Grace's mohican and Luton's white knight
Reinventing WG, Panesar's plans for Luton Town FC, another triumph for Ponting, and some support for Samuels
Siddarth Ravindran
16-Jun-2008
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Reinventing Grace
WG Grace is credited with turning cricket from a country pastime into a national institution, hailed as the founder of modern batsmanship and as the owner of the most famous beard in sport. As if those accolades weren't enough, he is now challenging for title of most outrageous hairdo in cricket. In an ad that is part of a publicity campaign for England's Twenty20 Cup, WG takes off his England cap to reveal a blond Mohican that is right up there with Kevin Pietersen's "dead skunk" look during the 2005 Ashes, Lasith Malinga's blond corkscrews in the 2007 World Cup, and Colin Miller's preposterous dyed hairstyles. Given his crowd-pleasing batting and his eagerness to make a quick buck, "The Doctor" was perhaps the best choice for peddling Twenty20 cricket.
WG Grace is credited with turning cricket from a country pastime into a national institution, hailed as the founder of modern batsmanship and as the owner of the most famous beard in sport. As if those accolades weren't enough, he is now challenging for title of most outrageous hairdo in cricket. In an ad that is part of a publicity campaign for England's Twenty20 Cup, WG takes off his England cap to reveal a blond Mohican that is right up there with Kevin Pietersen's "dead skunk" look during the 2005 Ashes, Lasith Malinga's blond corkscrews in the 2007 World Cup, and Colin Miller's preposterous dyed hairstyles. Given his crowd-pleasing batting and his eagerness to make a quick buck, "The Doctor" was perhaps the best choice for peddling Twenty20 cricket.
Multi-skilled cricketers
Another cricketer who studied medicine was in the news this week. Alex Blackwell, the Australian allrounder, was playing a women's league match in Berkshire during which John, an 80-year-old spectator, collapsed. On finding John's pulse absent and that he wasn't breathing, she and another player, Louise, administered CPR. "We continued CPR for nine minutes, and to be honest, I thought we had lost him, but we just kept going until paramedics arrived and were ready with the defibrillator," she told the Melbourne Age. After the match, Blackwell was delighted to hear that John was "stable in the hospital and hassling the nurses already".
Another cricketer who studied medicine was in the news this week. Alex Blackwell, the Australian allrounder, was playing a women's league match in Berkshire during which John, an 80-year-old spectator, collapsed. On finding John's pulse absent and that he wasn't breathing, she and another player, Louise, administered CPR. "We continued CPR for nine minutes, and to be honest, I thought we had lost him, but we just kept going until paramedics arrived and were ready with the defibrillator," she told the Melbourne Age. After the match, Blackwell was delighted to hear that John was "stable in the hospital and hassling the nurses already".
Luton's white knight
Monty Panesar has claimed that if he's selected for, and England win, the lucrative Allen Stanford-funded Twenty20 match on November 1, he will buy his beloved Luton Town Football Club. This comes a week after Monty boldly predicted troubled Luton, who are currently in administration, will win the league next season despite facing a 25-point penalty. As a kid Monty was a huge fan of the Streetfighter video games and his favourite character in it was Dhalsim, described on Wikipedia as one who "fights to raise money for his village but realises it contradicts his pacifist beliefs". Anybody spot a similarity between the Test cricket-loving Monty desiring Twenty20 cash to help his struggling 123-year-old local football club and Dhalsim?
Monty Panesar has claimed that if he's selected for, and England win, the lucrative Allen Stanford-funded Twenty20 match on November 1, he will buy his beloved Luton Town Football Club. This comes a week after Monty boldly predicted troubled Luton, who are currently in administration, will win the league next season despite facing a 25-point penalty. As a kid Monty was a huge fan of the Streetfighter video games and his favourite character in it was Dhalsim, described on Wikipedia as one who "fights to raise money for his village but realises it contradicts his pacifist beliefs". Anybody spot a similarity between the Test cricket-loving Monty desiring Twenty20 cash to help his struggling 123-year-old local football club and Dhalsim?
