Cricket fan hit for six
A $12,000 cricket bat signed by Australian Test great Sir Donald Bradman has been stolen in a burglary at a Ballarat house.
The limited edition bat is one of only 99 in existence.
Lydiard St resident Jeff Horgan arrived home on Friday night shortly before 7pm to find photos and items scattered across his bedroom floor, and a front window ajar.
Missing was the Bradman-signed bat, kept in a cabinet in his lounge room.
Ballarat Crime Investigation Unit Senior Detective John Jess said the break-in was believed to have occurred between 9am and 7pm.
"Someone has got into his house and gone through it, and stolen the Donald Bradman-signed bat. They have also gone through his paperwork and got the authenticity certificate for it," Snr Detective Jess said.
"They also took three watches and two-way radios."
Mr Horgan said the the bat was valued at about $12,000.
He said the hardest part about the burglary was leaving his home on Saturday, and wondering how secure things were.
"I was thinking, do I have to lock up everything, can I leave my wallet and keys inside ... it changes the way you think," he said.
"We should be able to leave our homes knowing that what we leave there should be quite safe."
(c) 2008. Fairfax Media.
Success of IPL depends on building loyal fan bases
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is, by all accounts, a resounding success. Viewership is high, most of the grounds are packed and the cricket looks serious enough. The owners are not yet laughing all the way to the bank but they have started chortling at the sight of ATMs. The impact of the new league is far reaching not just on cricket and the way it is played, run and enjoyed but indeed on the way the market and the forces it unleashes can change the way we lead our lives.
And yet, this is a success that needs to be set in a larger context. Given our obsessive immersion in today and our growing inability to imagine how time shapes, builds and erodes things, we tend to confuse the conditionally transient with the inevitably permanent. (As an aside, remember how the BCCI petulantly told Shah Rukh Khan off for using cricket to promote himself? The shoe has clearly changed feet, but no one remembers.)
For a new format to be declared successful, we need a few years to pass. It is worth remembering that while Kerry Packer transformed cricket, the format he promoted (World Series Cricket, not too different from the IPL) began gloriously and died quickly.
The long-term challenges for marketing IPL are several. Sustaining the excitement around the format depends squarely on the ability of various teams to build loyal fan bases. Currently, the basis for building this loyalty is not particularly robust. The city is not a uniformly powerful flag to fly under; in India barring a Kolkata or perhaps a Mumbai, most cities do not enjoy a passionate sense of belonging. Even when they do, it is important for the team to believably represent the city. Now a Ganguly may be synonymous with Kolkata but a Shane Warne captains Jaipur as a result of a commercial accident.
The larger underlying issue is the mental model of what the IPL delivers. It has been imagined as entertainment made out elements of sport. What makes sport such powerful entertainment is that it transcends mere diversion. Sport makes grown men groan, moan and whimper.
A nation sulks when Sachin fails. We live out something pure and timeless when we follow sport, forgetting our puny individual identities in the intense embrace of a collective tide of emotion. That is why the 'sticky eyeballs' occur, not because a cheerleader is showing leg which a camera is slavering over. The current notion of sport is as an attractive 'surface', all glitter and glamour.
Take a look at the names of the teams. Daredevils, Knight Riders, Chargers, Super Kings, Challengers -- these are generic pseudo-martial names devoid of any character and avoiding any real connection with the city they claim to represent.
The advertising for the teams is the most undifferentiated one has seen in any category - sundry 'ambassadors' sing songs full of passion while admiring their own abs. The cheerleaders too have eschewed local rallying cries in the favour of a superficial, imitative and exploitative approach to exciting passion. Overall, no real attempt has been made to provide spectators a strong reason to believe in any team. For eventually, a team is more than a motley collection of individuals; it must represent a point of view, a style of playing the game.
At a deeper level, sport is about a heroic pursuit for purity carried out people we anoint as our representatives. It is an epic tale into which we insert ourselves. It will be important for the IPL teams to tell a story that we as spectators and followers, would want to be part of. In its fourth year of operation, when the initial excitement has worn off, what will keep us watching it is the feeling that our team in some way represents our identity and worldview.
The other challenge for the IPL is to ensure that all the brands that have made investments get due returns. In spite of the success of the format so far, this is by no means certain. The trouble is that there are so many different kinds of brands vying for our attention. We have the Bollywood stars (Akshay Kumar's team or Hrithik's?), the owners who get huge attention, the star players, the broadcasters, the presenting sponsors, brands associated with each team, the city brands and finally the teams themselves.
