The England selectors today named a 16-man tour party under the captaincy of Andrew Strauss for the forthcoming Ashes Test Series in Australia with Surrey pace bowler Chris Tremlett and Sussex left-arm spinner Monty Panesar both recalled to the squad.

Tremlett, who won the last of his three Test caps against India in 2007, is recalled to the England set up for the first time since the tour of New Zealandin 2008. While Panesar wins a place in the tour party after a successful domestic season which saw him take 52 First-Class wickets for his new county.

Surrey’s Steven Davies has been named as England’s deputy wicketkeeper behind Sussex’s Matt Prior and is the only member of the squad uncapped at Test level.

The Selectors also today named eleven players to be awarded 12-month England central contracts with Warwickshire’s Jonathan Trott and Middlesex pace bowler Steven Finn each winning a central contract for the first time. A further five players have been awarded incremental contracts.

Today’s announcement also included the naming of the 16-man England Performance Programme (EPP) squad which will be based in Australia in the lead up to the first Ashes Test in Brisbane through until the start of the third Test in Perth. Michael Carberry, Craig Kieswetter, Ajmal Shahzad and James Tredwell, who have all represented the senior England side over the past 12 months, are among those included.

Commenting on the selections, ECB National Selector, Geoff Miller, said: “We believe we’ve selected an outstanding Test squad for what will be a fiercely contested Ashes series in Australia. In order to retain the Ashes we will need to play to a very high level and we believe we’ve selected a squad to do just that.

“Clearly there are always difficult decisions to make when selecting an England squad and this Ashes squad was no different. We feel that Chris Tremlett’s inclusion will add a real threat of pace and bounce to our bowling attack given the conditions in Australia. Chris will be vying for a place in the final team amongst a confident attack including James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn.

“We feel that following an excellent season with Sussex Monty Panesar deserves his opportunity to assume the role as England’s second spinner behind Graeme Swann. Monty has gone away and worked on his bowling since his last England appearance and he continues to be an attacking threat with the ball in his hand.

“In terms of the second wicketkeeper’s role behind Matt Prior, Steven Davies has shown what he is capable of with Surrey and England this year, his glovework and batting have continued to reach new levels.

“There is real competition for places in terms of the batsmen with a number of excellent candidates vying for selection for the first Test. Each batsman brings something different to the squad but all posses the ability to significantly contribute to a winning England team.

England captain, Andrew Strauss, said: “I am excited by the Test squad we have selected for the upcoming Ashes series as I firmly believe we have a number of match winners across all areas of the squad.

“It’s exciting to have the Ashes as our sole focus from this point on and I know every member of this Ashes squad will be relishing the challenge of retaining the Ashes in Australia.

“To captain England in an Ashes series Down Under is a huge honour and something I am looking forward to with enormous anticipation. We realise the challenge ahead of us in Australia but it is a test we welcome and look forward to meeting head on.”

The England Performance Programme will be based in Brisbane from November 13 where it will play a four-day match against a Queensland XI (November 25-28) before relocating to Perth on November 29 to play a Western Australia XI (December 7-10). The EPP will remain in Perth for the lead up to the third Ashes Test before departing for the UK on December 16.

David Parsons, ECB Performance Director, said: “The England Performance Programme provides an excellent opportunity for those players identified as having considerable talent to train together in an England environment throughout the winter and further develop as cricketers.

“The time spent at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough and Australia allows our National Lead Coaches to work intensively with the players and assess their readiness to graduate to the full England side when the opportunity arises. It has been very pleasing to see the likes of Jonathan Trott, Eoin Morgan, Steven Finn and Steven Davies who have all spent time on the programme in recent years, go on to play important roles for England.”

Commenting on the award of central contracts, ECB Managing Director Hugh Morris, said: “I am delighted that Jonathan Trott and Steven Finn have both been awarded 12-month central contracts for the first time. Central contracts are designed to reward players who perform well consistently for England and Jonathan and Steven have made a very significant contribution to the team’s recent success in the last year.

“I am also pleased to announce that we are finalising our agreement with the PCA over the terms and conditions of England players’ 12-month central contracts. These terms are the result of detailed and constructive discussions with the PCA and will now cover a three-year period going forward which includes two Ashes Test Series and an ICC Cricket World Cup.”

Angus Porter, PCA Chief Executive, said “We’re pleased that following a lengthy but constructive period of discussion, the terms and conditions for central and incremental contracts are close to being finalised. We are currently drawing up final contracts, and we are confident that these contracts will be signed when they are formally offered on October 1.”

England Ashes Test squad

Andrew Strauss (C) (Middlesex)

Alastair Cook (VC) (Essex)

James Anderson (Lancashire)

Ian Bell (Warwickshire)

Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire)

Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)

Paul Collingwood (Durham)

Steven Davies (wk) (Surrey)

Steven Finn (Middlesex)

Eoin Morgan (Middlesex)

Monty Panesar (Sussex)

Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire)

Matt Prior (wk) Sussex)

Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire)

Chris Tremlett (Surrey)

Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire)

The Hanse Cronje Story

On June 1st 2002, Hansie Cronje, arguably one of the greatest South African cricket captains, died in a plane crash in the Outeniqua Mountains. He was 32. It brought to an end the colourful career of a dedicated cricketer a husband and a favourite son of South Africa.

Penned by Garth King, the biography was written to give the public closure on the sensitive subject, one that has rocked not only South Africa but the cricketing world. In addition, the hope that the people would learn from the good and the bad from Hansie’s far too short a life was also in the family’s mind allowing this project to proceed. The thing that struck me more than anything is that this is a well-balanced biography. It includes perhaps some of Hansie’s darker moments along with the good, the good times and the bad together with the realisation that he made one grave error during his cricketing career that spiralled out of control.

