basis the 2005 documentary, bringing KNOCKED FOR SIX! to the
big screen was an incredible undertaking for all involved.
“Brendan, Batz and myself,” said Hicklin, “were privileged to embark on this massive
adventure together, which started with a chat in a pub in Windsor (Melbourne) and
ended with a shoot on a rooftop in Mumbai. In between, we had writing trips,
seminars, net sessions and workshops where we shared stories and ideas, created
characters together and built the narrative that you see on screen.
“If you’re going to change,” added Cowell, “you’re going to change in India because
it’s a pressure cooker. It’s a wonderful, colourful and sensorial place, but it’s also
intense and it throws everything at you. I mean, when you go away with a group of
people, you learn about them – even if you just go to the beach for a weekend. But
if you travel to India with people, you see right to the end of their soul.”
Hicklin adds, “KNOCKED FOR SIX! is a comedy, but it’s not a set „em up and knock
„em down with a punch line comedy. It’s an adventure, but it’s not a travelogue. It’s
a film that features sport and a little bit of romance. It really is, for me,
entertainment. Wherever people with an open mind and a bit of that spirit of fun and
adventure can fit it into their lives, I’d like to think that they can see a bit of
themselves or their own lives transformed into this whacky and great adventure that
is India.”
CAST BIOGRAPHIES
STEPHEN CURRY (Edward “Teddy” Brown)
Curry became a household name with his breakout role in the Australian feature film
The Castle, playing the character of „Dale Kerrigan‟ opposite Michael Caton and
Eric Bana. Additional big-screen credits include The Cup, Rogue, Thunderstruck,
The Night We Called It A Day, Take Away, The Nugget, The Wogboy, Cut and
Silver Strand.
For television, he recently starred in Cloudstreet, the lauded adaptation of Tim
Winton’s epic novel. His numerous TV credits also include Wilfred, 30 Seconds,
False Witness, The Informant, The Secret Life of Us, Changi, Frontline, Queen Kat,
Carmel and St Jude, Day of the Roses and Mary Bryant.
In 2007, he took on the challenging role of portraying one of Australia‟s most
legendary personalities, Graham Kennedy, in the Fremantle Media & TV1 biopic,
The King. He received many awards for this portrayal, including an Australian Film
Institute (AFI) Award for Best Lead Actor in a television drama, a Silver Logie Award
for Most Outstanding Actor in a Drama, and the ASTRA Award for Most Outstanding
Performance by an Actor.
Apart from film and television roles, Stephen has performed in theatre shows,
including performances of the famous sketches of Peter Cook & Dudley Moore in
Good Evening (with Shaun Micallef) at the Sydney Opera House, Melbourne
Comedy Festival, Brisbane and Perth. He also hosted the 2008 AFI Awards and has
presented at many other leading Australian film nights throughout the last decade.
BRENDAN COWELL (Rick Shaw & Screenplay by)
The multi-talented Cowell is an accomplished actor, writer and director who has
enjoyed considerable success across all three mediums.
From 2004 until 2007, Cowell played the lead role of Tom in the iconic
Foxtel/Southern Star TV series, Love My Way, for which he penned eight episodes
(two of which were nominated for Australian Writers‟ Guild Awards). In 2008 he
portrayed Hamlet at the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne Arts Centre, followed
by lead roles in director Matthew Saville’s feature drama Noise (for which he
received AFI and IF nominations for Best Actor), the critically acclaimed World War I
tale, Beneath Hill 60, and the romantic comedy, I Love You Too. Additional film and
television acting credits throughout the last decade include the TV series, Life
Support, Fat Cow Motel, Rush, Ten Empty (which he co-wrote), The Underbelly
Files: The Man Who Got Away, and the 2011 mini-series, The Slap, for which he
wrote two episodes; Cowell’s episode, Harry, won the 2011 AACTA Award for Best
Screenplay in Television. That same year, Cowell’s role in The Dark Room at
Belvoir Theatre earned him a Sydney Theatre Award nomination for Best Actor in a
Mainstage Production.