There is another way of looking at this whole thing. Instead of seeing the IPL as either sport or entertainment, or indeed an introduction to the club format and hence using those frameworks to evaluate it, one could see it as an entirely new kind of format with its own emerging codes. Perhaps it is closest to reality television in that it allows us high stimulation at low emotional cost. When we cheer for our city team, we do so raucously, but very little emotional residue remains thereafter. It is akin to drinking a cola; a lot of burn, bite and fizz in the throat but something that evaporates before reaching the stomach. All stimulation and no residual content; all intoxication and no hang-over.
Viewed this way, the biggest challenge for the IPL is to keep the stimulation flowing. One must remember that with the IPL, excitement can wane rapidly. The first few dozen times someone hits a six off the last ball to win a match, it is exciting, thereafter it fails to stimulate a jaded appetite. Unlike cinema, cricket has very few plot surprises up its sleeve; either someone can score the required runs or they can get out, nothing else can happen. By contriving excitement using a compressed format, we are also making us immune to it.
This is why the story must include other elements - the antics of the players off the ground become vital ingredients and here with Slapgate and the Shane-Sourav stand-off, IPL couldn't have scripted a better start. I would not be surprised if innovations in this format followed the principles of reality television, with the focus being on interactivity and surprise. Choose your own team, drop the non-performer, be captain for a match- just some of the kind of innovations that are possible.
The really interesting question about the IPL is not whether it will succeed or fail but what it will succeed or fail at. Understanding the IPL is perhaps more important than evaluating it.
(c) 2008 Times Internet Limited
Cricket: Wood happy to have an opportunity to make mark
MATTHEW Wood yesterday became the third of Glamorgan's new major signings to make an early impression at the Welsh county this summer.
Only rain denied him a century on his one-day debut for the Dragons against Gloucestershire Gladiators in the abandoned Friends Provident clash Trophy clash at Bristol.
The 31-year-old was Matthew Maynard's first major winter capture after he linked up with Glamorgan from Yorkshire last October, before he was joined by Australian bowler Jason Gillespie and England one-day all-rounder Jamie Dalrymple from Middlesex.
Gillespie and Dalrymple impressed in the LV county championship division two draw against Middlesex at Lord's, while Wood suffered a controversial first-ball duck when he was adjudged to have been trapped lbw by seamer Tim Murtagh.
But his unbeaten 91 off 136 balls in a Dragons total of 174 for four, including an opening partnership of 119 with captain David Hemp (50), made amends for that inauspicious four-day debut.
And Wood admitted it was vital the new players had made an instant impression with their new side.
"There has been a good mix of players coming into the club with three experienced people like myself, Jason Gillespie and Jamie Dalrymple," said Wood, who did not feature in the county championship for Yorkshire last year.
"I played with Jason at Yorkshire so I know what he is capable of and Jamie has played for England so we are aware of his credentials.
"And it is important we come in and establish ourselves and do the jobs we have been brought into do.
"To get some runs and wickets early on is good for the team and good for the lads who have come to the club."
Wood is hoping he can take his one-day form into the championship match against Gloucestershire at Bristol tomorrow and bury his disappointment of Lord's.
"It would be nice to replicate it in the championship game and build on what was have achieved on Sunday," he added.
"I can't hide the fact that what happened to me against Middlesex was a big disappointment.
"I have not played in the first-class format for a while and I was looking forward to getting a few runs for my new county, especially at a venue like Lord's.
"But I needed to move on from that and thankfully some runs came against Gloucestershire.
"Although it was frustrating that I was so close to a century and ended up only nine runs short."
Despite being denied the century milestone, it will still be a major boost for Wood as he looks to resurrect his career with Glamorgan.
In his first full season in 1998, Wood passed 1,000 runs, in the summer of 2003 he amassed 1,423 runs in Championship matches and won the Yorkshire player-of-the-year award and he was also an ever-present member of the side that won the county championship in 2005.
But he fell out of favour last season and was released in July before being snapped up by Maynard, who was looking for a consistent opening batsman.
"It has been a new start for me and I am looking forward to making a lot of runs," said Wood.
"There is pressure on me and I am under no illusions I need to make scores at the top of the order.
"Gareth Rees is a good player and he is one of a talented bunch of young players but they need some experience around them.
"But I have enjoyed Cardiff and getting back into the environment of playing cricket.
"I have settled in really well and I have been made to feel very welcome by everybody at Glamorgan.
"I have always been a fan of Matthew Maynard when I played against him and when he became cricket manager, I was convinced I was going to come to Wales.
"And when I saw the surroundings of the new stadium, it was quite easy for me to join what is a growing club."
(c) 2008 owned by or licensed to Media Wales Ltd.
The IPL's identity challenge
New arrivals usually have teething problems, and one of the concerns after the first two days of the Indian Premier League centred on the people who will ultimately make or break this competition: the fans.