He was prone to sulking if a result on the field didn’t go his way, unreasonable and unwilling to be the butt of a joke despite handing out the pranks himself. One such example as King writes “he would tune the team bus’s radio to static and then crank up the volume”. However when an identical prank was played on the sleeping captain he was not best pleased, in King’s words he was “unreasonably grumpy”.

Brought up in privileged surroundings along with his brother Frans and sister Hester, Cronje enjoyed the good life that his family and sport afforded him often watching Welsh rugby on the video courtesy of a highlights video that was played constantly. Similar to Donald Bradman, Hansie had to choose between cricket and tennis as a teenager. He chose cricket and never looked back.

While participating in a blesbok (purplish antelope in South Africa) culling on Oom Wiester’s 2000ha farm, Cronje took himself away from the furore eventually he caught up with him sitting alone quietly contemplating.

“Oom, did you know that I have had one big problem in my life? I have never been a child. I’ve never had the privilege of being a child? Do you know how nice it is just to sit here and be still?

I can only surmise that he didn’t include his countless hours of playing backyard rugby and cricket with his brother and sister and friend and team mate Allan Donald. Cronje was always seen as a leader, even as a youngster and tremendous pressure was placed on his shoulders from a very young age.

A pupil at Grey College, Hansie was very successful in everything he put his mind to. Tommie Cronje, a long distant relation and teacher of his, echoed the fact that Hansie was a leader of men. “Hansie stood out as a leader who was well balanced and who had a fine sense of humour. Whenever he gave his opinion the others would pay very close attention.” This included teacher and pupils alike.

For me the book lies in two halves. Part one looks at his childhood, growing up at Paul Kruger Avenue, family and his friends both on and off the field. The second and the most emotive section of the book looks back at the betting scandals, the temptations thrown his way to throw a match, the King commission and finally his death.

The biography tells how Hansie was hounded by the press during the commission, the biggest grievance being the manner of reporting from reporters often given access to Cronje at all times of the day. It wasn’t only the press that hurt Hansie but his former colleagues. Allan Donald had lashed out and Hansie attempted to heal the rift with a two hour chat. Donald said of the meeting “I sat and cried and talked to him for two hours in Bloemfontein. He acknowledged he was greedy, but assured me he had never fixed a game. I believed him and always will. Our friendship was renewed.”

King’s biography also includes, word for word Hansie’s signed statement on June 15th 2000. It makes remarkable reading and describes in detail those who had tempted him to alter a game’s conclusion with money and gifts. Hansie as we learn from the book and from Ali Bacher (upon his death) that he was the only person to hold his head up high and admit his mistakes.

In fact had it not been for his candour, had he remained silent, with very little evidence available it’s quite possible that he would have not been held accountable. It is obvious when reading the book how the pressure had built up over a period of time and he felt he had no choice. He had for all intents and purposes been backed into a corner. There is no doubt that given the frankness of his confession, it brought match fixing to the fore and saved the long term future of cricket.

His last flight, the missed family meetings we all put off if we are rushed for time and the aftermath of his death are covered emotionally in the later stages of the biography. At 8:30 in the evening Bertha, Hansie’s wife spoke to him on the phone. He had missed his earlier connection due to poor weather and was hours from boarding the cargo plane owned by Air-Quarius Aviation. Hansie ended the conversation with “Ek is baie lief vir jou. Engel” (I love you a lot, Angel) – these were the last words he spoke with his wife.

You are unlikely to read a more emotional biography than this one. I have always had an interest in South African cricket and for me Hansie will always be remembered as THE South African cricket captain – he is my generation. This books gives a wonderfully balanced view, seeking interviews from friends and family throughout and written in an easy style. Perhaps more importantly for the family, it has given them a chance to set the record straight – it has certainly been done fairly. Highly recommended

Available to buy from Amazon.

Bill Frindall was an integral part of Test Match Special from June 1966 until his ultimate ill-timed dismissal in January of 2009, ironically an Ashes year. To many, Bearders was one of the main reasons to tune into Radio 4’s TMS, he will be sorely missed by hundreds of cricket fans around the world. Buy Now

Ask Bearders is as you would expect a collection of questions put to the great statistician and fast bowler over his career as the BBC’s main cricket statistician and radio pundit he would often be heard to growl at a question posed by cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew on air.

The questions included in this book are sectioned and appear within numerous chapters such as “on the ump”, “stats cricket”, “bowling wizards” and “well fancy that”. This isn’t your usual book, there’s no story or writing style to comment on, simply Bill’s precise and often dry responses to the fans who attempt to trick him with an impossible question.

Although not meant to be a tribute as Agnew suggests in his foreword, “Ask Bearders” is a tribute to the bearded one. Although no longer here to continue his blog, a blog he started in 2001 in response to the thousands of questions he would receive over his radio career, the book serves as his final farewell to those who took the time to question his deep knowledge.

Terry Jones of England asked a question of Bill in which he described it as being one of the more unusual questions he had been asked in his first 50 years, elevating him to agony aunt status!

“My mother was to take me (aged three) to see Bradman’s last innings at Worcester in 1948 but instead went into labour delivering my brother. He was born on 28 April, 1948. I have been led to believe that I missed a Bradman century and have yet to forgive my baby brother, Bob. What did Bradman score and was it on 298 April, 1948”

Bill replies

”I would have thought your parents were more culpable than brother Bob in the timing of his arrival. The Don’ did indeed score a hundred (107) but it was on the second day, 29 April, 1948. He gave his wicket away to conserve energy for the long tour ahead after a recent illness. His previous three visits to Worcester had produced scores of 236 (1930), 206 (1934) and 258 (1938).”

