| Signing Kolpak players is like internet shopping. Instead of getting out there and doing the hard yards trying to find what you're looking for, you can just have it delivered to your door. | England selector and Warwickshire director of cricket, Ashley Giles, on the overseas influx in county cricket |
|
|
| |
|
| Look, it's your nation, not mine. | Kevin Pietersen, explaining in an interview that he gets sent pictures of naked women by fans, reveals the extent of his Englishness |
|
|
| |
|
| 'Was it a good ball, Freddie?' And I'll say: 'Not particularly.' And he'll go: 'Shit shot again, then?' | Andrew Flintoff on playing with Muttiah Muralitharan for Lancashire |
|
|
| |
|
| Even my father's name is Sachin Tendulkar. | Tendulkar's daughter, Sara, tells her class her father's name after the teacher informs them a restaurant in Mumbai is named after him |
|
|
| |
|
| We yearned for strong leadership for years and now Giles has come along and we are terrified. | An anonymous county chairman reveals his fears to the Guardian, as Giles Clarke drags English cricket into uncharted waters |
|
|
| |
|
| I think I will donate the money to Mother Teresa or something like that. | Shoaib Akhtar's latest 'Shoaibism' when asked about his IPL earnings |
|
|
| |
|
| That whiteness is truly horrible. And the things they are wearing instead of proper jumpers are just awful. | Former England player Mark Butcher isn't so keen on the new England kit |
|
|
| |
|
| Instead of buying greater numbers of expensive flops, the smart owners would be well advised to employ some statisticians ... Bangalore, in particular, have had a miserable time; the whipping boys, more chumps than challengers. | Michael Atherton with a clear message for Royal Challengers owner Vijay Mallya |
|
|
| |
|
| We have an obesity crisis in this country with young people and yet here we are preventing a cricket club from improving. | Baroness Billingham is staggered that East Northamptonshire council has ordered the Rushden Town club to pay £2000 to undertake a noise survey about their proposed nets, despite receiving support from neighbouring houses |
|
|
| |
|
| Will Tests soon be marketed as 'Like Twenty20, only slower!'? | Journalist Patrick Kidd fears for the future |
|
|
| |
|
| It was mesmeric. The music, the clothes that they wore, the atmosphere was completely a new experience for me. | A dazzled Brett Geeves speaks after attending Tillakaratne Dilshan's wedding in New Delhi |
|
|
| |
|
| Sounding like Keith Harris's self-pitying puppet duck Orville singing, 'I Wish I Could Fly', Pietersen said: 'I could earn $1million for playing six weeks, but I can't.' | The Times' deputy cricket correspondent, Richard Hobson, takes a swipe at England's star turn |
|
|
| |
|
| I remember going for a drink with a friend once and being asked to talk about anything other than cricket for five minutes. We stayed silent until five minutes had passed, and then got back to cricket. | Former England batsman Chris Tavare, now a biology teacher, admits he was very focussed in his cricketing days |
|
|
| |
|
| Even The Queen Mary turns quicker than that. | Robin Jackman on television commentary takes a shot at Wasim Jaffer's late reaction after being sent back by Jacques Kallis, eventually losing his wicket |
|
|
| |
|
| Cut it out! I drink in public bars with the best of them thank you very much. I'm not some Cambridge wally. | Ian Smith responds to Mike Atherton's joky jibe that he spent an evening drinking in a working man's club in Manchester |
|
|
| |
|
| My team told me that they have yet to meet a better human being than me. This is a huge compliment. | Kolkata franchise owner Shah Rukh Khan doesn't have time for false modesty |
|
|
| |
|
| I've hit people on the head before but never had teeth to show for it. |
|
|
| James Anderson after his bouncer sent Daniel Flynn to the dentist | |
|
|
| |
|
| Twenty20 is not cricket. It's pure entertainment. VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid batting out a whole day against the Australians - now that is cricket. | Prolific author Jeffrey Archer isn't afraid to cut loose, right in the middle of the madness called the IPL |
|
|
| |
|
| I need to be a little more patient at this level and that is something I would like to improve on as fast as possible. | Amit Jaggernauth, West Indies' debutant offspinner, is impatient to develop patience |
|
|
| |
|