On the writing front, Cowell has amassed a lengthy list of credits and critical
accolades. His first play, Men, was staged at Sydney’s Old Fitzroy Theatre in 2000
and has since been performed in Melbourne, Edinburgh and New York. In 2001 he
received both the Gloria Dawn Payten Award and Patrick White Playwrights‟
Award; in 2003, he was honoured with the Griffin Award (for his play Rabbit) and in
2005, the Philip Parsons Young Playwright’s Award. Writing credits include the
plays Bed, Self Esteem and the wildly successful Ruben Guthrie, along with the
short films, Europe and Black Lassie, which he also directed. His first novel, How It
Feels, was published by Picador in late 2010 and in 2011 received a nomination
from the Australian Book Industry Awards.
Cowell has most recently been seen in the Nine Network drama series, Howzat!
Kerry Packer’s War, and is currently developing his stage-play Ruben Guthrie into a
feature film, which he plans to direct. Cowell will next be seen in the Borgias.
DAMON GAMEAU (Stav MacEvoy)
Damon Gameau has starred in several feature films including Rolf de Heer’s
celebrated drama, The Tracker, Darren Ashton’s Thunderstruck and Razzle Dazzle,
and Robert Connolly’s Balibo opposite Anthony LaPaglia. Damon’s performance in
Balibo earned him an AFI nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
He has also appeared in several short films, including the award winning Tropfest
short, Being Carl Williams directed by Abe Forsythe, and Cockroach directed by
Luke Eve. Damon received a Sydney Underground Film Festival Award for Best
Actor in a Short Film for his role in Vermin. He also directed and performed the
vocals for the 2011 winning Tropfest short film, Animal Beatbox.
On stage, Damon has performed in the sell-out season of Ray’s Tempest for Belvoir
Street Theatre, directed by Richard Roxburgh. He also played the lead role in
Marion Potts‟ Equus for the State Theatre Company of South Australia, and starred
in Benedict Andrews‟ Measure for Measure for Belvoir Street Theatre.
Damon’s television credits include The Micallef Program, the Fox 8 series Slide,
White Collar Blue, the ground breaking SBS drama Going Home, Foxtel’s award
winning Love My Way, Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities and Spirited opposite
Claudia Karvan.
In 2012, Damon will be seen in the fourth season of the British series, Raw for
Ecosse Films and the Nine Network mini-series, Howzat!
DAVID LYONS (The Prince)
Lyons is a star of film, television and theatre whose TV credtis include lead role of
„Vince Faraday‟ in the NBC/Universal television series, The Cape, the charismatic
„Dr. Simon Brenner‟ in season 15 of the long-running NBC series E.R., „E.T.
Holiday‟ in the action series Sea Patrol, and convicted murderer „Gordon Wood‟ in
the Network Ten telemovie A Model Daughter: The Killing of Caroline Byrne.
In 2010, David appeared in a high impact cameo opposite Julia Roberts in the
Columbia Pictures film Eat, Pray, Love. He also starred in the crime thriller Cactus,
Jamie Blank’s horror film Storm Warning, and alongside Emma Booth and Jason
Clarke in Swerve, directed by Craig Lahiff.
David has performed on stage for the Sydney Theatre Company in A Hard God and
the Melbourne Theatre Company in Cyrano De Bergerac and will next be seen in
the J.J. Abrams‟ NBC series Revolution and the Lasse Hallstrom directed film Safe
Haven.
BRENTON THWAITES (Mark)
Although still in his early 20s, Thwaites’ star is on the rise. Born in Cairns,
Queensland, he recently completed filming the lead male role in the US telemovie,
The Blue Lagoon: The Awakening, and was one of the key cast members in the
Fox8 teen drama, Slide.
Thwaites‟ additional acting credits include a recurring role in the iconic Australian
television series, Home and Away, the independent feature film Charge Over You
and a guest role in the Nine Network drama, Sea Patrol.
He will next be seen in Maleficent, Disney’s live-action adaptation of Sleeping
Beauty, in which he will star alongside Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning as Prince
Charming.
DARREN GILSHENAN (Colin)
Since graduating from National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in the late 1980s,
Gilshenan has proven himself a formidable talent on both stage and screen.