Replies such as this are the mainstay of Bill’s book. Always ready with an answer, most of the times, he astonished everyone with his depth of knowledge and shares a small amount with his readers int his book.

A lovely and charming collection from the “Bearded Wonder” as christened by fellow TMS commentator Bill Johnston.

Recommended. Buy Now

Bradman And the summer that changed cricket : Christopher Hilton | JR Books

I’ve been fortunate enough to have read and reviewed two previous books by Christopher Hilton (Cricket’s 300 Men and The Birth of the Ashes) and one thing Hilton could not be accused of is lack of research and depth in his books. His latest offering, “Bradman and the summer that changed cricket” pushes the boundaries even further with an impressive, almost statistical, ball by ball account of the matches in the summer of 1930.

Bradman and the Summer That Changed Cricket: The 1930 Australian Tour of England

The series would change the way England approached a series and in its very next series encounter saw Douglas Jardine command a small army of soldiers to Australia to recapture the Ashes in 1932-3, Bodyline. Buy Now

If you are looking for a comprehensive account of the 1930 tour then this is most certainly the book for you. The trip begins with a build up in Tasmania and Western Australia, the smallest of details recounted in black and white. It was on this tour that Sir Donald discovered he suffered from debilitating seasickness.

Accompanying the match reports and scene setting accounts are newspaper reports of not only the matches but the pomp and ceremony that followed the young cricketer on their long journey beginning in March and ending in October 1930. Bradman only missed four matches in the whole tour, three against weaker sides expected to prove little competition. The book includes scorecards from the matches he missed including Essex, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire and Sussex.

Australia’s tour of England was not expected to be a major success given the lack of experience and make up of the team. With this in mind and the lack of expectations, the departure, certainly in press terms, was rather muted and cautious.

Bradman’s first run outside Australia was a disappointment to the locals. Scoring just 40 runs in a little over an hour the “Ceylon Daily News” reflected on his innings:

“Bradman was a disappointment from the view of the spectators. He started well but slowed down considerably, almost painfully. He was the chief attraction that drew thousands to the ground, but he played an innings that one would have associated with Ponsford or Woodfull”

The Evening Standard printed the thirty six clause contract drawn up by then the Australia Board of Control or ABC and includes Clause 7 which for many years to come would be in effect:

“Each and every member of the team covenants that he will not be accompanied on tour or any part thereof by his wife or any member of the family or any relative or connection”.

To have an insight into what the players had to agree to before commencing the tour is interesting to say the least.

Bradman’s then world record score of 334 at Headingley is covered in great detail as are his other knocks, Larwood’s bowling and Percy Fender’s thoughts on the great man. Despite bowling at full pace to Bradman, the Surrey captain couldn’t quite understand how Bradman appeared to have so much time to see the ball!

Utilising Bill Ferguson’s scorebooks, Hilton reconstructs Bradman’s seven Test innings, ball by ball – a huge undertaking in itself. Bradman ended the tour with an average of 98.66, played in 27 matches and had 36 innings scoring 2960 runs.

This is a wonderful book and despite the ball by ball approach to most matches the book flows effortlessly. Another classy publication from Christopher Hilton and one that should be the staple diet for those interested in the summer of 1930. Buy Now

I have always been an admirer of Alec Stewart. I never held it against him because he played for England, there was always something about him as a cricketer that caught my imagination. Was it his great work ethos, competitiveness or his cricketing ability? Whatever the answer, they are just some of his traits many people, myself included, admired about the Chelsea loving cricketer. Buy Now

Alec Stewart’s cricket companion is an interesting and eclectic look at cricket and sport in general. The book isn’t structured and Alec, in his introduction, makes no apology for this! The book isn’t an autobiography as such, it’s a chance for Alec to share his thoughts on what’s happening in the cricket world today including the way twenty/20 has captured the public’s imagination. It also includes numerous stats, trivia and a generous helping of history through the ages.

Statistics feature heavily throughout and include amongst other the World Cup, the Ashes, Twenty/20 and a ground by ground breakdown (England & Wales). We learn that Sheffield hosted a Test match at Brammall Lane in 1902. The ground’s only Test match ended in a 143 run victory for Australia) nothing new there then). It is better known today as home of Sheffield United FC.

For me, my greatest memory of Alec came during the 1993/4 season when England toured the Caribbean. Against all the odds he pummelled the West Indian bowling in Barbados and scored back to back centuries with a great deal of panache and determination.

Stewart’s Test debut was at Sabina Park, a game he remembers with pride after helping England (with 13 runs!) secure an unlikely victory. He was fortunate to be out in the middle when Wayne Larkins struck the winning runs; it allowed him to collect a stump as a treasured momento. Despite his two great centuries at Bridgetown a little shine was taken off the performance because the series was already lost. It may have for him but for thousands of admirers and growing fans watching, it was a remarkable feat.

Stewart recalls the battle between Atherton and Donald in 1998. Atherton gloved a delivery from Donald and when Atherton refused to walk, Donald increased his pace and stared at Atherton after every delivery. Atherton squared up to him and the competition accepted!

Whether a player should walk or not is open, and shall forever be, to debate. Many purists believe a batsman should walk and there are many who feel the opposite. It’s what makes the world go round! Stewart made the decision to stay put early in his career and has never looked back.

