Champions Trophy: Some lighter moments

There have been some lighter moments on and off the field during the course of the Coca Cola Champions Trophy in Sharjah. During the league match between India and Zimbabwe, there was an unusual incident which took place on the field. Zimbabwe bowler Travis Friend clipped the bails behind India's Yuvraj Singh's back but Australian umpire Daryl Harper signalled a wide. Later, Yuvraj was ruled bowled by the third umpire Steve Dunne after he saw the replay.

Commenting on the incident, Australian umpire Daryl Harper told Gulf News on Saturday that "I didn't ask the third umpire after signalling the wide but when leg umpire George Sharpe saw the bails down, he consulted the third umpire to confirm if the ball had hit the wicket."

Harper said he was blinded by Friend's delivery which went past Yuvraj's back to hit the stumps. Harper, known for his friendliness and wit, met the Indian southpaw at the hotel lobby and in his usual witty manner offered him some advice saying "Eat less gulab jamuns (a popular Indian sweet) and reduce your back side so that I can see the stumps being hit behind your back."

Meanwhile, there has been a hue and cry from some quarters on the issue of the appointment of a foreign coach. With the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) taking a stand in favour of a foreigner, some former Indian cricketers have come out against the move. However, going by the statements made by some others, it augurs well for the appointment of a foreign coach. One such `observation' has been made by the Indian coach himself.

Asked to give his views on the strategy the Indian team has chalked out for to play Mutiah Muralitharan in the final, Anshuman Gaekwad said he just could not understand the fuss surrounding the Muralitharan factor. Replying to a question, Gaekwad said "He is just bowling 10 overs, isn't it?"

Well, everyone including Gaekwad knows that Muralitharan - or for that matter any bowler - is allowed to bowl only 10 overs in ODIs and if in those overs if he can pick up as many as seven wickets and walk into the record books, then what else does one expect - an 'All Ten' perhaps?

Certainly such a comment was least expected from someone as experienced as the Indian coach. One thought he, along with the team management, would draw up a plan based on the finer points of the game on how to take on the wily Sri Lankan off spinner.

For his part, the irrepressible BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele offered a `solution' for the Indian side to tackle Murali. Lele said "Why not pick him up for three-four runs per over and see him off with none for 40 from 10 overs?"