Kasper and Woody play the good hosts at Victoria get-together

By Rahul Banerji

Melbourne Park (formerly Flinders Park) and the MCG are some way from Delhi, but they came together at an event to celebrate the Australian state of Victoria’s sports partnerships with India recently.

Massive traffic jams delay our arrival at the venue, and the first sight to greet the eye is the towering figure of former Australia fast bowler Michael Kasprowicz.

Kasper, as the genial quick was better known as, is here to press the flesh and tell cricket stories as part of Victoria’s outreach in the sub-continent, and has an audience throughout the evening.

From the past

Off to one side is another familiar face. But it takes time for the penny to drop.

The last time I saw Todd Woodbridge was 25 years ago, when Australia were making mincemeat of Indian hopes in the Davis Cup semi-finals in Chandigarh.

His cheeky grin is as infectious as it was in 1993 and grows wider when he’s told we grew to hate it under the hot sun of the CLTA complex where the rubber was played.

“That’s a long time ago, mate,” one of the world’s most successful doubles players of all time says, smiling. “But it was a good match.”

The Woodies, as the combination of Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde were known, closed the match out after Neale Fraser’s Aussies had taken a a 2-0 lead in the singles on the first day.

After that, it didn’t really matter, even though India had played some heroic tennis to get that far, beating Switzerland and then France in the two previous knockout rounds.

But Woody is distraught at his inability to tune into Ryder Cup action in Paris. D Sports has promised live coverage, but fails to deliver on the first day.

He takes to Twitter to share his anguish, “I’m in Delhi #India trying desperately to watch @rydercup but local broadcaster @DSportINLive with tech issues 🤦‍♂️4 channels of cricket though!” tweets Woody, looking at the bright side.

Victoria’s Governor, the hon’ble Linda Dessau is present and does the rounds as the gracious host.

She’s keen to better links between her state and the massive Indian market and spends time with her guests asking knowledgeable questions and pressing Victoria’s case.

Also on show are the two singles champions’ trophies of the Australian Open, the Norman Brooks Challenge Cup for the men’s singles champion and the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup for the women;s singles winners.

Tour forecast

We ask Kasper about India’s upcoming Australia tour. Virat Kohli’s men have flattered to deceive in their two away series recently, in South Africa (1-2) and England (1-4).

“They (India) will have to show a little more application, won’t they?” he asks in return.

But Kasper is impressed with Kohli’s fast bowling attack.

“There’s some good variety there,” the comeback man of Aussie cricket observes. “Those boys made good use of conditions both in South Africa and England.

“Unfortunately the batting could not do the same.”

But ask him about golf, and Kasper ducks. “Mate,” he drawls. “I’d rather go and catch fish in the river with my bare hands than go looking for the ball in the rough, to tell you the truth.”

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