Observers at Bangalore on Friday and Mohali on Saturday discerned an identity problem. What to do when the two most explosive innings - Brendon McCullum's 158 and Mike Hussey's 114 - are being played by batsmen who are not simply playing for the away team but are not even Indian? After all, sustained passion for a home side you have never watched before - who have never even existed! - is always going to be tricky when it's the opposition who is providing most of the entertainment. The third game at Delhi yesterday told us little: the visitors, Rajasthan Royals, put up so little fight that only the arch-chauvinist would have left the Feroz Shah Kotla satisfied.
This evening, though, things changed. First Eden Gardens overcame the awkwardness of cricketus interruptus (the floodlights went out for 20 minutes just as the climax was approaching) to celebrate wildly as the Kolkata Knight Riders made it two wins out of two. Then, from the moment the Mumbai Indians' Luke Ronchi scythed the Bangalore Royal Challengers' Praveen Kumar over point for four off the second ball of the evening match, we were left in little doubt: the locals had come to the Wankhede to watch a Mumbai victory first and a cricket match second. Well, one out of two isn't bad.
The absence of Sachin Tendulkar might have thrown the Mumbaikars off course, although they had their fix when the Little Master milled around on the outfield before the game got under way. Instead, as the Mumbai innings developed, they chanted for "Robin" (Uthappa of Karnataka) and "Bhajji" (their new captain Harbhajan Singh, from the Punjab). And they went positively berserk as Shaun Pollock creamed R Vinay Kumar over extra cover for four and six in successive balls with that languid swing of his. The run-out of Sanath Jayasuriya was greeted with silence.
The Mumbai cricket fan has always prided himself on his knowledge of the game. It looks as if that might extend to knowing how to support a team. The impression given so far by the organisers has been in danger of patronising the Indian public: lay on enough fireworks and dancing girls, make the players adopt threatening poses on billboards, promise a cavalcade of sixes - do all that and the man on the street will fill out eight venues for 59 matches in 44 days.
But even the Indian cricket fan has his saturation point and it is far more likely to be reached if he feels a lack of connection with events on the pitch. Well, it hasn't been reached yet, and for Rahul Dravid, so used to being the darling of fans in this country wherever he goes, the experience was a novel one. "It was a fantastic atmosphere," he said, "but I'm not used to a crowd like that. Whenever I've played here before for India, the crowd have been rooting for you. But here, I hit a four and no one clapped. I think I'll have to get used to that over the rest of the tournament."
Mark Boucher, who used all the experience garnered in 263 one-day internationals for South Africa to help Bangalore over the line, said he had expected a football-style reception in advance, which might have explained the cool head he kept as the required rate rose to more than ten an over. He admitted that a couple of the younger members of his side might have been intimidated by the pressure of Friday's opener in Bangalore, but he appeared to thrive in the Wankhede cauldron. If this kind of mood can be replicated at venues other than here and Eden Gardens, the IPL organisers might begin to breathe a little more freely.
(c) Cricinfo
Crass discrimination
Our worst fears have come to pass. Cricinfo, and all other cricket websites, who serve millions of cricket fans, have been subjected to a crassly discriminatory set of regulations by the Indian Premier League that seek to severely undermine our ability to cover the event. Cricinfo's journalists have been barred from entering the press box, and it has been made clear that agencies will not be able to sell us match pictures.
It is not merely a denial of our basic rights as a media organisation and with nearly ten million readers, we can lay claim to be the world's largest cricket media organisation. It is a denial of the rights of every cricket fan, each one of you who follows cricket on Cricinfo. It is also a brazen assault on the concept of freedom of the press by a sports body apparently drunk on its sense of power.
The IPL's attitude towards the media has been insolent from the outset. They began with the premise that they owned every photograph taken by press photographers and agencies at their matches, and by demanding that news organisations hand such photographs over to the IPL for perpetual use, free of cost. They also decreed how photographs ought to be used, how many could be used, and who could use them.
Inevitably, their bluff was called. Faced with a media boycott, the IPL was forced into withdrawing, one by one, its obnoxious clauses. Lalit Modi, to whom must go the credit of conceiving the IPL, and with it these outrageous regulations, had apparently not reckoned with the clout of newspapers. But websites remain a soft target. There are only a few of us dedicated to cricket, and we don't feature on the political map.
The reason advanced to keep us out couldn't be more spurious - and potentially more dangerous. It has been argued that "standalone cricket portals" will not be entertained at the ground and be allowed to use agency pictures because the IPL has sold its web rights. What next? Newspaper rights? News agency rights? Photo rights? Surely, freedom of the press can't be a partial and expedient device. Speciously, websites run by newspapers, and general-interest websites have been exempted. Only we, the ones who spend all their energy and resources in covering cricket, have been isolated and targeted.
