The Buzz
Morkel steps into Ntini's shoes
Judhajit
25-Feb-2013
It was literally a case of stepping into another's shoes for South African fast bowler Morne Morkel. He had to train in teammate Makhaya Ntini’s shoes on the eve of the fifth ODI against Australia after a bag containing all his equipment disappeared from the team hotel at Fourways in Johannesburg.
The bag, with three pairs of Puma bowling shoes, all his batting accessories and one-day clothing was tracked down in Cape Town on Thursday afternoon. “One moment my bag was still in the hotel lobby and the next it was nowhere to be found,” Morkel told News24.com. “One of the hotel workers had been spotted with it and somehow it landed on the same bus as the baggage for the Deccan Chargers.”
Full postWas royalty bestowed on Warne by chance?
The best thing that happened to the Rajasthan Royals, the inaugural IPL champions, might have occurred by chance
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
The best thing that happened to the Rajasthan Royals, the inaugural IPL champions, might have occurred by chance. They never intended to buy Shane Warne at the auction but ended up with him because he was the first player on sale - or so say the authors of an upcoming book 'IPL - an inside story'.
The book has what it says is an eye-witness account of the first auction by the CEO of a franchise. "Warne's was the first name that came up as the 78 players' names were picked up. But no one was willing to pick him up at the reserve price. The auction was headed for disaster within the first few minutes.
"Since [Lalit] Modi has some interest in the Jaipur team, he made eye contact with [Manoj] Badale and Co. and nudged them to start bidding. Jaipur raised the placard, hoping other teams would jump into the fray. But no other team bid for Warne. Jaipur, it seemed, was saddled with Warne." Less than four months later Jaipur had the last laugh, and the others were left looking foolish, as Warne reinvented himself with spectacular success.
Full postFrance v England in cricket
Question: Who are the current Olympic silver medalists in cricket
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Question: Who are the current Olympic silver medalists in cricket? Answer: France, and they want a re-match against England, who won gold at the Paris Games in 1900. France Cricket, the governing body for the sport in the country, is preparing to issue a challenge to England - a return game in Lille ahead of the London Olympics in 2012.
"It would be a one-day game," Maxime Parent, spokesman for France Cricket, told the Independent "I don't think that the French public is quite ready yet for a Test match stretching over five days. Perhaps, one day, who knows? Cricket is advancing quickly in France but it needs a match like this to capture the imagination of the public. France v England is always a big event in France, whatever the sport."
Cricket in France has come a fair way since it was banned as an "alien" sport in 1940 by the Vichy government. There are now ten clubs in France's super-league and about one-third of its players are French. It might have been very different if the MCC had gone ahead with its first foreign tour - to France - in 1789. They had to cancel because of the French revolution.
Full postEverest match drowns in red tape
It's good to know that the prevalence and strength of red tape isn't affected by altitude
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
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It's good to know that the prevalence and strength of red tape isn't affected by altitude. The British group that was flying, driving and trekking for 11 days to play cricket on Mount Everest – see the Buzz entry two blogs ago – has been turned away by Nepalese conservation officials.
They were aiming to play a Twenty20 match more than three miles above sea level in what would be the highest altitude recorded for an organised field sport. But the touring party has been refused access to the Sagarmatha National Park and was told nobody was allowed to play cricket inside the protected area.
It seems the Brits have been caught in the middle of a power struggle between the Minister for Forest and Land Conservation, who said they could play, and the national park’s management, which said they couldn’t. The match was due to go ahead next week, which means the players have a few days to try and sort out the bungle.
Full postDirty Harry to be at IPL opening ceremony?
The celebrity quotient during the opening ceremony of the inaugural IPL may have been provided by biggies from Bollywood but the tournament's shift to South Africa could lend it an international flavour this time around.
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
The celebrity quotient during the opening ceremony of the inaugural IPL may have been provided by biggies from Bollywood but the tournament's shift to South Africa could lend it an international flavour this time around.
Reports suggest Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman - who are working on the Human Factor, a film on how Nelson Mandela used the 1995 rugby World Cup win to help heal post-apartheid race relations - are among the headliners at this year’s ceremony. If true, one of the organisers’ tasks will be to stop them from doing a Groucho Marx (asking “When does the game itself begin?” while watching the match). Pop star George Michael and alternative rock band Snow Patrol are other names being bandied about - though curiously no mention has been made of cricket's biggest rockstar fans, Mick Jagger and his fellow Rolling Stones. Ah well, you can't always get what you want...
