The Buzz

The title might fit a countdown show for the latest pop songs but it concerns New Zealand Cricket's latest venture: a search for the batsman who can hit the ball farthest. The competition began on February 2, with the top batsmen from domestic cricket going head to head at Eden Park. A rather surprising winner was former New Zealand fast bowler Ian Butler, whose biggest hit measured 95.98 metres. A not-so-surprising outcome was Billy Bowden developing a special signal for shots over 70m. The competition runs for three weeks - regional public finals held during selected State Twenty20 matches will whittle down backyard batsmen and one representative from each region will be selected for the final - before concluding in Wellington, where six members of the public will go up against Butler and a player from New Zealand's limited-overs squad. Will IPL scouts be watching?

Wednesday was Sri Lanka’s Independence Day and the teams were invited to a Presidential function. Coming as it did a day after the series was decided, and the hosts had been routed, you’d have expected some awkward moments between the sides. Not a whit; the only distinction was in attire - the Indians dressed casually in team T-shirts and jeans, the Sri Lankans in formals - as they mingled fairly freely. The ice-breaker seems to have been the IPL, which has blurred national boundaries (and language barriers).

Before they left, Muttiah Muralitharan was chatting in the hotel lobby with Yusuf Pathan and L Balaji; Murali's Chennai Super Kings had lost to Pathan's Rajasthan Royals in last year's final. "We would have won if your catch had not been dropped off my bowling," Murali said. Yusuf laughed, and retorted, "Yeah, [Suresh] Raina dropped me, didn’t he?"

"Why don't you try to hit me here in this series?" Murali taunted. Yusuf’s reply was a no-brainer - "I hit you in that final!" Yusuf hit Murali for three sixes, picking 24 runs from 12 Murali deliveries, in an innings of 56 that swung the game. "No turn in that pitch," said Murali, and the three laughed before leaving the hotel. The president was waiting.

Despite saying that he would reveal all about his future plans in January, Texas billionaire, former cricket-lover and renowned self-publicist Allen Stanford has been very quiet of late.

Rumours have continued to circulate that he was about to completely pull out of Caribbean cricket following his decision to disband his self-styled legends and close his cricket office in Antigua. There was also talk that the global recession might have dented his financial empire.

Prospects of him continuing to bankroll West Indies cricket were further undermined this week when 200 employees of the Stanford Development Company in Antigua were laid off, leaving the island's prime minister distinctly unimpressed.

A spokesman for the company said they "had to reassess the market in Antigua especially in light of the global economic downturn". Where pouring tens of millions into the region's cricket fits in with that remains to be seen.

People with unusual names know how frustrating it is to have them mispronounced. There’s no excuse when you mangle it yourself and in any case, “Allan” should be pretty straightforward.

But when Allan Border was on stage to present the medal that bears his name, he stumbled embarrassingly on the part of the announcement that should have come naturally. Somehow his own name came out sounding like “Addle” or “Annal”.

The Australian public is losing confidence in their Test team and it seems that the ICC doesn’t have much faith either. The president David Morgan and the chief executive Haroon Lorgat were in Melbourne on Wednesday to confiscate the Test Championship mace.

But hang on. Aren’t Australia still the No. 1 team in the world? Only a series victory to South Africa in South Africa next month would give them the top spot.

The awards keep coming thick and fast for the current Indian captain. On the day India swept to an ODI series win in Sri Lanka, it was announced that Mahendra Singh Dhoni's alma mater St Xavier's College, Ranchi, will present him with its first 'Youth Icon' award during the institute's three-day carnival.

"This will be the first-ever award being conferred to any student in the college's 49-year-old history to encourage all the students to show their prowess," college dean Jayant Sinha told PTI. "We are trying to contact Dhoni's family to receive the award on his behalf." Dhoni, who had enrolled himself in the college last year to complete his degree course in office management, won't be able to receive the award personally since he is currently in Sri Lanka.

The pre-count favourite Mitchell Johnson missed out on the Allan Border Medal in Melbourne on Monday and he even failed to win a title that should have been his in a canter.

Channel Nine polled the women at the awards night to find the sexiest player featured in the Men of Cricket charity calendar.

Two years after his retirement from Test cricket and Shane Warne's celebrity shows no signs of abating. In fact, he still rivals A-list celebrities the world over. The former Australian legspinner, amid growing speculation of another reunion with ex-wife Simone, has asked the police to get rid of that famous celebrity parasite: the paparazzi photographer.

The Herald Sun reported that Warne has lodged a complaint against Jamie Fawcett, a famous celeb snapper who's been involved in a harassment row with Nicole Kidman previously. Warne was apparently angered by photos taken of his three children - Brooke, Jackson and Summer - during a recent family day out on the beach. The photos subsequently appeared in a women's magazine.

Tasmanian No 11 Tim Macdonald isn’t going to be on his team-mate Brett Geeves’ Christmas list this year. For the second time in this season’s Sheffield Shield, Macdonald has managed to leave Geeves stranded on 99, tantalizingly short of his maiden first-class century.