It has been argued that what we do conflict with the IPL's commercial interests. In other words, as long as we are around, as long as cricket fans see us as the most comprehensive and credible source for news, views and scores for cricket, the BCCI's ambitions for its own website are unlikely to be fulfilled. They are missing something important here: Independence and credibility are vital ingredients for any media organisation. A cricket board can not be expected to rise above its own interests.
Of course, we have commercial interests. We provide a free service to cricket fans, but like all media organisations we accept advertisements. However, covering cricket is more than just a business proposition for us. Cricinfo was founded on passion and that spirit remains untouched. To us, covering cricket is much more than a business, it's an obligation to the game and to the millions of readers who rely on us. We cover cricket in Kenya and Bermuda; and in India, we go considerable lengths to cover domestic cricket, that impoverished and uncared-for cousin, with no expectation of returns other than the satisfaction of having served cricket. This, of course, might be beyond the comprehension of those who cannot see the game beyond the rights it offers.
Sport and the media have always enjoyed a mutually profitable relationship. Media promotes sport, sport helps sell papers, boost viewership and page-views. Neither can prosper in denial. The IPL's misbegotten agenda of restricting the rights of the media was born out of short-sightedness and arrogance. It is a relief that wiser counsel has prevailed in most matters.
We will live with the restrictions. You may keep us out of cricket grounds, but you can't take cricket out of us. Boycotting the IPL is not an option for us. Our commitment to cover cricket is absolute, as is our obligation to you. We are not blind to the significance of the IPL, which could be a seminal event in cricket, for better or worse. We will try to bring you every game with the same rigour and depth you have come to expect from us. Please bear with us if some matters like photographs are beyond us.
No one is bigger than the game. Administrators will come and go, but as long as cricket is around, Cricinfo will be here to cover it. That's a promise.
(c) Cricinfo
MEN IN BLUE CRASHED BY VISITORS
What a pity on the Indian cricket team, after a thunderous performance by the team in the 1st test at Chennai, the Indian batting lineup totally collapsed in Ahmedabad. After a low total of 76 in the 1st innings, that itself marked the beginning of an end. The momentum which the team had built seemed to have lost in the 2nd test. It would be a nightmare to Kumble, the team tumbling down just for 76 is the 2nd lowest test score. Undoubtedly, the efforts of the SA team was commendable, especially I was impressed by the performance of Dale Steyn. The Men In Blue need to buck up and put forth an exuberant performance to save this series.
Copyright CricDigs.com(2006-2008)
A fan's innings of spirited display
There were pom pom girls dancing every time a wicket fell or a boundary was hit. There were cricket fans hooting for their favourite team in the colourful stands. There were crackers bursting to mark any moment of celebration. But amidst all this jubilation, was Perry Cross - a quadriplegic Australian spectator enjoying watching the Twenty20 Indian Cricket League (ICL) match in Gurgaon in a separate space provided to him and his three personal care assistants and friends from Down Under.
Perry Cross is receiving embryonic stem cell treatment for his injuries. In 1994, Perry broke his neck in a rugby game, and was left a quadriplegic on life support, unable to move from the neck down. But like the adage goes 'when the going gets tough, the tough get going', so is the case with Perry. With the support of those around him and an incredible amount of inner strength and courage to live life to the fullest, Perry made a major decision to get going.
Perry likes watching any cricket and the ardent cricket fan is keen on watching not just the currently underway ICL matches but also the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. With plans of watching the upcoming IPL matches too, Perry can hope to catch up with former Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist, who is involved with Perry X Foundation as an ambassador.
"My favourite team, it's got to be Ahmedabad Rockets because there are a few Aussies playing. I have met Jason Gillespie and Damien Martyn," said Perry watching the ICL match between Ahmedabad Rockets and Chennai Superstars in Gurgaon. Perry, a cricket enthusiast, is one of Australia's most sought after motivational speakers and has addressed the Australian cricket team.
Sitting on a wheel chair a spirited Perry was impressed with the crowd. "The crowd is fairly good. It's good to see Twenty20 cricket making a mark."
On his opinion about the quick and snappy format of the game in India and Down Under, Perry said, "There is obviously more Twenty20 cricket played in India. Australia hasn't adopted Twenty20 as fast as India. The good thing about Twenty20 is that it takes only three hours and players seem to enjoy it as well."
Perry is paralysed from neck below; nevertheless Perry has his own style of showing delight to a well played shot. In a cricket-crazy nation, we have definitely seen die-hard fans of the game. But Mr. Cross is undoubtedly a man who has knocked over a billion fans of the game with an innings of spirited interest to the gentleman's game. Most people in his situation would never leave the hospital, but Perry is celebrating life.
Copyright (c)  2008 Times Internet Limited.
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