It seems there’s more public interest in Australian cricketers wearing yellow helmets than there is in the actual cricket about to be played between our nation and New Zealand in a three-match One Day International series commencing tomorrow. The vast majority of the promotion for the oddly timed Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series has centred around the return of “yellow lids” for our team’s batsmen, not the fact that two of the three games will be played in Sydney, nor the fact that cricket season is notionally over.
Despite seemingly ignoring the fact that the series will be between two of the world’s best ODI teams, the enthusiastic “yellow lids” campaign seems to have been a success, heavily tapping into the keen sense of nostalgia that seems to envelop most cricket lovers. Once such fan, Simon O’Connell, told The Watsonia Bugle, “We all know ODI cricket is pretty much dead. I mean, the World Cup breathes a bit of life into it every four years, but apart from that nobody really gives a stuff. But throw a bit of old school kit at me and I’m all yours. I might even watch a bit tomorrow night. Yellow lids, mate. Mark Waugh in his prime, Gilly teeing off at the top of the order, and a young ‘Punter’ Ponting hooking and pulling anything shorter than hip height. You beauty.”
And the nostalgia factor has been further amplified with the Aussie uniform chosen for the series – the national team to be decked out in a replica uniform from the triumphant 1999 World Cup campaign. O’Connell was equally excited by this choice, saying “The ‘99 World Cup was the ultimate mate. Tugga on the slog sweep, Warnie getting it done, so good. I’m pumped as. Might even pop down for a net tonight after work.”
The Watsonia Bugle 