cricinfo.com About cricinfoblogs
Blogs home
First Class, first person Blues Brothers Rob's Lobs Tour Diaries Pak Spin Girls Aloud
Beyond The Test World On The Circuit What's New The Surfer It Figures The IPL Buzz

Cricinfo Blogs Home

« To bowl-out or not to bowl-out? | England should score more than zero »

Dancing to the beat of Twenty20

Posted by Edward Craig on 09/16/2007 in ICC World Twenty20



The dancers keep the party atmosphere going at the Twenty20 © Getty Images

If you've failed to notice the dancing cheerleaders in the World Twenty20 so far, you haven't been watching. The colour, noise and party atmosphere of this event has been led by khaki-clad dancers throwing shapes and getting the crowd going every time a boundary is hit. At the Wanderers, they've been kept fit.

"We love Sri Lanka, they make us work," says Jazz, 28, a female dancer from Cape Town. Ian, 23, one of her podium partners, is not so sure. "When the weaker teams play it is better, we get a breather."

In fact, the Twenty20 workload came as a surprise. They knew they'd be dancing every boundary and every wicket, but they didn't think it'd be that busy. "The opening was a rude awakening because we didn't think there would be too many fours and sixes, then first ball and we were dancing," explains Ian.

"You have to get into the whole vibe of things, and have a party with everybody else otherwise the day seems to take forever," says Ian. Jazz loves her audience: "The crowd are really getting into it, they have started counting us in - they scream 5, 6, 7, 8 - and then we start jiving
- it's very cool."

But do they like cricket? They are all professional dancers, selected from over 150 applicants for this gig, the audition was all about dancing and less the sport. Ian admits that it never really struck a nerve before: "I knew about it and the rules but I didn't enjoy the game, now the Twenty20
series is much more exciting, you can watch more. I will definitely go now. I wouldn't watch a five-dayer that would bore me - a day-nighter would do me."

Jazz is a fan and seems to enjoy the daily free tickets: "It is more exciting when you are at the stadium. And we have to watch the cricket when we are working otherwise we don't know when to go up!"

"It is important it looks good. The Rugby World Cup opening this year was appalling, it was rubbish and it was a world event. We are hosting the 2010 football World Cup, it is important to give a good impression of South Africa and what we can organise," says Ian.

So they're going to be busy? "There's loads of work for us - it is Africa time now," shouts Jazz.

Contributors

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
Andrew McGlashan
Paul Coupar
John Stern
Dileep_Premachandran
Anand Vasu
George Binoy
Andrew Miller
Will Luke
Charlotte Edwards
Sidharth Monga
S Rajesh
Kumar Sangakkara
Edward Craig
Nagraj Gollapudi
Jenny Thompson
Isobel Joyce
Urooj Mumtaz
Cri-Zelda Brits
Lawrence Booth
Cricinfo

Categories
2007 World Cup Champions Trophy DLF Cup England Women in India England in Australia, 2006-07 England in India, 2005-06 England in New Zealand 2007-08 England in Sri Lanka, 2007-08 ICC Women's World Cup Qualifiers, 2007-08 ICC World Twenty20 India and South Africa in Ireland, 2007 India in Australia 2007-08 India in Bangladesh, 2007 India in England, 2007 India in Pakistan 2005-06 India in South Africa 2006-07 India in West Indies 2006 Indian Premier League Kumar Sangakkara diary Quadrangular series, Ireland, 2007 Sri Lanka tri-series 2006 Under-19 World Cup World Cricket League
Recent Posts
Hectic and surreal English interests Momentum is over-rated The aftermath of The Slap Indian Foreign Legion? Slapgate - the IPL's first controversy Warne, a pocketful of sunshine Storm in the cheering corner Random thoughts from the first leg Expect the unexpected
Archives
May 2008April 2008March 2008February 2008January 2008December 2007November 2007September 2007August 2007July 2007June 2007May 2007March 2007February 2007January 2007December 2006November 2006October 2006September 2006August 2006July 2006June 2006May 2006March 2006February 2006January 2006
cricket links
The Guardian The Daily Telegraph The Times The Independent The Age Sydney Morning Herald The Australian NZ Herald SuperSport BBC Rediff
Web Feeds
© Cricinfo 2007