The Surfer
Cricket's showpiece just a sham
Writing in The New Zealand Herald , Chris Rattue rues the ICC's decision to continue with the World Cup in the aftermath of Bob Woolmer's death.
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
Writing in The New Zealand Herald, Chris Rattue rues the ICC's decision to continue with the World Cup in the aftermath of Bob Woolmer's death.
Cricket remains in a dark cell; its showpiece a sham, feels Rattue. Sport, in the end, is supposed to be enjoyable, yet its top table invariably involves a distasteful feast.
The ICC chose to continue with this tournament in the aftermath of Woolmer's demise.To have scrapped the tournament, to have so publicly succumbed to the evils that permeate their game, would have been a disaster to their minds.
A close and difficult call, but it has given the good people of cricket, in other words the majority, a deserved chance to bring their planning to fruition. It should, unfortunately, be their last chance, although who would bet on a sport having the gumption to fully admit to its problems by scrapping this gigantic sham.
Full postMore bruises for the World Cup
Robert Craddock, writing in The Australian , says the lack of support for West Indies in Antigua has given the World Cup another black eye .
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Robert Craddock, writing in The Australian, says the lack of support for West Indies in Antigua has given the World Cup another black eye.
The opening of the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium proved an anti-climax with the 20,000-seat structure barely half-full. The Antigua government did all it could to make yesterday's game a promotional hit by declaring a national holiday. But local fans have become incensed at the rules of the tournament which do not allow food, drink or musical instruments to be brought into the ground.
Chloe Saltau takes up a similar theme in The Age.
Viv Richards, who was sitting in his own stadium, praises Matthew Hayden after his 158 against West Indies. "He is a guy on top of his form and he's peaking at the right time,” Richards told AAP.
Full postA brand new problem
In The Age Chloe Saltau writes the game is in danger of branding itself out of existence.
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
In The Age Chloe Saltau writes the game is in danger of branding itself out of existence.
Australia and New Zealand will host the game's most prestigious tournament in 2015 and you can be sure it will look pretty much the same as this one, except the signs will change slightly. Like world cricket's governing body, Cricket Australia is on the warpath to ensure cricket is played in "clean venues", which means ridding the grounds, the spectators, the skies, the loos, for goodness sake, of anything that might put the noses of its commercial partners out of joint. Authorities will make no apologies for bullishly protecting their sponsors but they should not play the game's fans for fools, either.
Andy Roberts says in the Herald Sun nobody should interfere with Shaun Tait’s raw action.
The Australian’s Peter Lalor has been blogging over the government’s talks of boycotts for Australia’s tour to Zimbabwe in September.
Full postProvidence is not so divine
The problems of Guyana’s Providence Stadium have been well documented
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
The problems of Guyana’s Providence Stadium have been well documented. In The Times, Christopher Martin-Jenkins revealed that while all looks polished on the surface, underneath things are far from finished.
The West Indian reputation for getting things right only at the last minute has been taken to extremes here. At first glance the Providence Stadium, built in partnership with the India Government in a suburb on the East bank of the Demerara River half an hour’s drive from the capital, Georgetown, is a splendid facility.
So is the handsome looking “Buddy’s International” hotel that has sprung up next to it. Those staying there, however, do not, as intended, include the teams, rather guests who speak of damp cement on the walls and pneumatic drills working through the night. Across the road, the press box has poor visibility and all the signs of a desperate race to be ready on time.
Full postWarne ties the knot for tv comedy
Shane Warne is getting married again ..
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Shane Warne is getting married again ... but this time it’s for the television comedy Kath and Kim. For a full run down of the episode head to the Daily Telegraph, but here’s a sneak preview.
Warney weds sporting tragic Sharon Strezlecki, played by Magda Szubanski, in the next series and filmed his romantic turn at St Kilda's Luna Park in Melbourne. The cricket legend has been referred to as Sharon's "unrequited love'' in previous episodes, but in a plot twist, Strezlecki is forced to wrestle her "dream man" from best friend Kim Craig.
Greg was unhappy with Cup squad - Rajan Bala
Rajan Bala writes about the text messages he received from Greg Chappell which reveal that the Indian coach was not happy with the World Cup squad.
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
Rajan Bala writes about the text messages he received from Greg Chappell which reveal that the Indian coach was not happy with the World Cup squad.
On February 16, after an article of mine appeared in this paper Greg sent me a SMS, which I am reproducing for the sake of the public. "Excellent article. Almost spot on. Even to the last selection meeting. I fought for youth. The senior players fought against it and the chairman went with them out of fear of media, if youth didn’t perform. Kartik will be a very good batsman and by the way is a potential leader. You are very right about Yuvi. Regards, Greg."