| We're always being told that people should be more active and play more sport. Well I did and I'm crocked. I'll have arthritis for the rest of my life. People should sit on the sofa and eat pies. | Playwright Richard Bean says he wrote his play about cricket, The English Game, as his revenge on the sport |
|
|
| |
|
| It is a $5 bit of cloth. I haven't got one, haven't had one since the day I finished. I don't need to look at an Australian cap to remind me of what I did. | Ian Chappell isn't getting sentimental about his (lack of) baggy green. |
|
|
| |
|
| Had I been 21, I would easily have cracked this. | Rahul Dravid, 35, wishes Twenty20 had existed even earlier |
|
|
| |
|
| I am as dedicated to my Knights as I am to my kids. | Shah Rukh Khan plays dad to the Kolkata Knight Riders |
|
|
| |
|
| I want to thank the crowd for their support. It was pretty one-sided for Mumbai. Just don't forget some of the Punjab boys also play for India. | Yuvraj Singh, the captain of the Kings XI Punjab, isn't pleased with the Wankhede crowd's behaviour |
|
|
| |
|
| If Australia really needed me and there was no one else around, and Ricky [Ponting] thought I could do the job, you would weigh up the options. | Shane Warne dangles a tantalising carrot by suggesting he could return, if asked, for the 2009 Ashes |
|
|
| |
|
| I'm not giving any interviews about how we're going to do against Australia. | Kevin Pietersen is staying clear of all pre-Ashes mind games and clichéd sound bytes, with the showpiece event only a year away |
|
|
| |
|
| I've had sleepless nights after that hearing. | Richie Richardson reveals his disappointment at the two-year ban slapped on Marlon Samuels |
|
|
| |
|
| I certainly did not. What sort of nancy stuff is that? | And Geoff Boycott isn't much of a fan of batsmen touching gloves, either |
|
|
| |
|
| I'm carrying a hangman's noose with me. As soon as I see Ross Taylor, he's jumping into it. | Geoffrey Boycott is a man on a mission after witnessing Taylor's injudicious pull in the first innings of the Lord's Test |
|
|
| |
|
| I'm not interested in what Cricinfo think of my career. | In a fiery interview with The Sunday Times, Mark Ramprakash - responding to questions over his unfulfilled international career - defends his record and questions his critics |
|
|
| |
|
| Money talks, you're selling your pride, selling the baggy green, what price is it? It just cheapens things. Personally, I would have worn my baggy green. I wouldn't have given a razoo what they told me. | Greg Matthews isn't impressed with the proceedings of Baggy-gate |
|
|
| |
|
| The lunch is outstanding. When the rain came in this afternoon one or two bowlers might have gone back for a second dose of pudding. | New Zealand's new-ball bowler, Kyle Mills, reveals how the Kiwis passed the time during the rain breaks at Lord's |
|
|
| |
|
| The poor old New Zealanders' kit looks all dirty and grubby, as though they've used the wrong washing powder. | BBC's Jonathan Agnew passes judgement on England's luminously white kit |
|
|
| |
|
| It's so boring. You watch the start and then the overs from 20 to 40 are like pulling teeth. | Chris Cairns doesn't think much of 50-over cricket |
|
|
| |
|
| One day I was up on the roof, the next I was playing at the MCG. Now I'm never going near a roof again. | Darren Pattinson, the Victoria and Nottinghamshire quick bowler, on his rise from roof tiler to strike bowler after his six wickets against Lancashire |
|
|
| |
|
| Look, Twenty20 is such a fast game that one has to remain focused all the time. We don't even have enough time for sledging. | David Hussey on one of the many consequences of the shortest form of the game |
|
|
| |
|
| I hope the national selectors were watching. | Sourav Ganguly responds to Ramiz Raja's suggestion that he was like an energetic schoolboy in the field during the Kolkata Knight Riders' stirring defence of a low total against the Delhi Daredevils |
|
|
| |
|
| I suppose you guys are doing us a favour in some ways. | New Zealand's Chris Martin is spurred on by the media expecting little from his side ahead of the first Test against England |
|
|
| |
|
| With due respect to Rahul Dravid's contribution to Indian and Karnataka cricket, I feel that it is high time that he took decisions on his own. While selecting a team there should be no friendship. | Dodda Ganesh, former Karnataka and India bowler, speaks out |
|
|
| |
|
| This is do or die. I will put myself in the Atlantic if we lose. | Afghanistan's coach Taj Malik Alam is keen for his side to qualify for the 2011 World Cup |
|
|
| |
|
