The Buzz
Voges thinks quickly ... again
It seemed so spur of the moment
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
It seemed so spur of the moment. Adam Voges’ brilliant juggling catch on the long-on boundary to remove Brendon McCullum in the second-last over was the difference between victory and defeat for Australia. Had he stumbled over the boundary with the ball in hand, a six would have been called and New Zealand would almost certainly have won.
Instead, Voges lobbed the ball high back into play as he fell backwards, then tripped over the boundary as he crawled back onto the field to complete the take. He was part juggler, part tightrope walker and was cool enough to pull off the act in front of tens of thousands of spectators.
But circus-goers don’t see the hours of practice and neither had most of the Sydney fans seen Voges try a similar trick a fortnight ago in a state one-day game. On that occasion Queensland’s Nathan Reardon slammed the ball towards long-off and Voges took it cleanly while backing back, but again was going to fall over the boundary.
His Western Australia colleague Theo Doropoulos had also made good ground and was near the ball, so Voges lobbed it towards him and Doropoulos was credited with the catch. But like any good showman, Voges wasn’t about to be upstaged and turned the duet into a solo act at the SCG.
Full postSmells like Lord's
Playing at Lord's is the dream of many, but the privilege of a few
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Playing at Lord's is the dream of many, but the privilege of a few. However, a new breakthrough could perhaps help you create the feel of "the home of cricket" in your own backyard. Or even splash it on yourself before your next club match.
Perfumers at Procter & Gamble have captured the essence of Lord's, according to the New Scientist. A technology called headspace analysis was used to take in the odours of freshly cut grass, cricket bats, laundered cricket kit and the players' changing room (minus the players, thankfully), and these will be used as the starting point for a fragrance. "Perfumers need inspiration, and this can come from people that surround them, places they've visited, or things that they love in the world," said Will Andrews of P&G.
We're not sure when Lord's will be available in a bottle, but keep those nostrils open. Parfum de la Lord's?
Full postOldies dust off the bats for bushfire game
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Sydney physiotherapists are in for a hectic evening. Mark Taylor and Michael Slater are among a long list of Australian sporting celebrities old and new to volunteer their services for a charity Twenty20 match at the SCG on February 22 to raise money for the victims of the Victorian bushfires.
Speaking at the launch of the event, Slater conceded he could not remember the last time he picked up a bat, while Taylor estimated he had played a solitary match in five years. But the former opening duo believes aching muscles are a small price to pay for the bushfire relief appeal, which has already raised millions for the injured and displaced.
Full postThe party that turned sour
By all accounts, Sir Viv Richards left the ground that bears his name angry and upset on a day that brought shame to his beloved island
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
By all accounts, Sir Viv Richards left the ground that bears his name angry and upset on a day that brought shame to his beloved island. "This shoots me straight through the heart," he said. "This is not shooting me in the foot. This is shooting me straight through the heart."
It should have been a memorable day for Richards and his former team-mates Andy Roberts and Michael Holding, as the three were meant to be presented with ICC Hall of Fame caps during the lunch interval, with a five-a-side match afterwards.
As it was, the day had ceased to have any sense of celebration long before then and embarrassed ICC officials, including chief executive Haroon Lorgat and media manager Jon Long, were forced to pack up their goodies and sneak them off to the Recreation Ground where they will all try again on Sunday.
Full postLeap as you would lead
After racing a plane, training with commandos, winning the Twenty20 World Cup and beating Australia in Australia, what can our bored hero do to spice up his life
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
After racing a plane, training with commandos, winning the Twenty20 World Cup and beating Australia in Australia, what can our bored hero do to spice up his life? How about jumping off a bridge? Should be easy now that Tourism Auckland has invited Mahendra Singh Dhoni to bungee jump off the Harbour Bridge as a way to “see the city in all its glory”.
Graeme Osborne, Tourism Auckland’s chief executive, said he wanted the Indian players to "experience the best of what Auckland has to offer” when they tour the city for a one-day game in March. But it’s a tall order since the Indian captain has confessed to being afraid of heights. Perhaps Virender Sehwag, his deputy, can step in instead.
Full postSreesanth - the sexy vegetarian
Batsmen alert: He may look like he’s after your blood but he really isn’t and he may look beastly in his run-up but he’s really a beauty
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
Batsmen alert: He may look like he’s after your blood but he really isn’t and he may look beastly in his run-up but he’s really a beauty. And while cricket fans make up their mind whether they like Sreesanth or not, veggie lovers voted him the Sexiest Indian Vegetarian Alive, along with Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor, in PETA India’s annual online poll.
The website describes him thus: “as easy on the eyes as he is hard on his opponents. “A young and exuberant player who has got the moves on the pitch and on the dance floor, it's no wonder that 'The Prince of hat-tricks' has been crowned our king of veggie Valentinos!” With his new buffed-up look, it won’t be long before Sreesanth leads the Indian version of the Men of Cricket calendar.