His many theatrical performances have been with organizations such as Sydney
Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre Company
and Bell Shakespeare, and have garnered critical accolades including the 2004
Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Play and the 2011 Time Out Theatre
Award for Best Actor.
Gilshenan’s big-screen credits include the features Idiot Box and Dark City, whilst
his television credits range from Chandon Pictures (series 1 & 2) Liebermans in the
Sky, Police Rescue and Full Frontal, to the six-part series, Dossa And Joe, for
BBC/Granada. He also wrote, co-directed and starred in Derrick, for Foxtel‟s
Comedy Channel.
As a teacher, Gilshenan has held acting classes for NIDA, Australian Theatre for
Young People, Bell Shakespeare, Griffin Theatre Company plus various drama
festivals. He has also worked as a director for Bell Shakespeare Company, Spirit
Entertainment, NIDA and Pork Chop Productions.
DARSHAN V. JARIWALLA (Sanjeet)
Darshan V. Jariwalla is an experienced character actor who began his career in
Gujarati Language theatre productions in 1976.
His acting portfolio boasts over 50 productions, which he has performed in Indian
languages such as Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi, as well as English. He has also
written for stage, and directed plays through his production company, Leela
Theatres.
Since 1989, Mumbai-based Jariwalla has also acted extensively on television in
both Gujarati and mainstream Hindi productions. His big screen credits are also
considerable; to date he has starred in 35 films performed in both English and Hindi.
However, it was his 2007 role as „Mahatma Gandhi‟ in Gandhi, My Father, that
brought this unassuming actor international recognition and saw him honored with
the Best Supporting Actor Award at India’s 55th National Film Awards.
PALLAVI SHARDA (Anjali)
Based in Mumbai since 2008, Sharda was born in Australia and raised in
Melbourne.
Versatility hardly begins to describe Sharda’s many talents. In addition to her acting
skills, she trained in the art of the classical dance form Bharatha Natyam for over 15
years and is renowned as a choreographer and performer of contemporary Indian
dance.
Before embarking on a full-time acting career, the multi-lingual Sharda also earned
degrees in Law, Media & Communications and French from the University of
Melbourne, and in 2010 was crowned „Miss India Australia‟. That same year,
Sharda won the 'Fresh Look' title at the Miss India Worldwide competition held in
Durban.
In late 2008, Sharda moved to Mumbai to pursue an acting career in Hindi Cinema.
Since that time, she has starred in several features, including the New York-based,
independent comedy/drama Walkaway and the Bollywood drama Dus Tola opposite
one of India‟s biggest box office stars, Manoj Bajpayee. During this time, Sharda
was also a recurring cast member of Anuvab Pal's theatre comedy, 1888 Dial India
and appeared in the romantic feature drama, My Name is Khan.
Sharda next joined the ensemble cast of the romantic movie comedy, Love
Breakups Zindagi, which enjoyed a worldwide release in late 2011 and prior to
joining the cast of KNOCKED FOR SIX! was the lead actress in Shruti & Vaibhabi
Merchant's international musical, the Taj Express.
SID MAKKAR (Tusshar Rai)
Sid Makkar is a Mumbai based film, television and theatre actor. He has appeared
in an array of projects in both leading and character driven roles. His first truly
international film, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, is a Fox Searchlight Film directed
by Oscar Nominee John Madden (Shakespeare in Love), Starring Dev Patel, Judi
Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson. Sid plays opposite Judi Dench, as
her employer who shows her purpose in life. The film grossed over $100 million
worldwide.
As a leading man, Sid can be seen in the Prakash Jha production, Turning 30
(2011), where he plays the love interest of Gul Panag's character. His previous films
Dus Tola with Manoj Bajpayee, Straight with Vinay Pathak and critically acclaimed
Bollywood film Luck by Chance with Farhan Akhtar are true examples of his love for
content driven films. His dedication to his craft won him a nomination for Best
Supporting Actor at the Sahara New Talent Awards in 2008.
As for theatre, having worked in a number of plays (Hindi and English) he garnered
the lead role in India’s critically and commercially successful musical, Zangoora
(named “The Biggest Bollywood Musical Ever”) directed by David Freeman (of
London’s West End Fame) and produced by Wizcraft. The musical continues its run
at the Kingdom of Dreams (Gurgaon, India) and plans to travel outside the country
in 2013.
