The Buzz
Azhar's second innings
India’s general elections were a vindication not only for the Congress party but for one of its debutant candidates
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
India’s general elections were a vindication not only for the Congress party but for one of its debutant candidates. And soon after his win was announced Mohammad Azharuddin celebrated his return to the headlines as a leader once again. “I was overwhelmed,” he told The Telegraph after being elected from the Moradabad constituency. “Till recently I didn’t expect to be in politics... Now, I’m in the Lok Sabha... That’s why I got overwhelmed and, in a way, felt I finally got to play my 100th Test.” He was referring, of course, to his exile from cricket after 99 Tests on being implicated in the match-fixing case. While he couldn’t draw a direct comparison between this achievement and his feats on the cricket field, he said it was it could be on a par with his “No.1 achievement” in the game - a hundred in each of his first three Tests (at home against England, in 1984-85). Azhar’s gradual return from the cold began in 2006 and his second innings has got off to a positive start.
Full postCricket's latest ghost writers
At the start of the English season, Lawrence Booth wrote on Cricinfo about the country-wide culling of cricket writers
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
At the start of the English season, Lawrence Booth wrote on Cricinfo about the country-wide culling of cricket writers. The sports desk of the Daily Telegraph was among those to trim back, but satirical magazine Private Eye reports on how it has tried to disguise the fact.
The more alert of its readers would have noticed a new batch of writers treading the county circuit of late The only thing, Private Eye claims, is that many of them don’t seem to exist.
For a number of years the bylines of Nelson Clare and Austin Peters have appeared regularly to cover for occasions when the paper had nobody covering overseas series (on one occasion bemused readers noted Peters covered matches in Sydney and Colombo on the same day). However, this time it’s closer to home.
“It’s a glorious wheeze,” the Eye claims, “take some agency copy, stick a fake name on the top, and hey presto, a cricket page which costs almost nothing.”
Full postYuvraj attempts to break barriers
Durban has happy memories for Yuvraj Singh – it’s where he hammered Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over during the World Twenty20 in 2007
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Durban has happy memories for Yuvraj Singh – it’s where he hammered Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over during the World Twenty20 in 2007. Now, he’s set to use bat and ball to spread some of that happiness around. Come May 19, his charity foundation will host a fundraiser for ‘Cricket Beyond Boundaries’, a project to introduce cricket to children of diverse communities in the Western Cape’s Gansbaai region as a means of breaking barriers and promoting integration. Tuesday’s event, planned as the first of a series, will include an auction of cricket memorabilia and features as its guest of honour Vikas Swarup, the author of Q&A, the book on which the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire is based. Now that’s not a bad inspiration for anyone trying to break barriers.
Full postLorgat 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 post