To dye for

Kevin Pietersen has attracted loads of attention of late, and his hairdo hasn’t been far behind. The Skunk seems to have taken on a life of its own - and it’s now causing havoc at a school in Cornwall, where its appearance caused one unlucky pupil to be sent home.

15-year-old Daniel Pethick dyed for the KP cause and his copycat crime resulted in being banished. Some may say bearing that garish blond streak was punishment enough, but not this school who said the hair-style wasn’t in their rules. Presumably they’re now fast amending their code of conduct to include a ban on £10,000 diamond earrings. Read the sorry tale here.

There is something about KP, though, apparently. Cricinfo writer Will Luke’s independent blog on cricket, The Corridor of Uncertainty, has been besieged by girl fans of late who have uploaded post after post after post about KP. What started as a cricket-centric summary of his career has fast moved on to an assessment of his, er, finer qualities.

“I ain’t a teenage girl but I must say I act like one,” sighs Kirsty in the 199th post on the topic. “The things I like bout KP are his body, eyes, smile, biceps, hair and his dreamy accent.” Pretty much everything then – although no mention of the skunk.

Not one to be overshadowed by a dab of peroxide, Andrew Flintoff is in the news again. As Freddie Watch rolls on undaunted, this time we bring you news that Flintoff is to appear in Shameless, a sitcom based in Manchester as, er, a drunken extra. Not only that, but he is on the front cover of this month’s Hello magazine. It was only a matter of time.