MADELEINE WEST (Janine)
Madeleine West first came to prominence starring as „Dee‟ in Network Ten’s long
running series Neighbours, for which she received a Logie Award nomination for
Most Popular New Female Talent.
She has gone on to appear in City Homicide, Stingers, Last Man Standing, Canal
Road, Rescue: Special Ops, The Starter Wife with Debra Messing and the
telemovies Hercules and Big Reef. Most recently, she has been seen in Seven’s
Winners & Losers and series two of ABC‟s Lowdown.
Madeleine’s performance in Channel Nine’s critically acclaimed series Underbelly
earned her an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Drama, while
her leading role in Showtime’s Satisfaction earned her an ASTRA Award nomination
for Most Outstanding Performance by a Female and a Silver Logie nomination for
Most Outstanding Actress.
Her feature film credits include the Lionsgate’s thriller The Condemned, the
Australian comedy You and Your Stupid Mate and Nadia Tass’ drama, Matching
Jack.
CREW BIOGRAPHIES
OUR RUNS ON THE BOARD
BOYD HICKLIN (Director)
KNOCKED FOR SIX! marks Hicklin’s debut as a feature film director.
Melbourne-based Hicklin trained as a Graphic Designer before embarking upon a
successful career in advertising. His experience in this competitive field taught him
to juggle communications and creativity across all media forums.
In 2001, he journeyed to India with producer Nick Batzias and the original
Abbotsford Anglers Cricket Club to record their personal cricket odyssey, which
formed the basis for the successful documentary KNOCKED FOR SIX! which he
directed.
Upon his return to Australia, Hicklin forged a new career as a Director of television
commercials, with noted production company, Exit Films, creating countless
advertisements for an eclectic range of clients, ranging from Telstra to Dulux. During
this time, Hicklin also formed his own production/creative enterprise, Big Man Words
& Pictures, which was responsible for a number of successful and diverse projects,
including AFL Mascot Manor, a holistic, animated, children’s property, which Hicklin
wrote, designed and developed for the Australian Football League.
On the film-front, Hicklin created the pilot for Stumps, an animated, spin-off from the
KNOCKED FOR SIX! concept, funded by Film Victoria. He also focused on
developing long-form branded-content such as The Big Mazungo; a half-hour
documentary, which he wrote and directed, that delved into the motivations and
drive behind famed long-distance runner, Craig Mottram. Funded by Nike, The Big
Mazungo was distributed on DVD with 350,000 magazines throughout Australia.
In July 2007, Boyd joined forces with mainstream sports and sponsorship
consultancy Gemba and created a dynamic new business, turnstile4, a
communications company focused on brand-funded sports entertainment. It is
through this enterprise that Hicklin has produced and directed high-profile projects
with sports-related content, such as Peak ‟08 – The Road to Beijing; a broadcast
documentary for Seven Television Network, and two major theatrical exhibition
pieces for Melbourne Cricket Ground’s National Sports Museum.
KNOCKED FOR SIX! is the culmination of a long-term labor of love, and reflects
Hicklin’s passion for sport, travel, film and entertainment.
ROBYN KERSHAW (Producer)
Throughout her career, Kershaw has displayed an unerring ability to create and
champion productions that have struck a resounding chord with audiences.
Her first feature, Looking for Alibrandi,, directed by Kate Woods, with a cast led by
Anthony LaPaglia, Greta Scacchi and Pia Miranda, was a huge domestic hit,
grossing AUD$8.3 million and winning five AFI Awards. Her last feature, the life-
affirming Rachel Perkins directed musical Bran Nue Dae, starring Geoffrey Rush,
Ernie Dingo, Rocky McKenzie and Jessica Mauboy, also met with resounding
success. It took more than AUD$7.5 million and received a slew of prestigious
nominations and several awards, including Most Popular Feature Film at the iconic
Melbourne International Film Festival 2009 and the London Film Festival in 2010.
