The Buzz
Lorgat proposes the Cricket Masters
Haroon Lorgat, the ICC's chief executive, wants to add some glamour to the tired old Champions Trophy, unquestionably the least loved of the three major global events, when the tournament returns in South Africa later this year.
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
Haroon Lorgat, the ICC's chief executive, wants to add some glamour to the tired old Champions Trophy, unquestionably the least loved of the three major global events, when the tournament returns in South Africa later this year.
"We want to remodel the Champions Trophy and distinguish it slightly from what it was before, and make it a bit more attractive for the players and the spectators," Lorgat told reporters at Lord's. "We would like to do that up in the form of a Cricket Masters.
"Maybe we need to think about that's where you get the green jacket, so that it's the one event that will distinguish itself from the other." It was, as Lorgat admitted, an off-the-cuff idea, but seeing as three of the competing nations - Australia, South Africa and Pakistan - already sport green jackets, such a plan would be the perfect way to disguise the competition even further.
Full postHelmets for umpires
Matthew Hayden striding down the pitch to smash bowlers during the IPL is an ominous sight from afar and one can empathise with Daryl Harper for wanting to wear a helmet while officiating in Twenty20 games.
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Matthew Hayden striding down the pitch to smash bowlers during the IPL is an ominous sight from afar and one can empathise with Daryl Harper for wanting to wear a helmet while officiating in Twenty20 games.
“In one of the games Sanath’s [Jayasuriya] shot hit me so hard that I was feeling breathless for a while. And Hayden’s hits have brushed my ears a few times as well,” Harper told Times of India. "I was talking about this to some of the other umpires and they were also of the same opinion. Given the pace with which some of the players hit those shots, it's becoming really dangerous for us. I guess it's just a matter of time before you see us using those [baseball helmets].”
And what do the umpires do during the strategy breaks? "Well, that's a sock for us,” Harper says. “We can discuss where we would dine."
Full postIt's the Hollywood Ashes
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
The Ashes have already been decided…in Hollywood. The second Westfield Hollywood Ashes, at the picturesque Woodley Park cricket ground in suburban Los Angeles, ended with Australia, led by Michael Kasprowicz beating England, led by Graeme Hick, by 29 runs in the Twenty20 encounter.
Hick was joined in the England side by action Julian Sands, who stars in 24, and Dancing with the Stars judge Len Goodman, while the most popular member of the Australian side appeared to be former Calvin Kline model Travis Fimmel.
Full postMonkey business
England's World Twenty20 campaign is only a month away, but was it really the wisest decision by ICC's advertisers to depict gorillas playing the game?
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
England's World Twenty20 campaign is only a month away, but was it really the wisest decision by ICC's advertisers to depict gorillas playing the game?
You be the judge.
Full postThese are a few of my favourite things ...
Ever wondered if Michael Hussey had a crush on one of the brat pack while in school
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
Ever wondered if Michael Hussey had a crush on one of the brat pack while in school? Whether boy-next-door-meets-bad-boy MS Dhoni likes actions flicks or chick flicks? Well you may soon find out.
In a new PR drive, the normally reserved ICC has decided to release information on the game’s top players in order to generate more hoopla for the ICC World Twenty20 this summer. The ICC will circulate 19 questions to leading players from various countries in an attempt to get more out of them than the standard ‘opening-batsman-offbreak-bowler’ routine they often mumble on TV.
According to the Express, the survey will include questions ranging from retirement plans, nightmare opposition, childhood heroes, favourite films, songs, actresses and food, and even if any relative has played competitive cricket. The ICC will then share the hallowed information with its broadcasting and internet content collaborators before the World Twenty20 kicks off on June 5.
Talk about creative mojo.
Full postOnce upon a time in rural Twenty20
The rural community remodeled as the fictional village Champaner in the 2001 Academy Award-nominated Hindi film Lagaan is set to actually host a cricket tournament
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
The rural community remodeled as the fictional village Champaner in the 2001 Academy Award-nominated Hindi film Lagaan is set to actually host a cricket tournament. No, this won’t be a real-life battle against high taxes between peasants in a barren village and their oppressive British rulers. Instead, in keeping with times, it’s going to be called the Kutch Premier League, planned along the lines of the IPL, and will feature eight local teams vying for the tag of Twenty20 champs in an arid corner of Gujarat.
