Doug Bollinger

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DOUGLAS Erwin Bollinger never fails to amaze. Or amuse. Even at his brilliant best he can be his bumbling, but endearing, worst. More... Best of Doug Bollinger is great, worst is not too bad Peter Lalor The Australian March 22, 2010 Doug Bollinger holds the ball up after claiming 5-28 Source DOUGLAS Erwin Bollinger never fails to amaze. Or amuse. Even at his brilliant best he can be his bumbling, but endearing, worst. When a man gets his fifth wicket of an innings it's a proud moment. And none could be prouder than the boy from Baulkham Hills, in Sydney. He'd ripped the tail from the Kiwi first innings, bullied the batsmen into submission amidst a hail of abuse from a vocal Basin Reserve crowd. Bollinger picked up three wickets in a fiery morning session on the third day; the scalp of fellow paceman Brent Arnel was his fifth for the innings. A career-best 5-28 no less. Bollinger is a proud Australian and he decided to celebrate in a manner that has become popular of late, that is, by kissing the crest on his cricket shirt. He did just that, the only problem was he had gone for the right breast and not the left. In doing so he kissed the sponsor's emblem. Of course, he knows that beer tastes different to the national fauna and realising the error of his ways quickly kissed the crest on the other side. Anyone could have done it, it's just that more often than not that anyone is Doug. And unfortunately it was a very public moment. Everybody saw it happen. If it wasn't bad enough that the Kiwi crowd had been giving him lip all day, now even his supernumerary teammates were joining in from the boundary, sledging their own player and rolling about with laughter. Doug would be well advised to argue that it was no mistake at all, rather a cunning ploy to endear himself with the sponsor. Doug is the Homer Simpson of cricket, a laugh a minute. Fortunately he is unflappable and seems to enjoy his own mad moments as much as anyone else. It's an endearing quality and everybody knows Test cricket can do with a bit of slapstick. He fronted the media after the day's play with a plea, "no hard questions", and would not hold with a suggestion that he loves beer more than his country. "No, I hold my crest closer," he said seriously. "I do that just because I appreciate how much I love playing for Australia. It's very close to my heart." It should never be forgotten, however, that he is also a very good bowler. After his debut in the clear-the-decks Sydney Test against South Africa in 2008-09 he was pushed out of the side by the selector's judgment that Ben Hilfenhaus, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee were ahead of him, not necessarily in that order. Since then three of those four have broken down and Bollinger was recalled for the Australian summer against Pakistan and the West Indies. Bollinger has made the most of his second six Test stint. "I just made sure when I got my second game for Australia that I was just going to enjoy it and do what I'd been doing playing for NSW, just running around and enjoying it," he said. "That's the key for me. If I start thinking too much outside the square, I go a bit sideways. "I'm just really enjoying it and keeping everything simple." In his seven-game career Bollinger has taken 34 wicket at a little over 20 runs a wicket. It's a nice return in anyone's language and you only have to look at him to see what he brings to the team. Apart from laughter. Bollinger runs to the crease like a bull approaching the red cape. It must be one of the fastest run-ups in Test cricket and he never appears to waiver. "I'm playing for Australia," he says by way of explanation for his untiring effort. "I'm playing a sport that 90 per cent of Australians would want to do. I don't forget that and I don't take it for granted."