The Buzz
Hussain sparks storm with 'donkey' remark
Nasser Hussain has caused a media storm in India after comparing some of the country’s cricketers to “donkeys” after their poor performance in the field during the Twenty20 against England at Old Trafford.
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
Nasser Hussain has caused a media storm in India after comparing some of the country’s cricketers to “donkeys” after their poor performance in the field during the Twenty20 against England at Old Trafford.
Commentating on the match for Sky, Hussain watched India’s Parthiv Patel drop a catch off Kevin Pietersen at third man, and said: “I would say the difference between the two sides is the fielding. England are all-round a good fielding side. I do believe that India have few... three or four very good fielders and one or two donkeys in the field still.”
Although the word is commonly used in England to describe a lack of athleticism on the sports field, its use in this instance has attracted the ire of the BCCI, with the vice-president Rajiv Shukla telling reporters in Delhi that it was “totally uncalled for”.
Full postBumble's Old Trafford rumble
The former England coach and Lancashire legend, David Lloyd, suffered the indignity of being evicted from the members’ bar at Old Trafford prior to the start of England’s Twenty20 against India on Wednesday, because he was mistakenly believed to be
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
The former England coach and Lancashire legend, David Lloyd, suffered the indignity of being evicted from the members’ bar at Old Trafford prior to the start of England’s Twenty20 against India on Wednesday, because he was mistakenly believed to be carrying the wrong accreditation.
Lloyd, who played for Lancashire for 19 seasons and is a life member of the club, had been browsing old team photos when he was reportedly manhandled by two stewards who told him he had “two minutes” to leave the room.
'I'm absolutely flipping livid,' Lloyd told The Daily Mail. 'I'm a life member and ex-captain of the club. I pointed out I was just looking at a few photos, and mentioned that I was in most of them. They asked me whether I was refusing to leave, and when I said I was going nowhere, two of them grabbed me by the arms. I said, "We're in a stalemate here, because I'm not moving".”
Lancashire's venue events manager Richard Mulcaster said: “We unreservedly apologise. The stewards involved were not following the correct procedure and have been informed as much.”
Full postLara not happy with making the headlines
It’s quite an honour having a stadium named after you, but what happens if the plan goes awry and there’s talk of having it converted into a detention centre
Nikita Bastian
25-Feb-2013
It’s quite an honour having a stadium named after you, but what happens if the plan goes awry and there’s talk of having it converted into a detention centre? Potentially, that’s what could happen with the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad - the country is currently in a state of emergency and the government, dealing with large numbers of people detained under special laws, is looking for places to inter them. One such place is the stadium - which has led to ‘Lara Jail’ headlines.
That has hurt the man himself and he's come out strongly. “I consider this headline to be totally irresponsible and disrespectful of my family's name," Lara said in a release. "I am now requesting the media to immediately desist from such a reference. [The] offending headline not only brings my name into disrepute, but has had the effect of pushing my name into an area of major contention and controversy where it does not belong.”
Construction of the stadium, which was commissioned for the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, has been at a standstill since 2009 with costs far exceeding the projects’ budget. A tour of the property by government officials in June categorised the stadium a “very feasible” choice to house detainees, but a final decision is yet to be made.
Full postTendulkar fabric-ated in Leicestershire
Sachin Tendulkar may have missed out on his 100th international century at The Oval this week, but it’ll doubtless cheer him up to to learn that he has been immortalised in fabric in a shopping centre in Leicester.
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
Sachin Tendulkar may have missed out on his 100th international century at The Oval this week, but it’ll doubtless cheer him up to to learn that he has been immortalised in fabric in a shopping centre in Leicester.
A giant mosaic of Tendulkar, measuring 9m x 6m in size, was laid out on the floor at Highcross Leicester shopping centre by the reowned local artist Laura Hadland, who last year made a portrait of her mother that was made entirely of ... toast.
Gurvinder Rupra, marketing manager at Highcross, said: “Immortalising Sachin Tendulkar out of fabrics seemed the perfect way to capture the spirit of Leicester as it gears up to welcome him and his teammates to the city.”
Full postMichael Vaughan goes undercover
In 2006, Goldsborough 2nd XI suffered the worst defeat in modern English recreational cricket
Akhila Ranganna
25-Feb-2013
In 2006, Goldsborough 2nd XI suffered the worst defeat in modern English recreational cricket. Ten of their players got out for ducks and their last batsman was also stranded on zero against Dishforth in the Nidderdale Amateur league. This year they got a rematch, and their revenge, with a little help from scruffy, beer-bellied and long-haired Gary Watson, from Leeds ... aka Michael Vaughan. For a campaign aimed at supporting grassroots cricket, Vaughan played his first match since his retirement in 2009, wearing a prosthetic mask, wig, and a pillow stuffed down his shirt to hide his identity.
“I had to have this blue seaweed goo all over my face to make the cast, which made it difficult to breathe, let alone talk,” Vaughan told the Daily Mail. "The pillow stuffed down my shirt to give me a beer belly made it hard to run. I was worried I might get run out.”
Chasing 105 in the 16-over match, Goldsborough won by three wickets. Vaughan’s contribution? A five-hour makeover off the field, and 28 runs and a catch on it.
“Our lads were in total shock when they found out who they had been playing with,” Dishforth captain Steve Wilson said. “We thought, ‘this bloke can play’ but had no idea he was a legend.”
