Hemant Brar writes these very interesting lines for espncricinfo about the record-breaking partnerships between Jonny Bairstow and David Warner for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL12 – 2019: “Just over 16 months ago, David Warner and Jonny Bairstow were in the cauldron of an Ashes battle. During the first Test at the Gabba, the stump mic picked up Warner telling Bairstow “you shouldn’t headbutt our mates” in response to Bairstow’s head contact with Cameron Bancroft at a pub in Perth. This verbal volley riled Bairstow up and he was dismissed soon after while attempting an uppercut. In the third Test at Perth, Bairstow celebrated reaching his century by headbutting his helmet.
Now in 2019, in another Ashes year, Bairstow walks out to open with Warner. What do they do? They break IPL records, by putting together three successive century stands” (and a fifty-plus match-winning stand in their fourth game in a tricky, tough-pitch chase versus Delhi Capitals in their home-ground). ICC Cricket quoted England’s ODI Captain Eion Morgan’s comments about the duo this way: “Morgan, the England limited-overs captain, wasn’t surprised by their association, and drew parallels with the incident in football between Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, when in the 2006 World Cup clash between England and Portugal, Ronaldo played his part in getting Rooney sent off, just weeks before they were to reunite as team-mates at Manchester United.”
The 185 run-stand they put up versus Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore is the highest ever opening stand in IPL History till date (5 April 2019). Brar writes, “Bairstow brought up his hundred off 52 balls (in that game), resulting in Warner embracing him in a hug.”
This pawing-each-other then but pouncing-on-prey-together now tale about Bairstow and Warner enthralled me. There was a time when Apostle Paul and Apostle Paul were at logger-heads with each other. Paul was not happy that Peter would not eat with non-Jews at all venues, but only at select-venues. He felt that was being hypocritical. But down the line, they seemed to have sorted their differences. Otherwise, Peter would not have equated Paul’s letters to God’s own word (2 Peter 3:16). Today we have both their Spirit-inspired books/letters in the same Bible. Paul authored atleast 13 New Testament books, while Peter wrote two books. Warren Wiersbe, a Bible Teacher whom I love, wrote, “Peter was a great man and perhaps the leading apostle; yet he gladly yielded to Paul – a newcomer and permitted him to carry on his ministry as the Lord led him.”
Have you had a misunderstanding with a brother/sister in the Lord? Do you realise that you both are in God’s army (unless your friend is part of a cult)? Would you reconcile with that person and join together with him/her so that you plunder hell and populate heaven? Do you realize the coming together of you both brings about an exponential multiplication of the effectiveness of the use of the unique talents you both have in the building of God’s kingdom? Little wonder the Bible says, “one can chase a thousand, but two can chose ten thousand” – not two thousand (Duet. 32:30).
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