| Find something else to do, lad. You'll never be good enough at cricket. | What Ryan Sidebottom was told by an unnamed coach when he was 14 |
|
|
| |
|
| I don't give a damn what anyone says about that. What will be will be. | Michael Vaughan isn't listening to the comments about his poor batting putting his captaincy position under threat |
|
|
| |
|
| Luckily it was in my arc, so I closed my eyes and had a little swing at it and it went over the rope. It was my day. | Luke Wright explains how he reached his century against the New Zealanders with a six |
|
|
| |
|
| Somebody must bowl. | Commentator Tony Cozier is bothered because of the delay caused by the confusion regarding the overs bowled by the Bangalore Royal Challengers' two Kumars - Vinay and Praveen - against the Kolkata Knight Riders |
|
|
| |
|
| Why hire a lawyer who reputedly charges £10,000 a day just to get you off a £60 fine? | Times' journalist Ross Clark questions the sense of Andrew Flintoff hiring the lawyer Nick Freeman, known as Mr Loophole, to get him out of a speeding fine |
|
|
| |
|
| The IPL has taken the game to virtually every house in the world. | Sachin Tendulkar holds forth on globalisation |
|
|
| |
|
| Once Shoaib sees the crowds, and of course the babes around, I think he will be able to perform. | Wasim Akram has a dig at Shoaib Akhtar |
|
|
| |
|
| I think there are a few people down there who are bitter about me leaving, but I'm not going to apologise for looking after No.1. | An unapologetic Simon Jones on life after leaving his home county Glamorgan |
|
|
| |
|
| To think of New Zealand cricket is to think of an afternoon in dullsville. | Journalist Stephen Brenkley can't wait for the international summer to get going |
|
|
| |
|
| Six weeks' razzle-dazzle enough to consign over a hundred years of Test cricket to the dump? You must be off your rocker. | David Gower makes his thoughts very clear in response to a journalist who asked if the IPL could help wipe out Test cricket |
|
|
| |
|
| I'm very, very happy now that Asia is running the game. The English had 100 years of it and did a pretty average job. |
|
|
| Former Australian allrounder Greg Matthews doesn't hold back punches | |
|
|
| |
|
| As far as I am concerned, that was 20 runs too many, Why, perhaps even 47 runs too many.
| |
|
| Adam Gilchrist doesn't seem to have any regrets about finishing with a career average of 47.60 |
|
|
| |
|
| If they want to talk about their life, they can, but not cricket.
| |
|
| Lalit Modi on the media gag imposed on IPL players, where they can only talk in pre- and post-match press conferences |
|
|
| |
|
| I left five minutes after the game. It was tight, but I understood there was always going be a flight. Our owners own the airport so things got through very quickly. | Daniel Vettori, now in England, had cut it tight, but all along he had his IPL franchise-owners to fall upon |
|
|
| |
|
| The ICC ... are in meltdown. This is an organisation with all the brains of a chocolate mouse. | Geoff Boycott with a clear message to those running the game |
|
|
| |
|
| The suggestion that the Indian Premier League is a runaway success has been completely manufactured. Even at this early stage, when the paint is still drying on the grounds, they are already giving away stacks of tickets.
| |
|
| Boycott again, this time not buying into the hype surrounding the IPL |
|
|
| |
|
| This is not cricket. This is the greatest divide between the rich and the poor. With that kind of money, you could have built another cement factory.
| |
|
| Jaswant Singh, leader of the Opposition, criticises the IPL in the Rajya Sabha |
|
|
| |
|
| It must seem like volunteer work to those who have drunk from the IPL's ruby-encrusted goblet. | Journalist Peter Lalor on what it will be like for the IPL set to return to international cricket |
|
|
| |
|
| Violence between players? Scantily clad cheerleaders? Toss in a rant by Charles Barkley and three minutes of commercials for every 45 seconds of actual game time and cricket may finally be ready for a mainstream American audience. | The Los Angeles Times warms to the idea of Twenty20 cricket after hearing about the IPL |
|
|
| |
|
| Can you, I was asked by a leading television executive, imagine cricket lovers rushing down St John's Wood Road to see a franchise called Vodafone Team London owned by an ageing rock star? | ECB chairman Giles Clarke doesn't think a city-based Twenty20 competition would work in England |
|
|
| |
|
| The phrase 'he had it coming' has rarely been so close to everyone's lips.
