The Surfer
Let's hear it for schools cricket
In the Barbados-based The Nation , Tony Cozier celebrates the revival of schools cricket in the island
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
In the Barbados-based The Nation, Tony Cozier celebrates the revival of schools cricket in the island. He describes the occassion:
Family, friends, teachers and past and present pupils were there by the score to cheer them [the two teams] on. But the euphoria extended way beyond the immediate supporters to the wider cricket community, indeed to the community as a whole. It came at a time when there is great pessimism over the future of our youth and, by extension, the national sport.
Coach corner
One played cricket for Zimbabwe and currently coaches England; the other turned out for England and coaches Pakistan
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
One played cricket for Zimbabwe and currently coaches England; the other turned out for England and coaches Pakistan. The two will go head to head soon as England travel to Pakistan for a Test and one-day series. Check out Steve James's interview with Duncan Fletcher - titled "English cricket's reluctant hero" - in the Sunday Telegraph and also read Stephen Brenkley's chat with Bob Woolmer in the Independent, as he plots to make life gruelling for the English tourists.
As for the Indian coach ... well, let's just say he has a bit more on his plate at the moment.
Full postIs this what the fans deserve?
"Every country has two sides playing for it," writes Harsha Bhogle in Indian Express
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
"Every country has two sides playing for it," writes Harsha Bhogle in Indian Express. "India’s cricketers, one of those two sides, were playing in Zimbabwe. India’s administrators, the other side, were scheming, politicking, adjourning, quarrelling ... choose a word from that family and you won’t be wrong. If what they were doing had anything to do with Indian cricket, it was remarkably hidden."
Full postWhen McCabe inspired a nation
David Sygall remembers a stout little batsman from Sydney who stood up to - and conquered - the might of the British Empire's fastest bowlers
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
David Sygall remembers a stout little batsman from Sydney who stood up to - and conquered - the might of the British Empire's fastest bowlers. He writes:
While Stan McCabe's dauntless 187 not out against England in the infamous Bodyline series did not win Australia the Ashes, the team that lost the urn at The Oval this month could draw some inspiration from the bald-headed battler's unyielding innings at the SCG in 1932.
He adds that the bat with which McCabe mastered Harold Larwood and Bill Voce has re-emerged and will be auctioned next month at Cromwell's Auction House.
McCabe's classic came against a Douglas Jardine-inspired England side. Check out Christopher Douglas's tribute to Jardine as well.
Full postPlaying with symbols
Peter Roebuck profiles Waddington Mwayenga - who he calls a "likeable, determined, polite, bright and athletic lad" - and goes on to lament the deeper problem surrounding cricket in Zimbabwe.
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
Peter Roebuck profiles Waddington Mwayenga - who he calls a "likeable, determined, polite, bright and athletic lad" - and goes on to lament the deeper problem surrounding cricket in Zimbabwe.
Mwayenga might have enjoyed a fairly impressive debut Test but the root of the problem persists. Roebuck writes:
What was it all about, all that fighting and posturing? ... Complacency amongst whites. Revenge amongst an angry and self-serving bunch of black administrators. Two rotten emotions that can destroy this continent as they are destroying Zimbabwean cricket. Two self-indulgences Africa cannot afford. Two wretched outlooks calculated to crush youthful idealism.
Highs, lows and pantomime villains
Tim de Lisle picks out the highs and lows from a memorable English summer
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
Tim de Lisle picks out the highs and lows from a memorable English summer. The Surfer enjoyed his take on the best spell of the summer ...
Glenn McGrath at Lord’s, with five for seven in his first 8.1 overs. That’s not bowling, it’s perfection.
... and the choice of Greatest Showman:
Shane Warne, pipping his protégé, Pietersen. A conjuror and pantomime villain rolled into one.
Ranji’s emerald love
Haresh Pandya reports that an emerald and pearl necklace estimated at 1.6 million pounds belonging to Ranjitsinhji has been forbidden from being auctioned at Christie.
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
Haresh Pandya reports that an emerald and pearl necklace estimated at 1.6 million pounds belonging to Ranjitsinhji has been forbidden from being auctioned at Christie.
What intrigued The Surfer more was that nobody still knows how and when the necklace vanished from the royal family. Eagerly awaiting responses from all in the know.
Full postTo dye for
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
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Kevin Pietersen has attracted loads of attention of late, and his hairdo hasn’t been far behind. The Skunk seems to have taken on a life of its own - and it’s now causing havoc at a school in Cornwall, where its appearance caused one unlucky pupil to be sent home.
15-year-old Daniel Pethick dyed for the KP cause and his copycat crime resulted in being banished. Some may say bearing that garish blond streak was punishment enough, but not this school who said the hair-style wasn’t in their rules. Presumably they’re now fast amending their code of conduct to include a ban on £10,000 diamond earrings. Read the sorry tale here.
There is something about KP, though, apparently. Cricinfo writer Will Luke’s independent blog on cricket, The Corridor of Uncertainty, has been besieged by girl fans of late who have uploaded post after post after post about KP. What started as a cricket-centric summary of his career has fast moved on to an assessment of his, er, finer qualities.
Full postPower struggles unlimited
In the Hindustan Times , Sandeep Bamzai says the Sourav Ganguly-Greg Chappell issue may be connected to the BCCI elections:
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
In the Hindustan Times, Sandeep Bamzai says the Sourav Ganguly-Greg Chappell issue may be connected to the BCCI elections:
This unhappy confluence comes on the eve of the BCCI’s annual general body meeting. If one looks at the sequence of events coming up, then the contours of a Great Game begin to unravel.
For more on the politics and intrigue surrounding the elections read R Mohan's piece in Asian Age where he feels that the board dynamics have shifted from a South-West alignment into a North-West versus South-East battle for control.
Full postNot everything is football
It’s rugby league and AFL finals time in Australia but Shane Warne and Damien Martyn manage to steal some of the attention
The Surfer
25-Feb-2013
It’s rugby league and AFL finals time in Australia but Shane Warne and Damien Martyn manage to steal some of the attention. Warne’s extra-curricular activities are raised again via The Sun and The Mirror, but for cricket fans his attack on the county tactics of David Fulton, the Kent captain, from the Press Association is much more interesting.
Damien Martyn’s disappointment at missing the Super Series is clear. Cricinfo’s report is here but for the full story see the interview with The Australian’s Malcolm Conn.
Full post