As Head of Drama and Narrative Comedy for the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation, Kershaw commissioned and executive produced over 150 hours of
award-winning drama and comedy series, including the International Emmynominated MDA (the first Drama Nominaiton for ABC) and Kath & Kim (series I, II
and III), the highest-rating sit comedy in Australian history, and the top-rating show
on ABC in 2002, 2003 and 2004. For SBS, Kershaw produced Bondi Banquet and
Effie: Just Quietly. Her experience also extends to the performing arts, where from
1989 to 1994 she held the position of General Manager for Sydney’s famous Belvoir
St Theatre, collaborating with Geoffrey Rush, Toni Collette, Catherine Martin, Barrie
Kosky and Neil Armfield, amongst others.
Kershaw has served on the Boards of the Australian Film Finance Corporation (now
Screen Australia), along with Screenwest, and is the founder and owner of RKP, a
film and television production company and RKPix, a company focused on transmedia.
NICK BATZIAS (Producer)
Melbourne-born Batzias has worked at the vanguard of Australian film distribution
for over 10 years.
Since 2003, Batzias has helmed the Licensing and Business Affairs Division of
Madman Entertainment, Australia’s foremost independent film and content
distribution company. During his tenure, he has overseen exploitation of film and TV
rights for over 400 features and documentaries, often from script development to
final cut. This experience has given him an invaluable insight regarding audience
tastes, and has led him to be a sought-after participant on film development panels
with organizations such as Screen Australia, South Australian Film Corporation,
Screen West and Melbourne International Film Festival.
It was whilst travelling throughout India in 1997 that this keen amateur cricketer
realized the sport’s immense, cross-cultural appeal, uniting, as it does, people from
diverse ethnic, religious and socio economic backgrounds. So Batzias and his fellow
cricket devotees, who all belonged to Melbourne’s Abbotsford Anglers Cricket Club,
made their dreams a reality by travelling to India to play against the locals. This
once-in-a-lifetime adventure was captured in the 2005 documentary KNOCKED
FOR SIX! which Batzias helped produce.
Since then Batzias has Executive Produced the theatrically released feature
documentary Not Quite Hollywood (Toronto 2009, MIFF 2009) and produced
several hours of television for the ABC. He now heads up the newly formed
Madman Production Company which has a broad slate of projects in development
and he still fancies himself as an all-rounder with the Abbotsford Anglers.
KNOCKED FOR SIX! is his first narrative feature film as producer.
MARK WAREHAM ACS (Director of Photography)
Wareham’s vision and talent behind the lens have earned him many accolades
throughout his career, including an Award of Distinction and Golden Tripod from the
Australian Cinematographer’s Society. He was also twice nominated for Best
Cinematography at the Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards. Most recently he was
honored with the Judge‟s Award at the 2011 Australian Cinematographer’s Society
(Qld Branch) for his work on the mini-series, Cloudstreet.
His body of work includes feature films, television movies, mini-series, commercials
and documentary, and ranges from projects as diverse as the stunning filmed opera
Eternity Man (dir: Julien Temple) to the award-winning television movie Scorched
and the Sundance Festival hit Clubland, which was directed by Cherie Nowlan and
starred Brenda Blethyn. Wareham’s additional feature film credits include Kings of
Mykonos, Boytown, The Extra, Crooked Business and The View from Greenhaven,
winner of the 2007 Project Greenlight Australia competition.
Tele-movie and mini-series credits include the Underbelly Files tele-movie, Tell
Them Lucifer Was Here, Panic at Rock Island, Wicked Love, A Model Daughter:
The Killing of Caroline Byrne, False Witness, Murder in the Outback: The Joanne
Lees Story, Answered by Fire, Small Claims: The Reunion, Little Oberon, The
Postcard Bandit, The DC Sniper and Dominick Dunne Presents: Murder in
Greenwich.
Wareham’s most recent credits also include the ABC TV series Redfern Now and
The Straits, the Fox 8 series, Slide, and the landmark 1920s era series, Underbelly:
Razor for Screentime and Nine Network.
