The Buzz
The umpire strikes back
Those watching Australia’s pre-Test nets at the Bellerive Oval on Thursday could have been forgiven for think Waqar Younis was giving the Australian batsmen a workout
Jayaditya Gupta
25-Feb-2013
Those watching Australia’s pre-Test nets at the Bellerive Oval on Thursday could have been forgiven for think Waqar Younis was giving the Australian batsmen a workout. It was in fact umpire Aleem Dar, a dead ringer for former Pakistan fast bowler, who was sending down a few fast ones at Michael Clarke and David Warner. You could call it an unequal battle, given the fact that Dar is third umpire for the Test, and he was treated with due deference – Warner even curbing his instincts to pull the couple of bouncers he received.
Dar, officially the world’s best umpire, is more than a Sunday bowler. He bowled legspin in a 12-year first-class career in Pakistan and has a full-fledged Astroturf nets on the roof of his house. But bowling in the Australia nets is possibly tempting fate, the rate at which Aussie bowlers are getting crocked - there could be a strong temptation to pull in a Waqar lookalike and hope for the best.
Full postSymonds hits the Bigg time
India’s love-hate relationship with Andrew Symonds continues, with the former Australia allrounder becoming the latest participant in Bigg Boss, the Indian version of the reality show Big Brother
Jayaditya Gupta
25-Feb-2013
India’s love-hate relationship with Andrew Symonds continues, with the former Australia allrounder becoming the latest participant in Bigg Boss, the Indian version of the reality show Big Brother. Symonds was vilified in India for his role in the ‘Monkeygate’ affair four years ago but redeemed himself somewhat by helping Deccan Chargers win the second season of the IPL. Now he puts it all on the line with his stint in Bigg Boss House, where his fellow inmates includes an American porn star.
There’s no talk (yet) of Harbhajan Singh, the other protagonist of Monkeygate, joining the fun but the spinner’s exclusion from the Australia tour offers hope of an intriguing alternative to the on-field action. Symonds, though, is upbeat about the state of their relations. “We are great friends,” he told rediff.com. “We party, we get sloshed.” The Indian cricketer he’d like to see in the house: Rohit Sharma. And his expectations of Bigg Boss? “An opportunity to showcase Australian culture, which involves fun activities like barbecues and throwing people into the pool.” Just as well many in India have already seen the other side of Australian culture, most recently via the Masterchef series.
Full postCome dine with Sangakkara and Jayawardene
Having become two of Sri Lanka’s leading cricketers of all time, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene now hope to use their culinary tastes to become some of the country’s best restaurateurs.
Alex Winter
25-Feb-2013
Having become two of Sri Lanka’s leading cricketers of all time, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene now hope to use their culinary tastes to become some of the country’s best restaurateurs.
The pair have teamed up with restaurateur Dharshan Munidasa to open the “Ministry of Crab” at the Old Dutch Hospital in Colombo, the Island reported. The restaurant will serve the best of Sri Lanka’s sea food and a signature dish of export-quality crabs, not usually available in Sri Lanka.
Former captain Sangakkara has been interested in food for a long time and during a spell in England with Warwickshire, cookery shows became his favourite TV programmes.
Another former Sri Lanka captain had dabbled in the culinary world. Aravinda de Silva entered the restaurant business with an establishment specialising in Sri Lankan cuisine but has since disposed of his interest.
Full postFootballers spruce up stadium for cricket match
The financial imbalance between cricket and other sports in India is well documented
Nikita Bastian
25-Feb-2013
The financial imbalance between cricket and other sports in India is well documented. Cricketers are revered for the most part, while other sportsmen tend to go by unnoticed. The scene at the Holkar Stadium in Indore, ahead of the fourth ODI between India and West Indies, was a case in point.
The Anand XI Football Club, winners of Indore's top football league, were hired on Monday to clean seats at the cricket stadium in preparation for the one-dayer. The 15 footballers are being paid Rs 3 per seat for their services, Mumbai Mirror reported. "We have taken up this job to help buy football kits," the team's coach, Ramchandra Chauhan, told the newspaper. "Most players on the team come from extremely poor backgrounds and have no option but to double up as daily wage labourers to make ends meet."
The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association media manager, Ashok Kumat, said the state board did not know that the hired helpers were footballers. “The association has hired professional cleaners for the job of sprucing up the stadium. As far our knowledge goes, this [that a football team was hired] isn't true.”
Full postPanesar put through his paces
Monty Panesar has looked slightly out of place a few times during his career – at extra cover for example – but there may have been a few giggles when he lined up alongside the New South Wales Waratahs rugby team for a training session.
Alex Winter
25-Feb-2013
Monty Panesar has looked slightly out of place a few times during his career – at extra cover for example – but there may have been a few giggles when he lined up alongside the New South Wales Waratahs rugby team for a training session.
Panesar was put through fitness drills alongside 19 stone, six foot four, Wycliff Palu, before having a sledge strapped to his waist and running six stone weights up and down the pitch. No sweat for Monty. “That was a good training session actually,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald. “I was trying to keep up with a couple of the guys there and it was good, I really enjoyed it.”
