The Buzz
Ramesh leaves the crease for greasepaint
Former India opener S Ramesh is set to appear as the protagonist in his second Tamil movie
Nitin Sundar
25-Feb-2013
Former India opener S Ramesh is set to appear as the protagonist in his second Tamil movie. Ramesh's character in Patta Patti 50-50 is forced to coach a cricket-obsessed village team for a match to decide which captain wins the hand of a girl they are both interested in.
Ramesh is not the first Indian cricketer enter the movie industry, and follows in the footsteps of Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble, Ajay Jadeja, Sandeep Patil and Vinod Kambli. Ramesh told the Indian Express he found the experience of shooting in a South Indian village interesting. “These guys were like typical Indian fans and kept asking about my former team-mates, mainly Sachin Tendulkar,” said Ramesh, who made an impressive entry into international cricket in 1999 before fizzling out due to injuries and technical shortcomings.
He decided to enter movies after losing his place in the Tamil Nadu team, and played the brother of the protagonist in his first film.
"I wanted to do something I was comfortable doing. And though there aren't many serious romantic scenes in this movie, having to attempt them with 300 random people watching you was intimidating," Ramesh said.
Full postBritish Airways leaves Warnie exasperated
Shane Warne’s love-hate relationship with the British took flight again (pun unintended), with a series of angry posts on his Twitter page describing his experience in a British Airways flight from London to Las Vegas for a poker competition
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
Shane Warne’s love-hate relationship with the British took flight again (pun unintended), with a series of angry posts on his Twitter page describing his experience in a British Airways flight from London to Las Vegas for a poker competition. Despite travelling first class, Warne found several things to rant about, ranging from his fellow passenger’s breath to the air conditioning which failed. Sample these tweets from the legspinner, who has previously hit the headlines with text-messaging controversies:
“I hate British airways, way too arrogant and rude towards people !! Will not be flying with them again after my return from Vegas.”
Two minutes later: “Now on plane grumpy and listening to capt tell me how high we will fly what direction his taking off blah blah.. Just shut up let us chill.”
After two more ‘agonising’ minutes:” They spoke to this young family in front of me like they where criminals, they where traveling first class to, so rude and abnoxious.”
Full postDavid Cameron unveils Chadlington Cricket Club's new pitch
Having spent his first two months as Prime Minister cutting spending across the country, David Cameron took a break on Friday to snip the ribbon at Chadlington Cricket Club instead and unveil their new match pitch.
Sahil Dutta
25-Feb-2013
David Cameron has the scissors out again
Having spent his first two months as Prime Minister cutting spending across the country, David Cameron took a break on Friday to snip the ribbon at Chadlington Cricket Club instead and unveil their new match pitch.
The pitch was installed thanks to funding from The Lord’s Taverners and MCC Foundation who between them contributed £7,375 of the £9,013 total cost. The Lord’s Taverners, the official charity for recreational cricket and the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity, is currently celebrating its Diamond Jubilee and has donated over £400,000 to cricket clubs, schools and youth organisations in the form of cricket equipment bags and grants for non-turf pitches and nets.
Full postFlintoff bats for armed forces charity
Cricket fans in Shropshire will get to see a sneak preview of Andrew Flintoff’s comeback from injury on Sunday, when he takes part in a charity cricket match in Ludlow to raise money for the Armed Forces charity, Help for Heroes.
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
Cricket fans in Shropshire will get to see a sneak preview of Andrew Flintoff’s comeback from injury on Sunday, when he takes part in a charity cricket match in Ludlow to raise money for the Armed Forces charity, Help for Heroes.
Flintoff intends to be back playing county cricket by the end of July, following knee surgery last summer, but this will be a far more gentle work-out - featuring two former England players-turned-journalists, Vic Marks and Derek Pringle; Boysie and Marleen from Only Fools and Horses; and the Harry Potter actress, Imelda Staunton.
For more information, visit www.ludlowcharitycricket.com.
Full postEssex farmer could revolutionise the art of the throw-down
Frank Thorogood, a farmer and club cricketer from Writtle in Essex, has come up with a design for a flexible polypropylene throwing device which could revolutionise the way cricket coaches work with batsmen in the nets.
Liam Brickhill
25-Feb-2013
Frank Thorogood, a farmer and club cricketer from Writtle in Essex, has come up with a design for a flexible polypropylene throwing device which could revolutionise the way cricket coaches work with batsmen in the nets.
The ‘Sidearm’ allows coaches to manipulate the swing and speed of a ball with a simple flick of the wrist, allowing balls to be hurled at speeds of up to 80mph while greatly reducing the strain on the shoulder when sending down the thousands of throw-downs necessary to hone a batsman’s technique.
"I saw something similar when driving around that people would use to throw balls to their dogs," Thorogood told thisistotalessex.co.uk. "The problem there is that they throw the ball very far and high, which is obviously not right for cricket so I put my ideas across to a company that drew up the design and it seems to be working well.”
Though the product is still at the prototype stage it has had some high-profile endorsements and is already being used by Essex coach Paul Grayson, Essex and England batting coach Graham Gooch and by Grant Flower, who has suggested that he will take one of the devices to Zimbabwe to help in his role as batting coach.
