WHEN WARNE AND LIZ KISSED, FLETCHER BECAME COACH, GAYLE WENT MAD AND INDIAN CRICKETERS GOT GOLD BATS

DUNCAN Fletcher - how many of you knew this guy before he became the England coach? Okay, maybe some oldies will dismiss my question straightaway. Moron, how can you not know the guy who captained Zimbabwe to that historic win over Australia back in the 1983 World Cup, they would argue. But seriously, how many of us would have remembered (or still remember) the other members of that squad? Mr Fletcher was also forgotten. Till he landed that job with the ECB, of course. In the age of Woolmers, Wrights, Chappells, Whatmores, Duncan Fletcher stood out. Some years after leaving that job with the Englishmen, the Zimbabwean got second time lucky. Thanks to his one-time student Gary Kirsten, Fletcher's savings account will witness a high magnitude earthquake at the end of every month starting this summer. But the big question is whether he can scale the 8848m high expectation peak from where Kirsten decided to take the plunge last month? I must say that he will be in for some tough time as the next coach of the Indian cricket team. Perhaps a similar job with his native Zimbabwean team could have been a better option, isn't it? Who knows, especially after Elton Chigumbura's resignation, he might have been another time lucky and got a chance to not just coach but lead the Zimbabwean team in 2015 World Cup...

IS Shane Warne the most flamboyant cricketers to have ever played the game? There have been Imran Khans, Bothams, Richards but Warnie seems to have beaten 'em all with his flippers. Even after retiring from international cricket, the spin wizard continues to perform exceptionally well on and off the field. Rajasthan Royals - his team in the Indian Premier League - just beat Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians on Friday. But it was the post match stuff presentation from Warne that had tongues wagging, quite literally. One picture is worth a thousand words and you can see it above what do I mean. When it comes to dating women, Warne would have certainly lost the count but perhaps, NOBODY was as big a name - and also beautiful - than Liz Hurley. The Hollywood babe has been a good sport so far, understanding the nuances of cricket (or should I say nonsense(s) of IPL) in the few weeks that she has been in India. By the way, what were Warne and Liz trying to prove with this lip lock act in Jaipur on Thursday? Maybe showing Kate and Williams the perfect way of doing it!
　

CONFUSING is the state of affairs in the Caribbean. Perhaps, it has always been like that. Can players from small island nations ever combine and make a good squad of 15 at the world stage? Yes, they did. But, that was back in the 70's and 80s. Unfortuately it does not happen like that anymore there. Imagine, at a time when a good-for-nothing West Indies team is crashing to one defeat after another, a certain Chris Gayle is showing is great form millions of miles away in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL). He says his board never contacted him before finalizing the squad for the series vs Pakistan. The board says that they tried to reach him but were never able to. Yes, if you believe all those involved, such things do happen in this age and times of Blackberry devices! Mr Gayle is one of the most hyperactive cricketers off the field as well, that is when it comes to Twitter. There is certainly something really bad going in Caribbean cricket be it with the administrators or the players. Alas, fans of once mighty cricket team are the ones who are most dejected...
　

IF you want to be born as a cricketer again in your next life, make sure it happens in India! Courtesy IPL, the Indian cricket team hasn't had much time to celebrate its World Cup win. But, the sponsors and the BCCI are making sure that the celebration continues. Dhoni and his men have their hotel rooms full with gifts from corporates and on Wednesday came another happy news for the bunch - the Indian cricket board has increased the post World Cup win prize money for each cricketer from Rs 1 crore to 2 crore. Millions of dollars more of course waiting to hit Indian cricketers' bank accounts as the IPL-4 ends and celebrations begin once again!!!