| |
|
| A lack of sympathy for Sreesanth from journalist Lawrence Booth in his weekly newsletter |
|
|
| |
|
| What actually happened is a lot more serious than you guys think. | More questions than answers from match referee and Indian legend Farokh Engineer after the Harbhajan-Sreesanth slapping incident |
|
|
| |
|
| He provoked Mohammad Kaif in the match and made faces. This is quite unacceptable when you are part of the Indian team. He does a lot of drama on thefield. | An unnamed Indian player talks about Sreesanth to The Times Of India |
|
|
| |
|
| The best part was in the bar afterwards. Everybody was banned so it was a pretty relaxed atmosphere. I had a blast. | Shane Bond on life in the Indian Cricket League |
|
|
| |
|
| I bought my wife, Tracey, a nice watch but that's about as far as I've gone so far. | Bond again, pointing out that he's not been extravagant with the spoils |
|
|
| |
|
| A lot depends on what they need. If they need an opener, then I'll go ahead, if it's a No. 3, then maybe Owais [Shah], if they need someone to bowl a little bit, maybe Ravi [Bopara] ... If they need an old bloke they've got Ramps. | With competition for England batting places hotting up, Robert Key takes a sideways look at the opposition |
|
|
| |
|
| I'm scared of the white ball, you know - I'm allergic to it. | Never one-day cricket's greatest cheerleader, Matthew Hoggard insists where his priorities lie |
|
|
| |
|
| The Shoaib Akhtar [of our team] is Asmavia Iqbal ... The only difference between him and her is that she's completely fit, sticks to her game and does the job she's asked to do. | Urooj Mumtaz, the Pakistan women's captain, gets candid |
|
|
| |
|
| All I've done over the past few days is close my eyes, wang the ball down and I've managed to pick up a few wickets. | Matthew Hoggard reveals the secret behind fast bowling |
|
|
| |
|
| When you've been abused as many times as I have, mate, you are bound to understand some Hindi and Urdu. | Greg Chappell has a hilarious explanation for his language skills |
|
|
| |
|
| We are trying to dehumanise the opposition as much as possible so that we can concentrate on what we can do and try to knock off as many colours as possible! We are not too much into reputation. | Martin Crowe on the Bangalore Royal Challengers' strategy for the next game; India might have just found the next Greg Chappell |
|
|
| |
|
| What makes sport is the identity of supporters These are exhibition matches, whatever anyone says. If you are into sport you want real winners and losers. Filling the boots of cricketers to whack it ... it's great fun but it can't been seen to take over the cricket world, surely? | BBC Radio 5's Mark Saggers on the limited appeal of the IPL |
|
|
| |
|
| Considering that we invented Twenty20, they [India] should not have got there first. It is important that we act quickly. | The Professional Cricketers' Association's new chief executive, Sean Morris, speaks candidly about an English riposte to the Indian Premier League |
|
|
| |
|
| I've probably bowled the worst last over in Twenty20 history. Twenty20 is good for the game but not for the ego. | Andrew Symonds reveals it was not just his bowling that took a beating in the game against the Rajasthan Royals |
|
|
| |
|
| Twenty20 has the potential to be the most popular team sport in the whole world in maybe less than 10 years. | Allen Stanford seems set to provide stiff competition to Lalit Modi to be the Moses of the game |
|
|
| |
|
| He is Moses of the game who has shown the path to blazing success. | Ravi Shastri decides it's time to praise IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. Presumably he was referring to Edwin, the hurdler |
|
|
| |
|
| All the organisers are doing by making scantily-clad white women dance in front of huge crowds is to stoke the base voyeuristic and sexual insecurities of the Indian male. It is revolting, appalling and shows the game in very poor light. | Cricket historian Ramachandra Guha on the cheer girls in the IPL |
|
|
| |
|
| I do not wish Twenty20 well, though I welcome new funds for cricket and cricketers. I think Twenty20 is a decadent, dumbed-down, third-rate formula for sub-prime cricket. | Former Times editor William Rees-Mogg makes clear his dislike for the Indian Premier League |
|
|
| |
|
| It's really unusual to come to Bombay, hit a four and see nobody clapping for you. | Rahul Dravid jokes about his experience in Bangalore's match in Mumbai in the Indian Premier League |
|
|
| |
|
| He's a smashing lad - very un-Australian. | Chris Adams laments the early departure of Ryan Harris owing to a contract conflict |
