World Cup blog: Cricket warfare over breakfast

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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=477&objectid=10434809&ref=rss World Cup blog: Cricket warfare over breakfast Monique Devereux, former chief reporter at the Herald and now Christchurch correspondent for Radio New Zealand, is at the Cricket World Cup. She brings nzherald.co.nz regular news and views from the West Indies With all four teams staying at the same hotel in Grenada, breakfast is an interesting time. Yesterday, before their match, the Sri Lankans and Australians stood silently side by side as they lined up for their fried eggs over easy. Not a word was exchanged. Today, not a game day for Grenada, the breakfast room was like a United Nations meeting. A cross section of Sri Lankans, Australians, Kiwis and Irish players and team management all chowing down at the same time. And it was more relaxed than the day before. Adam Gilchrist and Brendon McCullum had a little chat about whatever it is wicketkeepers chat about. (Nyah nyah, my gloves are bigger than yours?) Ireland's Kevin O'Brien had a double helping of French toast. Tom Moody eats breakfast alone. Sanath Jayasuriya likes to eat a lot of fresh fruit. Andrew Symonds doesn't wear sunscreen on his lips at breakfast. I nearly didn't recognise him. I also couldn't quite identify the Irish player who was walking around the room oblivious to the long strand of toilet paper dangling out the back of his shorts. I wanted to help him but what do you say in a situation like that? One of his team mates finally assisted with the matter, 30 minutes of global sniggering later. It's apparently always like this with the teams, umpire Daryl Harper told me as we stood together at the toaster. Jovial and jokey lads, the lot of them apparently. I asked him if the players talk nicely to him and his fellow officials and he shook his head solemnly. "This is breakfast, it's very serious. Its hardly cricket." I think he was joking but I was careful not to take his toast, just in case.