“Early in my career I made the decision not to walk. There is no rule that says you have to, so why do it when you are effectively surrendering your wicket? How many times does a wicket keeper catch the ball knowing that the batsman hasn’t hit it and yet he is still given out? Or more importantly, when it happens, how many times do you see a fielding side call a batsman back? The umpires are out there to make the decisions so leave it to them.”

On a related note, I remember Adam Gilchrist walking after being given not out against Sri Lanka in the semi final of the 2003 World Cup. His decision then was against the grain for the majority of players and placed Australia in a precarious position of 1/34 – this was the semi-final remember. It takes a huge man to walk in that situation. Australia went on to win the match and his actions won him a legion of fans for his actions.

I have always enjoyed reading a player’s accounts once he has hung up his boots. They rarely get the opportunity to express themselves during their playing career and it is, more often than not, interesting to learn what they really thought about opposing players, good or bad.

Like many, Stewart selects his first XI since retiring from the game, at least on paper! He only chose those players at the peak of their game (when he was playing) and for this reason he had to leave players such as Viv Richards. It’s an interesting XI and includes Lara, Warne and McGrath – my only criticism would be a more in-depth look and his reasons for selecting the XI (and 12^th man!).

So there you have it. Alec Stewart’s “my cricket companion” is published by Corinthian books and is available at all good book stores. The companion is a very enjoyable and easy read. Full of fascinating stats, history and trivia this is a recommended title and worth reading this summer. Buy Now

Duncan Hamilton, who is perhaps better known for his award winning book on Brian Clough “20 years with Brian Clough” has once again put pen to paper with his comprehensive biography on England great Harold Larwood. Apart from a collaboration in 1965 between Harold and Kevin Perkins there has been no other biography fully endorsed by the Larwood family and in all likelihood there never will be another. To be honest, there is no longer any need, Hamilton has it covered.

The book is as comprehensive as you could ever wish to read on the former Nottinghamshire pit boy, a book that has obviously been written with a great deal of thought, care and admiration for the once lambasted England hero who played no small part in quashing Sir Donald Bradman’s effect in the notorious Bodyline series of 1932-33.

Harold was not only fast but incredibly accurate. Countless batsmen testify to this fact but it is left to Somerset’s  tail-ender Bill Andrews to succinctly tell it how it was “he was bloody frighteningly fast”.

Andrews, like many other batsmen to face the fast bowler, was concerned for his health when faced with the prospect of facing the demon bowler.  Following a previous encounter against Larwood, Andrews was so worked up he had developed stomach pains so severe that he was caught on the toilet when he was called in to bat!

Bill called out “who’s out?” to which the reply came back “Frank Lee. They’re bringing him back on a stretcher”. Andrews said “I was really in a state, and it took some time to adjust my clothing. As I passed the umpire I said hopefully – I must have broken the two minute rule”.

With testimonies like that, the book succeeds. The descriptive powers and hypnotic writing style transport the reader effortlessly into the thick of the action, never once letting up – just as Harold did throughout his life. Many players of his time claimed he bowled in excess of 100 mph and was the fastest bowler to grace the game. Who are we to argue!

Hamilton sets the record straight on a number of issues throughout the book and arguably the biggest affect on his career, save for Iremonger and Carr, Bodyline. Despite playing a small part in its inception at the Piccadilly club, we learn from Larwood that the “scone theory” or “Head line bowling” was devised by Douglas Jardine. Jardine spent countless hours creating a plan to all but destroy Bradman or as he was affectionately known “that little bastard”. Buy the book here

Larwood’s upbringing, his undying love and support for his family from a tender age when he worked down the pit is covered along with his struggle to make ends meet once a cricket season finished. Larwood earned the same amount of money playing cricket for Nottinghamshire as he received down the pit. When Larwood finished his playing career for his county his salary was the same as when he started all those years earlier.

Without doubt Bodyline (1932 – 33) and the fallout from it ruled his life for years to come. He never really shook off the tag and where this book succeeds is that it allows Larwood to have a voice on numerous subjects including his dislike of Pelham Warner, admiration and staunch support for his captain Douglas Jardine and is unwavering friendship with Bill Voce.

As time went on, his wounds slowly healed. That was until ABC aired the highly inaccurate Bodyline Series in 1984. Larwood’s family were rightly upset with his portrayal. Following Bodyline in 1932-33 the Larwood’s received hate mail as he did when the new mini series was aired in Australia and the UK on the BBC. To his credit Harold tried his best to reply to everyone who wrote despite the contents.

Harold Larwood’s legacy has been, for decades, his involvement in the Bodyline scandal and nothing would shake the public’s perception and his role in the infamous series. This books changes all that. Harold was a kind hearted man, modest to the end. A man who enjoyed a smoke and a beer with friends, an intensely loyal and loving family man who only had one thing on his mind – to make sure his family were well cared for. He was a great man, cricket made him that more special.

Hamilton’s masterful biography oozes class and without question allows the public to gain an insight into Larwood’s life that has for years been off limits.

Speaking personally and without bias, I cannot imagine reading a better book this year and I certainly feel the richer for reading it. Larwood comes to life once more in glorious black and white and together with the magnificent private pictures scattered throughout the book you cannot fail to be moved by his story.

Highly Recommended – Buy Now

Not the sort of thing you’d usually shout about but this is a classic! Looks like nothing can halt Freddie Flintoff from reaching the big game, not even two Aussie pranksters swapping his car for a dreaded pedalo.

