US Customs drills holes in New Zealand cricketer's bat

[malaise]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/blogs/content/story/768237.html
<snip>
Jimmy Neesham, the New Zealand allrounder, has been left looking for a new bat after a brush with overzealous customs officials in the USA.

Neesham was travelling through the country between games for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League when his bat attracted the interest of customs officials. In a sure sign that cricket remains a mysterious and largely unknown sport in the USA, the officials feared that the bat could be used to transport illegal drugs so drilled several holes into it to enable closer inspection.


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This customs man must be Floridaman himself because there have been more than a few cricket bats passing through customs in Florida for matches played in that state.

[MineralMan]

1. That's just not cricket, I say!

More than a little over-zealous.

[malaise]

2. Perfect phrase for this unscheduled drill

[MineralMan]

3. It didn't look like that bat had a good innings, even.

Now the owner will have to pitch it.

[pinboy3niner]

5. He'll need to buy a new one, if he can swing it. nt

[riqster]

10. A sticky wicket.

[malaise]

11. Just wait for Piers Morgan's comment or is that

Pierce?

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

20. If they had only Googly-ed a cricket bat.

[msanthrope]

4. Ian Faith would have had a fit. nt

[malaise]

12. I'll say

This is seriously fugged up old chap!!

[msanthrope]

13. You know, in this topsy-turvy forum, having a good solid piece of wood.....nt

[malaise]

17. Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

hahahahhahahah

[frylock]

6. USA! USA! USA!

land of the fucking stupid.

[gratuitous]

8. And inordinately proud of it!

Damn we suck sometimes.

[badtoworse]

7. Maybe he could have it corked.

[Savannahmann]

9. Oh FFS

I heard someone say that Common Sense is such a rare thing these days it should be categorized as a super power.

Someone should let the Cricket Team know that our Airport security folks are so stupid that they were baffled by a Medal of Honor, the highest award for Heroism our nation has.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/airportmedal.asp

Power of Common Sense. With this super power I shall defeat the powers of stupidity. Question for the Customs assholes. Guys, were there joints or other signs that the Cricket Bat was not one solid piece of wood? No joints or things like that?

Take the customs official with the drill out and give him a job he might be able to manage without screwing it up. Crossing Guard for school kids seems like it might be possible, but he'd get confused. "Wave the cars and the kids at the same time."

[malaise]

15. Well to be honest the handle is attached to the blade

- a solid piece of wood. The moron drilled the blade

Rest assured Jimmy's drilled bat is going to rest in some museum and will be worth way more than it was before Floridaman demonstrated that he is devoid of common sense.

[hifiguy]

14. If US stupidity reserves could be converted

into energy we'd have enough for 100,000 years and warp drive would exist in two weeks.

[malaise]

16. Well to be fair, this is a first

to the best of my knowledge.

What's worse than the drilling is the fact that it is easier to head to Florida and come back down to St Kitts that flying between islands in the Caribbean.

[hifiguy]

18. Getting in to the US is pure Keystone Kops

overlaid with a bureaucracy designed by the Marx Brothers.

In July of last year I went to China to investigate a job opportunity. At immigration control in Pudong (Shanghai) Airport (one of the busiest international airports in China) I stood in line for about two minutes. At the counter I presented my passport. The woman behind the counter checked my Chinese visa, looked at the passport pic, looked at me and waved me through. Took about three minutes total. Same thing when I returned to China from Taipei.

Getting through immigration control back in the US took more than an hour and involved three separate lines in the Seattle airport. At least ten people looked at my US passport. And I am 6'1", with a light complexion and very generically German looking, as 80+ percent of my ancestry is German. Hail Fredonia!

[malaise]

19. Ten people looked at your passport?

WTF? Did they think you were Snowden?
The only really long lines I ever faced in the US was the year we stupidly decided to travel on Thanksgiving Day - in the afternoon. We couldn't do better because of work but that will never happen again.

[lpbk2713]

21. Jimmy's alibi had a lot of holes in it.

[malaise]

22. LOL

It sure does now

[KG]

23. T he latest act in the security kabuki theater