The Buzz
Ntini's pants question to Beckham
What would you ask if you had the chance to chat with David Beckham
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
What would you ask if you had the chance to chat with David Beckham? For Makhaya Ntini it was the moment to ask him about his underwear.
The pair met during the football World Cup draw in Cape Town and Ntini took the chance to find out if it was true that Beckham only used his underwear once.
"I shared a room with David and even asked him about his underwear – if it's true that he uses it just once and throws it away,” Ntini said ahead of his 100th Test. "He said he had heard about these stories but they are all lies. I said, 'If I was your gardener, I would sleep next to the dustbin because the following morning something is going to be dumped there. And if it has only been used once, I can use it again!'"
Full postGayle strikes a chord in Perth
They can bat, can bowl, but can they sing
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
They can bat, can bowl, but can they sing? Check out the West Indies’ Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Sulieman Benn singing at a function on WA News. And is that Doug Bollinger, Australia’s fast bowler, running out with $5?
"That is my second talent, I felt like showing it off last night," Gayle said of the impromptu performance. "It kind of makes you a bit more relaxed - that's how we are, we try and entertain whenever we can. The Australians came up last night and said 'You guys were brilliant'. It's good, I got $5 from Bolly for my performance, so I appreciate it."
Full postSouth Africa get their kit off
The South African squad have arrived in Potchefstroom, but their kit hasn’t
Sahil Dutta
25-Feb-2013
The South African squad have arrived in Potchefstroom, but their kit hasn’t. The players flew into Johannesburg from all over the country on Friday, then made the hour-long road trip to the university town, yet their attire wasn’t quite so efficient.
The players had to scrabble around in their own luggage to find some suitable clothing to wear for training so there was a hotch-potch (no pun intended) of T-shirts and shorts on show as they jogged around the outfield. It was like the days before sponsored kit, when the players would turn up in what they owned themselves.
“The kit hasn’t arrived and that’s why we are all in makeshift stuff at the moment which isn’t ideal but there’s nothing we can do about,” coach Mickey Arthur said. “The guys are very mature, I like the way the guys have handled themselves and have just got on with it.”
Full postWarne's brief new designs
He may not be part of the Boxing Day Test anymore, but Shane Warne’s “spinners” could just be the rage this Christmas
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
He may not be part of the Boxing Day Test anymore, but Shane Warne’s “spinners” could just be the rage this Christmas. Following in the footsteps of Brett Lee, pop star Kylie Minogue and tennis legend Bjorn Borg, Warne has created a sports-inspired men’s underwear range aptly called “The Spinners”. Always a colourful character, Warne’s collection reflects his flamboyance. Gone are the traditional whites and in come bold colours and stripes in trendy fitted trunks and hipster briefs. “The Spinners” range which also includes socks has released just in time for the Christmas buying spree.
Full postNapier heads for Napier
The Essex allrounder Graham Napier is off to his namesake city, Napier, a fortnight earlier than originally intended, as he hopes to revive his hopes of breaking back into the England Twenty20 squad with a spell with the New Zealand state team,
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
The Essex allrounder Graham Napier is off to his namesake city, Napier, a fortnight earlier than originally intended, as he hopes to revive his hopes of breaking back into the England Twenty20 squad with a spell with the New Zealand state team, Central Districts.
Napier, 29, was originally intending to fly out to Napier on Boxing Day. Now, however, he will depart on December 10, and is set to make his CD debut on December 17, in a 50-over contest against Wellington, the team he represented in the previous two seasons of New Zealand domestic cricket.
“I see the next four months as being hugely important as far as my chances of breaking back into the England Twenty20 squad go,” Napier told www.grahamnapier.com. “There is a World Twenty20 tournament in May [in the West Indies] and I want to be part of that. There are eight England players currently contracted to the IPL so I must be regarded highly out in India.
“Now I want to be recognised again by England and will put in as much work as I possibly can to achieve something I’ve striven for my entire career – to play for the full England team in a competitive international.”
