The Surfer
Parthiv left out, fans cry foul
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
Gujarat is in the middle of state elections where controversial chief minister Narendra Modi's party is contesting the Congress party, but today there was an uproar of a different kind. India's squad for the tour of Australia doesn't have the name of Parthiv Patel in it, and fans of the in-form wicketkeeper-batsman don't like it one bit.
"Gujarat's cricketers are being treated like untouchables. He is in great form and performing so well in domestic cricket. But, no matter what he does, nationally he's ignored," says a fuming convenor of Parthiv Fan Club, Devang Bhatt.
Use the force, Mahela
Stephen Brenkley, in his and Angus Fraser's enjoyable tour diary blog at The Independent , tells us of the nicknames the photographers have given to some of the Sri Lanka players.
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
Stephen Brenkley, in his and Angus Fraser's enjoyable tour diary blog at The Independent, tells us of the nicknames the photographers have given to some of the Sri Lanka players.
To while away their time between balls and overs a couple of them have dreamt up a new game: casting the Sri Lankan team as Star Wars figures.
Bizarre certainly, but astonishingly gripping. Since Sri Lanka are a team of good guys any and all comparisons to Darth Vadar have been unnecessary as well as prohibited. Princess Leia is sadly but obviously not represented either.
But here is the rest of the cast list: Luke Skywalker - Mahela Jayawardene; Han Solo - Kumar Sangakkara; Yoda - Muttiah Muralitharan; Obi-Wan Kenobi - Sanath Jayasuriya; Chewbacce - Dilhara Fernando; C-3PO - Michael Vandort; R2-D2 - Chamira Silva. The snappers would welcome other suggestions and are now working on an appropriate movie vehicle for the England team.
Full postAustralia consider day-night Tests
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
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Cricket Australia is looking at trialling day-night Tests within the next three years so more people can watch on television, the Australian reports.
Officials are examining the possibility of scheduling games from 2pm-9pm or 3pm-10pm. Tests, which traditionally begin at 11am and finish at 6pm, always span weekends, but suffer from smaller audiences on weekdays when people work. The day games also miss TV's prime ratings periods.
"We are tossing it around and working out the fundamentals," Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said. “In a realistic sense, we don't see any reason why we can't be at least trialling some day-night Test cricket matches - not necessarily all of them - before the end of the decade.”
Full postPomersbach has learned his lesson
Luke Pomersbach’s international debut was almost as unlikely as it gets
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Luke Pomersbach’s international debut was almost as unlikely as it gets. Still on suspension by his state for breaking a curfew, he found himself playing in the second team one minute and then in Australia’s side for the Twenty20 in Perth. It doesn’t stop there: he only received his call-up from the car park of the WACA, having gone there with his girlfriend as a spectator.
Now, he tells The Australian, having been given such an opportunity, he has learned his lesson about discipline and is ready for whenever the international selectors should come calling again.
I've just learnt that to be a professional cricketer you've got to make the right decisions. If you make the wrong decisions you could end up back in the trade industry or whatever you do. Now I'm going to take it a lot more professionally the way I prepare for games."
Also making the most of an opportunity is Ricky Ponting, who took his chance to relax after being rested from the Twenty20. The same paper reports that he headed to the golf course to watch one of his friends show him how it's done.
Full postWelcome to Australia
Sharda Ugra takes a hilarious potshot at a section of the Australian media
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
Sharda Ugra takes a hilarious potshot at a section of the Australian media. Read the piece in the India Today.
... Australia, rather parts of its press-pack, have, in a stirring show of loyalty, already opened the bowling. It's just that this--the weeks before a tour of Australia--is such a nostalgic time, it can make you all dewy-eyed. It has become such a part of the Australian touring experience, it's a mystery that Channel9 has no memorabilia around it. It is almost like the first stirrings of spring. When the first waves of hot air and echoes of ritual chest-thumping reach distant shores. When the designated trumpet-masters for the Australian team observe a time-honoured tradition. To present all visiting cricketers as worthless, gutless, talentless and technically and mentally inadequate.