It was the morning of the ODI against Sri Lanka in Visakhapatnam. The time the SMS was received — 08.16.31. For those who did not read the article, it would be helpful for their comprehension of the situation in a context.
As far as Dinesh Kartik is concerned, I had hinted he should not be taken as a second wicketkeeper, implying he be should taken as a batsman and called as such. Hence Greg’s explanation. About Yuvraj Singh I had written, "For heaven’s sake, let nobody consider Yuvraj Singh as a future captain."
Full postLara and McGrath duel heads for the death
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
After 12 years of battles Brian Lara and Glenn McGrath prepare for what may be their final meeting by swapping a series of compliments.
"He was definitely the toughest fast bowler," Lara said in News Ltd papers. "He just didn't give you opportunities to score … Series after series, Glenn came at me with the same plan. He has been an outstanding competitor. Players like myself and Sachin (Tendulkar) want to be dominant, but he is one of the bowlers you don't want to face."
So ... where is Ricardo Powell now?
In an candid interview in the Jamaica Gleaner with Barbara Ellington, Powell talks about his career, future plans and reason for choosing to live in Trinidad.
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
In an candid interview in the Jamaica Gleaner with Barbara Ellington, Powell talks about his career, future plans and reason for choosing to live in Trinidad.
The much talked about move to Trinidad was entirely Powell's decision. Many people think he moved there because his wife is Trinidadian.
"My life outside of the Jamaica Cricket Board and the West Indies Cricket Board was not respected. I was once suspended for indiscipline because during an out-of-town training camp, my wife came to spend a weekend with me that included Valentine's Day. I did not play much after that, I felt disenchanted and my career went downhill. I was making fairly good money but I could not get a mortgage without a contract," Powell said, adding that at the time he had a son on the way, a daughter plus a wife, and had to think of the future. "I decided to make it family first and now my priorities include our business."
But he said he had been getting offers from Trinidad before the move and continues to have tremendous opportunities in his adopted home. "I was welcomed with open arms. Don't get me wrong, cricket opened many doors for me for which I will always be grateful," he said.
Full postChina outplays Taiwan
The USA’s ABC News reports how China has used the World Cup to score diplomatic points over rivals Taiwan
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
The USA’s ABC News reports how China has used the World Cup to score diplomatic points over rivals Taiwan. The Chinese involvement in building various stadia in the Caribbean has been well documented, but it appears the knock-on effect has been more wide reaching:
China gave Antigua a $55 million grant to build the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium. It gave $30 million to Jamaica for a new Trelawny stadium. St. Lucia has both a cricket and a football stadium courtesy of Beijing. The 70,000 people of Dominica have received the aid equivalent of $1,600 per person in the form of a cricket grounds, new drains for the capital and better roads.
The immediate reason for this largesse is Beijing's determination to diplomatically isolate Taiwan. Says Harry Sung of the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington, D.C.: "Their top priority is to isolate Taiwan. Most of the remaining countries that recognize Taiwan are located in the Caribbean and Latin America."
China's cricket diplomacy led to two West Indian countries, Grenada and Dominica, derecognizing Taiwan as an independent country. Of the remaining 24 countries that recognize Taiwan, four are in the Caribbean and two of these play cricket.
Full post Greed blinds ICC to right choice
In a no-holds-barred column in The Daily Telegraph , Mark Nicholas has launched a stinging broadside at the ICC and the way it handles the world game, which, he says, is based on greed overruling good sense.
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
In a no-holds-barred column in The Daily Telegraph, Mark Nicholas has launched a stinging broadside at the ICC and the way it handles the world game, which, he says, is based on greed overruling good sense.
“It is a cliche to say that the ICC are toothless. Often this is so because, as a deeply political body, they choose to be. The list of unanswered questions is an embarrassment. Corruption, throwing, ball-tampering, doping, cheating and the use of technology, Zimbabwe, Darrell Hair and the Oval Test, are all issues over which the ICC have come to no firm conclusion.”
And as for the terrible murder of Bob Woolmer, Nicholas is not even sure that will be satisfactorily sorted.
“Cricket and cricketers live in their own vacuum. Visitors are amazed by the size and breadth of the clique. Sometimes this makes us blind. Already there is a view that the case will be swept beneath the veil of the clique, perhaps even that "murder" will become "accident" in some form or another. Certainly, commentators already feel that a scapegoat will be found elsewhere.”