Full postCricket on Everest
How far would you go to play cricket
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
How far would you go to play cricket? A group of 50 people set out from Lord’s on Friday to play a Twenty20 match on Mount Everest in the Himalayas, the Times reported. They’ll get to their venue, a frozen lake near an Everest base camp called Gorak Shep (“dead raven” in the Sherpas' language), after 11 days of flying, driving and trekking to reach a plateau more than three miles above sea level - the highest altitude recorded for a field sport.
The teams – appropriately named Hillary and Tenzing – will use wooden stumps and bats, a pink leather ball, and an artificial pitch. The thin air is expected to make the player’s hearts beat 30% faster than usual and after their efforts they will take a proper British cricket tea and raise the Union Jack in the Queen’s honour. And oh, the game is being played for charity, with over £250,000 expected to be raised for the Himalayan Trust and the Lord's Taverners.
Full postIs that a pirate at Lord's?
Spectators are going to be allowed to wear fancy dress at Lord’s for the first time ever during the World Twenty20 in June and some of the MCC members are not happy about it
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Spectators are going to be allowed to wear fancy dress at Lord’s for the first time ever during the World Twenty20 in June and some of the MCC members are not happy about it. Lord’s will relax its strict regulations on attire, in effect since the 18th century, and will join other fancy-dress friendly venues such as the Oval, Trent Bridge and Taunton.
“The Aussie guys can come with yellow wigs, the South Africans can come dressed all in green,” Steve Elworthy, the tournament director, told the Times. “We want to encourage that and we want people to have fun. If they come in a costume, that will be allowed.”
The move is aimed at attracting a younger audience and some of the old timers are bristling. “It's bloody ridiculous,” said Len Osborn, 83 and a member of MCC for more than 30 years. “They will lower the tone of the place.” He need not worry though, for once the World Twenty20 is over, Lord’s will once again not permit pirates, super heroes and fairy-tale characters through its gates.
Full postRight on cue
Snooker has been one of sport's more traditional games, which is perhaps why it's taken the cue from another traditional sport to reinvent itself
Judhajit
25-Feb-2013
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Snooker has been one of sport's more traditional games, which is perhaps why it's taken the cue from another traditional sport to reinvent itself. Impressed by the success of cricket's Twenty20 format, World Snooker chairman Rodney Walker is adapting the principles to draw new fans to the green baize tables. Outlining his plans in the Guardian he said the new format - tentatively dubbed 'Super6s' - would feature balls of only six colours (as opposed to eight), with games intended to last an average of six or seven minutes.
The game is due to be trialled at this month's World Championships in Sheffield with a ‘Legends v Rising Stars’ tournament.
"As an observer of snooker you cannot churn out the same diet year after year,” Walker said. “Look at what Twenty20 has done for cricket. It has brought in a whole new audience so what we have in mind we think would be appealing to a younger audience.”
Full postA field of dreams left incomplete
The 1980’s film Arthur’s Hallowed Ground tells the story of a possessive curator who has tended the same school cricket field for half a century and strives to bring to fruition his idea of a perfect pitch, against the wishes of his seniors who
Siddhartha Talya
25-Feb-2013
The 1980’s film Arthur’s Hallowed Ground tells the story of a possessive curator who has tended the same school cricket field for half a century and strives to bring to fruition his idea of a perfect pitch, against the wishes of his seniors who want him to create a track which suits the struggling home team. Auckland businessman Derek Evennett faces no such obstacles, for he owns the Coatesville Cricket Ground, the realisation of his own ambition to create the ideal cricketing venue.
Bought at a price of NZ$1.06 million, the ground was built to international specifications, with 70-metre boundaries, and has played host to several club and school-level matches. However, Evennett, who has spent a lifetime playing and umpiring the game around the world, has regrettably stopped short of taking the next step – building a pavilion. He has instead put it up on sale, hoping for another “fanatic” to step in and complete the task. Arthur didn’t own his ground but his devotion to it imbued him with a sense of ownership. Evennett, on the other hand, has opted to relinquish his own prized possession and left his dream incomplete.
Full postJesse Ryder's new weapon
Jesse Ryder has a new weapon with which to attack the Indian bowlers but he isn’t planning on using it just yet
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Jesse Ryder has a new weapon with which to attack the Indian bowlers but he isn’t planning on using it just yet. His new sponsor Gray-Nicolls gave Ryder a double-sided bat and some space-age helmets on Wednesday, the Dominion Post reported.
The bats, according to Gray-Nicolls' Cameron Black, “created quite a storm” in Australia after David Warner hit Shaun Tait on to the roof of an Adelaide Oval grandstand. Ryder, however, wasn’t so keen and did not plan to bat with it just yet. “I'm not the best player to be reverse-sweeping, so I don't practise it,” he said. “But I'll give it a go in the nets and see how it goes."
Full post