It's a wonder that when touring teams first land in Australia, they are not met by large crowds at Sydney's Kingsford Smith International demanding they go home.
Full postTurning Pup into top dog
The future of Australia's captaincy has generated plenty of newspaper copy in an otherwise quiet December, despite the fact Ricky Ponting is nowhere near retirement
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
The future of Australia's captaincy has generated plenty of newspaper copy in an otherwise quiet December, despite the fact Ricky Ponting is nowhere near retirement. In the Courier-Mail Ben Dorries explains how after Michael Clarke was dropped from the Australia team a pig-hunting trip with Andrew Symonds helped him to regain his focus.
"We were chasing a pig through cane and Symo had his footy shorts on, a singlet, a pair of joggers and a knife. I had a $400 pair of jeans and brand new shoes. It was pouring down with rain one of those nights and I had mud up to my knees and I'm trying to chase the pig." The getaway refreshed Clarke's mind and he won back his baggy green cap and showed he was ready for extra responsibility during the Ashes last summer.
In the same paper Jon Pierik compares Clarke's promotion to previous Australian captaincy succession plans. Peter Lalor, writing in the Australian, wonders if in the future Ponting might give away Twenty20 cricket and leave Clarke permanently in charge.
Australia's future leadership might appear sound but their spin prospects remain an issue. On the radio station 2KY Kerry O'Keeffe ranked the top five spinners in Australia and the Cricket Australia-contracted Cullen Bailey did not make his list.
Full postAfrican administrators continue to disappoint
Peter Roebuck writes in the Sydney Morning Herald that while on-field progress is being made by black players in South Africa and Zimbabwe, it is in spite of the game's administrators and not because of them.
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
Peter Roebuck writes in the Sydney Morning Herald that while on-field progress is being made by black players in South Africa and Zimbabwe, it is in spite of the game's administrators and not because of them.
Zimbabwe has given Mali an opportunity to redeem himself and he has flunked it. Far from confronting those responsible for the debacle, he has become an apologist. And so again, he tries to sweeten tyranny, not end it. Not that Sonn was any better. Indeed, he was a grievous disappointment. A much more capable man with an honourable past, he too turned a blind eye to the rats in his own ranks. It was painful to hear a man of his calibre defending the indefensible merely on grounds of colour. By turning his back on election rigging, torture, rampant misuse of funds, intimidation and the other ghastly practices of tyranny, he betrayed the causes and people he was supposed to protect. He preferred to be part of the notorious Black Label Brotherhood than to advance the lot of the common man. Settling scores is a denial of greatness, not an expression of it.
Olympic cricket in 2020?
Cricket took a step forward to being included in the Olympics yesterday when it was officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee, Adelaide Now reports.
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
Cricket took a step forward to being included in the Olympics yesterday when it was officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee, Adelaide Now reports.
The earliest cricket could be seen at the Games is 2020.
As it will not have spent the mandatory two-year provisional status by the time the 2008 Beijing Olympics are over, its case will be reviewed following the 2012 London Games.
The Olympic program is determined seven years ahead of every Games.
Full postReplay or not replay?
Will Luke
25-Feb-2013
Inevitably, Kevin Pietersen’s contentious dismissal yesterday dominates the newspapers this morning.
Derek Pringle, in The Telegraph, spoke to Jeff Crowe, the match referee, who sided with Michael Vaughan and his comments yesterday that TV replays should be used more often.
Full postThe importance of being Sourav Ganguly
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
R Kaushik, while hailing Ganguly's innings, remembers the contribution of Greg Chappell. Read his piece in the Deccan Herald.
In some distant corner, one man will feel truly vindicated. The much-maligned Greg Chappell can allow himself a quiet chuckle or three, because every international run flowing off Gangulys willow is a victory of sorts for the former Indian coach.
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