Sports

On The Road

Advertisement

On The Road
info_icon
The Sacred Wood

FLYING in from Delhi I had a bag containing two bats for Saurav Ganguly. The Indian team was up at Nottingham for one of their practice matches when I delivered the bats to Ganguly in the team hotel. At the Delhi airport, when the British Airways (BA) check-in staff came to know of my prized consignment, excess baggage was overlooked on condition that they get to have a look at the bats. Around five-odd BA airport staff and half a dozen economy class passengers swarmed around to feel the willow. Of course, I added that extra dose of mystique to the proceedings by saying that the bats were actually meant for Tendulkar. My stock sky-rocketed. The bats became hallowed possessions. I got an access card to the Maurya lounge. Even my ticket was upgraded - they couldn't allow the carrier of such regalia to travel with the hoi polloi. In London, where I stayed for two days before proceeding to Nottingham, my host too took quite a fancy to the goods. Maybe, he said, we should take the bats to a temple for some puja before delivering them. I shrugged off the suggestion to his great dismay. Saurav got 97 in India's World Cup opener against South Africa. I would like to think the new bats helped. Maybe they improved his eyesight as well. It was Saurav who spotted Hansie Cronje's earpiece after he saw him mumbling to himself. He pointed them out to umpire David Shepherd, who in turn informed the match referee.

Advertisement

The Khan's a Busy Man

AT Bristol, in Pakistan's opener with the West Indies, Imran Khan and Mudassar Nazar were doing the commentary for television. Theories flowed thick and fast in Punjabi about how Pakistan should bowl to contain the Windies. Imran went so far as to predict a Pakistan victory very early on. Interestingly, the great Khan was also rubbing shoulders with Ian Botham in the commentary box. Asked on how the ice was broken Imran said, 'we just said hello and went on with it.' The legal battle between the Pakistani and Botham and Allan Lamb - over slurs the latter claim were made against their 'pedigree' seems to have ended with the former England players dropping their bid to overturn the libel victory Imran got in July '96. A statement issued on behalf of both the cricketing greats said, 'The parties believe that in the best interests of cricket their differences should not continue to be aired in the courts.' All's well that ends well, and Pakistan did win the match and Imran went to the Pakistani dressing room to congratulate the boys and hand out some tips for the tournament. This, before embarking on a political meeting for his party, the Tehrik-i-Insaf. It was a gathering of the Bristol chapter of his party, and the articulate Pathan impressed with his speech - a mixture of Urdu, Punjabi and many English phrases thrown in.

Advertisement

This one for Winston

Vivian Richards is in London commentating for the bbc. Having played for Somerset in his heyday, the King is about to play again. This time he'll lead the Bunbury's, a showbiz team, against a Northants eleven captained by Allan Lamb. The match - a fund-raiser for Winston Davis, the former West Indies bowler - will be held at Finedon Dolben and Sunny is reportedly playing in Richard's team.In November '97, in his native island of St Vincent, Davis fell from a tree he was helping cut to make way for a new church. The freak accident paralysed him neck downwards. Since St Vincent has no facilities to cope with such injuries, he was allowed into Britian and spent months in an orthopaedic hospital in Shropshire. Indian fans will remember Davis from his tour to India in '83 as part of Clive Llyod's team.

The Stud Gallery

India's first match at Hove saw a number of celebrities in attendance. Some winners were watching the losers. Among them Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, India's top tennis duo. Said Leander: 'We were on our way to the French Open in Paris. We decided to come over and cheer the Indian team.' The Indian cricketers, predictably, were not inspired. Perhaps divine intervention might help. Arbaaz Khan, brother of Salman Khan, was there too. He was shooting in Scotland and had this trip planned out six months earlier. In the West Indies-Pakistan match, Viv Richards was spotted with Neena Gupta and daughter Masaba. 'Dad will they (the West Indians) win?', she kept asking Richards. Well, much as Dad would have wished, they didn't. Looks like the Calypsos need the original master-blaster to pad up again.

Advertisement

Whale of a Tussle

Shane Warne's tirade against Arjuna Ranatunga in one of his columns in a London newspaper has evoked differing reactions. Some felt Ranatunga 'had it coming' for the way he behaved recently in Australia when he called his team off the ground after Muralitharan was called for chucking by Darrel Hair. In an informal chat, Richie Benaud, that doyen of commentators, felt Warne had perhaps omitted to check what his ghost writer had written after having spoken to him. Benaud, of course, disapproved of what Warne had written. Other television producers, however, felt that Ranatunga had lost a great opportunity to get the Australian public on his side. Said a producer, 'If he had responded with grace and tact to Warne's provocation it would have gone down well. Now it has only reinforced the Australian perception of Ranatunga as a prig.' Wait for the repartee.

Advertisement

Tags

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement