The Buzz
The 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 postAn offer you can refuse
As advertisements go, the one for the post of CEO of the Netherlands cricket board (KNBC) is hardly designed to whet the appetites of candidates
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
As advertisements go, the one for the post of CEO of the Netherlands cricket board (KNBC) is hardly designed to whet the appetites of candidates. In fact, it all but screams out ‘don’t bother to apply’. The Dutch have had two CEOs in the last few months, with the most recent, Andre van Troost, barely having time to pick his office furniture before he quit.
The latest advert from the board, as flagged by Cricket Europe, starts with the gung-ho comment that it was “required by ICC regulations to advertise this position once again. Hence the following advertisement”. It’s downhill from there, but in case anyone was still interested, the description concludes: “Attention is drawn to the fact that there is already an established candidate.”
Full postFlintoff to appear in pedalo video
It’s a sure-fire certainty that Andrew Flintoff is set to absolutely rake it in as he steps away from Test cricket to concentrate on one-dayers
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
It’s a sure-fire certainty that Andrew Flintoff is set to absolutely rake it in as he steps away from Test cricket to concentrate on one-dayers. He remains arguably England’s most marketable cricketer, one of those few cricketers whose name and face is familiar even to those not so enamoured with cricket.
His lowest, wettest moment as a cricketer – pedalo-gate in 2007 - is set to earn him and his charity a bucket load of cash, too, in a new advert for men’s deodorant. Flintoff will appear in a viral advert seen pedalling through rivers and canals after a bunch of Australians try to sabotage his transport in getting to an Ashes Test, by swapping his car with a pedalo.
The pedalo will be auctioned on eBay, the proceeds going to support Flintoff’s charity, the AF Foundation, and the video can be seen at The Guardian.
Full postWarne lines up for Poker Ashes
Fresh from his exploits at the recent World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, in which he progressed to the third round of the competition, Shane Warne is all set to show off his card tricks in the forthcoming “Poker Ashes”, the first round of which will
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
Fresh from his exploits at the recent World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, in which he progressed to the third round of the competition, Shane Warne is all set to show off his card tricks in the forthcoming “Poker Ashes”, the first round of which will be televised tonight on Sky Sports at 10.30pm.
Sponsored by 888.com, the format pits two teams of former Ashes cricketers against one another, with Warne captaining the Australians, and Darren Gough leading the line for England. “We’ve got home advantage and the best poker players in English cricket flying the flag,” said Gough. “It’s going to be a long flight home for Shane and co after a cricket/poker double this summer.”
Full postThe forgotten hat-trick
When James Franklin dismissed Chris Rogers in Derbyshire’s second innings against Gloucestershire in Cheltenham in the County Championship, the significance of the occasion slipped everybody’s mind, including the bowler's
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
When James Franklin dismissed Chris Rogers in Derbyshire’s second innings against Gloucestershire in Cheltenham in the County Championship, the significance of the occasion slipped everybody’s mind, including the bowler's. Four overs later, realisation finally dawned. Franklin had earlier dismissed Tim Groenewald and Steffan Jones off successive balls to round off Derbyshire’s first innings before dismissing Rogers first ball in the second innings, thereby sealing a staggered hat-trick. "I had no idea I'd taken a hat-trick until the umpire reminded me about four overs into my spell," Franklin said. "I've taken one before in Test cricket (against Bangladesh in 2004) but never in first-class."
It brought back memories of another staggered hat-trick during an IPL game in 2008 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings at the Eden Gardens. Like this one, it went unnoticed initially. Chennai’s Makhaya Ntini snared two in two and took the third off the first ball of his next spell. The bowler found out only during the innings break.
Full postShafayat gagged over glove-gate
As the 12th man who braved the collective wrath of the Australian team, Bilal Shafayat presumably has quite the story to tell
Alex Brown
25-Feb-2013
As the 12th man who braved the collective wrath of the Australian team, Bilal Shafayat presumably has quite the story to tell. Sadly, we won't be hearing it anytime soon. Speaking to Cricinfo on Tuesday, Shafayat revealed he had been instructed by the ECB to stay schtum on the glove-gate saga that so raised the ire of Ricky Ponting.
"I'm under strict orders," he said. Admittedly, much of his exchange with Ponting would be unprintable on a wholesome website such as this but, rest assured, The Buzz will not rest until the Gary Pratt of a new generation is heard.
Full postWarne's poker challenge ends in defeat
Shane Warne could finally be on his way to England to commentate on this summer’s Ashes for Sky Sports, after he was last night eliminated in the third round of the prestigious World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
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He may, however, need a couple more days to recover from what was, by all accounts, a traumatic way to bomb out of an event that could have netted him up to US$10 million had he progressed all the way to the final table on July 15.
Having gone into the third round with a very healthy stack of 173,700 chips, and 24th in the overall standings, Warne suffered what is known as a “bad beat” and, according to pokernetwork.com, his challenge “collapsed quicker than the English batting order.”
“Warne flopped a flush only to see his opponent improve his set to a full house on the river,” reported the website, “and shortly after ran his pocket eights into an opponent’s pocket aces." And in cricketing terms, that is roughly as unlucky as being given out lbw off an inside edge. Twice in one match.
Full postThe world's biggest sledge
It sometimes seems as though Richard Branson is taking over the world
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
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It sometimes seems as though Richard Branson is taking over the world. When you see an image like this you realise that, should aliens have landed in the past couple of days, they might assume Branson is the president of Earth.
As the opening Test began in Cardiff, Branson hijacked the Sydney Harbour Bridge to send a message to Ricky Ponting. "Good luck Ricky. You'll need it. Dicky X," the message read.
It came via a 25-metre projection of the billionaire, whose Virgin Media has launched a Fifty50 campaign, whereby the company will donate £1000 to charity each time an England player scores a half-century during the Ashes.
Full postOne for the road
Naming streets after cricketers seems to be the latest way of recognising their achievements
Judhajit
25-Feb-2013
Naming streets after cricketers seems to be the latest way of recognising their achievements. Four months after Shivnarine Chanderpaul Drive, comes Umar Gul road. To acknowledge Gul's brilliant performance in the World Twenty20, the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) ministry for sports, culture and tourism in Pakistan has inaugurated a road in his name.The inauguration ceremony was held at the Peshawar Cantonment, in his hometown on Tuesday, and was attended by many, including Gul's family members. No word yet though on the speed limits...
Full postHeads, tails...or npower?
When Andrew Strauss and Ricky Ponting meet in the middle on Wednesday for the toss, there could be no call of heads or tails when the coin is flicked
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
When Andrew Strauss and Ricky Ponting meet in the middle on Wednesday for the toss, there could be no call of heads or tails when the coin is flicked.
The ECB commissioned the Royal Mint, whose home is in Wales, to produce a commemorative medal for the 2009 Ashes. But on closer inspection, there is neither a head or a tail to be seen. Instead, it pictures a batsman presenting a solid forward defence on one side, and npower's logo on the reverse.
A spokesman for Royal Mint told Cricinfo that the side showing the batsman will be called heads, but don't discount one of Ponting and Strauss yelling “npower” to delight their sponsors. The gold medals are limited edition and yours for £1595.
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