|
|
| |
|
| I think the pace of the game will help as there will be no time to sledge. Well, maybe a little sneaky one here or there. | Twenty20 may be breakneck but not so much as to dispense with the verbals altogether, Shane Warne reckons |
|
|
| |
|
| The only shock I got was that the ball didn't turn in the nets. | Hashim Amla is having a tough time adjusting to 'home' conditions after two tours to the subcontinent |
|
|
| |
|
| He treated a one-day match as a practice match. | Ravi Shastri takes a dig at Sunil Gavaskar in front of the man himself |
|
|
| |
|
| They will add colour and impudence to the game. | An Indian dentist reacts to the potential controversy of a troupe of cheerleaders unleashing themselves on the IPL |
|
|
| |
|
| Ashraful, you have lost the fourth match successfully ... | A local journalist addresses his question to the Bangladesh captain after their seven-wicket loss in Multan |
|
|
| |
|
| Its new leadership has shown itself to be spineless, amoral, unprincipled, shallow, self-centred, ill-informed and contemptible. | Peter Roebuck with a clear message about how he sees those who run the ICC |
|
|
| |
|
| I'd much rather face Warney than sit in another car next to a driving test examiner. | Durham batsman Mark Stoneman wouldn't want to misplace his hard-earned driving licence |
|
|
| |
|
| Had he [Kumble] been playing, I don't think this would have lasted three days. | Mahendra Singh Dhoni thinks the Kanpur Test could well have been shorter than it turned out to be |
|
|
| |
|
| I've seen Kirbs, we've had a little hug and I'm sure I'll get a few back my way at some point. | Luke Wright shows his brotherly side after flooring Steve Kirby with a vicious bouncer |
|
|
| |
|
| I was waiting by the phone all the time and, to be honest, I would have been a prick to live with for those two weeks. | Australia's Brad Haddin on life waiting for a Test squad call-up |
|
|
| |
|
| I prayed and prayed and asked God to give me the strength to hit that ball out of the ground. ....which he did. | Shivnarine Chanderpaul recounts the moments before his thrilling last-ball six in Trinidad |
|
|
| |
|
| I get annoyed with the media. They cause a hell of a lot of problems in general. I don't think the media realise what they do to people's lives. They ruin people. | Shaun Tait, who is almost ready to come back from his self-enforced break |
|
|
| |
|
| I fear the day is approaching when a high-profile, televised cricket match will see an outbreak of physical violence on the field. | Scyld Berry, editor of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2008 predicts unseemly days ahead for the game |
|
|
| |
|
| The Indian team is famous for being a collection of monstrous egos sloshing about in great vats of self-importance. | Johannesburg-based Times' columnist Alex Parker writes that South Africa are more hungry to win the series |
|
|
| |
|
| I felt really disappointed that someone who had worked so hard for that Ashes win could be forgotten so soon. | Simon Jones reveals that he feels let down by a lack of support from the ECB during his injury problems |
|
|
| |
|
| I'm going to tell all my producers to not release any movie between April 19 and May 30. It will be suicide. | Preity Zinta, Bollywood actress and joint-owner of the Kings XI Punjab franchise, is convinced the IPL is going to be a big success |
|
|
| |
|
| If people look for a definition of cricket in Australia, they will say Don Bradman. That will be the case for the next 400 to 500 years. | Steve Waugh is sure the Don's legacy is safe for a few centuries at least |
|
|
| |
|
| Vaas is so slow. To be honest, you tend to play before the ball actually reaches you ... It's not any swing or anything ... [it's just] lack of pace. He is a smart bowler as well so you have to give him credit. | Chris Gayle explains why he struggles against Chaminda Vaas. Gayle averages 5.28 against Vaas; off the 137 Vaas deliveries he has faced, he has scored 37 runs and got out seven times |
|
|
| |
|
| I appeal to people not to damage public property and to remain calm. | Shoaib Akhtar gives a statesman-like message after being handed a five-year ban by the Pakistan board |
|
|
| |
|
| This is not a curry goat match. This is a first-class encounter and things like this are allowed to happen and we wonder why West Indies cricket is in the state that it is in. | The Windward Islands manager Lockhart Sebastien is exasperated after Guyana's Shivnarine Chanderpaul retired on 78 during their Carib Beer Series match so he could fly to Trinidad to attend an awards ceremony |
|
