'Exodus' draws Rhodes to Israel

Now in Israel as part of a unique Israel team with several Jewish cricketers, Jonty Rhodes says he's excited by the talent in a country with no cricket culture. In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, he says the book Exodus by Leon Uris really drew him to the country.

"My knowledge of Israel comes from the 'Exodus' and how tenacious and determined the people here are to have transformed the desert into this thriving economy. It's genius, and the people here are tenacious to be able to make a living in a really harsh environment."

Eden Gardens, India’s largest cricket stadium, is readying for a nip-and-tuck before the 2011 World Cup. But will it be any better? The Kolkata-based Telegraph investigates:

The tournament is two-and-a-half-years away but the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) that reigns, with the army’s boots on the throne, over Calcutta’s most famous patch of green has only a foggy idea of which apple to pluck for the Eden or which snake to let loose. Architects have not been spoken to, a budget is not in place. Prasun Mukherjee, the CAB president who took charge in a blaze of publicity around this time last year, said: “The land belongs to them (the army). We cannot start construction unless the lease is renewed.”

While that is true — the application for renewal has been lying with the defence ministry for over a year — Eden Gardens has already fallen behind the Wankhede stadium in the nip-and-tuck run. Wankhede has already submitted its plan to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, hired an architect and set its budget at Rs 100 crore.