Shots of the Week - September 11-18
The furrowed brows of Sachin's victims
The waiting is over: Andrew Flintoff was finally named as captain for the Ashes and, at the press conference, was as relaxed as he appears here in a rarely-published photo shoot•Getty Images
Perhaps inevitably, Sachin Tendulkar marked his comeback from injury with a quite blistering 141. Although, as this picture demonstrates, even the masters are made to work for their runs.•Saeed Khan/AFP
It could almost be the 1970s, as Phil Jaques is struck a nasty blow on his arm by some old-fashioned West Indian fire•AFP
And the ever-simmering Ashes fever continued this week with Marstons, an English brewer, running several tongue-in-cheek adverts in the Australian press. As their marketing manager told Cricinfo, "we thought we'd have a little fun with the original Ashes obituary ad that ran in the Sporting Times in 1882,
changing it to reflect the death of Australian cricket last year..."•Marstons
Jerome Taylors furrowed brow, and Tendulkar's raised arms, tell the story•Saeed Khan/AFP
The decidedly low-tech pitch covers are dragged on at Kuala Lumpur when rain called off Indias match against Australia.•AFP
Simon Katich cools down in Kuala Lumpur during Australia's first match of the DLF Cup...and the West Indies gave them a scare, too, with Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Gayle smashing 136 in 17.6 overs for the opening stand. They then lost 9 for 65...•AFP
Still chirping, still scoring: Dominic Cork leaps in the air, in the same style as he did for England on several occasions, after bashing a career-best 154 against Durham at Old Trafford. Hes still at it, Corky, and this photo encapsulates everything that makes him so infuriating to play against...yet so brilliant to have on your side.•Getty Images