What happens when you become a cricket 'meme’

What happens when you become a cricket 'meme’

Rich Clarke
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Sarim Akhtar always laughs at being labelled “the angry face of cricket”.

It is just over two years since, somewhat reluctantly, he drove three hours down to Taunton to see his country play Australia in the World Cup. Within 36 overs, David Warner had thumped 103 as his country moved to a daunting 235-3. Then, to add to the problem, Asif Ali spilt the opener at third man, just in front of where Akhtar was sitting.

“It was a dolly catch,” he said. “The second one we had dropped off Warner and we were already facing something like 350. I was angry but I had it in the back of my mind that I should not say anything as he had had a loss in his family just before the tournament. I put my hands on my hips like Ali [after he dropped it] and we were only a few metres away from each other so the television cameras could move just a little bit from him to focus on me.”

That’s when Akhtar’s silent, stony glare started something.

Memes were already flooding onto social media by the time he was interviewed in the stands by television presenter Zainab Abbas an hour after the drop. Crucially, they put his name in the caption. That night, he had to mute his phone as it ‘pinged’ every few seconds as thousands of new friend requests poured in.

Until then, Akhtar was not a social media devotee and had never created ‘a meme’. The dictionary defines this as “an image, video, piece of text, typically humorous in nature, copied and spread rapidly by internet users, often with slight variations”. Unknown to him, Akhtar was set to become one of the most famous examples, used to illustrate any situation where a cold, angry stare was the required response. For some reason, the meme has become the face of dissent against the Italian government. It is popular in the US and Asia too. It is impossible to know how many times his face has been seen but it should be counted in hundreds of millions by now.

“People tell me it is relatable,” said Akhtar. “I am expressing what I am feeling without words. But the one thing people always say to me is ‘thank you for making me laugh’.”

He donned his checked shirt and gilet again last year to front the Pakistan Cricket Board’s social media campaign for their Test Series in England. He also did an advertisement for Coca-Cola back in Pakistan. Apart from that, his only financial gain has been a few pounds from a man who wanted Akhtar’s face on his credit card. “He told me: 'your disappointed face will stop me using it too often’.”

“I still get recognised in Pakistani or Indian circles and often get asked for a selfie,” said Akhtar. “But it is really all virtual fame. A couple of weeks ago the ICC social media account congratulated me on the second anniversary of that moment. That is keeping all this alive but, honestly, social media is a world of its own.”

* Follow Sarim on Twitter
* This article first appeared in The Cricket Paper, get it every Sunday or subscribe here

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