Prince Charles And Indian Cricket

World Cup Link To A Chucker, Er, Chuck

I do enjoy historical links, so this email from two friends, Anil Madan and C. K. Sharma, caught my attention immediately. In essence, it refers to major events in 1981, when a) Prince Charles was married; b) Liverpool FC won the European Championship; c) Australia lost the Ashes and d) the Pope died. Two years later, India, the rank underdogs, defeated the reigning World Cup champions, the West Indies, in a group match - and then defended a paltry 183 in the final to beat them again (by 43 runs) and take the title, against all odds.
The email goes on to refer to 2005, when a) Prince Charles got married; Liverpool FC won the European Championship; c) Australia lost the Ashes and d) the Pope died.
But if India is going to win the World Cup, it needs to find a huge form reversal after losing to Bangladesh. Still, this is cricket, and stranger things have happened ...

Keeping Score

Make Your World Cup Predictions Here

You're a cricket expert, right? And you plan on watching every World Cup game, right? If you can't be at the ground, you'll watch the games on live TV, or follow the ball-by-ball progress online, right?
Okay, so you know how many cricketers have scored a double hundred in one-day cricket? None. Zip. Nada. Steve Waugh once said he rated Adam Gilchrist as the man most likely to do it, that hasn't happened yet. So I reckon it's time to make a few predictions of your own. Post your prediction here, as a comment - and we'll track your progress.

* Which team will win the 2007 World Cup?
* Which batsman will hit the highest individual score?
* Which bowler will take the most wickets?
* Which team will score the highest total?
* Which team will score the lowest total?

I’m So Sari

Sourav Ganguly Is All Over Women’s Fashion

You know cricket is in the headlines when a batsman appears in the ever-morphing Google logo, as the 2007 World Cup gets under way. And as former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly knows, it’s all about how visible you are. The comeback man, known as ``Dada’’ or elder brother in India, is now being honoured by the famous handloom weavers of West Bengal, his home state. According to IndiaENews.com, the weavers will produce 150 traditional saris, comprising nine metres of cloth, with Ganguly emblazoned on the fabric.

FOOTNOTE: That’s the fabric of society.

Cricket Fans In A Spin

I Could Replace Warne For The World Cup

Okay, time to put my cards on the table. Did you know I narrowly missed scoring a century at the Eden Gardens on not one but two occasions? It's true. I was not out in both innings, missing a ton by the narrow margin of 77 runs the first time and 67 runs the next dig!
So, as a former cricketer and an ex-cricket writer, I've been following a pre-World Cup discussion with great interest.
I was intrigued when former Pakistan skipper Imran Khan - who knows a thing or two about the game - called for Shane Warne to be shoe-horned out of retirement, put into Australian colours once again and wheeled out for the current Cup campaign.
So I was digging around ten minutes ago to see what sort of reaction it had evoked. That's when I discovered Toby Forage's cricket blog at Fox Sports Cricket. It's datelined Thursday March 1 and this is what it says, about a reader poll on Imran's suggestion. ``I expected you all to think the former Pakistan captain had lost his marbles. I was wrong. So, in short, can someone tell me, is Australia’s cricket in such a dire state that it needs to call on an old guy that no longer wants to play the game to save itself from further embarrassment than has already been heaped upon it by England and New Zealand? From close to 1000 votes, more than 70 per cent of you say yes. I’m amazed.''
So am I. Let's settle on a compromise. I bowled leg spin for one schoolboy season, when there were too many quick bowlers around and I was trying to earn selection. So if there's a crisis, I could learn how to sledge, learn how to gel my hair - and I could catch a flight to the Caribbean to bowl leggies for Australia. How about a poll on that suggestion?