My curry for Shoaib

	Shoaib Akhtar's fans have protested the five-year ban imposed on him by the Pakistan board © AFP Enlarge

Up in arms .. and chicken legs
As he contests his five-year ban, Shoaib Akhtar has found support not only from the likes of the Pakistan prime minister, and IPL's Kolkata franchise owner Shahrukh Khan, but also curry-house goers in Southall, London. About 100 members of the British Pakistani community - "everyone who is important in the Pakistani cricket fraternity in England," as a spokesman put it - decided to meet at Chaudhry's Tandoori Kebab Centre to protest the ban against Shoaib. For 30 years Chaudhry's has served members of various Pakistan sides that have toured England.

"The penalty really does not fit the crime. Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif can be forgiven after criticising the Pakistani government, but Shoaib, who has some of the best Test statistics by any fast bowler, is not forgiven," said Dalawar Chaudhry, the curry-house owner. "It is very harsh when you consider that far more sacrilegious crimes, such as match-fixing, get lesser penalties."

All very well, but did the protestors go for butter chicken or chicken tikka masala at the end of the meeting?

Parental advisory
Indian actor Mithun Chakraborty recently bought a stake in the ICL team Kolkata Tigers, and in the same vein last week, Pakistan actor Moammar Rana became a stakeholder in the Lahore Badshahs side. Moammar, who will endorse and promote the side in both India and Pakistan, said: "I am delighted to be associated with ICL. As a cricketer and keen observer of the game, especially with my family's background in cricket, I am delighted to see the Lahore Badshahs perform so well and entertain millions of cricket fans." As it happens, though, his father, Shafqat Rana, is a Pakistan national selector, and considering that the various country boards hardly get along with the ICL, it is quite possible Moammar's association with the ICL will not make daddy proud.

R-rated
Another celebrity associated with the ICL is less happy. Celina Jaitley, an Indian actress, accused Pakistani cricketers of "making cheap remarks" about her during an ICL match in Delhi. Jaitley, who was at the game to perform as part of the pre-show, said some of the remarks were in "really bad taste". "I didn't expect this from cricketers ... the comments came out of the blue," she said. "It was an unfortunate incident," Jaitley said. "Maybe it happened to me because I am an actress. I am trying to forget everything now." Jaitley said she didn't recognise any of the cricketers because security officers were surrounding her. It is reported that some of the less offensive remarks included, "Move her away, she is spoiling the mood of the entire match," and "Why does she need such heavy security? Is she Osama Bin Laden?"

	From Central Park to Luna Park: Michael Clarke and Lara Bingle © Getty Images Enlarge

Party of the week
Propose in New York and party in Sydney: our wedding tip of the week. After slipping the ring on girlfriend Lara Bingle's finger in Central Park last week, Michael Clarke arranged for an engagement party at Luna Park, a historical amusement park on the north shore of Sydney harbour. Ricky Ponting, with wife Rianna, Brett Lee, and Michael Slater were among the 300 guests present to toast the couple.

Bangers v GB
Somerset are organising a Marcus Trescothick benefit baseball game this October. 'Trescothick's Bangers' will take on a baseball team that will include several high-profile baseball players from Britain and USA. Trescothick's side has some big names as well, with Geraint Jones, Alec Stewart, Graeme Hick, Robert Croft and Simon Jones set to play on the diamond.

Fruity challenge
Northamptonshire cricketers have collaborated with the Waste Recycle Group to promote healthy living among school kids by running a challenge that involves growing the biggest strawberry. Players handed free seeds to children from over 60 schools. "We will be promoting sustainability from junior summer coaching clinics and schools coaching sessions all the way through to the senior Steelbacks set up, where they will be looking at the ways of disposing waste created by the club," said batsman David Sales.

Quotehanger
"It's silly to think that you're losing up to a million [dollars] over six weeks."
Kevin Pietersen, who had previously declared he didn't want the IPL's money, is now in a sulk about English players missing the tournament