The Surfer
Sledging...cartoon-style
Over at The Corridor there's a sneak preview of a collection of cartoon-postcards called Postcards from the Sledge , based on famous sledges in cricket.
Will
25-Feb-2013
Over at The Corridor there's a sneak preview of a collection of cartoon-postcards called Postcards from the Sledge, based on famous sledges in cricket. Beach, the artist, has kindly donated a copy to Cricinfo and we'll have a review of the cards for you very soon.
Hook shot is Pietersen's achilles heel
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
Kevin Pietersen needs to use his crowd-pleasing hook shot carefully if he is to have a great Ashes series, says Mike Selvey in The Guardian. Pietersen, Selvey feels, has it in him to be a great player in a great series. But he might look at the career of Steve Waugh and wonder if there might be a better way.
"There is a large element of adventure attached to his batting that, as he becomes more familiar to the opposition, bowlers are beginning to exploit: impatience outside off stump and scant recognition of the dangers inherent in taking on the short ball without regard to circumstance.
Warne and Coldplay, Mick Jagger and the Ashes
“Whispers around the sport are Mick Jagger has been courted by series broadcaster Channel 9 to make a cameo appearance at at least one of the five Test matches between Australia and England,” reports the Daily Telegraph ’s Sydney Confidential.
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
“Whispers around the sport are Mick Jagger has been courted by series broadcaster Channel 9 to make a cameo appearance at at least one of the five Test matches between Australia and England,” reports the Daily Telegraph’s Sydney Confidential.
On a day for big name dropping, Shane Warne reveals his friendship with Coldplay’s Chris Martin during the Australian launch of his latest book. Alex Brown becomes the Sydney Morning Herald’s music reporter for a minute.
"We bumped into each other in a lift in England during the 2001 Ashes series and became very good friends," Warne said. "I went over to his house for dinner in London, we spoke all the time on the phone and hung out a few times. He's a really good guy."
In cricket news Warne speaks about England being a better team in the Daily Telegraph.
Full postAt Motera, Munaf’s home debut moment: ‘can I have a picture?’
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
The local officialdom in Munaf Patel's home state of Gujarat has put the lanky fast bowler in a spot at times.
Now, as he gets ready for Thursday’s Champions Trophy game against West Indies at Motera — his first in his home state — fellow players and local officials walked down memory lane with the star, who was once their own but has now drifted away.
Full postHanging out in the hallways
Chris Gayle has been finding it difficult to sleep in Ahmedabad
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Chris Gayle has been finding it difficult to sleep in Ahmedabad. There isn't much to do in proximity of the West Indies' team hotel so find out how Gayle spends his time by reading his tour diary in The Trinidad Express.
Full postHow do you solve a problem like Harmison?
No single moment has summed up England's ineptitude in the Champions Trophy more excruciatingly than Steve Harmison's opening delivery to India's Virender Sehwag, writes Lawrence Booth in The Guardian
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
No single moment has summed up England's ineptitude in the Champions Trophy more excruciatingly than Steve Harmison's opening delivery to India's Virender Sehwag, writes Lawrence Booth in The Guardian. It was so far outside leg-stump that a statuesque Chris Read merely watched it go for five wides, since when Harmison's tournament has gone from embarrassing to look-away-now. That first over went for 20, and on Saturday against Australia he returned figures of 4.5-0-45-1
"Losing here [to Australia in Jaipur] has no bearing on the Ashes," Kevin Pietersen tells Stephen Brenkley in a freewheeling interview in The Independent. "Conditions are completely different, it's a different format, the hype, the crowd at Brisbane will be much bigger... Everything now, is totally focused on the Ashes."
Full postBorder faces testing time against the women
Robert Craddock reports in The Courier-Mail about Allan Border having a net session against the Australian Women’s team in Brisbane.
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Robert Craddock reports in The Courier-Mail about Allan Border having a net session against the Australian Women’s team in Brisbane.
Border borrowed pads and a bat - it was the first time he had batted with a pinkish handle - then realised the one non-negotiable essential for all batting performances, a groin protector, would not be available given that women don't need them. "I've had my four kids so I suppose there should be nothing major to worry about," Border quipped with a nervous grin before heading to the nets. "I've occasionally been criticised for not having enough balls so as far as some people are concerned it shouldn't make much difference."
Missed out on Ashes seats for the SCG? Alex Brown reports in the Sydney Morning Herald thousands of tickets are to be reissued.
The Sydney Cricket Ground Trust hopes to fit an extra 420 seats in the Dally Messenger, MA Noble and Members stands in time for the Ashes Test. And Cricket NSW has sold only 360 of the 1250 seats it was allocated for its initiative, The Cricket Club, and may hand back any leftovers for general sale.
The fish rots from the head
Peter Roebuck has been among the most vocal critics of Zimbabwe Cricket in the last couple of years, but his syndicated column this weekend was hard-hitting even by his standards.
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
 | ||
|
| ||
|
|
|
In the Sydney Morning Herald he launched a stinging attack on Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute, the chairman and managing director of the board, demanding that they be removed from office immediately.
It's no use waiting for the local police to act, let alone the cricket community, because these scoundrels long ago stacked the board - besides which, they have friends in high places. Chingoka will resist every attempt to launch an investigation into their activities. They know that any genuine investigation will result in long prison sentences.
Roebuck continued:
Full post We have failed on all counts
Andrew Strauss, in his column for The Daily Telegraph , admitted that England’s defeat by Australia was disappointing but insisted they were in good spirits ahead of the Ashes.
Martin Williamson
25-Feb-2013
Andrew Strauss, in his column for The Daily Telegraph, admitted that England’s defeat by Australia was disappointing but insisted they were in good spirits ahead of the Ashes.
I still maintain, however, that this trip has been very beneficial. The training and fitness work we have done will set us up for the Ashes and World Cup, and the feeling of togetherness which a bit of hardship brings will stand us in good stead later this winter.
Although he was not blaming the conditions for England’s problems, he did say that they had caught a number of sides on the hop:
Full post