The Buzz
Ganguly and the missing blazer
Sourav Ganguly, also known as the-one-who-really-wound-up-the-Aussies, has disappointed fans of mental disintegration by revealing that he arrived late for a toss with Steve Waugh during the epic 2001-02 series merely because he had left his blazer
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Sourav Ganguly, also known as the-one-who-really-wound-up-the-Aussies, has disappointed fans of mental disintegration by revealing that he arrived late for a toss with Steve Waugh during the epic 2001-02 series merely because he had left his blazer behind.
"There is a tradition that both team captains have to sport the team blazer while going for the toss,” Ganguly said on a television show. “On that particular day, I did not get my blazer and it took time to get hold of it. That was the reason for the delay.”
Waugh had criticised Ganguly for repeatedly turning up late for the toss during the Tests and one-day series. Ganguly had said at the time that there was a lot to do in the mornings. “... knocking up, talking to the selectors, that I may have been late by a few minutes."
Full postHas someone been a twit?
So much for keeping team plans under wraps
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
So much for keeping team plans under wraps. Phil Hughes told the world of his omission for the third Test at Edgbaston via Twitter and his manager Neil d’Costa has admitted it may have been jumping the gun a little.
"Disappointed not to be on the field with the lads today," Hughes posted several hours before the Australian team announcement. "Will be supporting the guys, it's a BIG test match 4 us. Thanks 4 all the support!"
D'Costa explained that Hughes sends him his ‘tweets’ then D’Costa passes them onto “the IT guy” who uploads them into Hughes’ page. It’s a case of when’s a twitterer not a twitterer.
"I look after the Twitter for Phillip and we were certainly under the impression [the timing was okay] because of the time change," D'Costa told Sky Sports News.
Full postWarne deals up Ashes defeat
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
At 1-0 down, Australia would love to have Shane Warne in their Ashes squad. Instead, he's been beating up on England at the card table. An Australian team led by Warne beat an England team led by Darren Gough in the inaugural 888.com Poker Ashes.
Warne's team featured Dean Jones, Damien Martyn, Jeff Thomson and some online qualifiers, while Gough had in his corner Darren Gough, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Matthew Hoggard, Robert Key, Min Patel, Gladstone Small and Peter Such. Australia won 3-1.
Full postLara set for Twenty20 debut
There isn’t much that Brian Lara hasn’t done on a cricket field but taking part in a Twenty20 match is one of them
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
There isn’t much that Brian Lara hasn’t done on a cricket field but taking part in a Twenty20 match is one of them. He played 131 Tests and 299 ODIs but no Twenty20s – international or domestic. That will change next month when Lara leads a Trinidad & Tobago side against a West Indies XI in a charity Twenty20 match.
The West Indies XI will be led by Chris Gayle, who had opted out of the series against Bangladesh because of a dispute over player contracts with the West Indies board. The proceeds from the event will go to the Pearl and Bunty Lara Foundation, West Indies Players Association's Development Fund and other players' charities.
Full postA Ranji Trophy in Ireland
The Ranji Trophy has now found a new home in Ireland
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
The Ranji Trophy has now found a new home in Ireland. Maharaja Ranjitsinhji will be honoured as his name will be used in a match played between an Irish and an ‘Indian’ team in Dublin. The tournament is the brainchild of Anne Chambers, an Irish author who wrote a book on Ranji's 1924 visit to Ireland.
The match will be played at the 417-year old Trinity College in Dublin.
P.S Raghavan, who took up the task of making the tournament a grand event, said the series will be "a big event within the context of the growing ties between India and Ireland."
"It is in commemoration of Ranji's ability to cross-over racial boundaries that on the publication of my book - Ranji: Maharajah of Connemara - I made available a trophy of Irish silver to be played between an Irish XI and a team comprising Indian nationals living in Ireland," Chambers told IANS.