Check out the video now then head over to eBay to bid on the actual pedalo Fred uses. We’re auctioning it off for charity, with every penny of the proceeds going to the Andrew Flintoff Foundation – a charity that helps fund physio wings in kids’ hospitals around the UK. So bid now and bid well.

Gideon Haigh's Inside Out

Not only is Gideon a great Aussie bloke but he is a highly talented and skilled writer whose limits know no bounds! Well, that’s not entirely true. If he could carry off his literary skills onto the cricket field he would surely be playing alongside Punter, Pup and Mitch but they don’t and he doesn’t! This is probably a good thing!

Inside Out is his latest offering; the usual sharp wit is there as is the effortless writing that we have come to know and love in recent times. Haigh is up there with Cardus and is without doubt “the don” of our time as far as author’s go. Enough flattery, he gets enough! The articles are taken from a variety of sources that include “The Australian”, Cricinfo and Wisden Cricketer.

The book takes a detailed look at the administration, Bodyline’s 75^th anniversary and a whole host of articles on Sir Donald Bradman to name but a few. In the book Gideon claims the best book written on Bradman is by Irving Rosenwater “The book is as superior to all other Bradman biographies as Bradman’s average is to those other batsmen”.

Putting Bradman to one side, Gideon devotes an entire section to commenting on various articles and books that have been published over time including Jack Fingleton’s “Cricket Crisis”. Fingleton’s book, published in 1946, is a retaliatory publication aimed at the bow of Sir Pelham Warner’s 1942 offering “Cricket between the two wars”. Both men give their account of that infamous dressing room incident that centred around the Australian captain Bill Woodfull and Sir Pelham Warner. Of the Australian captain, Fingleton with one hand commended his skipper as a fine fellow and with the other claimed “but Bodyline was a grim and ruthless battle into which a leader of mild gentility came somewhat poorly equipped”!

The modern form of the game is, as you would expect, covered in great detail. His thoughts on the twenty 20 phenomenon and its expansion to India and the highly successful IPL, or should that be renamed for one year only to SAPL?! The conflict between Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan gets a look in with two articles culminating in all that monkey business. Symonds it appears has played his last representative cricket for Australia and will no doubt bring out a biography that Haigh can dissect in the seasons to come.

So that’s it. Another Haigh collection comes to a close and is certainly a longer more fulfilling read than one of Gideon’s innings! Let’s hope we don’t have too long to wait to read what the genius has to say next and given that the 2009 Ashes are just around the corner we won’t have long to wait.

A wonderful collection of insightful articles covering the old fashioned cricket in the days of Ponsford, Bradman and Fingleton and the enigmatic characters of modern cricket.

Highly Recommended Read

You have to laugh don’t you. Well, that’s exactly what I did when I read this afternoon that the Home Secretary, yes the Home Secretary has been found out trying to pay for a TV package as part of her parliamentary duties – give me strength!

Smith and her husband

Her husband decided to watch a couple of “Adult” films on pay per view and then claimed for them back on expenses! Nothing wrong with his taste, everyone is entitled to watch what they want to as long as they are consenting adults, heck he even paid for “Surf’s Up” and “Ocean’s 13″ too. That said, are you trying to tell me you can’t distinguish between that and a bill for web connection? NO! What a pathetic excuse and from the Home Seretary Jacqui Smith herself!

Ms Smith said she “mistakenly” claimed for a TV package when billing for a web connection and would repay the cash.

Downing Street said she had done the “right thing” by quickly rectifying the “inadvertent mistake”.

The Home Secretary is already under investigation by the parliamentary commissioner for standards over her use of the second homes allowance.

MPs can claim for subscription television services but they have to be used wholly, exclusively and necessarily to perform their duties.

Home Sec - web connection anyone?!

BBC political correspondent, Gary O’Donoghue, said a source told him Ms Smith was “livid and shocked” when she found out about the films.

He said he was told Ms Smith was not at home when they were viewed and said she had no intention of resigning over the matter.

Mr O’Donoghue said he was told Ms Smith had given her husband a “real ear-bashing“.

Last month Ms Smith was criticised for claiming taxpayer-funded allowances for a second home while living with her sister.

But she insisted she had “fully abided” by the rules because she had designated her sibling’s house as her “main” residence.

Matt Laffan

Way back in 2001, Australian Story aired a special programme about Matt Laffan and his fight for a normal life, to play rugby and to dance. Just over a week ago, Matt Laffan lost his battle and died in Sydney, the city he loved.

Born in 1970, Matt was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder and was only given a short time to live, they didn’t think he would last a week such was his overwhelming odds against survival.

I had never heard of Matt Laffan until two days ago when Australian Story aired an updated programme to pay their respects to Matt on his passing on the 1^st March 2009. For those interested the programme will be repeated on Saturday 14^th March. It may also get a repeat showing on ABC2 on Tuesday. So please if you haven’t seen the episode, I highly recommend it.

Matt came across as a cheeky larakin with a mind as big as New South Wales and a heart to match. He loved flirting with the ladies although he claimed he never saw that he was a charmer and a good flirt – I’m sure he knew what he was doing but would rather not say!

“I have never taken to the Rugby paddock, but the game is in my blood. My old man has coached Rugby all my 37 years and thus it has been with me forever. And with it have come experiences and friendships and lessons learned that have assisted to shape me into the evolving man I am.”

For someone like me who never knew him; the best compliment I could give would be that I wish I had met him – a very inspiring character who would certainly not be short of a word or two! If you would like to learn more about Matt’s life then please visit his website. News of Matt’s death covered by ABC Australia.

