What's in a Suriname? George Bailey's visa

No cricketer can have gone to more extraordinary lengths to secure an India visa for the IPL than Chennai's George Bailey. Following the end of Australia's Twenty20 series against the West Indies, Bailey flew all the way from Barbados to the South American nation of Suriname in search of his travel documents - having been given some odd advice that it could not be obtained in the nearby Caribbean island of Trinidad as expected.

Having picked up his visa in the capital, Paramaribo, Bailey and his driver set off for the airport to fly back to Barbados. It soon became clear they were no chance of making the flight time, at which point Bailey's driver announced that he knew the pilot and would call him. Asked to delay the flight until the car arrived, the pilot happily obliged, but when Bailey reached the plane, some time after it was due to depart, the pilot insisted on having his photo taken with Bailey before departing. Bailey then turned up on day two of Australia's tour match against the WICB President's XI at the Three Ws Oval to relay his traveller's tale.