World Cup Monitor
Percy to cheer for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s one-man cheer squad Percy Abeysekera (and not ICC president Percy Sonn) has left for the Caribbean to cheer our cricketers as they attempt to win the cricket World Cup for a second time, reports Cricinfo's Sa'adi Thawfeeq.
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
Sri Lanka’s one-man cheer squad Percy Abeysekera (and not ICC president Percy Sonn) has left for the Caribbean to cheer our cricketers as they attempt to win the cricket World Cup for a second time, reports Cricinfo's Sa'adi Thawfeeq.
Percy as he is popularly known in cricket circles around the world has been cheering national cricket teams since 1958 and became quite a prominent figure after he started carrying the national flag around the ground since 1979.
Sri Lanka last won the World Cup in 1996 under the leadership of Arjuna Ranatunga and Percy was there at Lahore to cheer the team when they beat Australia in the final. Percy’s airfare to the West Indies was provided by Sri Lanka Cricket and his out of pocket expenses were met by a senior SLC official.
Full postHalf-price jerseys
If you are an Indian fan in the Caribbean and aren't still sore about India's early World Cup exit here is some purchasing you could do for the future and do it cheap.
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
If you are an Indian fan in the Caribbean and aren't still sore about India's early World Cup exit here is some purchasing you could do for the future and do it cheap.
The Times of India reports the price of the replica team jersey has been slashed from $40 to $20 in Trinidad. The report predicts that the jerseys will be picked up by the Indian-orgin citizens of the island for future India-West Indies matches. It reads:
They seem to think that with their presence, the invisible link between Mother India and their country of adoption is rekindled, and it become more visible.
Other locals though will have to wait till the end of the World Cup for cheaper West Indies replica jerseys when 'Sports and Games', Trinidad and Tobago's premier sporting store, might consider a price reduction in them.
Full postThe man behind the 'Malinga cut'
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan
25-Feb-2013
A Sri Lankan stylist took two days to create Sri Lankan bowler Lasith Malinga's bleached-blond unkept hair that is attracting attention at the Cricket World Cup, AFP reports. Hair dresser Nishantha Jayasekera said Malinga wanted a new style each time he went on tour. So the locks were spruced up for the World Cup in the Caribbean.
"Malinga has his own hair ideas and he is not afraid to try out anything new," said Jayasekera who runs the Le Paris salon in Panadura, 25 kilometers south of Colombo. The barber told the latest edition of the Rivira weekly newspaper he has so far tried out five different hair styles on the 23-year old paceman, but never expected his "light blond" creation to become an instant hit.
"It took me two days to get the look," Jayasekera said.
Full postTo bat or not to bat?
Stephen Fleming and Graeme Smith will face a dilemma if they win the toss in Grenada on Saturday
George Binoy
25-Feb-2013
Stephen Fleming and Graeme Smith will face a dilemma if they win the toss when New Zealand and South Africa meet in their crucial Super Eights match in Grenada on Saturday, reported AFP. Both captains will be tempted to send their opponents in to take advantage of expected early life in the pitch but both their tactics backfired spectacularly after calling correctly in recent matches.
South Africa hammered 356 for 4 when they were sent in by West Indies on Tuesday while New Zealand made a disastrous start after Fleming decided to bat against Sri Lanka on Thursday, going on to lose by six wickets. Both of South Africa's defeats in the tournament came after Smith chose to field first. They lost by 83 runs against Australia during the group stage and suffered a shock defeat against Bangladesh on April 7.
The pitch for the New Zealand-Sri Lanka match was slower and drier than it was when South Africa played two days earlier, adding to the uncertainty for the captains.
Full postO'Brien's Australian cap hangs in Dublin
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Niall O’Brien has an Australian one-day cap framed on his wall in Dublin, but he really wants to play for England. He got the treasured piece of memorabilia as a 17-year-old after throwing balls to Steve Waugh, who was a guest player with Ireland, and he picked up more Australian characteristics during four seasons in Sydney.
An on-field disagreement with Brian Lara showed O’Brien’s aggression and he has also done well at the World Cup with the bat, scoring 202 runs to be the side’s leading man. "I learnt quite a bit about how to play the Australian way, that hard edge, the relentless, ruthless way they play,” he said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “I love being under pressure."
