Struggling to cope in a world without any sporting action? Fear not. In our latest series, we put together a list of videos you can watch right now to fill that adrenaline pumping again. This week's picks feature Bobby Fischer, Michael Laudrup and some classic Inzamam-ul-Haq.
Inzamam-ul-Haq and running between the wickets
For this week's recommendation, some classic cricket comedy gold thanks to Rob Moore, and to set it up, the words from a former colleague at ESPN STAR who heard this straight from Wasim Akram, when the recently retired Akram had just started off as a broadcast expert.
"Wasim once told us about a particular incident. It was the last ball of the penultimate over, with Inzi [Inzamam-ul-Haq] on strike and Wasim, who had just walked in, at the non-striker's end. Wasim went across and told Inzi that since there was a fast bowler operating, and that even if Inzi missed the ball they would run the single so that Inzi would remain on strike. The ball was bowled, Inzi took a huge swipe, duly missed and Wasim somehow scrambled and finally dived into the batting crease. He looked up to see Inzi standing beside him with a puzzled look on his face, saying, 'Wasim bhai - aap yahan (brother, what brings you here)?'"
Inzamam would go down as one of the greatest Pakistan batsmen of all time. However, his running between the wickets left much to be desired. Though I doubt he could have done much about the first dismissal in this compilation. - Debayan Sen
Bobby Fischer against the world
The documentary 'Bobby Fischer against the world' attempts to string a narrative around the gawky teenager from Brooklyn turning into a feared player, one of the world's brightest minds, chess's petulant rock star who later crumbled into a delusional paranoiac.
It has snatches of his interviews, sitting on a park bench, visibly uncomfortable when asked about his family, footage of him working out in hotel rooms 'the size of a chessboard' we're told, holding his breath underwater for a photo shoot and his storied 1972 match against Russia's Boris Spassky, a Cold War flashpoint. It took a persuasive call from Henry Kissinger to finally have him agree to play.
Match videos - of Fischer, his left hand tucked into the front pocket of his trouser, ambling in six minutes late for the first game to deafening applause, picking up the black king's knight, placing it on f6 and turning around to look at the camera behind him, are interspersed with interviews with his former aides. We see him later, scraggly beard, unkempt hair, cap pulled over face, looking every bit a homeless bum. He was a man of contradictions - born in America to Jewish parents, Fischer held anti-Semitic views and even praised the 9/11 attacks. Chess in many ways kept this eccentric, brilliant genius sane. Without it, his life rapidly spiraled out of control. It was perhaps, more accurately, Bobby Fischer against himself. - Susan Ninan
Touch of class
Football compilations aren't in short supply on the internet, but it's perhaps fair to say most of them leave a lot to be desired, with their flashy editing, loud song choices, click-bait titles and misleading thumbnails; those expecting fireworks from videos titled "The day Ronaldo DESTROYED Messi" are likely to be disappointed.
There is, however, one clip, buried away in a quiet corner of the interwebz, that is likely to unite both Real Madrid as well as Barcelona fans. And general football lovers. Maybe even the non-lovers.
Simply titled "The Very Best of Michael Laudrup (Rare footage)", the 14-minute compilation serves as a timely reminder of why the Danish midfielder was one of the most sought after footballers in the world during the 90s.
Set to Maybeshewill's "He films the clouds", the clip begins with a lanky Laudrup leaving defender after defender for dead with the simplest trick in the book, shifting the ball to the inside of his standing foot and releasing it back outside, all in one movement.
By minute 10, he is just showing off, finding team-mates with the outside of his foot, puling off inconceivable reverse passes and scoops.
For an added bonus, the clip even provides a glimpse of his goal-scoring prowess, particularly his penchant for chipping keepers from a distance.
There are no rabonas. No rainbows. No roulettes. No elaborate body-feints and mazy dribbles. Just a master midfielder in total command of his craft. They don't make 'em like those anymore. - Anuj Vignesh
The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young
There are the most brutal, difficult ultramarathons in the world, races that might make one shudder to even think about, let alone actually run. And then there's the Barkley Marathon, a 100-mile suffer-fest in the hills of Tennessee that is arguably the hardest race in the world. It is the brainchild of Gary "Lazarus Lake" Cantrell, who devised the race after being uninspired by the fact that James Earl Ray, who assassinated Martin Luther King Jr., only made it eight miles through the backwoods before being caught, after escaping from a nearby penitentiary in 1977. Some of the highlights of this unique race: It has no website - mailing in an application and a $1.60 registration fee is all it takes to enter. Participants are also required to 'pay' another fee, in the form of an item of clothing of Cantrell's choice. The field is limited to 40 and those that are entered receive a letter of condolence.
The course consists of five 20-mile loops, each of which must be completed in 12 hours. The first two must be run clockwise, the next two counterclockwise and the last can be in either direction. There is no GPS or course markings. Runners must collect pages from books placed around the woods as proof of having completed a loop without cheating. If they do complete even one, that is. (Another) fun fact: Three loops of the course is called the 'Fun Run'. - Manoj Bhagavatula
Indonesia's football fever
Football, fanaticism, violence. This Al Jazeera documentary is an eye-opening introduction to the incredible fan culture of Indonesian football where celebration and catastrophe are never far separated. As a fan says in the video, "everyone wants to watch the game, but then you see the enemy and then you fight."
We see this culture up-close, with the filmmaker following one of Indonesia's fiercest ultras -- "Jakmania", fans of Jakarta's only club, Persija Jakarta. The league gets suspended, some clubs have their fans banned, fights break out all the time, the police are rarely in control, and the shadow of tragedy is never too far away. And yet, what shines through at the end is the joy that football brings to people. - Anirudh Menon