Well, this has to be the joke of this century in the cricketing world but it is not. Shaun Tait actually quit! Quit cricket indefinitely, citing physical and emotional exhaustion. Oh! Bloody hell, I have been screaming my head off on this burnout which was on the cards time and again, in this site and in the blogging world. You can read about it here and in several other miscellaneous posts.

I knew there was too much of a euphoric madness surrounding him that looked to me one that was clearly stretching his physical and mental abilities. I could see that this kid didn’t look too bright in handling the mental aspects and was trying hard to meet the pressure around rather than shutting it out. I thought he was going the Ian Bishop way but hell! He didn’t outlast even Steve Harmison forget Ian Bishop. Bishop’s case was physical and Harmison was all mental. I thought Tait being an Aussie would outlast a Steve Harmison but jeez…. This is really sad.

This burnout did not come as a surprise to me at all but I am certainly surprised how quickly it all came through. He is only 24 and there is plenty of time for him to recuperate and come back. Hell! I cannot digest the fact to see a fast bowler with some promise go down. I love fast bowlers and was afraid that he was clearly loosing the plot… sadly it came true!

I wish him the best to take time off, shut off from the ridiculous pressure created by the media and his fans.

My biggest advice to him or his well wishers who are to guide him now is to make use of the opportunity of the Indian team while they are still there in Australia and talk to SACHIN TENDULKAR.

Yes, Sachin Tendulkar… because there is no sportsman in the world who has or faces as much pressure as this guy. Period! And he has handled it all so brilliantly well over 18… 18 loooong years! I strongly believe he may be able to give him some valuable advice.

When many came around telling that Shaun Tait is coming, be afraid, he is going to knock you out… I use to reply quite often ‘yeah! He knocked us out all right… knocked us out laughing!’ Sadly, this no longer is a laughing matter and is a sad day for cricket considering how few genuine fast bowlers are around.