Dunking with the Don

Every Sunday, we take a look at the week that was ...

Kevin Pietersen and Candice © Getty Images

Taking the biscuit An unseemly row broke out over biscuits this week. It wasn't a fight over who nicked the last custard cream at tea, but over the news that an Australian company was about to start manufacturing Bradman Chocolate Chip Cookies in Bangalore. Use of the fiercely guarded name was given by the Bradman Foundation but swiftly criticised by the Bradman family who said that "Sir Donald is a loved and missed family member, not a brand name like Mickey Mouse." A percentage of the profits will go to Indian children's charities. The biscuits were reviewed by a Cricinfo expert who said they were "pretty damn good". We await the launch of Shaun Pollock Ginger Nuts.

And the winner is ... The great, the good and the hangers-on assembled in Sydney on Tuesday for the second annual ICC Awards where Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff shared the Player of the Year title. Flintoff told the assembly, "I just came for the food, to be honest," while Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said that Kallis, who also scooped Test Player of the Year, was the "batsman opposing bowlers most want to get out." He charitably didn't add that he was also the one that most spectators wanted removed as well. Kevin Pietersen was another who won two awards, named Emerging Player of the Year by a huge margin and then One-Day Player of the Year. The second accolade left him stumped. "I didn't think I would be called on stage again, so I had taken off my blazer and was ready to go on drinking."

MC of the week Only one winner in this category - Mark Nicholas, cricket's own Gilderoy Lockhart. As a commentator his endless enthusiasm for the Super Series concept has been admirable and determined (even in the face of increasing cynicism from others in the media) and he also sprung up as Master of Ceremonies at the Awards. Nicholas overcame an early faux pas when introducing the teams as they filed in alphabetically ("and finally, West Indies ... oh ... and .... er ... Zimbabwe) only to ask Pietersen about "going home" to South Africa. "I went back to South Africa, but I didn't go home," was the England batsman's stony-faced reply. At least Nicholas didn't ask him about Caprice (or Candice as one veteran reporter clearly not familiar with British tabloids insisted on calling her in his articles).

Eased out A fortnight after a shameless compromise over his captaincy, it appears that Sourav Ganguly is nevertheless on the way out, albeit smuggled out the back door rather than carried out on his shield. The appointment of Rahul Dravid to lead India in the one-day series against Sri Lanka and South Africa surely signals the beginning of the end for Ganguly. The official excuse - an elbow injury - appears as lame as the board's investigation into Greg Chappell's candid email, and bereft of runs and support, the odds are that come England's visit in March, Ganguly will be absent as both captain and player.

Sachin Tendulkar's comeback is cut short © AFP

Travelling in hope The inevitable hype surrounding the return of Sachin Tendulkar after almost six months on the sidelines was always likely to be anti-climactic, and in India's Challenger Series he made 12, 4 and 22 without really looking in any kind of touch. After such a long lay-off it was unfair to expect any more, but such is the level of anticipation whenever he walks to the middle, reality was never likely to triumph over expectation. He might still be 32, but his body and mind have more miles on the clock than most 40-year-olds, and the day that India has to come to terms with - life after Sachin - is creeping closer. We should all enjoy him while we can.

Pitch battle Hardly a year goes by without a report of some irate householder storming onto a village pitch in the back of beyond complaining about balls being hit into their garden. So news that a club match in Harare had been stopped by such an invasion would hardly be worth comment , were it not for the fact that the two men who ended play in a top provincial match between Harare Sports Club and Old Hararians were Cyprian Mandenge, the Mashonaland chairman, and Bruce Makovah, the province's head selector. To underline their seriousness, they were accompanied by local police. They objected to the fact that the two clubs had joined in a strike the previous week over the way the province is being run. What seems rather farcical has more serious undertones. It is alleged that some players were racially abused and threats were made to others that they would never play serious cricket again. The sides decamped to a nearby school and continued unmolested. Mandenge is on the board of Zimbabwe Cricket while Makovah was recently appointed as a national selector.

Technology overload Video referees have worked in some sports, and referrals to third umpires for run-outs and stumpings have become a good feature of international cricket. Indeed, the tension while waiting for decisions has become a mini drama all of its own, both for players and spectators. But the experiment of seemingly referring everything except when to take tea undertaken in this week's Super Test has shown up the flaws and given a warning of just how disjointed play might become. While the invisible third official is now far more important than the two men in the middle, the role of the on-field umpire could be reduced to little more than a moving sweater holder. Plus, remove the element of doubt and Tests could be reduced to three-day affairs. A good idea, but one that needs a serious rethink before being inflicted on real Test cricket.

Unintentional ironic moment of the week An ICC media man was asked by a reporter to provide stats on the length of delays caused by the numerous referals to the third umpires. The official paused ... and then said he would need to pass that on to someone else to answer.

Quote ... unquote Garry Sobers on the World XI. "I believe it was the strongest collection of cricketers ever assembled ... yet they struggled to beat a moderate side. The attitude of saying to oneself `If I don't get a score it doesn't matter, because we've got a lot of good players to come,' is totally unprofessional, but I suspect that some players felt that way." More Super Series bashing? Not at all. Sobers was talking more than 35 years ago about the 1970 series between England and Rest of the World. What goes around ...

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