A public appeal has been launched and if you would like to learn more about the “Matt Laffan Memorial Scholarship” then please visit the following website. The aim of the scholarship will support and inspire many more gifted people in the future who face some of the challenges Matt overcame. With this scholarship, the name “Matt Laffan” will still be resonating within the halls of St. John’s for many future generations, long after we’ve all gone.

Rest in peace Matt.

Strauss will be hoping for a series leveller in Trinidad

England take on the West Indies on Friday, the same day Australia hope to secure a series win against South Africa in Durban. It’s a win or lose situation for England and unless they set out to attack and take the game to the hosts the series will be a confidence sapping defeat.

Following the horrific scenes in Lahore all eyes will be on Strauss and his merry men as they attempt to salvage a series draw against a team that has produced some dazzling cricket with extraordinary results. With one Test remaining in the series West Indies hold a slender 1-0 lead. At best England can only hope for a series leveller but anything other than a win will hand the unlikely series win to the hosts.

Sky bet currently have the West Indies as favourites to win the final Test match at 11/4 or 3.75 with England drifting at 13/8 or 2.62.

England interim coach Andy Flower has been taking about Steve Harmison in the press leading up to the final Test in Trinidad and he didn’t pull any punches either, Harmison will not be left wondering what he has to do, that’s for sure!

According to Flower Harmison is simply not up to standard and has little chance of being recalled to the starting XI,

“At the moment he hasn’t, otherwise he would have done it,” Flower said. “But I don’t think by any means that Steve’s finished. He’s still got a hell of a lot to offer. Fast bowling is long, hard work and at the age of 30 it is only going to get harder work, so it is up to Steve really. He’s got to put in the performances which make the selectors pick him time and time again. I’ve only known Steve a little while and we are still getting to know each other better now.”

He went on to say “”If hard work is just a base that you start with, that’s what he’s doing at the moment, but for you to be a successful international cricketer you have to be very hungry,”

“Only he knows how hungry he is to carry on the hard yakka of a fast bowler’s life. I think he still wants to do it: he’s proud of his career and proud to play for England.”

With a number of England batsmen in fine form the Test promises to be an enthralling contest between bat and ball. The fourth Test turned out to be a boring run fest that offered little chance of a result after both sides had completed their completed their first innings. Betfair, who are offering a free £25 bet for new customers have the draw at 5/4 and England at 2/1 for the win.

Sarwan who fell just nine runs short of a magical triple century in Barbados will be keen to continue in the same vain and help secure a draw at least. Both sets of bowlers struggled on a placid pitch but it was Swann who impressed everyone with a hard fought 5 for 165 from 50 overs.

Whatever happens in Durban and Trinidad this Friday, the cricketing fraternity as one will be hoping that the events from Pakistan will not be repeated and that the game of cricket will once again be in the spotlight for all the right reasons.

Pakistan future in doubt

With the second Test match starting in Kingsmead, Durban this Friday Australia has its hands full according the latest odds across the board. Betfair have South Africa at 2/1 to win with Australia at 13/5 and the draw an outside chance at 6/4.

Despite the predicted second Test win for South Africa, Australia are clear favourites to take the series with odds of 4/5. South Africa is a distant 9/2 with a healthy offer of 11/4 for the draw.

I was quite surprised when I noticed this earlier today especially given the fact that Australia won the first Test in Johannesburg by 162 runs. In a shortened series anything could happen I guess and one thing is for sure – the Boks will be up for revenge after the bowlers failed to take advantage of the visitors in the first innings.

Following on from the terrible atrocities in Lahore today, it will be interesting to see how the players will handle the attack on the Sri Lankan team. Although none of the players sustained any critical injuries others within the party have perished and it is truly a dark day for cricket and Pakistan.

Australian captain Ricky Ponting had this to say in response to the gun attack in Pakistan:

“On behalf of the Australian cricket team I would like to express our deepest condolences to those who have been affected by the tragic events in Pakistan this morning. An act of violence like this is a terrible thing and when it involves those who are part of our cricketing family, players the world over are affected.

The wider cricketing community has been shocked by what has occurred and our thoughts and full support is with those involved.

We have spoken with members of the Sri Lankan team this morning and made them aware we are extremely saddened by what has happened and that our best wishes are with them all. We hope that those who have been injured in these attacks can make a full and quick recovery and return to representing their country soon.”

Only time will tell if Pakistan will play representative cricket in the near future but one thing is certain, no one will tour Pakistan for a number of years – if at all. The only avenue forward for Pakistan is to play at neutral venues, something they have done in the past. We all want to see a strong and committed Pakistan team play cricket and a terrorist attack such as this morning’s should not be the catalyst that sees them suffer.

Going back to Friday’s Test match I can’t see any changes in the Australian batting line-up or indeed the bowling attack, South Africa on the other hand may be tempted to make one or two changes. That said any changes will surely be reactionary as I believe both countries have their best eleven on show at the moment.

Betfair have an interesting side bet in regards to the toss! You can get odds of 6/5 for South Africa to win the toss and bat, 5/1 if they field. On the other hand should Australia with the toss and bat Betfair offer 11/10 on a batting decision and huge 9/1 on a fielding decision. The fielding option will certainly be a tempter for many a punter!

Sri Lankan team attacked

Terrible news coming out of Lahore this morning is that gunmen have attacked a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team on its way to play in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

At least five members of the Sri Lankan cricket team were injured – two from bullets – and five Pakistani policemen escorting the team bus were killed.

