Rahul Dravid ...

[kna]

An excellent speech by Dravid at the Sir Donald Bradman Oration in Canberra, Australia on December 14th.

It is long, but very thoughtful, passionate, insightful, from the heart, with some humour and some history lessons thrown in.

Makes me proud to be a Dravid fan. I hope he gets into some administrative role in international (not just Indian) cricket when he retires.

I think it is required reading for every cricket fan (and maybe some non-cricket fans like Jay too ).

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/ ... 45355.html

[prasen9]

Jay is a closet fan.

[suresh]

Jay is a closet fan.

LOL! Jay MUST read it. I think I will include it as a reading assignment in my course next semester

[jayakris]

Boring as all hell, just like Dravid is. Quite precisely and painstakingly crafted, just like an innings from him. You have to wait and wait for that boundary to come, you nearly fall asleep and sit up when you hear somebody shout "four".... I was about to totally doze off when that baked bean joke came.... Otherwise, the speech goes all over the place, albeit without mistakes that can be caught for an out... And it goes on, slowly and seemingly often pointlessly, but managing nonetheless to do the job in the end, just like a Dravid innings. Long and carefully done in a productive and thoughtful way, with nothing spectacular shining through, though compelling enough for one to applaud in the end. Just the quintessential Dravid, I guess... Jay

[prasen9]

See, Jay read the whole article before I did. So, who is the real fan?

[kujo]

needed 3 different sittings to finish reading the borration (boring oration).

It was like a typical Dravid's innings in a ODI (not Tests, not T20s). Oh wait, isn't that the cricket format that was most criticized for a lack of context by Dravid?! Oh well, my point exactly....

[Atithee]

I think there is a difference in reading vs. being in the room. My feeling is that the audience was more rapt than the readers of the transcript are. It's hard to find people who can actually speak well now a days. Boring as it might be, I think it is a beautiful speech for the occasion, venue, and timing. While I do not agree with Dravid's defence of BCCI etc., I think his stand for India is worth an applause.

[kujo]

Yes, I do agree that reading vs hearing are two different things. It had valid points, historical and current references, insights etc. It was a good, boring, but good speech. lack of flow, meandering about is what made it boring....

Here is something that is as good, while reading (keeps up the attention of audience), as while hearing it....
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/201 ... nt-address

[Atithee]

Kujo, thanks for the link. I agree that this transcript is easier to read. What I'm not sure about is whether Dravid had a clear topic to talk about and if there were, if he understood the topic. Steve was speaking on a very defined topic to a very specific audience. Dravid had to cover a lot of ground and a diverse audience in a war memorial as an ambassador of a nation talking about cricket. Very different and much harder.

More on what the Sir Donald Bradman Oration is about:

http://cricket.com.au/sir-don

I will read Ricky Ponting's speech transcript to compare.

[PKBasu]

Beautiful, beautiful speech. Loved the references to history "...before we were competitors, we were comrades" -- remembering the battles of Gallipolli, El Alamein, Singapore (all but one, the middle one, being heroic defeats...). Far from being the stodgy innings of Dravid when he is out of form (and living up merely to the appellation of Wall), this had all the elan and class of Dravid at his pristine best (a la 2001, 2004-07 and 2011). Marvellous!

[prasen9]

Dravid is perhaps the last person to ruffle some feathers. But, I find the glorification of wars quite stupid. I have mixed feelings about Sehwag's batting especially in ODIs and T20s, but, maybe he should be the person invited and then get in and say it as it is. Murdering and killing a bunch of people should not be glorified in order to perpetuate support for future wars. I support only wars of independence. Gallipoli was more about power and land. Deplorable. I hope someone has the courage to say it aloud at their face.

[Sandeep]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr4bK63WxXY

Here is the video of the speech. A wonderful speech but as Jay mentioned the spontaneity was missing except for the comment on Shane Warne . But I liked the way he talked about Indian cricketers and the work they have to put in compared to their peers to be successful. I also like the way he spoke about the importance of fans at the end.

It is high time that the organizers realize that an entertaining atmosphere has to be created if cricket has to be taken to the next level. Fans can't be taken for granted anymore! To start with India should concentrate on better facilities and infrastructure at the ground. I hope they do it soon or else it will not be many years before a private league in some other sport becomes more popular than cricket!

[jayakris]

He delivered that speech quite well. His diction is fine and the speed of delivery was good too. Yes it's boring, but probably not so badly as to put the people in front to sleep. Jay

[PKBasu]

Dravid is perhaps the last person to ruffle some feathers. But, I find the glorification of wars quite stupid. I have mixed feelings about Sehwag's batting especially in ODIs and T20s, but, maybe he should be the person invited and then get in and say it as it is. Murdering and killing a bunch of people should not be glorified in order to perpetuate support for future wars. I support only wars of independence. Gallipoli was more about power and land. Deplorable. I hope someone has the courage to say it aloud at their face.

Gallipolli was indeed a disgrace, as were the other wars in which our soldiers (especially Gorkhas and Sikhs) were comrades of the Australians. But the point was that we were a slave nation then -- under British occupation. As was Australia, although the circumstances were a bit different for them (most of their ancestors having arrived there as "convicts" or other "undesirables" in British eyes, including being outspoken Irish or Welsh nationalists). Soldiers everywhere typically join armies because it is the only (or one of the better) occupation(s) open to them. The foot-soldier is often caught up in war with scant other options available in life. Commemorating their sacrifices are what war memorials are about -- not necessarily support for wars in general (or for a particular war).

Gallipolli and Singapore should both have ended Churchill's career: they were two of his greatest blunders. Being the writer of his own history, he remained teflon-coated, with debacles rarely holding down his personal career for very long.

[PKBasu]

There are reports in the Aussie press today (just before the SCG test) saying that Aus players "lost respect for Tendulkar after Monkeygate" (the ludicrous episode concocted by Australia to cheat their way to victory at the SCG four years ago). Asking Dravid to do the Bradman Oration was probably meant as a slap on the face for Sachin. Pathetic Aussies!