Full postEngland's football fans switch their allegiance
Graeme Swann recently suggested that the England cricket team, rather than the footballers, are the “golden generation”, and it appears that English sports fans agree with him.
Liam Brickhill
25-Feb-2013
Graeme Swann recently suggested that the England cricket team, rather than the footballers, are the “golden generation”, and it appears that English sports fans agree with him.
Since England crashed out of the football World Cup in South Africa, viagogo, Europe’s largest online ticket marketplace, has seen demand surge for cricket tickets, with the website recording a 200% increase in online searches for tickets ahead of the fifth and final game against Australia at Lord’s on Saturday. Tickets for the match are currently trading for as much as £200 on the site.
The figures imply that disappointed football supporters are switching allegiance to the more successful cricket team, who have enjoyed a successful 12 months of cricket – including triumphs in the Ashes and World Twenty20 – and are currently leading their series against Australia 3-1.
“Since the England football team has returned home early from the World Cup, Brits are desperate to see England reclaim its sporting prowess,” said Ed Parkinson, director of viagogo UK.
Full postGood old Wisden nets a fortune for charity
In the midst of recession charities like Oxfam would welcome any scraps that come their way
Sahil Dutta
25-Feb-2013
In the midst of recession charities like Oxfam would welcome any scraps that come their way. But a local store in Hertford landed a lot more than scraps when editions of the first four Wisden Cricketers’ Almanacks, bound up in a box, were dropped off at the shop.
Left in a 99p pile the staff quickly realised what good fortune had come their way and re-bound the four books- from 1864 to 1867 - before passing them on to auctioneers Bonhams, where they were sold on Tuesday for £8520.
The 1864 edition, which sold back then for a shilling, fetched £3120, the highest of the four editions. Wisden has been published yearly since that first edition and a Bonhams spokesman told reporters: "We're very pleased that the books have sold well and raised a lot of money for such a worthy cause."
Full postWeather man forecasts Australian Ashes win
It’s not quite as impressive as Paul the octopus predicting World Cup results , but meteorologists are already getting in on the act to tip the outcome of this year’s Ashes series
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
It’s not quite as impressive as Paul the octopus predicting World Cup results, but meteorologists are already getting in on the act to tip the outcome of this year’s Ashes series. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Australia nearly always win the Ashes in summers when El Nino conditions have prevailed for the first half of the year.
Not since Bodyline have England claimed the urn in Australia after El Nino. The conditions bring lower than average rainfall across south-eastern Australia, which climate scientist Manoj Joshi believes helps dry out pitches to provide more bounce and spin.
On the other hand, Australia have won only five of 13 Ashes series after La Nina weather conditions. That means this year’s El Nino event might help Australia, although it depends on how quickly an expected La Nina comes along.
If that all sounds a bit too complicated, the alternative is simple. Just find an octopus who likes cricket.
Full postGroup Captain Tendulkar?
He holds the record for the most runs in Tests and ODIs and the record for the most centuries as well; he was the first batsman to score fifty international hundreds and recently became the first to score a double century in ODIs
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
He holds the record for the most runs in Tests and ODIs and the record for the most centuries as well; he was the first batsman to score fifty international hundreds and recently became the first to score a double century in ODIs. No surprise then that Sachin Tendulkar is perhaps the most popular cricketer in the world. He’s been conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna – India’s highest sports award – the Padma Shri and the Padma Vibhushan by the Indian government. And the latest feather in Tendulkar’s cap could be an honorary post with the Indian Air Force.
“The IAF has proposed to honour Sachin Tendulkar by granting him the honorary rank of Group Captain. We have sent the proposal to the Defence Ministry and they are considering it,” an IAF official told PTI. Once the Ministry clears it, the file will go to the prime minister's office and then to the president, the supreme commander of India’s armed forces, for approval. In 2008 allrounder Kapil Dev received the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel of the Territorial Army.
Full postJon-Jon Smuts breaks club batting record
Jon-Jon Smuts, the Warriors and South Africa Under-19 batsman who was recently named in the South Africa Emerging Players squad to tour Australia next month, has broken a club record with an innings of 177 for Chorley, playing against Carnforth at
Liam Brickhill
25-Feb-2013
Jon-Jon Smuts, the Warriors and South Africa Under-19 batsman who was recently named in the South Africa Emerging Players squad to tour Australia next month, has broken a club record with an innings of 177 for Chorley, playing against Carnforth at Lodge Quarry in the United Kingdom, according to a report on the ECB’s webpage.
His innings eclipsed the previous best – 151 by Bob Yardley in 1978 – as the club’s highest individual score in the Northern League. After reaching his hundred in the 46th over of a 50-over game, Smuts went on the rampage, collecting 77 runs off 22 balls including ten sixes and three fours to set up a total of 278 for 6.
Carnforth bowlers Darren Nelson and John Denwood finished with the unsightly figures of 4 for 122 and 1 for 133, respectively, and the club then crashed to 139 all out in reply.
Full post