Rajnal, 50 kilometers from Champaner's inspiration Kunaria, will play host to teams with names like Wagad Royal Challengers and Kutch Gladiators, owned by former Indian Test offspinner Rajesh Chauhan. The other teams are owned by local businessmen, who paid Rs 50,000 (US$ 1,017) for each. Running the show is the Ratnal Sport Club, which auctioned the teams. There are even 24 icon players out of a pool of 150 auctioned on May 1. Raking in the top amount was allrounder Nirav Pandya, for whom Bhuj Black Hills paid Rs 20,000 (US$ 407).
Each game will be a day fixture and telecast on local cable television, though hopefully without DLF maximums and Citi moments of success. Local steel company Nilkanth Steel owns the title sponsorship. Add a dash of glamour in the form of popular Gujarati actress Hemali Shejpal, and this is one proper shindig.
The winner will pocket Rs 1.5 lakh (US$ 3,050) in cash and a trip to Canbis County Cricket Club in Kenya, which has a large Gujarati population.Doing a rustic take on Lalit Modi, event planner Trikam Ahir said the tournament’s intention was to provide a platform for local players as well as “good entertainment for locals” during the summer vacation. The times they are a-changin’.
Full postRiddled goods
Dilawar Hussain, of Blackburn, is an angry man
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
Dilawar Hussain, of Blackburn, is an angry man. And £475 short. Hussain, who plays for Gujarat and Niles cricket clubs, ordered a kit from Lahore and arranged for it to be shipped to the UK via DHL.
But before reaching him, eight bats and a few pairs of pads were ruined by officials searching for explosives. Each bat and pad arrived with holes drilled in them. Worse, no one has owned up to the damage. "It is unbelievable. What were they thinking? They're ruined,” said club captain Dilawar Hussain.
True to form, the governments of both Pakistan and the UK are engaged in a battle of passing the buck. Last heard, British customs said it would have provided paperwork if it did the check.
Full postThe unwelcome travellers
Cricket clubs are used to not being able to honour fixtures because of the weather or player shortages, but Roborough Cricket Club in Devon have a more long-term issue after a group of so-called travellers set up camp on the outfield earlier this
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
Cricket clubs are used to not being able to honour fixtures because of the weather or player shortages, but Roborough Cricket Club in Devon have a more long-term issue after a group of so-called travellers set up camp on the outfield earlier this week and let their children loose on the square.
“They've been riding across the wicket,” said club treasurer Mike Gaylard. “We're going to inspect it on Monday morning and carry out any necessary repairs. We're hoping we'll be able to play in the afternoon. They just think they've got a God given right to be there.”
“We're just passing through; it's our way of life,” one of the travellers countered. “It's the only way you know when you've been brought up with it.”
The police washed their hands of the situation and the local council, who own the ground, said that they could “only move as fast as the law allows”.
Full postWhen Warney nipped a sip
Shane Warne walks on water but is famously partial to beer – even in the middle of an IPL game
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Shane Warne walks on water but is famously partial to beer – even in the middle of an IPL game. Leading his Rajasthan Royals back on to the field after a strategic time-out against Bangalore at Centurion on Thursday, Warne was walking along the boundary when he spotted a spectator holding a glass of beer. He reached out, the beer was proffered, a quick swig ensued, a few drops were spilled and one spectator was left with a glass he probably will keep forever. It was all over in a few seconds and, though captured live by the TV cameras, was studiously ignored by the commentators. Warne, typically unfazed by the potential for controversy, carried on from where he’d been interrupted by the break: leading Rajasthan to yet another win and, by the end of the night, to second spot in the table.
Full postCould broadcasters start picking teams?
Just how far the ECB is prepared to bend over to earn an extra buck - and it would probably win many limbo competitions – might be gauged by its reaction to ESPN-Star’s reported multi-million dollar bid for rights to cover the planned new domestic
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
Just how far the ECB is prepared to bend over to earn an extra buck - and it would probably win many limbo competitions – might be gauged by its reaction to ESPN-Star’s reported multi-million dollar bid for rights to cover the planned new domestic Twenty20 tournament, due to launch in 2010.
The Daily Telegraph claims that it is a condition of ESPN-Star's bid that every team taking part in any televised match must contain an Indian player. This will leave the ECB between a rock and a hard place. In the past it has tended to follow the dollar and risk public opprobrium, as evidenced by its decision to take live English cricket completely off terrestrial TV and place it in the hands of BSkyB.
But if it does accede to ESPN-Star's demands, then it raises the prospects of all future bids being accompanied by similar demands. Where does that end? Could we see BSkyB have a place on England’s panel of selectors, or picking overseas players for counties?
Full post