The Buzz
100th-ton memorabilia already lined up
It’s been eight months since Sachin Tendulkar last got to the three-figure mark
Nikita Bastian
25-Feb-2013
It’s been eight months since Sachin Tendulkar last got to the three-figure mark. While his fans have been obsessing over that elusive 100th international century, those in charge of the cricket museum at Eden Gardens now have an extra reason to egg Tendulkar on.
"Sachin has told us that he would donate the bat with which he scores his 100th international hundred to the cricket museum," Cricket Association of Bengal joint secretary Biswarup Dey said on Thursday.
The museum had already gathered a small booty after the Kolkata Test against West Indies, which marked India’s 75th Test win on home soil. Tendulkar’s jersey and gloves, and India captain MS Dhoni’s bat – with which he hit a century during the Test – have been gifted to the museum, and will be displayed in an exhibit commemorating the the team's achievement.
Full postA Very Very Special advertisement
The modern trend is for batsmen to celebrate their centuries in a way that, through accident or design, gives prominence to the back of the bat – and the sponsor's logo on it
Sidharth Monga
25-Feb-2013
The modern trend is for batsmen to celebrate their centuries in a way that, through accident or design, gives prominence to the back of the bat – and the sponsor's logo on it. Trust VVS Laxman to buck the trend. When he pointed the back of his recently sponsored bat on reaching his 17th century, at Eden Gardens, he wasn’t doing it for any financial gains. At the toe end of the reverse of the bat was the lettering “sisj.in” – a reference to the website of Virender Sehwag’s new school-cum-sports-academy near Delhi, the Sehwag International School at Jhajjar.
“Viru came to me with the request to promote his school,” Laxman told the Indian Express. “I readily accepted. I am just trying to promote his venture.” It was a typically canny choice by Sehwag: despite a 15-month century drought Laxman, with an average of 111 in Kolkata, was the likeliest man to raise his bat at Eden Gardens.
Full postGaddafi set for name change?
Now that the man’s gone, the name may soon follow
Umar Farooq
25-Feb-2013
Now that the man’s gone, the name may soon follow. The Punjab Olympic Association has asked the provincial chief minister to rename the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, in keeping with increasing public opinion against associating the historic venue with the former Libyan dictator. The ground was originally called Lahore Stadium but was renamed following Gaddafi’s visit to Pakistan in 1974. Now it’s time to change things back, says association secretary Idrees Haider Khawaja. “I don’t think his profile is inspirational enough to link with our cricket stadium’s identity,” Khawaja told ESPNcricinfo.
He’s yet to receive a response but he’s confident that a suitable name will be chosen. One of the options suggested is to name it after Abdur Rab Nishtar, a former governor of Punjab; the Gaddafi Stadium is actually situated in the Nishtar Park sports complex, along with hockey and football grounds. There could even be several cricketing options but for fans of the sport probably anything would be more auspicious than the current name.
Full postNo radio commentary for Plunket Shield
New Zealand fans will have to paint their roofs this summer without the sound of cricket commentary in the background
Dustin Silgardo
25-Feb-2013
New Zealand fans will have to paint their roofs this summer without the sound of cricket commentary in the background. Radio Sport has announced it will not be broadcasting live commentary on matches from the Plunket Shield, New Zealand’s domestic first-class competition. Instead they will have someone provide updates on the matches from online scores. Radio Sport will continue to broadcast live commentary from the domestic one-day and Twenty20 competitions. The move to cancel live coverage of the Plunket Shield has already caused a stir among New Zealand cricket fans, and an online petition has been started to change the radio network’s minds.
“Cricket is a sport that is made for radio commentary; it is the perfect backdrop to that other great NZ tradition of painting house roofs. Can someone please think of the roofs,” a petition on ipetitions.com reads. Dallas Gurney, the general manager of talk programming for The Radio Network, said listeners would not miss the action from the Plunket Shield since there would be updates. "Instead of running extended periods of commentary and crossing between the multiple games, we are going to have a commentator in a central commentary position providing updates on the games," Gurney said. “It is as much about providing the best possible coverage for our Radio Sport audience as it is any money that we might save by not having a commentator at every single Plunket Shield game.”
Full postFootball scores in Pakistan
Here’s a googly Pakistan cricket can do without: football is casting its eyes on the space all but abdicated by top-flight cricket in the country
Jayaditya Gupta
25-Feb-2013
Here’s a googly Pakistan cricket can do without: football is casting its eyes on the space all but abdicated by top-flight cricket in the country. Manchester United, the world’s largest football club, has signed a partnership deal with Zong, one of Pakistan’s largest mobile-phone companies, to supply exclusive content to its subscribers. It’s a deal similar to those Manchester United has in many countries but it’s the first time top-level football has moved towards what has always been seen as a cricket and hockey country.
"Ten years ago, the football market was small, the game was dying,” the Daily Telegraph quoted Rizwan Akhter, Zong's director of advertising and promotions, as saying. "But over the past few years, things have changed. Every other person, especially in urban areas, is associated with one club or another … Most of the cricket fans are football followers as well. And the primary reason for the increase in the popularity of football is the demise and turmoil in cricket."