Full postSteward 1, Stewart 0
It is your home ground
Nagraj Gollapudi
25-Feb-2013
It is your home ground. You were the captain of your country and the county where the ground is located. You even have a gate named after you. But come Test match day, you cannot get into the hospitality box you want to.
It is not a joke. Alec Stewart had checked into The Oval on Thursday morning to watch the first day’s play of the fourth Test between England and India. He was on his way to enter one of the hospitality boxes. But shockingly for Stewart, the former England wicketkeeper and one of their finest players, he wasn’t allowed to enter because an over-zealous steward, reportedly not having any knowledge of cricket, did not know the man he was stopping was one of Surrey's biggest heroes. “It is the first time that someone has stopped me here," Stewart said.
The incident was caught on the Sky Sports cameras and you could see Stewart not understanding why the young steward wouldn’t let him in despite the badge that permitted him entry anywhere in the ground. Stewart looked bemused but was relieved when one of the senior stewards, standing not far away, allowed him in.
There have been similar incidents in the past involving cricketers being stopped at their home grounds. One example was the late Polly Umrigar, a former India batsman, who was stopped at the Polly Umrigar Gate in the Wankhede stadium by a security guard.
Full postNo takers for Dhoni's bat
Earlier this week an auction and benefit dinner was held in London to mark the UK launch of an Indian cricket fan collective called the 'Indian Cricket Dundee' and to raise funds for the Yuvraj Singh Foundation aimed at providing funds for
Sharda Ugra
25-Feb-2013
Earlier this week an auction and benefit dinner was held in London to mark the UK launch of an Indian cricket fan collective called the 'Indian Cricket Dundee' and to raise funds for the Yuvraj Singh Foundation aimed at providing funds for under-privileged sports enthusiasts.
Most of the members of the Indian team turned up for the black-tie event, not wearing tuxedos of course, but dressed in jackets, blazers and suits. Ten lots belonging to various India players were sold in the auction. From Gautam Gambhir's gloves worn during the World Cup final, one of Yuvraj Singh's shirts from the same tournament signed by the whole team, Sachin Tendulkar's IPL bat (which went for more than £10,000) to the shirt Harbhajan Singh took his 400th wicket in, all were put under the auctioneer's hammer. The black-tie event went on even after 11pm (UK time) on Monday night and ended just after most of the members of the Indian team had left. Just as well, because right at the end, only one item went unsold: a bat belonging to India captain MS Dhoni.
Full postCalling Symonds ... or anyone else
An elaborate scheme has been concocted to recruit a cricketer from outside the conventional pathways - Andrew Symonds is welcome to apply - to the Brisbane Heat Twenty20 team for this summer's Big Bash League
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
An elaborate scheme has been concocted to recruit a cricketer from outside the conventional pathways - Andrew Symonds is welcome to apply - to the Brisbane Heat Twenty20 team for this summer's Big Bash League. Country and club cricketers from around Queensland will be selected to take part in a regional T20 competition in October, from which four players will be chosen as part of the Queensland squad for the T20 'Baby Bash' among Futures League teams in early December. Two of the players will then be awarded BBL contracts with the Heat.
Darren Lehmann, the Brisbane coach, said the gambit was a genuine attempt to see who may have slipped through the usual net. "This is no gimmick, this is the real deal,” he said. “T20 has an x-factor about it and we are going to find out if someone local has that." The 'search for stars' scheme is the second such concept to be mooted for this summer, with Cricket Australia running its own 'Cricket Superstar' program.
Full postEngland stamp their authority on No. 1
Cricket fans in England obviously give people the impression they would be the kind of people interested in stamps
Dustin Silgardo
25-Feb-2013
Cricket fans in England obviously give people the impression they would be the kind of people interested in stamps. After the Ashes, the Philatelic Society created a special stamp to commemorate the win in Australia, and now the Bletchley Park post office has designed a stamp and envelope combination to celebrate England’s ascent to the No. 1 ranking in Tests. The envelope and stamp both feature a cricket painting of the England team celebrating the wicket of an India batsman. The commemoration proclaims England as the new No. 1 and also makes note of the fact that they won the 2000th Test. The package is available on the post office’s website bletchleycovers.com for £8.50 plus £1.50 for packaging and posting, but only 500 will be distributed; so you have to hurry if you’re an England fan who wants to get under an Indian mate’s skin with a snarky letter.
Full postVaseline rubs it in
Few cricketing tweets could have caused as much reaction as Michael Vaughan’s Hot Spot-baiting poser during the Trent Bridge Test : “Has Vaseline on the outside edge saved the day for Laxman???” There was no end to the uproar it caused, even after
Cricinfo
25-Feb-2013
Few cricketing tweets could have caused as much reaction as Michael Vaughan’s Hot Spot-baiting poser during the Trent Bridge Test: “Has Vaseline on the outside edge saved the day for Laxman???” There was no end to the uproar it caused, even after Stuart Broad verified that there was no Vaseline on Laxman’s bat, and the makers of Hot Spot asserted their device can’t be so easily tricked.
Time for Vaseline itself to weigh in - or cash in - on the controversy, bringing out an amusing ad addressed to “Dear Mr Vaughan”. The ad - first appearing in print in Indian newspapers and now on some of ESPNcricinfo's home pages - depicts a decrepit cricket bat with a red ‘X’ across it; along the blade runs a long list of reasons Vaseline is used for in India – cracked heel, chapped lips and so forth. Vaughan’s reaction? “Love it...Can you send me a picture of the Advert please? Very amusing,” he tweeted, uncontroversially. Vaseline soothes again?
Full post