The Surfer
Golden goose risks being overcooked
As the discussion over player burn-out rumbles on, greed could kill the golden goose warns Rohit Brijnath in The Hindu .
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
As the discussion over player burn-out rumbles on, greed could kill the golden goose warns Rohit Brijnath in The Hindu.
Players are not robots, you can't pump in a few litres of nationalism and a gallon of money and ask them to keep playing. They have the right to complain about "too much cricket,'' even if the odd complainant has a belly that makes you wonder whether it's more a case of "too many jalebis.''
Nude cricket gathers force
iafrica.com sports editor Dan Nicholl had earlier proposed an ingenuous proposition for injecting a little life into very forlorn stands in domestic games
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
iafrica.com sports editor Dan Nicholl had earlier proposed an ingenuous proposition for injecting a little life into very forlorn stands in domestic games. Nudity!
Now comes its side-splittingly funny sequel. Click here for a hilarious read.
Full postBermuda prepares for Twenty20 classic
The 20-20 World Cricket Classic gets underway tomorrow in Bermuda
Will
25-Feb-2013
The 20-20 World Cricket Classic gets underway tomorrow in Bermuda. The tournament comprises "classic" teams, made up of former Test and one-day players from the major cricketing nations: West Indies, Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand, India, England, Australia and Bermuda (see the full list of players here).Eight leading cricket nations will pitch battle for the world's first ever 20-20 World Cricket Classic title in Bermuda during April, 2006. Over 100 of the greatest international cricketing legends will represent South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, West Indies, Sri Lanka, India, England and the host team, Bermuda.
The island paradise of Bermuda, with its sub-tropical climate, stunning scenery and world renowned pink beaches, offers a stunning backdrop to the inaugural 20-20 World Cricket Classic. Just a stone's throw from the Caribbean and West Indies and a favourite destination from the UK, Europe, USA and Canada, the Classic will undoubtedly prove to be an attractive location to combine cricket camaraderie with tourist indulgence.
More information on the event, and how to obtain tickets, can be found at their website.
Full postDouble trouble for Bangladesh? Or ... not?
Jason Gillespie's double ton, coming as it did from a nightwatchman, was something of a shock
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Jason Gillespie's double ton, coming as it did from a nightwatchman, was something of a shock. Paul Daffey, in The Age newspaper, looks at another century by a nightwatchman, Tony Mann - the first Australian to that feat in 1977.
Gillespie’s innings was certainly impressive, writes Richard Hinds in The Sydney Morning Herald, but it was hardly a miracle. To find out what led him to this conclusion, read the full article here.
Writing in the same paper, Phillip Derriman wonders what the after-effects of the feat will be – and how many favours it has done Bangladesh. Andrew Miller also considers how Bangladesh will now fare.
Charlie Davis, a cricket statistician, pays a stats tribute to Gillespie. "One might begin (for those who suggest that extreme performances against Bangladesh are meaningless) by noting that Bangladesh had gone throught their previous ten Tests without conceding a double-century," writes Davis.
Full postNtini rising
Ray White, former president of the South African board, talks about the rise of Makhaya Ntini, the decline of Shaun Pollock and the emergence of some new players
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
Ray White, former president of the South African board, talks about the rise of Makhaya Ntini, the decline of Shaun Pollock and the emergence of some new players. Click here to read the Witness article.
I would like to see Friedel de Wet given a go against the New Zealanders before this series is over. He bowls at over 145 km/h from a good high action and will run in all day. Some say De Wet does not do enough with the old ball but I think that the amount of wickets he has taken this season require that the national team take a long look at his potential. One wonders which of the selectors, if any, have ever seen him bowl?
Redemption, one last hurrah for old guard
"The most successful era in Australian cricket can end in stunning fashion, with one of the oldest teams assembled reclaiming the Ashes and creating history with a third successive World Cup," Malcomm Conn asserts in the Australian .
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
"The most successful era in Australian cricket can end in stunning fashion, with one of the oldest teams assembled reclaiming the Ashes and creating history with a third successive World Cup," Malcomm Conn asserts in the Australian.
Ricky Ponting believes that the campaign to regain Ashes is running perfectly to plan. Click here to read the skipper's view.
Full postToday's batsmen - a pampered lot
Peter Roebuck feels that the Centurion Test between South Africa and New Zealand showed what a pampered lot modern-day batsmen are
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
Peter Roebuck feels that the Centurion Test between South Africa and New Zealand showed what a pampered lot modern-day batsmen are.
Full post.. The current mob glared at the pitch as might a contralto interrupted mid-innings by a loud cough in the fifth row. Truth to tell the top order batting of both sides was abysmal. Bats were hung out to dry like beef on a hook. Batsman fished at wide deliveries. Far from moving smartly into position, feet stumbled between decisions.
Young Engel lives on in the memory
Matthew Engel, the editor of Wisden, and his wife Hilary have launched a charity in honour of their son, who died of cancer last year aged 13
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Matthew Engel, the editor of Wisden, and his wife Hilary have launched a charity in honour of their son, who died of cancer last year aged 13. The Laurie Engel Fund aims to help rebuild the cancer ward at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital. The Telegraph’s Robert Philip listens to Matthew talk movingly about the need for a new ward, his recollections of Laurie and about a campaign which has already had pledges from Chelsea FC and a promise from Bunbury Cricket Club to stage a cricket match.
"The oncology - a word I had never previously encountered, even in Scrabble - ward is a so-called modern wing of a Victorian hospital," Matthew explains. "It was built circa 1990 when the National Health Service had no money and it's a really cheap and nasty job which everybody hates.”
Read the original, heartbreaking article relating to Laurie's death here.
A subsequent letter to The Guardian sums up the article perfectly.
Full postAshes at Glamorgan testing many already
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
The decision to award an Ashes Test to Glamorgan has provoked a range of reactions from delight to outrage – not to mention much disbelief. But Stephen Brenkley, in The Independent, wonders if it’s really such a surprise afterall.
England and the English could not say that they were not warned. Those with a true sense of history might have realised that in 1905, Glamorgan applied to stage a Test against Australia and lost out to Trent Bridge by one vote.
Fighting for a decent life
It's a cruel world out there and Mushtaq Ali's family will tell you why
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
It's a cruel world out there and Mushtaq Ali's family will tell you why. Following his death last year, they have more than just an emotional loss to contend with. Read more about their plight here in The News.
Full postSyed Mushtaq Ali scored India’s first Test century on foreign soil way back in 1936. Seven decades later, the legendary cricketer’s family — one of the best known in Indore — lives in a cramped, derelict house that was built by the player’s father in 1926.
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