The Buzz
Coldplay play ball
Popular British band Coldplay are sharing their love and money with a village cricket club in Gloucestershire
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
Popular British band Coldplay are sharing their love and money with a village cricket club in Gloucestershire. The 60-member Slaughters Utd are suddenly the envy of the region, after the band offered to sponsor their new kit. Bass player Guy Berryman had previously sponsored a new training kit for Stow Rugby Club’s Under-15s as he knew their manager Dave Oughton. Oughton then suggested to Slaughters that it may not be a bad idea to approach Coldplay. Good idea, as it turned out. The band are not unfamiliar with cricket – the lead singer Chris Martin once played for neighbouring club Great Rissington. If all goes well, the band could be performing in village greens for a change, if time permits. “We’ve asked Chris and Guy to come and play and hopefully bring their guitars with them,” Slaughters honorary secretary Paul Heming told thisisGloucestershire.co.uk. “They said they were flattered, but very busy – but we’ll keep on asking. It’s a bit bizarre, but exciting to be sponsored by one of the world’s biggest bands – but our youngsters think it’s cool.”
Full postNasser goes Bollywood
Nasser Hussain is used to being in front of the camera during his day job with Sky Sports but now the former England captain is branching out into the movie world.
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
Nasser Hussain is used to being in front of the camera during his day job with Sky Sports but now the former England captain is branching out into the movie world.
He will star in a Bollywood film alongside Indian actor Akshay Kumar in a movie called Patiala House about a second-generation Sikh living in London who helps save his father's reputation
"Yes Nasser Hussain is indeed playing my hero Gattu's [Akshay] coach in the film. Nasser has a fairly large acting stint in Patiala House as Gattu's mentor and guru," casting director Nikhil Advani told Real Bollywood.
However, Advani revealed that it had been hard to pin down Hussain. "It wasn't easy getting near him, let alone getting him to agree to play Akshay's coach. Believe me, it's far easier to sign the biggest of superstars from Bollywood and Hollywood then to get star cricketers on board."
Full postECB look at railroute to World Twenty20
The English squad for the World Twenty20 may travel by train to France or Spain, in search of a functional airport from which to take off for the West Indies
Nitin Sundar
25-Feb-2013
The English squad for the World Twenty20 may travel by train to France or Spain, in search of a functional airport from which to take off for the West Indies. The Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull has thrown a spanner in the travel arrangements for the World Twenty20, and the ECB has provisionally booked Eurostar passes for the team to overcome potential disruption to the original flight plan from London. Meanwhile the ICC is considering the option of flying all the teams non-stop from Dubai to the West Indies, bypassing European air-space in the process. "We will do everything possible to ensure the players get to the Caribbean. We'll look at all possibilities to ensure the attendance of players from the UK, even if it means getting them to Dubai on helicopters and low-level flights," ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat had said. His offer to help could come as a welcome relief for the ECB, which seems to have taken the concept of pre-tournament training a little too literally.
Full postA shortage of bats?
Game over for cricket
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
Game over for cricket? The European Unions’ decision to “outlaw before export” the chemical methyl bromide, because it is believed to damage the ozone layer, means that cricket could soon be facing a major shortage of bats. Each year around 100,000 raw blades made of willow, known as clefts are exported from England to India and Pakistan where they are turned into finished products. The clefts are treated with methyl bromide, which is an insecticide, before they are exported. Here lies the problem: the wood cannot leave England without a fumigation certificate and India and Pakistan do not accept any alternative treatment for the wood apart from methyl bromide.
This spells potential disaster for the 10-million-pounds-a-year industry. “Unless something is done we are going to run out of cricket bats,” Geoff Watling of Anglian Willow Services told the Daily Express. “The worldwide supply of Test standard and Twenty20 bats for the national and county sides could dry up within two years.”
Full postFox out-foxed by Sussex authorities
Sussex County Cricket Club has come in for criticism from animal rights activists after a marksman was called in to shoot a fox that had been making a nuisance of itself at the county ground.
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
Sussex County Cricket Club has come in for criticism from animal rights activists after a marksman was called in to shoot a fox that had been making a nuisance of itself at the county ground.
According to Dave Brooks, the county chief executive, the killing of the fox came as a last resort after months of “odd behaviour”, but the incident caused alarm among the residents of Eaton Road in Hove, with the police being called after three shots were fired shortly after midnight on Sunday morning.
Nigel Furness, 60, was at the nearby Sussex Cricketer pub when he heard the shots, and told The Argus: “I thought, ‘there’s something wrong here, what on earth is going on?’ It’s a big open space so it can be quite creepy at night. Then about five minutes later a police car came up. I asked the officers what was going on and they said there’s nothing to worry about, the cricket club is just shooting foxes and it is all legitimate.
