The Surfer

Bang goes Beefy

Ian Botham said his 1985 trip to Hollywood turned him into a joke

With his action-man physique and blond locks, Botham, Hudson argued, could become a star to rival Sylvester Stallone and Charles Bronson, whose Death Wishseries Golan had produced. Unlike Stallone and Bronson, he could deliver significant audiences not only in Britain, but in India, Pakistan and Australia.
The movie mogul looked Botham up and down ('Well, he's better looking than Tom Selleck') and laid down his terms: if Botham stayed in town for six months and had acting lessons, then there was a real possibility that he could break Hollywood. There was just one problem. In the January of 1986, the all-rounder was due to fly out to the Caribbean for England's three-month tour of the West Indies.
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New icon Sreesanth rings in changes

The jovial Eranakulum Cricket Association president KP Satish makes an interesting observation about the blooming of a cricket star in the football fertile land. “Sreesanth is like chicken biryani in a brahmin restaurant,” he says as he points to the changing cricket scene in the state.
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Pinball wizardry needed for selection

Mark Richardson, the former New Zealand batsman, writing in the New Zealand Herald , offers his views on the team selected for the tour of South Africa

Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
Mark Richardson, the former New Zealand batsman, writing in the New Zealand Herald, offers his views on the team selected for the tour of South Africa. He has sympathy for Lou Vincent and Sinclair and believes they have missed out because they're not specialist openers.
If you're Sinclair or Vincent where do you bat for your province? Do you open, hoping for the usual test incumbent failures or do you patiently position yourself? The simple answer is to bat where you score the most runs. But that just enhances the problem for both these two because for Sinclair that's three and Vincent it's four.
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Kumble as Test captain

Peter Roebuck believes Anil Kumble would make a good Test captain for India

Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
As a cricketer, Kumble has surpassed expectations. It might be the same as a tactician and leader. On the rare occasions this unsmiling tweaker has directed operations he has shown the sort of flexibility and aggression supposedly absent in contemplative types.
But then Kumble merely resembles a librarian. At heart he is a lion. And he can still roar, continues to take wickets and has even scored his first Test century, an innings that reminded observers that he had started as a batsman.
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Will Galle be ready in time?

The Telegraph ’s travel section contains a piece about what England fans may find when they travel to Sri Lanka this winter… and a hint as to whether or not Galle will be ready for 18 December

The Telegraph’s travel section contains a piece about what England fans may find when they travel to Sri Lanka this winter… and a hint as to whether or not Galle will be ready for 18 December. In the same paper, a moving article by Kumar Sangakkara recollects his memories of the tsunami and how proud he is of the resilient Sri Lankans.
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Crying out for some respect

Saad Bin Jung, writing in the Asian Age , condemns the treatment meted out to former cricketers who had come to watch the first ODI between India and Australia in Bangalore.

Saad Bin Jung, writing in the Asian Age, condemns the treatment meted out to former cricketers who had come to watch the first ODI between India and Australia in Bangalore.
The secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association is a former Test player with most members of the organising team having played some form of cricket or the other. Yet when I arrived in the stadium I saw two former Test players Syed Abid Ali and the greatest off-spinner that India has produced, EAS Prasanna without a place to sit.
Not a single person was bothered if they had family with them.
No one cared for their comfort. Does an international game give the organisers so much self importance that they forget their basic etiquettes to senior players? This disrespect and abuse of our senior cricketers has to stop. After all it is our seniors who carry the wisdom of cricket with them, irrespective of whether they are with the BCCI or the Indian Cricket League.
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Whither the timing, Dravid?

Times of India 's Joseph Hoover comes down hard on Rahul Dravid's decision to resign from the Indian captaincy.

Times of India's Joseph Hoover comes down hard on Rahul Dravid's decision to resign from the Indian captaincy.
He is known to be an astute cricketer, a fine judge of the line of the ball, shouldering arms to deliveries which are a shade outside off stump. He is a good timer of the ball and is known to be careful about everything he does and says. But he timed his resignation poorly. It probably must rank as one of the most dastardly getaways in Indian cricket.
Rahul Bhattacharya offers his thoughts in the Tehelka magazine.
Slowly the job would have eroded Dravid. Captaincy unwittingly compels you to focus on things you may not really want to. For instance, he cared very much for what appeared in the media and this was a mistake. It was apparent to see that his impatience with the press had been growing.
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Munaf Patel: A question of respect

Munaf Patel, not picked in the Twenty20 side and dropped from the one-day team, is hurt by the constant questioning of his fitness and lack of intensity

Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
My family, my parents, two sisters, we used to survive on Rs 1000 a month. And for people like me, there are only two ways to reach there — Bollywood or cricket. But after earning a lot of money, you feel a bit numb about it, inside. That’s when you realise that what’s really important is your izzat, the respect. You don’t get that with money, any amount of money. Cricket has given me the money, and the respect. But now, with all this talk of lack of fitness and intensity, it’s a question of my izzat. And that’s really hurting.”
On being asked about his injuries and dip in form, Munaf turns defensive:
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Sreesanth's new role

It seems filmmakers have spotted potential in Sreesanth, known for his on-field antics and drama

Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
It seems filmmakers have spotted potential in Sreesanth, known for his on-field antics and drama. PTI reports a director in Kerala who wants to make his first film starring Sreesanth alongside popular Malayalam filmstar Mamooty.
Abu said Sreesanth's role would be more than just a cameo.
"It will not be a guest role, but certainly an important role, which will have its influence on the story," he asserted.
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