Full postMiandad the diplomat
Even Javed Miandad’s most enthusiastic supporters would struggle to pretend that diplomacy is one of his strengths
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
Even Javed Miandad’s most enthusiastic supporters would struggle to pretend that diplomacy is one of his strengths. Nevertheless, the nation’s favourite pugilist will shortly be given the chance to practice his dialogue with a global superpower, when he heads to China as a cricket ambassador, at the behest of the Pakistan Sports Ministry.
The fall-out from Javed’s latest acrimonious split with the Pakistan Cricket Board has barely settled – he squared up to the board chairman, Ijaz Butt, at a senate hearing earlier this week, following his abrupt resignation as director-general in January, after only a month in the role. But none of that matters to the sports secretary, Ashraf Khan, who regards Javed as the perfect man to take cricket across the Karakorum Highway.
“It will be an exploratory tour for Miandad which runs between March 9 and 15," Khan told reporters. "China did very well in the last Olympics and you can't underestimate their talent in any sport. We do hope that Miandad will assist them in improving their cricketing skills."
Miandad’s appointment was rubber-stamped by the Pakistan president, Asif Ali Zardari, who is also the patron-in-chief of the PCB. "I have no doubt that they could excel in the field of cricket,” said Miandad, “like they did in other sports.”
Full postMcGlashans and McCullums
It’s fair to say Peter McGlashan was a surprise call-up into New Zealand’s Twenty20 squad for Sunday’s game against Australia
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
It’s fair to say Peter McGlashan was a surprise call-up into New Zealand’s Twenty20 squad for Sunday’s game against Australia. But his parents didn’t need to make a last-minute dash to the travel agent to get on a flight to Sydney to watch their son play.
They were already going to be at the SCG that day to watch their daughter Sara. You see, Sara McGlashan is part of the New Zealand women’s side that will play a Twenty20 against Australia as a curtain-raiser to the men’s game. In fact she probably has a better chance of playing than Peter, whose fate rests with the fitness of the first-choice wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum.
"Mum and dad had planned to go to watch Sara and we've shouted my little sister to go over as her 21st present,” Peter said. “And I rang mum with the news and said could she track my passport down. She said 'why, are you coming to watch?' and I said 'I might actually be playing'."
One way or another it should be a familial affair for the New Zealanders. If McCullum’s sore shoulder doesn’t keep him out he’s every chance to play alongside his brother Nathan McCullum, who was called in as a Twenty20 specialist.
Full post The one rupee sue
It could be the global financial crunch, or just plain ol' fashioned occupation of the higher ground but having come across multi-million dollar/rupee defamation cases, Shafqat Naghmi's decision to sue PCB chairman Ijaz Butt for damages worth one
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
It could be the global financial crunch, or just plain ol' fashioned occupation of the higher ground but having come across multi-million dollar/rupee defamation cases, Shafqat Naghmi's decision to sue PCB chairman Ijaz Butt for damages worth one Pakistan rupee (approximately US$0.012581) is worth nothing. Naghmi, a former chief operating officer of the board, is taking Butt and other officials to court for levelling charges of financial mismanagement against him.
Turns out, it is neither morality or recession. “I will claim a public apology from them and one rupee in damages to show these people what I think they are worth,” Naghmi told the News, which is, in the world of Pakistan cricket, a pretty sharp insult. “This board does not deserve to remain in power. They don’t know what they are doing. The defamation suit is meant to expose them before the public,” Naghmi said.
Given the unusual nature of the case, Naghmi's one buck could well be a million dollars for memorabilia addicts.
Full postThe battle of the Basin
The once natural sun trap which provided shelter from New Zealand's notorious southerly winds to cricket fans on the grass bank at the eastern side of the Basin Reserve is in danger
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
The once natural sun trap which provided shelter from New Zealand's notorious southerly winds to cricket fans on the grass bank at the eastern side of the Basin Reserve is in danger. The peaceful spot at 'The Basin', as Wellingtonians refer to it, may be disturbed by honking cars and exhaust fumes, if Wellington's administrators have their way.
Anyone with even a passing interest in cricket in New Zealand knows that the Basin Reserve, the gift of nature, is the best cricket ground in the country. But not so Wellington's pen-pushers, who have proposed to build a concrete flyover over the northern face of the ground, apparently to connect the second Mt Victoria tunnel that will lessen traffic jams that often occur at the one lane road in the course of the mountain.
Per the 1873 Deed of Trust which endows the ground to the people of the city, no thoroughfare was to be built across the ground. During the 1990s, it was discovered the actual boundary of the ground was one lane out on the road that encircles the ground. Since then, the venue's custodians have been tempted to solve the problems associated with increasing traffic usage in the city.
This could the most radical move yet, prompting the phrase "car-crash cricket".
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