Full postFlintoff's socks appeal
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
Andrew Flintoff is finding myriad different ways to pass the time during his rehabilitation from knee surgery. This week, he has embarked on a new career as a clothing designer, after unveiling a new range of socks in time for the Christmas stocking market.
Flintoff has teamed up with the artist and illustrator, Duncan Cargill, to create what is described in a press release as a set of “unique and exclusive designs”, with “exciting illustrations and colour ways stylishly representing who they are and what they stand for”.
Full postBeach bummed
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
If you're a gung-ho beach cricketer in Chennai, stumps have been drawn on at your local sandy Lord's. The local authorities - incidentally, one of the many notable sites the Marina Beach sits adjacent to is the Inspector General of Police headquarters - have put a ban on friendly beach cricket games on the massive strip of sand.
That move has not gone down well at all, so much so that enraged citizens blocked traffic for a short while and staged a dharna, or nonviolent protest, outside the historic Vivekananda House. That resulted in the police having to draft in troops to quell the 2,000-strong crowd of primarily local residents.
Full postSomerset's surprise legacy
The future of the Somerset Cricket Museum in Taunton has been secured on the eve of its 21st birthday, after it was bequeathed £250,000 in the will of a club supporter, Miss Patricia Watts, who died in August.
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
The future of the Somerset Cricket Museum in Taunton has been secured on the eve of its 21st birthday, after it was bequeathed £250,000 in the will of a club supporter, Miss Patricia Watts, who died in August.
The museum, located in the Grade II listed Old Priory Barn at the County Ground, is run as an independent organisation and is a registered charity, and was opened in 1989 after a team of volunteers raised an initial sum of £100,000.
That figure has now been significantly boosted thanks to Miss Watts’ legacy. “We think that in 2004 Mr David Watts, an active club member, died and left his estate to his sister with the understanding that when she died the Cricket Museum would be one of her beneficiaries,” said the chairman, Charles Clive Ponsonby-Fane.
“Next year will be the museum’s 21st birthday. This generous gift will allow us all a wonderful opportunity to look back on all that has been achieved and explore our aspirations for the future. It is my hope that we can safeguard the wellbeing of the Somerset Cricket Museum for the generations to come.”
Full postIt's raining bras at Worcester
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
Worcestershire’s New Road withstood its first test of the winter last Tuesday, after the nearby River Severn burst its banks without penetrating the elevated entrance to the newly refurbished Graeme Hick pavilion. All of which was good news for the volunteers packed inside, who kept themselves busy on a damp evening ... by counting bras.
More than 2000 bras were donated and counted by volunteers from 2nd Skin Lingerie, who are raising money for the Worcestershire Breast Unit Campaign by attempting to create the world’s longest bra chain. The current record of 166,000 has been held by the town of Bundaberg in South-East Queensland since August 2009.
Full postBresnan forever a twit(ter)
Undaunted by his summer mishaps, in which he was forced to apologise after using fruity language , to respond to a follower who posted a doctored picture of him, Tim Bresnan has vowed to keep using Twitter.
Sahil Dutta
25-Feb-2013
Undaunted by his summer mishaps, in which he was forced to apologise after using fruity language, to respond to a follower who posted a doctored picture of him, Tim Bresnan has vowed to keep using Twitter.
The England paceman has devoted less time to the social networking site of late but, much to the relief of his near 9000 followers – which still leaves him trailing in the wake of prolific tweeters Graeme Swann and James Anderson - he has promised more updates soon.
"The thing that happened a couple of months ago, that was just me being myself," said Bresnan. "If someone has a cop at you, you stick 'em back. That's how I was brought up. Obviously it's not great in the public eye. If someone punches you, you whack 'em back.
“I am still on Twitter. I haven't 'Twittered' for quite a long time because I haven't found anything worthy of a tweet. If something interesting happens – maybe we see a great white [shark] off the beach today – that would be worth a tweet.
Full post