The Buzz
Tutu and Flintoff jump the Lord's waiting list
Desmond Tutu and Andrew Flintoff haven’t often had much reason to be mentioned in the same sentence, but today the pair shared top billing in a press release from Lord’s, as both men were awarded honorary life membership of MCC.
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
Desmond Tutu and Andrew Flintoff haven’t often had much reason to be mentioned in the same sentence, but today the pair shared top billing in a press release from Lord’s, as both men were awarded honorary life membership of MCC.
Archbishop Tutu’s previous honours include the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, in recognition of his vigorous stance against apartheid in South Africa, and he has received more than 50 honorary degrees from academic institutions around the world. But as a renowned cricket enthusiast – who in 2008 was invited to deliver the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture – this latest recognition will doubtless be one he treasures.
“Last year on his retirement (aged 79!) he said that he hoped now to watch more cricket,” said the MCC president, Christopher Martin-Jenkins. “He may now do so at Lord's whenever he pleases, and he will always be welcomed.”
Full postSouthee's mid-air relationship has NZC in a Twitter
The New Zealand fast bowler, Tim Southee, most definitely did not get up to no good with a female passenger, en route to the World Cup, according to a team spokesman who was forced to deny rumours that one of his players had elected to join the
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
The New Zealand fast bowler, Tim Southee, most definitely did not get up to no good with a female passenger, en route to the World Cup, according to a team spokesman who was forced to deny rumours that one of his players had elected to join the infamous Mile High Club during the squad’s flight to Dubai.
After an internal investigation, a written statement, a team meeting, and several eye-witness accounts of nothing untoward whatsoever, the Kiwis’ team manager, Dave Currie, was able to confirm that "Tim met a female passenger on board the plane and spent some time with her, however we are confident that nothing inappropriate happened between them."
According to local media reports (and rampants rumours in Twitterverse), a fellow passenger had complained of witnessing “the worst kind of lewd behaviour” in the first-class compartment of an Emirates flight from Sydney to Dubai. "It appears pretty innocent really,” said the chief executive of NZC, Justin Vaughan, who nevertheless felt obliged to spell out on television just how innocent it had actually been.
"I think Tim met a female passenger and struck up a conversation,” said Vaughan. “They spent a bit of time and had a drink together on the plane. At some stage the female passenger came to Tim's seat and perhaps spent a maximum of 30 seconds with Tim, and there may well have been, dare I say it, a kiss on the cheek, but that was it. She went back to her seat, and Tim is adamant that nothing inappropriate, nothing untoward, occurred."
Full postAkram coaches Akshay Kumar?
Cricketers have made their presence felt on the silver screen often enough; films like The Final Test have featured cameos from Len Hutton, Denis Compton, Godfrey Evans and Jim Laker, while Salim Durani, Derek Pringle, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
Cricketers have made their presence felt on the silver screen often enough; films like The Final Test have featured cameos from Len Hutton, Denis Compton, Godfrey Evans and Jim Laker, while Salim Durani, Derek Pringle, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Ajay Jadeja among others, have all tried their hand at acting. And in the latest such alliance between the film industry and cricketers, the Bollywood film ‘Patiala House’, which is slated to release later this week, features an ensemble cast of cricketers – former Pakistan paceman Wasim Akram, former England captains Nasser Hussain and Graham Gooch, South Africa batsman Herschelle Gibbs and Australia allrounder Andrew Symonds. "The film is about a cricketer's life and therefore we have taken many cricketers as actors so that we can get a real look for the film,"Nikhil Advani, the director of the film, told AFP. The film starring Akshay Kumar, is set in the west London suburb of Southall and tracks tensions between a traditional Punjabi father and his son Gattu, played by Kumar, who aspires to play cricket for England (shades of Monty Panesar?). It is rumoured that Akram plays the role of young Gattu’s bowling coach and some scenes of the film have been reportedly shot at The Oval in London. Another Bend it Like Beckham in the making?
Full postOf biscuits and motorbikes, and bats
From sponsored blimps to commercial-filled broadcasts, advertising’s influence on modern-day cricket is inescapable
Dustin Silgardo
25-Feb-2013
From sponsored blimps to commercial-filled broadcasts, advertising’s influence on modern-day cricket is inescapable. Bat-makers haven’t been spared, as they are forced to watch their carefully crafted pieces of wood gilded with stickers of anyone and everyone but the company actually responsible for making the product. "Buying players with advertising is far cheaper than investing in making bats. We are crafting bats, they are using stickers. They are ruining our brands, because we cannot afford to give that kind of money, those royalties to the players,” Rakesh Mahajan, director of BD Mahajan and Sons (BDM), one of India’s premier bat-makers, told www.supersport.com. “Sponsorship is no harm, but removing the manufacturer's branding is not fair. We are building the bats, but people are not recognising us; the sponsors are taking the credit.”
Mahajan summed up his frustration by saying he didn’t mind seeing bats with Gray Nicholls or Kookaburra logos because at least they were fellow bat-makers. But, “the problem is Nike, Reebok, Adidas, people like Britannia and Hero Honda,” he said. “They make biscuits and motorbikes, not bats!”
Full postBryan Adams to perform at opening ceremony
The veteran Canadian rock star, Bryan Adams, has been confirmed as one of the main performers at the World Cup opening ceremony in Dhaka later this month.
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
The veteran Canadian rock star, Bryan Adams, has been confirmed as one of the main performers at the World Cup opening ceremony in Dhaka later this month.
Adams, whose hits include “Summer of ‘69” and the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves soundtrack “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” is set to launch a tour of India at Pune on February 11, with further dates scheduled for Bangalore, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai, before finishing up in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The official World Cup song, “De Ghuma Ke”, will be sung by the Bollywood trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.