Sweating the small stuff
While the cricket community debates how the traditional forms of the game will ward off the threat posed by the inexorable rise of Twenty20, the South Australian Cricket Association has a far more mundane concern - increased parking charges around the Adelaide Oval. The decision to increase rates between 50 and 100% for parking per event has reportedly been described by SACA chief executive Michael Dreare as "simply a revenue-raising exercise". In a letter to the Adelaide City Council, Dreare warned that "such high percentage increases in parking fees to attend Adelaide Oval events, coupled with the increases in petrol prices, will have a detrimental effect on attendances."
While the cricket community debates how the traditional forms of the game will ward off the threat posed by the inexorable rise of Twenty20, the South Australian Cricket Association has a far more mundane concern - increased parking charges around the Adelaide Oval. The decision to increase rates between 50 and 100% for parking per event has reportedly been described by SACA chief executive Michael Dreare as "simply a revenue-raising exercise". In a letter to the Adelaide City Council, Dreare warned that "such high percentage increases in parking fees to attend Adelaide Oval events, coupled with the increases in petrol prices, will have a detrimental effect on attendances."
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Get up, stand up
West Indies cricket fans have always provided staunch support to players who they feel have been treated unfairly. Remember the famous "No Cummins, no goings" banner when local favourite Anderson Cummins wasn't picked for the Barbados Test in 1992? This time they are standing up for Marlon Samuels, who has been handed a two-year ban for match-fixing by the ICC. A group of nearly 100 Jamaicans, with placards bearing messages such as "Free Marlon Samuels", staged a protest march against the ruling. "You can't ban a cricketer, or any athlete for that matter, without giving them the right to appeal it," musician Horace Lewis, who organised the protest, told the Jamaica Gleaner. "Even when you have people found guilty of murder in court, they have a right to appeal it." They'll be heartened to know that a couple of days after their march, the ICC's code-of-conduct commission decided to review Samuels' ban.
West Indies cricket fans have always provided staunch support to players who they feel have been treated unfairly. Remember the famous "No Cummins, no goings" banner when local favourite Anderson Cummins wasn't picked for the Barbados Test in 1992? This time they are standing up for Marlon Samuels, who has been handed a two-year ban for match-fixing by the ICC. A group of nearly 100 Jamaicans, with placards bearing messages such as "Free Marlon Samuels", staged a protest march against the ruling. "You can't ban a cricketer, or any athlete for that matter, without giving them the right to appeal it," musician Horace Lewis, who organised the protest, told the Jamaica Gleaner. "Even when you have people found guilty of murder in court, they have a right to appeal it." They'll be heartened to know that a couple of days after their march, the ICC's code-of-conduct commission decided to review Samuels' ban.
Another win for Ponting
Though Ricky Ponting attracted a lot of bad press following the acrimonious New Year's Test in Sydney and wasn't valued very highly at the IPL auction, he remains Australia's most marketable sportsman. In fact, according to the Sweeney Sports Report, six of the top ten spots are filled by cricketers, with retired wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist finishing second. Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland was thrilled the study also showed that 82% of Australians thought their cricketers were good role models for children and said the report was a "tribute to the players' on-field success, but also to the way they carry themselves".
Though Ricky Ponting attracted a lot of bad press following the acrimonious New Year's Test in Sydney and wasn't valued very highly at the IPL auction, he remains Australia's most marketable sportsman. In fact, according to the Sweeney Sports Report, six of the top ten spots are filled by cricketers, with retired wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist finishing second. Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland was thrilled the study also showed that 82% of Australians thought their cricketers were good role models for children and said the report was a "tribute to the players' on-field success, but also to the way they carry themselves".
Headline of the week
"Stanford arrives on a wing to answer Clarke's prayer"
The Guardian on Allen Stanford coming to Lord's in a helicopter to announce his multi-million dollar plans
"Stanford arrives on a wing to answer Clarke's prayer"
The Guardian on Allen Stanford coming to Lord's in a helicopter to announce his multi-million dollar plans
Siddarth Ravindran is an editorial assistant at Cricinfo