PADDY REARDON (Production Designer)
A consummate professional, Reardon has lent his visual flair to many major
Australian features including Japanese Story, Horseplay, The Hard Word, Chopper,
Noise, Muriel’s Wedding, The Heartbreak Kid, Proof and The Big Steal, receiving
five AFI nominations for production design in the process. In 2007 Reardon won the
AFI Award for Outstanding Achievement in Television Screen Craft for his work on
Bastard Boys, Call Me Mum and The King.
Reardon’s television portfolio ranges from the tele-movie Call Me Mum, the
children’s shows Holly’s Heroes, Fergus McPhail, The Saddle Club and Horace and
Tina to the acclaimed drama Waiting at the Royal. Additional TV credits include The
Last of the Ryans, The Feds, One Way Ticket, Boys from the Bush, Carla Cametti
P.D., and The King: The Story of Graham Kennedy.
Reardon has also been in charge of Production Design for Nine Network’s
acclaimed Screentime produced Underbelly crime series, which to date includes
Underbelly, Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, Underbelly: The Golden Mile, the
Underbelly: Files, Underbelly: Razor and Underbelly: Badness.
TERRY RYAN (Costume Designer)
Ryan’s career spans three decades and stretches across film, television and
theatre.
His talent has been recognized via countless nominations and awards including an
Emmy Award nomination for costume design on the cult sci-fi series, Farscape and
four Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards, the most recent being for director Fred
Schepisi’s The Eye of the Storm.
Over the last few years, Ryan has worked his magic on feature films such as
Tomorrow When The War Began, In Her Skin, Knowing, directed by Alex Proyas
and starring Nicholas Cage, and Peter Jackson’s epic production of King Kong.
Prior to 2005 his credits ranged from Anaconda 2, Inspector Gadget 2, The Hard
Word, Chopper, Passion, A Little Bit of Soul and Paradise Road to Dating The
Enemy, Children of the Revolution, Muriel’s Wedding, Billy’s Holiday, Kangaroo,
Sirens, Fortress, High Tide and The Year of Living Dangerously.
Highlights of his television portfolio include the 2004 production, The Mystery of
Natalie Wood, the Australian miniseries The Road from Coorain and My Brother
Jack, along with the US tele-features Invincible, starring Billy Zane, and the ABC‟s
The Three Stooges.
Theatrically speaking, Ryan has designed costumes for Australian and New
Zealand tours of Jesus Christ Superstar, as well as The Temple, Three Sisters,
Romeo and Juliet, Harold in Italy and Midsummer Night‟s Dream for Sydney
Theatre Company. He has also worked with Griffin Theatre Company and Victorian
State Opera.
LEANNE COLE (Editor)
Leanne Cole is an award winning editor with a broad background covering feature
drama, feature documentary, short form drama and documentary, television, music
video and promotional work.
Cole‟s recent credits include the documentaries Rocket Compulsion, Something in
the Water and Y God – mY Generation, the short films George Jones and the Giant
Squid, Ambulance, The Key to the Mystic Halls of Time, and the feature drama,
Wasted on the Young for which she received an AFI nomination.
CORNEL THOMAS WILCZEK (Composer)
In his late teens, Cornel thought he was going to be an Aryuvedic doctor and
studied Aryuvedic Medicine, through the University of Pune. In his studies, he
realised he was more interested in music and with lectures about the healing
powers of Indian Classical music, Cornel went on a tangent and never came back.
Since completing his Masters of Sound Arts at Royal Melbourne Institute of
Technology’s School of Media Arts, Wilczek, who specializes in electronic music,
has recorded and toured internationally under the alias Qua.
As Qua, he has released albums through Mush Records (USA), Headz Records
(Japan), Surgery Records (Australia) and Someone Good (Australia). In addition to
his own compositions, Wilczek is also a sought-after producer, who has engineered
and produced music for many major artists including Wagons, World’s End Press,
and Clare Bowditch.
Music
When we first started thinking about using Bollywood songs in the film, our initial
digging though the hundreds and thousands and millions of tracks lead us to the
classics. Composers like RD Burman, Laxmikant and Pyarelal, and singers such as
Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi are literally household names to anyone that
knows anything about Bollywood. Who are we to pass on such incredible songs?
