Double The Controversy At The Rays by Chris Golding <style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } --> </style> Ben Hornby. You'll find this name under the word “Controversy” in any English dictionary, such is the way that the man has lived his life. Being a larger than life character who has been known to overstep the mark at times, he's bounced back from any setback to show just how fine a player he is – a notable memory of this being the run in of Season 8, in which he returned to the Stingrays 1<sup>st</sup> XI after a ban in the Semi-Final and guided them to the title, allowing them to be the first team ever to take the Bannerman Shield in their inaugural season in Cricsim. But now, a new challenge faces Hornby; fatherhood. Many thought he was merely joking when he casually described his partner (who cannot be named for age-related legal reasons) was “knocked up” and that a Colesy Junior would be running around the Stingrays clubhouse before the beginning of 2011. With this club joke in place, there were speculation that it wasn't planned, he wasn't ready for fatherhood and other similar things. However, much to everyone's surprise, this was all planned. Hornby had decided he wanted a new challenge in life, that he wanted to step up, as many a man has done before him, and take his place in Fatherhood. Some joked that he'd dropped the “b” from his last name and simply used this all as a cover up...yet more controversy surrounding Hornby, but who's really surprised about that? The Stingrays would, at this point, like to formally congratulate Hornby on bringing Colesy Junior to the world; we all await eagerly, amidst wagers, to see if his first word truly will be “Kent” (clubhouse bookie's odds are at 3/1) and to see what the name will be. The Stingrays, being the family-orientated club, have attempted to help name the child, although so far attempts have been unsuccessful, but should Colesy Jnr. Turn out to be a brainbox, it's all but decided amongst members of the club that the child, whether male or female, should be named “Kelvin” in memory of their very own Asian Wicketkeeper-Batsman, Kelvin Fung. If, however, it turns out to be a dud, “Cole Slaw” will be chosen, sources close to the couple suggest. The next question will be whether or not fatherhood will catch up and affect Hornby's batting; something which has seen him rack up hundreds for the Stingrays regularly in season's gone by and crack the Top 10 batsman on Cricsim more recently? We've seen it affect other top class players, but does Hornby have the mindpower to combat it? Many argue that he hasn't got the mindpower to comprehend it in the first place, but we'll let that slide. Regardless of this, Season 10 is expected to be a big one for Hornby, both on and off the pitch, and we all await to see how it goes for him. Stay tuned as we expect to report back next week with an interview from the man himself, Ben Hornby, and his thoughts on his future and his child.
ADD ON - NEXT WEEK HORNBY WILL EXCLUSIVELY REVEAL THE NAME OF HIS CHILD (PRAYS HE HASN'T ALREADY DONE SO IN THREAD...)
FTR, I hadn't a clue why I'd been asked to write this before I posted it...then I saw the thread all about it