''I think more than anything when you're cross-fertilising in sports it stimulates your own thinking," said Panesar, who is playing for Randwick-Petersham in Sydney. "'The [Waratahs'] professionalism and their fitness levels are really high and … I've been to their building and seen the facilities, it's just amazing to see what they provide and the facilities they've got and how professional they are in terms of their own sport.''
If he gets a chance to face Pakistan next month they'd better watch out.
Full postThe cricketer who googled her way into a team
You’ve probably googled for information on top restaurants, vacation spots or scientific explanations, right
Nikita Bastian
25-Feb-2013
You’ve probably googled for information on top restaurants, vacation spots or scientific explanations, right? How about googling your way into a national cricket team – ever thought about giving that a try? Well, that’s exactly what Anahita Arora did.
Arora moved to New York from Delhi in 2003 and, sometime later, typed ‘USA Women’s Cricket Association’ into Google. The USA Women’s team, she learned from her search, was looking for players. Arora, who had played in local tournaments growing up, attended the trials and was selected in the national team, the Indian Express reported. Arora played for the USA in the recently concluded ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers in Bangladesh, finishing second on the team’s batting-averages chart.
Full postDravid to deliver Sir Don Bradman speech
Sachin Tendulkar may be the India batsman who constantly draws comparisons with Don Bradman, but it is Rahul Dravid who has been asked by Cricket Australia to deliver the speech at the annual Sir Donald Bradman Oration in Canberra – a function in
Dustin Silgardo
25-Feb-2013
Sachin Tendulkar may be the India batsman who constantly draws comparisons with Don Bradman, but it is Rahul Dravid who has been asked by Cricket Australia to deliver the speech at the annual Sir Donald Bradman Oration in Canberra – a function in which a prominent figure speaks about Bradman’s career and cricket's place in their own lives. Dravid will be the first Indian to deliver the speech at the function, which will be held on December 14 at the Australian War Memorial this year, and joins the likes of John Howard, the former Australian prime minister, Richie Benaud, Ricky Ponting and Greg Chappell.
"Cricket is a noble game, and has a noble appeal. We wanted a distinguished individual with a high acumen level who would participate in the Test series between India and Australia,” CA's General Manager of Public Affairs, Peter Young, said.
Dravid will want to save some of that acumen for the Test series too, which begins with the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Full postDemand downs Surrey website
The health, or otherwise, of Test cricket is a current hot debate with crowds dwindling around the world but in England the numbers coming to grounds is less of a concern.
Andrew McGlashan
25-Feb-2013
The health, or otherwise, of Test cricket is a current hot debate with crowds dwindling around the world but in England the numbers coming to grounds is less of a concern.
The Oval is one ground that rarely has a problem selling seats and tickets for next year’s Test against South Africa have gone on public sale. The demand was so great that Surrey’s website crashed for a short time.
To bring something a little different to buying a ticket, Surrey are running a promotion called “tweet your seat.” Anyone who buys a ticket by Friday can then go onto twitter and send @surreycricket a message with their stand, row and seat number.
The club will then take a picture of the view you will have of the cricket, while a few will be greeted by an image of a Surrey player – Jade Dernbach, Chris Tremlett or even Kevin Pietersen – sat in the seat with the person’s Twitter name displayed. Go on, get buying. And tweeting.
Full postSouth Africa's 'new toys'
South Africa’s cricketers have some “new toys”, to quote Dale Steyn
Nikita Bastian
25-Feb-2013
South Africa’s cricketers have some “new toys”, to quote Dale Steyn. He was not referring to the new Call of Duty, but to Cricket South Africa’s hyperbaric chamber. These contraptions help a person acclimatise to altitude by improving the oxygen supply to the blood. So they come in quite handy at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, where the ongoing Test is taking place at nearly 1700 metres above sea level.
South Africa’s cricketers, especially the fast bowlers, have been using the machine as an aid to recovery. Vernon Philander was spotted in the chamber, which is in a gym at the Wanderers, during a lunch break, while Steyn tweeted a photograph of himself being treated after play on the third day.
Full postOne hundred gold coins for 100 tons
A century is worth its weight in gold for any team, some people say
Nikita Bastian
25-Feb-2013
A century is worth its weight in gold for any team, some people say. The Mumbai Cricket Association has taken that literally. "MCA President Vilasrao Deshmukh has decided that the association should give [Sachin] Tendulkar 100 gold coins if he completes his 100th international century at his home ground," Nitin Dalal, Joint Secretary of MCA, said on Saturday. India play West Indies in a Test at the Wankhede Stadium from November 22.
Tendulkar's 100th century has been highly anticipated but the wait has been a long one. His last hundred was during the World Cup and he went through the entire tour of England without reaching the landmark. The anticipation has taken on a slightly ironic tone on Twitter where the topic #ThingsThatCanHappenBeforeSachins100thCentury recently trended worldwide. A 100 gold coins is a tempting incentive though and should Tendulkar achieve the feat it should make for an interesting presentation ceremony. What quip will Virat Kohli have for this bizarre show of appreciation?
Full post