Here at Food24 we will make it our mission, for the duration of the tournament, to eat along with the Cricket World Cup.
The pitch
You’ll have to start with an inspection of the pitch. The pitch being the sofa your man will be call home from the 11th of March to the 28th of April. Since we are doing things island style we think that you should make the cooking island in your kitchen your own little Caribbean haven.
Put on some reggae music and remember ‘I’m gonna be Iron like a Lion in Zion ‘ during the Cricket World Cup. There will be no parading in front of the television in sexy underwear or stealing the remote control to get your partner’s attention. Instead if you can’t beat them, join them, so we’ll give you all the tools to keep your man coming back for more while also impressing him with your cricket knowledge.
Opening Order (that’s the first two guys walking out to bat)
In South Africa we are accustomed to Graeme Smith not having a lot of staying power in the opening order. No wonder poor Minki found a greener pitch. So we recommend a hat trick of snacks to increase your strike rate for attention.
Start off with Gizzada, (cheese and coconut tart straight from the land of Bob Marley and his 20 off-springs). This will set the pace, then add something a bit more traditional like nachos and a farmer’s platter, just to keep him guessing. Your aim is to avoid a maiden over (an over where no runs were scored).
A run, in food terms, is a hand reaching for a juicy tapas morsel while a medium smile from your loving partner as he stuffs his mouth with another tasty morsel is a four and a six… well, you can work that one out for yourself.
Chances are pretty good your spare bedroom will turn into the local beer depot for the duration of the tournament.
If you find cricket a rather strange game with guys running around with sticks in colourful shirts while rubbing a red ball in all kinds of odd places, we suggest you look into our rum cocktails on our website. Rum is, after all, the national drink of the Caribbean so at least you’ll be supportive in spirit.
Middle order
In the middle order, you have to show that you mean business, so we recommend something that will hook your partner with a punchy wide, pitching it just a bit short. Traditional Caribbean dishes include Water goat stew, fly fish (yes that is a fish that can fly), pigeon peas and a variety of stews. Since the goat section at your local butcher might be empty and a flying fish can be tricky to catch, we recommend the pepper pot, a succulent stew of beef, pork, dumplings, spices and vegetables such as okra all the way from Antigua.
Note: Do a couple of dry runs before the tournament starts just to make sure that your running between the wickets (that’s between the kitchen and television) is first rate. To avoid any groin injuries on this arduous journey keep your eye firmly on the wickets and avoid the cheeky sweepers… pesky phone calls, children or furniture that might get in the way.
Tail end
Cricket is a limited overs game, which means you have a specific amount of balls bowled by each team… so you’ll have to finish the meal with a couple of ‘bowls’ to spare. So we suggest a sneaky yorker for a dessert. No, a Yorker has nothing to do with Yorkshire or pudding, it’s a very fast ball a la Alan Donald; in food terms something that will take the last wicket decisively with balls to spare. A decadent Jamaican chocolate cake would seal the deal.
Follow the cricket starting this Sunday.
Image:AFP