Pardon me while my brain explodes…
“What Kapil and the watching millions witnessed was a day that changed cricket forever”
– Jamie Jackson, The Observer, 24.2.08
Continue reading “Cricket journalism will never be different again”
Not so ridiculous quote-du-jour
“This is the second most important day in world cricket, according to me. The first was in 1994 when the monopoly of Doordarshan came to an end when we won the court case.”
– Inderjit Singh Bindra, member of the IPL Governing Committee, discussing the IPL player auction, OutlookIndia.com, 20.2.08
Call me a cynic, but Bindra is not too far off the mark with this self-serving observation.
Hello, my name is Ashwell Prince. I got passed in at auction.
It’s barely two years since I waxed lyrical on these pages about Ashwell Prince following his attractive 119 in the Sydney Test of 2006. He now has seven Test centuries under his belt, but his Twenty20 stats are almost non-existent.
Prince, otherwise known as Lot 54, failed to attract a bid at his reserve price of $175000. He finished Wednesday’s IPL Mumbai Meat Market as the only one of 77 lots (I mean, players) unsold at auction (not including the Yousuf Formerly Known as Youhana who is having contractual difficulties with the ICL). Continue reading “Hello, my name is Ashwell Prince. I got passed in at auction.”
Why Cameron White is worth more than Ricky Ponting
“Lack of professional expertise in managing a sporting franchise of this magnitude seems to be a glaring gap, especially as a lot of these teams are led by what we call ‘casual but rich fans’ who are assuming their team will be in the top three.”
– Anirban Das Blah, VP Globosport India, from the 3.3.08 edition of Outlook magazine
Continue reading “Why Cameron White is worth more than Ricky Ponting”
For rural India, life goes on
“I’m more IPL savvy. And I’m reading the sports sections more now. My interest in cricket will take time.”
– Preity Zinta, co-owner of the Mohali IPL franchise, in an interview with Times of India, 22.2.08
News from the markets
Buyers came away the big winners at the supreme bull sale in Brunswick, WA last Thursday. Continue reading “News from the markets”
Shane Warne wins the 2006-07 Midwinter-Midwinter
Shane Warne has wrapped up the 2006-07 Midwinter-Midwinter, the rickeyre.com BoG award for this summer’s Ashes series.
Continue reading “Shane Warne wins the 2006-07 Midwinter-Midwinter”
Twenty21 revisited
If we didn’t know before, we do now. Australia’s 5-0 drubbing of England in 2006-07 is the first such triumph since 1920-21. But which was the bigger achievement? Continue reading “Twenty21 revisited”
Eng-ger-land…. sigh
“The performance in the Ashes series has been a great disappointment and a number of lessons must be learned. This review will be comprehensive and broad ranging with the clear objective of regaining the Ashes in 2009 and significantly improving England’s results in one-day international cricket in the next four year cycle.”
– ECB chief executive David Collier, 5.1.07
So there you have it. The England and Wales Cricket Board announced yesterday that they will arrange a board meeting to discuss the process for forming the composition of a review team to examine England’s performances over the last few years and [complete this sentence in 25 words or more]. Continue reading “Eng-ger-land…. sigh”
Sydney Day Four: Goodbye, farewell, amen, and John did you drop something?
Not since the Harlem Globetrotters last beat the Washington Generals has a foregone sporting conclusion been so rapturously and emotionally received by a sell-out crowd. Continue reading “Sydney Day Four: Goodbye, farewell, amen, and John did you drop something?”