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Dani Dyer has shared adorable wedding photos on social media after tying the knot with West Ham and England star Jarrod Bowen.

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Dyer and Bowen get marriedCouple shared wedding photos on InstagramThe setup was inspired by Netflix hit BridgertonFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Dyer and West Ham United forward Bowen got married in a charming countryside ceremony. The former Love Island winner delighted fans by sharing a selection of dreamy photographs from the wedding on her Instagram, simply captioning the post: “The Bowens.” The images showcased the radiant bride in a flowing off-the-shoulder gown, exuding elegance, while the groom looked suave in a tailored black suit.

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Preferring a more intimate setting, Dani and Jarrod opted to exchange vows in front of a small group of just 50 guests. Adding a whimsical flair, the ceremony was reportedly inspired by the beloved Netflix series Bridgerton, featuring live violin performances to enhance the romantic ambience, according to the Mail.

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In a touching moment, her father, actor Danny Dyer—best known for his role as Mick Carter on —walked her down the aisle. Dani, 27, also ensured her three children played special roles on the day. Her twin daughters, Summer and Star, who turned two earlier this year, served as flower girls in the ceremony. Meanwhile, her four-year-old son Santiago, whom she shares with ex-partner Sammy Kimmence, was chosen to be one of the page boys.

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Getty/Instagram @DaniDyerxxWHAT NEXT?

After becoming Mrs. Bowen, reported that she will be updating her surname—but not abandoning her iconic family name altogether. Instead, she will be becoming Dani Dyer-Bowen.

Newcastle United have begun preparations for life after Alexander Isak by shortlisting four strikers, of which three currently play in England.

Newcastle prepare four-man striker shortlistIsak has handed transfer request to the clubLiverpool linked with the Swedish internationalFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Isak threw a curveball at Newcastle United's sporting plans for the upcoming season after submitting a transfer request to the club. In the aftermath of Isak's decision, the Magpies have reportedly prepared a four-man striker shortlist as alternatives in case the former Real Sociedad and Borussia Dortmund striker departs, per a report from the .

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claim that Newcastle have shortlisted RB Leipzig sensation Benjamin Sesko — previously linked with Arsenal — as well as three Premier League strikers in Nicolas Jackson, Ollie Watkins, and Yoane Wissa. Leipzig are believed to want a fee in the region of £61 million (€70m/$82m), while Chelsea are demanding £100m (€117m/$137m) for Jackson. On the other hand, Aston Villa have already made it clear that the English international is not for sale at any price. Wissa is the player who would cost the least among the four.

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Despite splashing £265 million (€305m/$356m) this summer, including a £79m (€92m/$107m) move for French forward Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt, Liverpool seem to not be done yet. They have established direct contact with Newcastle and have asked about Isak, with the PIF-backed giants weighing up their options. Per Fabrizio Romano, the Reds are prepared to pounce if they can manage to offload Luis Diaz and if Newcastle decide to part ways with Isak. Previously, it was suggested that the reigning Premier League champions would be willing to break the British transfer fee record they spent on Florian Wirtz to sign Isak. Indeed, Liverpool will have no hesitation in paying an eye-watering £120m (€140m/$164m) to match Newcastle's valuation of the player.

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT?

Eddie Howe's plans for next season could be crushed upon losing a player of Isak's calibre. He has already conceded that the situation will take some time before being resolved. At the same time, though, the former Bournemouth manager will pray that the club backs him in the remainder of the transfer window and helps him build a competitive squad, with Newcastle set to return to Champions League football next season.

Andile Phehlukwayo has also returned to the national fold, as Cricket South Africa announced their squad for the 2024-25 season

