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No cricket? Time to sharpen up on poker

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Oliver Brett | 15:33 UK time, Saturday, 1 August 2009

Ever wondered how Shane Warne got into poker? Well the now professional card player and part-time commentator recently described the game (poker, not cricket) as a "lifelong" hobby.

And one can be fairly certain that the Australian Test legend learnt much about bluffing, folding, holding and raising during the long rain delays he had to fill during tours of England - and anywhere else in the world where the weather held sway during his 145-Test career.

Interestingly, it has now emerged that the current England team enjoy a bit of five-card stud and Texas Hold 'Em when the covers are stretched across the outfield - as they were for the entirety of a frustrating third day at the Edgbaston Test.

Warne, now nearly 40, was captain of Hampshire until the summer of 2007 - and seems to have developed a little card school there.

"Yeah we play poker in the Hampshire dressing room sometimes," former England all-rounder Dominic Cork told me. "Obviously we don't gamble, it's not for money, just matchsticks."

Would you play poker against him?

That latter observation will settle the nerves of the Professional Cricketers' Association, who have a dedicated telephone helpline to assist players with addictions - and gambling, albeit of the online variety - is one of their biggest concerns.

But not everybody sits around a table dreaming of a royal straight flush. Cork's BBC Radio 5 Live colleague Jason Gillespie recollects: "I used to just read the paper, and in the UK it was usually The Times. I liked to read about what was going on in the world first, then the sports pages.

"It was either that or get treatment, or just have a stretch and keep yourself loose, especially if we were bowling. Sometimes you don't mind rain, you just have a laugh with the boys. A lot of guys just sit around talking."

Cork says some people like catching up on their sleep, while others - especially if they might have to bat when the rain relents - keep their batting technique honed with visits to the indoor nets.

They know that the predictable bounce of the indoor nets is very different from what you will face on a damp wicket - especially if James Anderson has the ball - but, as Cork says, "some people just like to get bat on ball".

Bowlers tend to steer clear of the indoor nets - especially the faster ones who cannot bowl off their full run-up. But with a busy international schedule leaving little room for practice in between games, it's a good time for the batsmen to hone their skills.

Cork sees rain delays as a longer extension of the natural breaks that cricket affords players between deliveries.

"International cricketers are able to switch on and switch off through periods of playing, so it's the same as when you get interruptions for bad light and rain - you have to be able to switch on and switch off.

"Perhaps England were guilty on that first afternoon here, when they eventually came out, of not being switched on. You have to be able to come out and bowl as they did on Friday. But they certainly put it right on the second day.

"Michael Atherton was a big believer in being able to switch on [when the bowler was at the start of his run-up] and switch off for 10 seconds [after he had played each delivery]. The rain delays are just a longer period of time of that - and you have to get used to it."

So what do batsmen talk about at the end of each over? Cork explains: "You might say 'great shot - well played'. Or you might say 'make sure you're positive in what you are going to do' or 'be careful - remember he can swing it both ways'.

"Some days you have to talk about something other than cricket, whether it's 'oh what a great atmosphere out here' or 'what are you eating tonight?' You have to be able to not be too intense."

Saturday was a sad day for the sell-out crowd of 21,000 at Edgbaston, many of whom had come togged out for the occasion in some imaginative fancy dress.

A trio wearing the red and yellow of Spain with the words "El Rey de Espana" on their backs were paying tribute to former local hero Ashley Giles. The joke is that Warwickshire once ordered a consignment of mugs for the club shop which were supposed to say "The King of Spin". The company making the mugs added an erroneous vowel and the "King of Spain" nickname stuck.

Our Spanish trio on Saturday each held a card, one showing "cuatro" (four), another "seis" (six), and the third "fuera" (out). Actually, the last one should have said something like "despedido" (dismissed), because "fuera", strictly speaking, means "outside" or "outdoors".

Saturday in Birmingham was no place to be outdoors.

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After the solemn realisation at the age of 12 that I might not be good enough to play cricket for England I decided that the next best thing, writing about cricket, would have to suffice as a career. That's what I've been doing for the BBC Sport website since 2001, in which time the sport has changed immensely. You can also follow me on Twitter.

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