There is so much emotion and colour in these classic 60‟s, 70‟s and 80‟s tracks,
that it’s hard to not use these songs in a movie when you hear them. They are
crazy, passionate and wild. The more we looked, we found the home of the best
songs from this golden period to be the label Saregama. Working with Saregama
opened up the soundtrack to some of the most famous songs in Bollywood history.
These are not just good songs, these are famous and very well loved tracks – loved
by millions over decades in India.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CRICKET
Cricket’s been played for centuries. Nobody knows exactly when or how it started,
but one theory says it began as a children’s game in England during Saxon or
Norman times.
The first mention of cricket can be found in a 1598 English court case about a land
dispute in Guildford, Surrey. John Derrick, a 59-year-old man, testified that as a
child, half a century before, he and his friends played „creckett‟ on the land under
contention. A few years later, the first reference to adults playing the sport came
when two Sussex men were prosecuted for having indulged in a Sunday game of
cricket instead of going to church! In India today, where cricket is pretty much a
religion, you might find the opposite prosecution.
Cricket’s popularity grew throughout the 17th century. It was seen as a working-class
game at first, but the gentry got involved. They saw gambling opportunities (which
have come back into the sport today) and soon loved the sound of leather on willow
and cash in hand.
By the early 18th century, cricket had major clubs and professional players. The
original hockey stick-styled bat was re-designed to something resembling today’s
truncheons. And in 1760 the practice of „bowling‟ a ball, instead of „rolling‟ or
„skimming‟ it along the ground, was introduced. Then in the 19th century, „underarm‟ bowling was replaced – first by „round-arm‟ and then by „over-arm‟ bowling
(Australia’s Trevor Chappell famously reintroduced underarm bowling in 1981
against New Zealand and almost started a Trans-Tasman conflict).
Cricket spread throughout the British Empire and this historic game has long
embodied the British qualities of sportsmanship, healthy rivalry and camaraderie
amongst players, regardless of nationality. Today, with the rise of new short forms
of the game such as 20/20 cricket, the sport inspires the same passion and
excitement as ever, whether at international level or in the park.
In the modern era, India has become the financial centre of cricket globally, and
many would argue that whilst England is the home of cricket, India is the heart. In a
country of nearly 1.3 Billion people, with dozens of faiths, it does seem to the
outsider that cricket is the number one religion in India.
CRICKET GLOSSARY
Love it or hate it, cricket’s got more tradition than most international sports and a
range of terms that, for the uninitiated, make you feel extra uninitiated. So if cricket
is as baffling to you as learning Japanese by sign language underwater, this little
Pocket Dictionary should add to your confusion quite nicely:
Park Cricket
International cricket brings in big audiences and big dollars around the world,
especially in India. But „park cricket‟ is the game’s heart and soul.
Park cricket isn’t actually played in a park. It’s just an affectionate term for cricket
played at a lower level around the world in local competitions. The cricket you often
see isn’t of a standard much higher than a few kids in the park could play.
No one gets paid. Unless you call getting paid having a beer, getting away from „the
real world for a while, swinging the willow (that’s the bat) and hanging out with your
mates for a half a day with an excuse: „Sweetheart, we’re playing cricket.‟ So, yes,
these bonuses are, to some men, as good as getting paid.
Park cricket is often where men become boys again. It’s an escape for them, as
good as a holiday.
All’s fair in love and war and park cricket. You give it your best while you’re on the
ground, but your sense of humour must stay intact. And then you enjoy a few drinks,
egg and lettuce sandwiches and tall stories once the umpire calls stumps for the
day.
And wherever there’s park cricket you’ll hear the cry, Save you’re legs! You’ve hit a
boundary or a six, you’re a legend, and you don’t need to run because the score’s
already on the board. And no self-respecting park cricketer ever wants to run
between wickets to get his score. It’s too much effort and there is no glory in it. He
has to hit fours or sixes…and „save his legs‟.
Runs
Although this has a totally different meaning in India, a „run‟ is cricket’s scoring unit.
When each batsman runs to the other end of the wicket after a shot, a run is said to
have been scored. You might think that makes two, but it’s one. Score a hundred
runs and you’ve made a century, score a century of centuries and you’re Sachin
Tendulkar.
