Pongo!

In defending the selection of Luke Wright earlier this week, KP said that Wright might be needed to 'give it some pongo at the death'. At first, I wasn't sure what he meant. However, having watched the game last night, it appears that 'pongo' is an abstract noun meaning, 'series of small shots followed by a wild heave'.

Here are just a few examples to illustrate the nature of pongo

Top Pongo

Flintoff's flat-footed lunge at Pollard's slower ball (the only kind Pollard bowled). The King of Pongo, Flintoff recently said that he considers himself a batsman who bowls. Good one Freddie!

Owais Shah exhibits a strutting, swaggering kind of pongo. A few prods and pokes had us waiting for the big one but not for too long. An audacious straight up in the air shot was caught by Dave Mohammed just fifty yards short of the boundary. Top Middlesex pongoing!

Matt Prior's a swashbuckling cricketer. A nautical roll out to the wicket, a few scrambled singles and the decks were cleared. Taylor bowled straight and true, Prior gave himself room and heave-ho, thar she blows!

Paul Collingwood. An unlikely pongo-ist, he impressed with a range of nudges before unleashing his only shot, a flat-batted heave over mid-wicket. Fortunately for his pongo-cred, it went straight to Sarwan! Nice one Colly!

The young pretender Luke Wright has honed his pongo for Sussex and MCC and last night showed us why he is regarded as the best young pongoist around. Five balls, one run and a nice big slog to long-on. That's pongo!

Not Pongo

Ian Bell contriving to outside edge the ball onto his leg stump was undoubtedly funny but it was not pongo. Better luck next time Belly!

The England captain was once a student at the prestigious Natal Academy of Dance. Last night, madame Pietersen wowed the Antiguan crowd with a delicate plie, followed by an immaculate pirouette and a lovely petit jete. The stumps were shattered, the audience in raptures. Top ballet. But not pongo.