The Surfer

Secret talks predated TV deal

The unease among many surrounding the ECB's deal with BSkyB just won;t go away

The unease among many surrounding the ECB's deal with BSkyB just won;t go away. Despite sports minister Richard Caborn's virtual refusal to consider reviewing the contract on Tuesday, now the government is coming under pressure to explain conversations between Tessa Jowell, the culture secretary, and James Murdoch, the head of BSkyB and son of billionaire media maganate and Blair supporter, Rupert:
Extracts from the confidential minutes of the meeting were released to the Guardian under a Freedom of Information Act request, but details of the discussion about the broadcasting rights were withheld. The minutes of the meeting held on November 23 2004 marked "restricted" reveal that Murdoch "said he would like to discuss sports, the ECB [England and Wales Cricket Board] and the broadcast of Test cricket matches"
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From befuddled quick to leader of the pack

Trevor Marshallsea says Brett Lee has gone from a befuddled quick bowler to the leader of the pack:

Will
25-Feb-2013
Trevor Marshallsea says Brett Lee has gone from a befuddled quick bowler to the leader of the pack:
Lee began this series as a befuddled quick with a lean body but a ballooning average, a clouded mind as to his role in the Test side and his most effective plan of attack having caused him to misfire in the longer game.
Last night he was able to proudly reflect on being the best bowler in the three Tests against the West Indies, on wickets and averages, with 18 scalps at just 20 runs apiece
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Unity needed to revive Windies

Mike Coward feels that West Indies cricket has learned so little from history its future remains uncertain.

The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
Mike Coward feels that West Indies cricket has learned so little from history its future remains uncertain.
Meanwhile Peter Roebuck observes the return of fire in the Australian side and says, "Ricky Ponting and his men have resumed playing the hard game they learnt with their mother's milk."
Also check out Vaneisa Baksh's review of West Indies' performances on the tough tour.
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Think of the fans - it's raining!

Ahead of India's first Test against Sri Lanka on December 2, a cricket fanatic has appealed to the court :

Will
25-Feb-2013
Suresh Babu, a cricket lover from nearby Gummidipoondi, said in his plea that the one-day international between India and South Africa here on Nov 22 had to be abandoned due to heavy showers.
An India-New Zealand match in 2003 was similarly called off due to rains.
"Thousands of fans who had purchased tickets were disappointed as the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association did not refund their money," Babu said.
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Sky in the spotlight

As the debate of whether the ECB should have sold TV rights to satellite broadcaster BSkyB, David Brook, a former Channel 4 executive who has been leading a campaign to get the coverage back on free-to-air television, is about to address a House of

In a column for the Independent, Brook made clear his objections:
But Sky's monopoly over the summer game is bad for cricket and bad for society. Over 30 million people watched the Ashes series last summer - more than half the country. We all got caught up in the excitement. But how many fewer of us would have shared in the nation's collective joy if it had not been on terrestrial television? Would so many people have cheered the team at Trafalgar Square? Would thousands of young would-be Freddie Flintoffs have taken up cricket?
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Umpires should be given red-card sanction

In the Sunday Telegraph Scyld Berry says that Steve Harmison's shy at Inzamam-ul-Haq could have resulted in something far worse that a run out, and warns that the time could come when players resort to fisticuffs to resolve their differences, and

The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
In the Sunday Telegraph Scyld Berry says that Steve Harmison's shy at Inzamam-ul-Haq could have resulted in something far worse that a run out, and warns that the time could come when players resort to fisticuffs to resolve their differences, and that umpires should be given red cards to deal with such a scenario:
A fielder will either think twice, or else will aim at the stumps with the maximum of care, if he risks being sent off the field for the rest of the innings because he has hit the batsman with a none-too-careful throw: that obnoxious practice introduced by the Australians in Steve Waugh's time.
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Symonds v Bravo

Robert Craddock says in The Courier-Mail Australia’s allrounders need time to settle because the team has a middle-order batting problem .

The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
In The Age Trevor Marshallsea writes Dwayne Bravo showed why West Indians — and not just those from his and Lara's native Trinidad — are looking to him as the brightest hope for the future.
Cricinfo’s third-Test verdict on the two allrounders on show is here.
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Cronje's brother makes most of family tie-ins

Owen Slot writes on the latest biography of Hansie Cronje and adds:

The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
Owen Slot writes on the latest biography of Hansie Cronje and adds:
... a fact that may frustrate British readers because Cronje’s story has sold so well in South Africa that the publishing company — which happens to belong to his brother, Frans — cannot print copies fast enough.
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