This is a terrible attack and will be a huge blow to cricket in general and especially the general loving Pakistan community. We all know that cricket Pakistan have struggled over the last few years due to major concerns over security with major teams refusing to travel. This will certainly not help and it is unlikely that any team will travel to Pakistan for the forseeable future.

Cricket Australia are reported to be shocked by the news according to The Times of India.

Pakistani officials said about 12 gunmen were involved and grenades and rocket launchers have been recovered.

The BBC’s Barbara Plett in Islamabad says the incident will come as a big blow to Pakistani cricket.

Pakistan invited Sri Lanka to tour after India’s cricket team pulled out of a scheduled cricket tour following the deadly November attacks in the western Indian city of Mumbai.

Kallis under fire in Johannesburg

Australia have taken a one-nil lead in the three Test series against South Africa with an impressive 162 runs win against the Boks. The visitors have shown the true value of batting to number 10 over the last 12 months but no more so than here in Johannesburg.

Day five loomed bright and early this morning with the game finely balanced with both sides in with a chance of snatching victory. Unless the weather had intervened the draw was the only unlikely result especially with a full day’s play on offer.

Australia required eight second innings wickets for victory and South Africa just 276 runs to win, both a possibility given the pedigree of the two teams on show. Unfortunately for South Africa the win was very much a distant dream by lunch with the home side sitting on a precarious 5 for 247.

Tight bowling was the key to the early success as the visitors just sat back and waited for the mistakes to come. Hilfenhaus and Johnson bowled well and troubled both batsmen (Kallis and Amla) early on. Despite the onslaught they survived the double pronged attack until Siddle forced a mistake from Amla who held out to Hughes at mid-wicket.

Five runs later Andrew McDonald, who is still learning his international trade, applied constant pressure and it was AB De Villiers who lost his patience and fell to a leg before decision with Billy Bowden officiating. Aware of the importance of his wicket South Africa went to a referral but it was in vain.

Kallis struggled to push the game on and was eventually bowled by Johnson five runs short of a dogged 50. The promising and highly sought after Duminy shared a brief 39 run partnership with Boucher until Duminy gave Siddle his second wicket and Ponting’s first catch at second slip.

Morkel came and went for two and when Boucher was bowled by the dangerous Hilfenhaus the writing was on the wall. The final two wickets fell shortly after the tea interval with Johnson and Siddle cleaning up leaving Ntini the sole survivor on 0*.

The two teams now travel to the Kingsmead ground in Durban on the 6th March for the second Test.

Hayden's Out !

They’re skilled, smart, sassy and with the help of the Layne Beachley Aim For The Stars Foundation, a new breed of female sports heroes will have their names on the lips of the nation this season. In a show of camaraderie for women in sport, Australia’s top female cricket and surfing champions battled it out in a beach cricket match to celebrate the ICC Women’s World Cup which kicks off in March as well as surfing’s ASP Women’s World Tour at the LG Mobile Roxy Pro, at Snapper Rocks, Gold Coast this weekend.

The event was designed to celebrate up-and-coming Australian female sports stars and inspire girls and women across the country to dream and achieve. Teams included representatives from the Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars and the ASP Women’s World Tour with world surfing veteran Matt Hoy as umpire.

Promoting women in sport and supporting the dreams of Australian girls is a cause close to the heart of seven time ASP Women’s World Champion Layne Beachley. In 2003, Beachley established the Aim for the Stars Foundation, “encompassing academic, sport, cultural and community pursuits, my foundation offers ambitious and dedicated females an opportunity to receive financial and moral support to help them achieve their goals,” said Beachley, ” it is important that women sports support one another and what better way than to play some beach cricket, look out Southern Stars!”

Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars Cricketers

• Matthew Hayden
• Ellyse Perry
• Alex Blackwell
• Delissa Kimmince
• Sarah Andrews

ASP Women’s World Tour Surfers

• Layne Beachley
• Steph Gilmore
• Jessi Miley-Dyer
• Sally Fitzgibbons
• Sam Cornish

Delissa Kimmince, Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars cricketer and Female Development Officer at Queensland Cricket knows first-hand how inspiration and determination can see young women achieve great things.

“I grew up in a country town near Brisbane and at 12 I was selected as a shadow player for Darling Downs – but there wasn’t a girls team, so I couldn’t play or go away with them! But I tell the girls in my development squad if you work hard and wear a smile anything is possible. And now I’m representing my country at the Women’s World Cup. It’s a dream come true,” she said.

The ICC Women’s World Cup involves the world’s top 8 ranked teams, being Australia, India, New Zealand, England, West Indies, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Pakistan. Like our men’s team, Australia are the defending champions.

The tournament involves 25 matches played over 16 days. The opening match of the tournament between Australia and New Zealand will be held at North Sydney Oval on Sunday, 8 March 2009. The group stages will be held from 7 to 12 March, the Super 6 qualification stage from Saturday 14 to Thursday 19 March and the Final on Sunday 22 March 2009.

Marcus North on his way to 117 on debut

Despite losing two very quick wickets on day one of the first Test at the New Wanderers Ground yesterday, Australia somehow dug deep and recovered to post a very respectable 466 all out.

Ponting (83) and Clarke(68) led the way yesterday with half centuries and it was left to Haddin and debutant Marcus North to continue the fight back today. North outlasted the more experienced wicket keeper (63) to put on a huge partnership with number nine Mitchell Johnson.

North continued to play positively and carried on the Australian tradition of trusting the tail – a trust that has been bountiful in recent times with Australia batting to number 10 comfortably. He marked his debut game with a wonderful 117 before he was stumped by Mark Boucher for 117.

