World Cup Tour Diary
Going solo for a T20 World Cup semi-final
Booking your air tickets and hotels in advance always helps
Matt Roller
29-Jun-2024
In an astroturfed gazebo at the back of a cricket stadium in South America were four men: England's white-ball coach, media manager and head of security, and me. It is a privilege to travel around the world covering this sport but Thursday's T20 World Cup 2024 semi-final was about as surreal as it gets.
My colleague Sidharth Monga and I decided which semi-finals we would cover in April: Sid would go to Trinidad, I'd head to Guyana. Even then, hotel availability was limited and flights back and forth from Barbados were scarce; even more so once the ICC publicly confirmed that India would play in the second semi-final if they progressed, regardless of their finishing position in the Super Eight.
No wonder, then, that when the rest of the touring England press pack attempted to book trips at less than three days' notice - when England's semi-final destination was decided - they had little joy. Mike Atherton juggled TV commentary with his work for the Times, while Alex Davidson and Gareth Copley were there on behalf of Getty Images. But for the UK written press alone, it was just me.
Full postNo pedalos for England at this World Cup
Hectic St Lucia schedule leaves no time for drunken nights on the water a la Flintoff
Matt Roller
19-Jun-2024
I had barely been in St Lucia half an hour when it was first mentioned.
"The English have had some good times here," said Moses, who drove me from the tiny George FL Charles Airport near Castries to my hotel in Rodney Bay, when I told him I was here to cover the T20 World Cup 2024. Did he mean the 2010 semi-final win against Sri Lanka? Or Mark Wood's first Test five-for, in 2019? No. "Like Mr Flintoff," Moses said, with a grin.
This island was the scene of one of the stranger moments of an England World Cup campaign. In 2007, Flintoff was among a number of players and staff who broke the team's curfew after a defeat to New Zealand and stayed in a bar named Rumours - which is now nowhere to be found - until the small hours of the morning.
Full postCricket is in the blood in Trinidad
Our correspondent pays his respects to Queen's Park Oval
Matt Roller
17-Jun-2024
In the museum at Queen's Park Oval, among Brian Lara's signed bats, a sample of turf from a 2009 Test match and Rolph Grant's West Indies kits from the 1930s, is a small display comprising two old photographs. It is a small nod to what the museum describes as a day of infamy: "The Bottle Throwing Incident, W.I. vs MCC 1960."
The occasion was the second Test of the tour after the first was drawn in Barbados. England were bowled out for 382 and on the third day, in front of a crowd of 30,000 people, West Indies collapsed. On debut, the Trinidadian left-arm spinner Charran Singh walked out at No. 9 to a standing ovation: shortly after, he was adjudged run out to the fury of the fans.
There are two framed photos on display at the museum: one of the West Indies team and the other of ground staff sweeping up the glass bottles thrown from the stands onto the pitch. The story goes that a local broadcaster, who described the fans as "hooligans", failed to account for the fact that many of them were listening to his commentary on transistor radios: they quickly started throwing their bottles at the press box instead.
Full postFinding cricket in Central Park
There was a provision for a cricket field in the original plan for the space, imagine what could had been if it endured?
Sidharth Monga
06-Jun-2024
Nobody:
Absolutely nobody:
Cricket people these days: But did you know the first-ever international cricket match was played between Canada and USA?
Full postFirst impressions of cricket in New York: a commendable start, but a long way to go
From Eisenhower Park to the World Trade Center fan park, ESPNcricinfo's roving reporter samples the city's cricket offerings
Sidharth Monga
02-Jun-2024
Despite being an Irish band, U2 have always sounded to me like they have written many a song about the US. And not just the direct lyrics such as "In New York/ Freedom feels like/ Too many choices".
When they sing, in "Walk On", "You're packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been/ A place that has to be believed to be seen", they could well have been talking about the T20 World Cup in the US. While it is coming to a place none of us (or this writer at least) has been, you really have to believe the World Cup is happening here because there is not much that can be seen that tells you there is one on. This is proper new ground for cricket, because even in countries where the sport doesn't enjoy the fanatic craze it does in Asia, it still never gets pushed to the margins.
At least in New York, however, as Bono wrote, there are too many choices for people. The cricket World Cup doesn't have any signage at the airports, not on the subway, not on the Long Island Rail Road, the last of which actually takes you to the venue. Well not exactly to the venue but somewhat close to it. The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium is not exactly a friendly venue if public transport is your thing. It is in a cars-only part of the state of New York. Even if you shell out for a cab, you still have to walk at least a mile because the massive Eisenhower Park, which houses the cricket stadium, is off-limits to visitors' vehicles.