The huge advantage, Akhter says, is that in Pakistan – as in neighbouring India – top European football is available on TV almost free. Maybe the Pakistan football team will have better luck with its keepers than the cricket team has of late.
Full postTendulkar at the Formula One?
Sachin Tendulkar’s passion for Formula One is well known and as India hosts its first Grand Prix in Delhi at the end of the month, he could likely be waving the chequered flag
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Sachin Tendulkar’s passion for Formula One is well known and as India hosts its first Grand Prix in Delhi at the end of the month, he could likely be waving the chequered flag. When Brazil staged its first Grand Prix in 2002, the football legend Pele was given the same honour.
The organisers, Jaypee Sports, have put Tendulkar’s name forward to the F1 management, who will take the final call. “Sachin's love for motorsport is well known, and he is also the biggest sporting icon of the country,” Jaypee's vice-president of communications, Askari Zaidi, told the Hindustan Times. “It’s only logical that we nominate him.”
Full postGroundsman costs Harris two yards of pace
Australia seamer Ryan Harris faced an unusual problem when he turned out for his local club Toombul in a Brisbane grade match
Nitin Sundar
25-Feb-2013
Australia seamer Ryan Harris faced an unusual problem when he turned out for his local club Toombul in a Brisbane grade match. The Courier Mail reported that Harris, on his comeback from injury, had to strain to pitch the ball up in his opening over. After a series of edges failed to reach the slips, the pitch was inspected closely by the rookie groundsman who realised that he had marked it too long.
"He had mucked up his tape measure and the pitch was 22 metres long rather than the normal 22 yards long,'' Harris said. The error translated to a near two-metre addition to the strip, since 22 yards corresponds to a little over 20 metres.
"It had to be re-marked and the game had to be restarted," Harris said. "Never in my life have I been a part of anything like that on a cricket field, or even seen anything like that. It was so funny but it was also bloody embarrassing for the club."
Full postHot Spot hits a home run
The India-England limited-overs series will not be employing Hot Spot, so the technology’s suppliers have found a different sporting event to pack their cameras off to: Baseball's World Series, due to begin on October 19
Nikita Bastian
25-Feb-2013
The India-England limited-overs series will not be employing Hot Spot, so the technology’s suppliers have found a different sporting event to pack their cameras off to: Baseball's World Series, due to begin on October 19. The military grade thermal imaging cameras will be used in the USA by broadcaster Fox Sports, on an experimental basis.
“The only reason that we can come over [to the USA] is because we've got spare cameras that aren't now going to India,” Australian Warren Brennan, who supplies the cameras for cricket, told the New Zealand Herald. Baseball, though, is likely to tap the technology’s entertainment potential rather using it to adjudicate the umpires’ decisions.
“A nice big home run off the middle of the bat might come up fantastically well, and the Americans might think that's better than sliced bread,” Brennan said. “It's all about their impression, really. The Americans do tend to look at things more from an entertainment-type perspective of trying to build things up and make things, you know, big and sort of interesting.” Besides, he said, he’s looking to working on baseball as “they’re the sort of clients that we love to work for, that support us 100%”. Wonder what cricket’s top brass would have to say to that?
Full postThree-star treatment for India
After a winless, demoralising tour of England, India’s cricketers might need a little reminding that they lifted a World Cup only a few months ago, right
Nikita Bastian
25-Feb-2013
After a winless, demoralising tour of England, India’s cricketers might need a little reminding that they lifted a World Cup only a few months ago, right? Well, their kit sponsors have it covered. Starting with the one-day series against England, which begins in Hyderabad on October 14, India will wear jerseys with three stars positioned above the BCCI logo. The stars denote India’s three landmark victories – the 1983 and 2011 50-overs World Cups and the 2007 World Twenty20.
Of course, some players have shown their appreciation for the gesture. “I feel really proud, for me the three stars on the jersey represent what the Indian team is today and how much they have achieved,” batsman Virat Kohli was quoted as saying in DNA India. “I feel really honoured to be a part of a team that has won three World Cups.”
Full postTime catches up with Victorian cricket pavilion
It has stood since W.G Grace was still plying his trade as a wily 40-something cricketer, but age and infirmity may soon catch up with a Victorian cricket pavilion in Buckinghamshire, which has been named as one of the 10 most endangered buildings in
Liam Brickhill
25-Feb-2013
It has stood since W.G Grace was still plying his trade as a wily 40-something cricketer, but age and infirmity may soon catch up with a Victorian cricket pavilion in Buckinghamshire, which has been named as one of the 10 most endangered buildings in England and Wales. The Bletchley Cricket Pavilion was built in the 1890s but has been separated from its cricket pitch since it was sold by Bletchley Grammar School and is now separated from the playing area by a large hedge. Thieves have stolen bricks and timber from the structure, weakening it further, and the Victorian Society has said that it "needs urgent work to reverse years of decay". The society said it hoped the building, which is in the process of being sold, would find a new owner who was prepared to incorporate the pavilion into any new development, although it’s unclear if the structure will ever serve as a functioning cricket pavilion again.
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