Johnson then decided to hit out and within an over had despatched the spinner (Harris) for 26 off one over, an over that included three sixes.

Unfortunately for the number nine, the final two batsmen couldn’t stay in long enough to see Johnson reach his maiden Test century as he remained four runs short at 96 not out at the innings close. It really was a shame he didn’t reach the magical three figures, despite an unconventional batting style he certainly deserved to mark the innings with a century.

North became the 18^th Australian to hit a century on debut. In reply South Africa lost two early wickets namely Smith (0) and Amla (1). The home team currently stand on 3 for 85 with a long way to go in this Test match.

Jeff Crowe, the match referee has come out and accepted he made a mistake in the final and despite Rudi Koertzen suggesting the teams come back the very next day to finish the game with 3 overs to bowl, Crowe stepped up to the plate.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few days and whether he wil be forced to resign on the back of a error strewn series. The thing that concerns me is that Crowe will be made a scapegoat for the rest of the administration and the ICC chiefs who have to be accountable for a farce of a tournament.

I’m sure we will all be glued to the web abd news bulletins to find out what happens next !!!

The Cricket World Cup has finished and Australia have deservedly won a third straight championship following the victory against Sri Lanka in Barbados yesterday. Let’s face it, no one even took Australia close and probably won’t for a while yet !

The great thing about Australia is the ability to switch on when it’s required. Sure they were defeated before the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand but as the fat lady sung, Adam Gilchrist guided Australia home (with a torch !) to a comprehensive win.

What really annoyed me was the fiasco of the final. The umpires seemed to have no idea what to do and were hell bent on confusing matters further. Was it the administrators who obviously couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery to blame ? I guess only time will tell but one thing is clear, they shouldn’t be allowed to organise another competition in the West Indies – leave it to someone else !

The tournament was far too long and talk about over priced – why on earth would you charge $100 for a ticket when you now only too well the locals cannot afford the entry fee? Crazy and stinks of money grabbing. I hope they don’t make enormous amounts of profit from this, they’ve been far too greedy stopping the regular fan from watching a game they love.

I could be wrong but if it wasn’t for Mahela Jayawardene walking onto the pitch late in the day to talk with Ponting I really think the umpires would have brought the teams back to play 3 final overs today !!! If that’s the case then why on earth didn’t they play a full 50 over game spread over the two days ? Diabolical ! Agnew at the BBC sums it up in his blog

I didn’t want to end this rant without at least remembering the biggest and most important part of this World Cup – the sad and tragic loss of Bob Woolmer the day after Pakistan crashed out of the competition to Ireland. The competition should have stopped there and then but money talks. We are still no clearer to finding out what happened in the early hours and whether it was murder or suicide and if match fixing was involved. Scotland Yard are on the case but maybe we’ll hear more once Sherlock Holmes and Watson have visited the Caribbean.

The 2007 ICC World Cup had so much potential but failed to live up to the hype. Very disappointing but congratulations once again to Australia – Awesome.

It certainly has been a bad week for cricket and despite a great win by Sussex in the C7G Trophy, Lancashire losing by 15 runs in a low scoring final. James Kirtley took 5 wickets for just 27 runs, amazingly all by LBW, Darrell Hair was still very much in the news.

The ICC Chief, Malcolm Speed, re-iterated that Hair was still very much in the ICC’s plans despite asking for a pay off to leave cricket last Sunday. He dismissed suggestions that his fellow Australian would be “hung out to dry” and said: Darrell Hair is one of our best umpires – he’s one of the best two or three in the world. He’s a very dedicated man, he’s devoted to umpiring – that’s been his life’s passion.

“We need to let some water flow under the bridge. We have a meeting of the ICC Board in Dubai next Saturday, we’ll have had some further legal advice about all of these issues by then and hopefully we’ll be able to move forward some othese difficult questions.”

However despite Speed’s support, Pakistan will no doubt go all out to get the umpire removed from the Elite panel. Only time will tell but I certainly cannot see Hair officiating in another Pakistan game of any description. The hearing of ball-tampering and disrepute charges faced by Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq will not take place until next month.

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Oh dear, Darrell Hair just can’t keep out of the headlines can he. Following his controversial decision last week to award the Oval Test to England after he accused Pakistan of cheating (ball tampering) it has emerged that he offered to resign from Test cricket. Ok nothing wrong with that I hear you say, but it’s not as simple as that! He offered to hang up his white coat for a price, $500,000 in fact or £266,000.

Many will see this as a sordid attempt to extract the urine/money but he insists that he was looking for a way out that would re balance the cricketing world following the decision last Sunday. Darrell Hair now 53 sent an email to the ICC, Malcom Speed, its Chairman has confirmed the Australian umpire has been under an enormous amount of stress but following legal advice had no option but to make this matter public.

And he said he was satisfied Hair had not made the offer with any “dishonest, underhand or malicious intent”.

“He was seeking to find a solution that was in the interests of the game.”

The ICC’s lawyers advised the organisation to disclose the contents of Hair’s message to the Pakistan Cricket Board as they were relevant to the disciplinary case brought against captain Inzamam-ul-Haq. Having informed the PCB, Speed then felt compelled to make the documents public in case they were leaked anyway.

Darrell Hair has since revoked the email citing it was sent after a stressful time in the spotlight. Hair doesn’t strike me as someone who bows to either pressure or stress and is certainly no stranger to controversy in Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe or India. Hair knew exactly what he was doing on Sunday and in his email to the ICC. It’s about time he was moved out of the Elite panel of umpires, even if it is for a year to cool down.