Full postGough gets Madoff-ed
Darren Gough has become the latest celebrity to be caught up in a £80m “Bernie Madoff-style” scam
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Darren Gough has become the latest celebrity to be caught up in a £80m “Bernie Madoff-style” scam. The former England bowler and Strictly Come Dancing winner and a member of his family have reportedly been swindled of nearly £1m in an alleged Ponzi fund run by fraudsters and aimed at top sportsmen and television stars.
Sources close to Gough said he was "devastated" after finding out his money had gone down the drain after the phony scheme collapsed, the Daily Mail reported. A member of Gough's family confirmed Gough and his brother-in-law, Paul Kratovil, were said to be among those hit by the alleged fraud. "I rang Paul after seeing reports of the scam. He and Darren have been caught up in it all," she said. "I don't know how they found out, but there are supposedly lots more people who do not realise they have been stung."
Police have twice arrested the suspected mastermind of the alleged fraud, Kautilya Nandan Pruthi, Financial consultants Kenneth Peacock and John Anderson, 43, both from Virginia Water, Surrey, have also been arrested.
Kevin Pietersen was asked to invest but refused, his spokesman confirmed.
Full postNo sharks at Lord's
Sussex will take on Hampshire in the Friends Provident Trophy final on July 25 but they will be without the support of their mascot, Sid the Shark, who will not be allowed into Lord’s in keeping with its traditional atmosphere.
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Sussex will take on Hampshire in the Friends Provident Trophy final on July 25 but they will be without the support of their mascot, Sid the Shark, who will not be allowed into Lord’s in keeping with its traditional atmosphere.
Sussex fans were not pleased with the decision and set up a petition protesting against the move. "It was quite a surprise to hear that Lord's would not let Sid in,” Dave Brooks, Sussex chief executive told Sky Sports. "He enjoys great support among all the Sussex fans at Hove, and it is clear they want to send a message to the authorities that this decision needs reversing."
Clare Skinner, the MCC's media manager, said "Lord's has a no fancy dress policy in place for all matches and this applies to anyone entering the ground, including mascots.”
Full postBy royal appointment
The Queen’s visit to Lord’s on the second day of the Ashes Test caused problems for the MCC when it was discovered the committee-room drinks cabinet did not include any Dubonnet, Her Majesty’s tipple of choice
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
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Later on, after lunch, an aide quietly informed the Queen it was time to go to which she reportedly replied: “Oh, but I might miss an Australian wicket”. A committee member quietly pointed out she was Queen of England and Australia. The Queen laughed and said: “Yes, you do have a point”.
The Duke of Edinburgh, no stranger to gaffs, was also present wearing his MCC egg and bacon tie (he was president of the club in 1949 and 1975) but he managed to put his foot in his mouth when he asked Australia’s coach: “Are you the scorer?”
Full postThe sweet smell of summer
The Sunday Times notes that the Ashes summer is being celebrated by tourism body VisitEngland unleashing a series of new perfumes on the world “to capture the essence of the country”
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
The Sunday Times notes that the Ashes summer is being celebrated by tourism body VisitEngland unleashing a series of new perfumes on the world “to capture the essence of the country”. Among those is one called “Cricket Ball”. The marketing blurb does not mention if this odour de ball is of the brand-new-out-of the-paper version or the flogged-all-round-the-park-for-80-overs variety. Cricinfo’s reviewers will be down to Boots for samples as soon as the Lord’s Test ends.
Full postThe last man to see Grace bat
The widely-reported death of Henry Allingham – who at 113 was the world’s oldest man – sees the passing of the last man alive to have actually seen WG Grace bat
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
The widely-reported death of Henry Allingham – who at 113 was the world’s oldest man – sees the passing of the last man alive to have actually seen WG Grace bat. In 1903, aged seven, he went to The Oval to see Surrey play London County. "I saw WG Grace bat, you could always tell who he was by his long beard,” Allingham recalled in 2006 on his next visit to the ground, 103 years after he had last been there. “He scored quite a lot that day but I can't remember how many.”
There was a minute’s silence before the start of play on the third day of the Lord’s Test for Allingham, who was one of the last surviving World War One servicemen.
Full post