Full postAll stand for Sir Steve
Australia have beaten England again, this time by getting Sir Steve Redgrave, the five-time Olympic rowing gold medallist, to speak to the team first
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Australia have beaten England again, this time by getting Sir Steve Redgrave, the five-time Olympic rowing gold medallist, to speak to the team first. Redgrave, the Englishman, was staying in the same hotel as the Australians in Barbados and the team management, which is always keen for outside ideas, asked if he would talk to the side as it chases a third World Cup title in a row.
"He spoke about the expectation of being a favourite, continually raising the bar, having the attitude of being a winner and preparing to win consistently," an Australian team spokesman told AAP. "He said everyone would be looking at Australia because they had an aura about them."
Redgrave spent almost an hour with the group on a night when the Courier-Mail reported England had wanted him to speak to them. He is also expected to address Michael Vaughan's squad.
"There are obviously a lot of parallels with the Australian team and Redgrave, who was basically never beaten in important competitions," the spokesman said. "He also talked about dealing with adversity and national expectation."
Full postSky-high wifi
Another week, another example of outrageous profiteering from the tournament sponsors, Cable & Wireless, whose privilege it is to provide internet access for the many hundreds of media-men in and around the Caribbean.
Andrew Miller
25-Feb-2013
Another week, another example of outrageous profiteering from the tournament sponsors, Cable & Wireless, whose privilege it is to provide internet access for the many hundreds of media-men in and around the Caribbean.
Although high prices have been the norm throughout this competition, journalists in Grenada are up in arms at being asked to pay an extortionate US$60 a day for wifi access, a 24-hour log-in that invariably expires at precisely the moment you need it the most. What is more, the bank of eight computers in the Grenada media centre, which are supposed to be rigged up to the internet to enable swift fact-checking and emergency filing, have been disconnected by C&W, who feared that the service was undermining their profits.
A spokesman for the Rushmans agency, who are co-ordinating the media arrangements for this tournament, explained that C&W is run as an individual company in each of the host nations, and so it was not possible to implement a standard policy throughout the whole World Cup.
Full postWhat’s in a nickname?
Ever wondered the hows and whys of player nicknames
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Ever wondered the hows and whys of player nicknames? AFP has helped out with the background on a few of the monikers, starting with the easy one of Ricky ‘Punter’ Ponting, who likes betting. Michael Vaughan is called ‘Virgil’ after his apparent likeness for one of The Thunderbirds puppets and Glenn McGrath is ‘Pigeon’ after his bird-like legs.
"A lot of mind-power has gone into some nicknames," Adam Gilchrist, who wore ‘Churchy’ on his back during the Twenty20 against England in January, said. "A young autograph hunter once approached me and said: 'Excuse me Eric Gilchurch, can I have your autograph?'"
Brett Lee, who is not at the World Cup, goes by ‘Bing’ after the New South Wales electronics store and also gets ‘Oswald’ in a reference to JFK’s assassin. At the beginning of a game involving both the Lee brothers and Ian Harvey, Steve Waugh read out the batting order: “Lee, Harvey and ... Oswald.”
Brad Hodge is ‘Dodgeball’ while Brad Hogg is ‘The Postman’ after his former job and not for any resemblance to Kevin Costner. In the England squad Ian Bell has been called ‘Boyband’ and ‘The Shermanator’, especially by Shane Warne, while Andrew ‘Fred’ Flintoff has also been ‘SuperFred’, ‘Mr InFredible’ and ‘Fredalo’. Monty Panesar is Parmesan Tony, which is an anagram of his name, while New Zealand’s 6ft 8in Peter Fulton is ‘Two-Metre Peter’.
Full postIndians befriend Tigers
Jamie Alter
25-Feb-2013
Bangladesh's stunning progress in the World Cup has given cricket lovers in India reason to cheer again after their own team was knocked out in the first round, AFP reports.
The giant-killing feats of Habibur Bashar's men have revived interest in the tournament for millions of Indians, who now want both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to advance to the semifinals.
Full postVaas admits Fernando pulled out of last ball
It’s an admission sure to provoke the purists – not to mention England
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
It’s an admission sure to provoke the purists – not to mention England. Chaminda Vaas, the Sri Lanka fast bowler, has admitted Dilhara Fernando did employ gamesmanship before the last ball of their thriller against England.
Ravi Bopara needed three runs from the final ball, but Fernando pulled out of his delivery to test Bopara’s reaction. He then clean bowled Bopara to seal the win.
"I think, as an experienced bowler Dilhara deliberately did it," Vaas told the BBC's Sinhala Service. “It was very important for the bowler to understand the batsman's reaction. I think it was a very wise move by Dilhara as a senior bowler."
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