Full postAfter 40 years, it's mother's day at Eden Gardens
Our correspondent-on-vacation takes his mother to the cricket, and comes back with some memories to cherish
Himanshu Agrawal
17-Nov-2023
World Cup semi-final. Eden Gardens. It was always going to be a special occasion. For my mother, too, it was very special. She was, after all, going to watch a game at Eden Gardens after 40 years!
It wasn't easy to get her there. Forty years, of putting her love for cricket aside and bringing up the family, are a long time. She also whispered to me once that no-one had made so much of an effort to take her to the stadium in all these years. It really wasn't much of an effort - getting tickets was easy, surprisingly so, though I had to keep refreshing the BookMyShow page every 15 minutes before I got hold of them.
It was quite grey and gloomy as we made our way from one corner of Kolkata to another but the fears about the possible cyclone hadn't kept people away. A lot of people might have bought tickets in the hope that India would play their semi-final game at Eden, but they turned up nevertheless.
Full postKilling time with captain Kane
New Zealand's press briefing ahead of the World Cup semi-final got off to a less-than-smooth start - luckily for all in attendance, a typically zen Williamson was at hand to entertain
Yash Jha
14-Nov-2023
Reporter: "Kane, just going back in history a bit. 29th of May 1953, about 70 years back…"
Kane Williamson: "I remember, yeah!"
The room explodes in laughter. And so does Williamson.
Full postAfghanistan's Tendulkar intervention
The former India World Cup winner spent time in the Afghan camp at Wankhede ahead of their match against Australia
Vishal Dikshit
06-Nov-2023
Playing only their third ODI World Cup and their best by a distance, Afghanistan have been thankful to Indians for the hospitality they have received in the last month. Their captain Hashmatullah Shahidi on Monday thanked the Indian crowd for supporting them in all their games so far, for the respect they showed in recognising them off the field, and there was the anecdote of a taxi driver not taking any money after a ride because he was taking the Afghanistan captain around.
That hospitality touched the sky on Monday when the Afghanistan players were paid a visit by local boy and World Cup winner Sachin Tendulkar during their training session in the evening.
Unlike many celebrities in Mumbai, Tendulkar arrived right on time when the Afghanistan nets session was just about to begin, he gave a memento to Mohammad Nabi and appeared to give a pep talk in a huddle surrounded by the entire squad, support staff and even some groundstaff.
Full postTendulkar's lofted drive immortalised at the Wankhede
Almost exactly a decade after his farewell game here, the stadium honoured its favourite son with a statue
Yash Jha
01-Nov-2023
There was a longer-than-usual gap between the end of Sri Lanka's practice session and the start of India's on the eve of their clash in Mumbai. Wankhede Stadium had paused to honour - nay, immortalise - its favourite son.
It was here, almost exactly a decade ago, that Sachin Tendulkar called time on arguably the most storied career in this sport. In the years since, the master has had a stand at the stadium named after him. Now, in the year he turned 50, the only man with a hundred hundreds in international cricket has a statue of his own at his home turf.
The giant sculpture, placed high and mighty in the gap between the Sachin Tendulkar Stand and the Vijay Merchant Pavilion, has been designed by Pramod Kamble and depicts him playing a lofted stroke straight down the ground - not too dissimilar to those hits that had them all dancing in the aisles in Sharjah 25 years ago.
Full postThe unsung heroes behind India's spectacular stadium atmosphere
While some labour alongside families, others embark on epic journeys to fuel the fervor of the World Cup
Daya Sagar
29-Oct-2023
Meet Swadesh Shekhar Haldar, a 46-year-old resident of Dum Dum area in Kolkata, on his second World Cup journey. Back in 2011, the last time when the tournament was held in the Indian subcontinent, Haldar had visited every city in India which hosted their matches. He isn't a massive fan of the game, and has never witnessed any action from inside a stadium; but he's the man behind the vibrant jerseys, flags, whistles and caps sold just outside, things which make the atmosphere so lively.
Over the past 25 days, Haldar has travelled roughly 6750kms - from Chennai to Lucknow via Delhi. This cricketing journey had began on October 3, and he has been on a national tour ever since. Moreover, before the World Cup final is held in Ahmedabad, he will have added another 3000kms to his journey.
Haldar had commenced his World Cup preparations three months in advance, reserving railway tickets for each city where India were scheduled to play. Hence, so far he has been to Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, and Lucknow; next in line are Kolkata, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Should India advance to the semi-final and the final, Haldar is all set to retrace his steps to Mumbai and Ahmedabad, for which he has already made reservations.
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