Full postColombo's new enemy: clothes lines
With the eyes of the world hawkishly scrutinising World Cup stadiums, Sri Lanka are determined not to let their dirty linen be washed in public
Dustin Silgardo
25-Feb-2013
The R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo has been declared a 'no hopscotch' zone
© Manoj Ridimahaliyadda With the eyes of the world hawkishly scrutinising World Cup stadiums, Sri Lanka are determined not to let their dirty linen be washed in public. Not that there is any infighting between the authorities. They just quite literally don’t want people around the R Premadasa Stadium washing, or drying their clothes in public. In a list of directives issued to residents and shop owners around the ground by the Colombo city authorities, people have been asked to “abstain from hanging out clothes for drying in public view and putting garbage on the roadsides”.
The 35,000-seater Premadasa, which will host seven matches during the World Cup, is surrounded by low-income housing schemes, and city authorities are determined to promote an efficient image of Colombo. As if instructions not to “hang things out to dry” and “take out the trash” weren’t enough to keep the idle-minded occupied in thinking up appropriate puns, the Colombo authorities also piqued curiosity with their order that people refrain from “engaging in street games such as hopscotch and cricket matches”, making one wonder just what the extent of the popularity of hopscotch is in Sri Lanka.
This is the latest in a series of subcontinent-wide attempts towards portraying a clean image during the World Cup. The authorities in Dhaka, another host city for the tournament, have already asked their residents to paint their houses and cars. Now, all that’s needed is for the people in charge of Eden Gardens to request people not to use the scaffolding on the stadium as a jungle gym.
Full postHave you won the ICC sweepstake?
If you’ve just received an email from the “ICC” congratulating you for having won a prize in a sweepstake, organised by them, think twice before popping the champagne – or indeed disclosing your bank details
Jayaditya Gupta
25-Feb-2013
If you’ve just received an email from the “ICC” congratulating you for having won a prize in a sweepstake, organised by them, think twice before popping the champagne – or indeed disclosing your bank details. The mail isn’t from the ICC at all. The impending World Cup has given those who send out fraudulent emails – we’ve all received them at some point of time – another reason to fleece the public. This time, in exchange for the million dollars “prize money”, they seek your bank details and, consequently, your money. The ICC, which anyway has rather a lot on its plate, has also stepped in, alerting the public to the fraud. As if incomplete stadiums weren’t enough headache.
Full postAnd the sprucing-up continues...
Bangladesh is on a cleaning spree ahead of the World Cup
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
Bangladesh is on a cleaning spree ahead of the World Cup. First the residents and shop owners along the main roads from the airport to the city center in Chittagong were asked to spruce up their homes and shops with a new coat of paint. Chittagong mayor Manzur Alam then announced that hundreds of beggars would be kept off the city’s streets during the tournament.
And in the latest cleaning-up endeavour, Abu Naser, spokesman of the transport ministry, told AFP that old and worn-out cars and buses in Dhaka and the Chittagong will have to get "get fit, smarter and painted". Failing that, they would face censure from mobile courts, manned by magistrates, which will be on the road, ready to punish people who have failed to comply. “There is no way old, worn-out and clunky vehicles will be allowed to move,” Naser said. State-owned buses will also be painted with images of the Bangladesh cricketers, its monuments and tourism spots.
Full postFlower to play for England, or Martians to land at Lord's?
The England & Wales Cricket Board has played down the prospect of Andy Flower making an emergency debut for his adopted nation against Canada in a fortnight’s time, as an injury-racked team weighs up its options ahead of their World Cup campaign.
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
The England & Wales Cricket Board has played down the prospect of Andy Flower making an emergency debut for his adopted nation against Canada in a fortnight’s time, as an injury-racked team weighs up its options ahead of their World Cup campaign.
“The prospect of a member of the England management staff playing in a World Cup warm-up match is so remote as to be up there with Martians landing at Lord’s,” an ECB spokesman told ESPNcricinfo, after speculation that Flower could be pressed into action given the current absence of five members of England’s 15-man squad.
Tim Bresnan (calf), Graeme Swann (knee), Ajmal Shahzad (hamstring) and Paul Collingwood (back) are continuing their recoveries back in the UK, while Stuart Broad is not yet fit to resume bowling after tearing a stomach muscle back in December.
Full postRyder's twitter blues
Jesse Ryder, not new to controversy, finds himself in hot water again
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
Jesse Ryder, not new to controversy, finds himself in hot water again. No, this time it is not any alcohol-related indiscretion; rather, it's his tweet on social networking site Twitter where he had a dig at fellow Wellington batsman Stephen Murdoch. Ryder, who was opening for Wellington against Northern Districts in Sunday’s game in the NZC One Day Competition, was run out for 4 after a mix-up with his partner Murdoch. Ryder, no doubt frustrated with his dismissal, tweeted: "I just got run out by my other batter. What a waste of time this day is ... I love getting left high an [sic] dry by my other batter."
However, this has not gone down to well with New Zealand Cricket – NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan said, “You get the good with the mediocre. We let the players know there are limits, but it's the way society is, it's a fact of life and I don't think we can preclude it." But Vaughan did add that Ryder venting his frustration through tweeting was “better than throwing a bat against a wall." Ryder found support from team-mate Scott Styris, who tweeted: “Don't let the idiots get to you bud! The media are the problem, not you". New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori, though, is not a big fan of tweeting. “I'm not as much of a narcissist as Scotty so I can't get on it,” Vettori said.”They can do what they want, they're all grown men."
Full post