A former Queensland Sub-Districts cricketer has spent the last few weeks publicly protesting the Indian Premier League.
Gavin Couchman (55) retired from the Morningside Magpies this season after 35 seasons, and has spent his free time complaining about the world’s biggest T20 franchise league.
Every morning, Gavin posts “Day X of NOT WATCHING the IPL!” on his Facebook page, which he plans to continue until the IPL is over.
When questioned about his posts, Gavin was strident. “The ONLY cricket that matters is played between two to five days, over four innings, in whites, and with a red ball! Anything less that than is a Mickey Mouse joke and may as well be baseball! There’s no skill, no pressure, it’s just money-hungry kids hitting sixes all night long. It’s a farce!”
But his former Magpies teammates think he’s being ridiculous.
“Gavin’s always hated T20 cricket. He refused to play in the Magpies’ T20 side a few years ago,” said his C grade teammate Peter. “He missed out because it was pretty fun.”
“You’d think it’d be easier to just ignore the IPL? Posting about not watching it only puts it in the spotlight,” said another C grade teammate Adam. “His posts actually reminded me it was on. I work nights and get home late, so I stick on a bit of IPL before I go to bed. I recognise a lot of the players and it’s not that bad to watch.”
The Gurgler presents stories of the Park Cricketer, where we explore the lower reaches of the great game of cricket from the suburban ovals and rural grounds across Australia.
