Published: Jan 27, 2015, 09:08 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 03, 2015, 01:32 PM (IST)
The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer by Philip Carlo spent a few weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list. The book deals with the real life of Richard Kuklinski, who led a double life of a mob hitman and a family man. Kuklinski became the most notorious professional assassin in America, while a part of him happily hosted barbecues for friends and neighbours in suburban New Jersey. Kuklinski was given the nickname “Iceman” for his method of freezing a victim to mask the time of death. It later became a feature film in 2013, with James Franco starring in it.
Well, Stephen Waugh has nothing to do with all of this. Waugh, we believe, is the perfect subject for any book that’s titled ‘Ice man.’ In fact, he too shares the same nickname with Kuklinski — obviously for all the good reasons. His calm performances in the 1987 World Cup earned him the sobriquet.
Waugh’s batting wasn’t a treat to the eyes like his twin Mark’s, but he was gritty and highly effective, making it count when the chips were down. Later, as a captain, he won the World Cup in 1999 and led Australia to several memorable triumphs. It was his hundred against South Africa in the Super Six that saw Australia qualify to the semi-final. He had the impeccable ability to keep calm and absorb extreme pressure and yet pave paths for his team. Yes, he could be called a ‘silent killer.’
The Ice Man: Confessions of a Silent Killer on the Cricketing Fields is a fitting title to a book that should be written by Waugh, with the foreword written by none other than his one-time much disliked opponent Sourav Ganguly!
Please note this is a humour article — work of pure fiction