“But there really is no need to shoot foxes. They are completely harmless and destroy a great many pests like slugs and snails and we are absolutely appalled. It is also extremely alarming that we were never told what was going on.”
Full postYuvraj the superhero
He may not be the hero for Kings XI Punjab so far in the IPL, given his lacklustre performance with the bat, but off the field, Yuvraj Singh is all set to become a superhero
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
He may not be the hero for Kings XI Punjab so far in the IPL, given his lacklustre performance with the bat, but off the field, Yuvraj Singh is all set to become a superhero. Yuvraj will be the voice of ‘Captain India’, the (super)hero in an animated film by the same name. His screen name may be a cruel twist on reality but the plot makes up for that: It revolves round a young cricketer who cannot afford a cricket bat, who then comes across a magic bat that changes his life. The film’s producers say the story will incorporate incidents from Yuvraj’s personal and professional life, including his famous six sixes in the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 World Cup. “I burst into laughter on hearing the idea,” Yuvraj told the Hindustan Times. “But I’m humbled to voice an animated character.” The film is slated to release during the 2011 World Cup.
Full postThe long arm of the IPL?
Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections were held on Thursday but one rookie candidate was allowed to cast his vote a day early
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections were held on Thursday but one rookie candidate was allowed to cast his vote a day early. Sanath Jayasuriya – a candidate of President Mahinda Rajapakse’s United People’s Freedom Alliance - cast his vote on Wednesday, to allow him to rejoin the Mumbai Indians for their game on Friday against Kings XI Punjab. They will welcome him back after the shock loss to Chennai on Tuesday and it’s a good opportunity for Jayasuriya, if he plays, to get among the runs. Which leaves one question: Was Jayasuriya’s early-bird vote due to his being in the ruling party or is it another example of the IPL’s all-powerful reach?
Before you go also read Andrew Fernado's piece on what it would be like if cricketers became politicians.
Full postSachin's ultimate fan
It was a dream come true for 87-year old Saraswathi Vaidyanathan
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
It was a dream come true for 87-year old Saraswathi Vaidyanathan. Just a few days ago The Hindu carried a story about her passion for cricket and admiration for Sachin Tendulkar – from referring to him as a chota baccha (small boy) to painstakingly updating all his statistics, written down on scraps of paper. She’d never met him, though, and on Monday that wish was fulfilled in Chennai.
It was an emotional few moments at the team hotel - Tendulkar touched Vaidyanathan's feet and sought her blessings as she called him her “fourth grandson” and handed him a small idol of the Hindu god Ganesh. In return, he signed a bat with several other famous names on it. “I am lucky to meet you,” she said, but Tendulkar corrected her: “No, I am lucky to meet you.” Vaidyanthan then expressed her wish – to see him score 100 international centuries. Tendulkar, seven short of the landmark, smiled in agreement. Her parting words: “You are short in stature but very big in deeds.”
Full postCheerleaders cheer for South over North
Life can get tough for the 50-odd IPL cheerleaders with the heat, cheering crowds and a whole lot of attention
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
Life can get tough for the 50-odd IPL cheerleaders with the heat, cheering crowds and a whole lot of attention. But they take the good with the bad. And the good, for them, is Bangalore, according to a straw poll of their favourite centres conducted ahead of Wednesday’s game between Rajasthan and Delhi. Hindustan Times reported that Bangalore was rated their favourite city while Mohali, the suburb of Chandigarh, ranked at the bottom. “The Mohali crowds get very crude and nasty,” one of the cheerleaders told the paper, “they look as if they’ll get violent.” The atmosphere in Bangalore was described as “excellent” and Mumbai was voted their second favourite city. Another north Indian city, Delhi, was deemed as just “okay” by the cheerleaders. So could there be any connection to the fact that Mumbai and Bangalore are currently the top two teams in the IPL?
Full postWedding bells for Shoaib Malik
Shoaib Malik is reportedly engaged to marry Hyderabad-based Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza, and the pair is set to tie the knot in April
Nitin Sundar
25-Feb-2013
Shoaib Malik is reportedly engaged to marry Hyderabad-based Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza, and the pair is set to tie the knot in April. This has been confirmed by the Pakistani allrounder on his twitter feed, and by Imran Mirza, father of the bride. Shoaib had earlier hinted that he was on the verge of getting married. “I desire to get married soon. You will soon get some good news but it depends on my family. No one can say what will happen, but it will take place with the concurrence of my family,” Shoaib had said. The new development comes barely 20 days after Malik was handed a one-year ban by the PCB in the aftermath of Pakistan’s disastrous tour of Australia. Sania, like her fiancé, has gone through a tough time recently, with a failed engagement to businessman Sohrab Mirza which was called off in January, and a floundering tennis career. This one is truly a match fixed in heaven.
Full post