Boundary
The „boundary‟ is significant because it’s linked with the term „save your legs‟. The
boundary is the edge of the cricket field and it’s marked by a rope or a fence. If a
batsman hits the ball along the ground to the boundary, four runs are scored. In
other words, a „boundary‟. Hit the ball on the full over the boundary and you score
six runs. Either achievement can bring up the cry from your teammates waiting to
bat of „save your legs!‟ i.e. You won’t be needing your legs to make runs this time
because the score’s on the board.
Stumps
Also known as the wickets, stumps are at both ends of the pitch. There’s three of
them, about thigh-high, hammered upright into the ground and crowned by two little
pieces of wood called „bails‟. The batsman doesn’t want the bowler to knock the
stumps down with the ball or he’s out and has to head back to the pavilion (or the
deckchairs) in park cricket. At the end of the day’s play, the umpire calls „stumps‟,
flicks off the bails, and it’s time to go home. Or to the pub. „Til stumps.
Wickets
Just about the most confusing, multi-pronged term in cricket. Wickets are and can
be:
the stumps;
the pitch where the ball lands after being bowled;
what bowlers are said to capture when they get a batsman out.
So a bowler can be told off by the umpire for „running on the wicket‟, but he’s not
crashing into the stumps; a wicket can be said to be hard, i.e. the pitch is tough as
concrete, but it can also mean a particular batsman was difficult to get out.
To add to the confusion, put the word „wicket‟ with „partnership‟ and you’ve got the
amount of runs two batsmen made together in an innings. Our advice? Stay on a
good wicket and don’t worry too much about the word.
Protector/Box
The Protector, also known as „The Box‟ or „The Hector‟, is a small but vital piece of
equipment in every cricketer’s armory. The protector makes sure that park
cricketers can, when they’re careers are over, still become Dads.
Bowler
Also referring to a hat that has nothing to do with cricket, a „bowler‟ is a player who
specialises in bowling the ball. Bowling is not bowling like in ten-pin bowling or lawn
bowling, and despite the fact that the bowler bowls on a pitch, it’s not pitching like in
baseball.
(Still with us?) A bowler bowls the ball by running up to one set of wickets and
releasing the ball from over the shoulder, without throwing it (and machines can test
this!), towards the other end of the wicket where the batsman is standing in front of
the stumps waiting to belt the ball for six. Or, if you’re Teddy Brown, play a
defensive shot. A bowler’s job is to get batsmen out and/or stop batsman from
scoring runs. Any player in the team can bowl and, in India, most get a go because
it’s so hard to get a wicket. Bowlers can be broadly classified as fast, medium and
spin bowlers, but other terms abound, including: chuckers (bowlers who don’t bowl
properly); pie chuckers (bowlers who don’t bowl properly and are easy to score runs
against), and stock bowlers (bowlers who, like stock in a soup, form a foundation for
your attack, while spicier or meatier bowlers make a meal of the batsmen).
Batsman
A „batsman‟ refers to a player who specialises in batting. They are not „batters‟. As
every cricket fan knows, batter is found in a fish and chip shop. The batsman’s job is
to go out onto the ground and make runs. In a full innings, every player in the team
has to bat. So even if you’re a bowler, you’re still called a batsman when you’re out
in the middle, bat in hand, facing bowlers. Some of whom might be better known as
batsmen. If this definition hits you for six or bowls you over, you’ll have an idea of
your area of cricket specialisation. And an understanding of the next term.
All-rounder
Some players bat as well as they can bowl. They’re a rare breed. Highly valued.
They are known as „all-rounders‟. Some of the best all-rounders also excel as
fieldsmen, making them, like a singer, dancer and actor, a „triple threat‟. Many
members of the Anglers are, as the film’s conclusion demonstrates, triple threats.
But none are all-rounders.
The Number 3 Batsman
The Number 3 batsman is usually considered to be the best batsman in the team.
India’s Sachin Tendulkar, cricket’s highest Test cricket (the five-day version of the
game) run scorer, and Australia’s late Don Bradman, the batsman with the highest
ever Test run scoring average, were both number threes. This batsman must have
the technique to defend the best bowling and the flair to score freely. The Anglers‟
Teddy Brown should never bat here.