Firdose Moonda26-Mar-2024Nandre Burger and Tony de Zorzi have earned their first national contracts while Andile Phehlukwayo has returned to the national fold, as Cricket South Africa announced their squad for the 2024-25 season.Dean Elgar (retired), Quinton de Kock, Sisanda Magala, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell and Keegan Petersen have all dropped off the list which has reduced from 20 players to 18 for the upcoming season. Gerald Coetzee, who was upgraded to a full contract midway through the last period, has been retained.The most notable of those omissions is Nortje, who has not played an international since suffering a stress fracture in September 2023. He missed out on the ODI World Cup and the entire home summer but came back earlier this month for two domestic T20 matches and is expected to play at the IPL. Nortje is late to this year’s tournament following the birth of his first child last week, and may still come into consideration for the T20 World Cup.”He requested he wants to focus on T20 cricket for the next few months. He is not retiring from any internationals. He will avail himself for T20 internationals. Towards the end of the year, he will look to play ODIs again,” Enoch Nkwe, CSA’s director of cricket told ESPNcricinfo. “We will be monitoring him and around to help him with whatever he needs.”Another big name absentee is de Kock, who walked away from 50-over cricket after last year’s World Cup but at the time said he would remain available to play in T20 tournaments this year. De Kock did not play in South Africa’s three match series against India and opted for a deal at the Big Bash League instead, where he fared poorly. He scored 104 runs in six innings with a top score of 30, and returned home to a slightly better SA20 where he hit 213 runs in 12 innings, including one fifty.De Kock, who is currently at the IPL with Lucknow Super Giants, was allowed time off for personal reasons during the first few rounds of the CSA domestic T20 challenge – all other nationally contracted players apart from David Miller, who was getting married, were obliged to participate.”He will be available for the T20 World Cup but he understands he needs to perform. He wants to earn his place,” Nkwe said.Anrich Nortje has not played an international match since September 2023•Getty ImagesMagala has not played any cricket since last October and was ruled out of the ODI World Cup squad with a knee injury, Parnell continues to play for Western Province but spent parts of the season out of action with a shoulder injury and Petersen’s Test career seems to be hanging by a thread after he was dropped twice in two seasons. His biggest competitor in the Test squad, David Bedingham, has not been contracted. Kyle Verreynne, the current Test wicket-keeper, has also not been contracted.Instead, CSA handed out new deals to Burger, who debuted across all formats last year, and de Zorzi, who made his Test and ODI bow and recalled Phehlukwayo after dropping him from last year’s list. Phehlukwayo was part of the ODI World Cup squad, and played his first matches in the format in almost a year in 2023.The core of the contract list is unchanged, with Test and ODI captain Temba Bavuma and T20I captain Aiden Markram headlining the list and Miller and Heinrich Klaasen both contracted as white-ball only players.The national women’s contracted squad has increased from 15 players to 16 which has created space for both Eliz-Mari Marx and Ayanda Hlubi to earn deals. The only omission from last year is Shabnim Ismail, who retired last May. There was speculation that former captain Dane van Niekerk, who retired in March last year, may look to return ahead of this year’s T20 World Cup and though that could still be a possibility, she is not on the national contract list.

Greg Chappell speaks about Sourav Ganguly’s return, Sreesanth’s emergence, and the need for a strong leadership group

Dileep Premachandran 21-Dec-2006

‘It’s one thing to ask them to bat higher up the order in a one-day game for various reasons like field placings.’ Greg Chappell on whether Pathan will be used as makeshift Test opener © Getty Images
What are the plans for Durban now, in the light of this victory? We’re in a better state to be able to deal with Durban now than we werethree weeks ago when we were there last.You mean a better state mentally? Yes, and a better physical state. We’ve had a bit more time to adjust tothe conditions and I think we’ve demonstrated in this Test match that wehave an attack that can use those conditions. So I think the SouthAfricans will be a little bit more aware of what we can bring to the tableas well and that might change their approach to Durban. I just think we’rethat much more experienced, the younger players are that much moreexperienced, the senior players have addressed the issues they needed toaddress and we’re in a better state mentally and physically to deal withit than we were last time.Will the additional bounce still be a problem? It was tough. I mean, how long had we been in South Africa before we gotto Durban? We’d only been here a week or so. It takes some adjustment.It’s like the Indian team coming to Australia and going to Perth for thefirst time. They’d be better equipped the second time around.South Africa got bowled out for 84 here at the Wanderers, so they mightnot be looking forward to going to Durban either.Do you remain concerned over the form of the openers? We’ve been through this situation before, and most teams have gone throughit. Viru wasn’t in great shape before we got to St. Lucia, he did finethere. The extra bounce at Kingsmead might suit him. Look, at any givenmoment, there are concerns about the state of the team, the group,individuals within the group. I don’t want to talk about individuals asthis is not the right place. But yes, we’re concerned about a number ofissues. We’d like everyone to get runs or get wickets all the time, butthat doesn’t happen unfortunately.And what’s the situation with Munaf Patel? We’re hopeful. Two days in the middle [India have arranged a two-day matchagainst a Kwa Zulu Natal Invitation XI] will be a lot more valuable thantwo days at the nets, and Munaf is now bowling again. He bowled for thesecond or third time yesterday, and is getting better by the day. We’ll bein a better position to know what his fitness is closer to the event. Wecan get him to bowl two or three spells in that game, and that would giveus a much better idea as opposed to bowling two or three spells in a netsession.But if there’s the slightest doubt when we get to Kingsmead, we’ll err onthe conservative side and make sure that whenever he next plays, he’ll be100 percent fit. He’s too important to us in the medium to long term torisk short-term benefit.I was quite happy with our attack in this game and if we do have to go inwith that same attack, I’m not going to be too disappointed. If Munaf isfit and ready, he would certainly come in for serious consideration.Has the team considered makeshift openers? I think in Test cricket, specialists are more likely to do the job foryou. There will be the odd time where you can maybe use an experiment forwant of a better word. As a basic belief though, I think specialists wouldwork best.Parthiv [Patel] was once used in Pakistan. Would you use Irfan [Pathan]at the top? Is it a temptation or would that be going two steps back? We certainly haven’t discussed that at this stage and I wouldn’t see itnecessarily as a main option coming into Durban, but if we thought it wasa viable one we would certainly consider it. Irfan batted extremely wellin Potch but it’s a helluva thing to ask. It’s one thing to ask them tobat higher up the order in a one-day game for various reasons like fieldplacings.You’ve got someone like Virender. His Test record is extraordinary. Andwhen he gets runs, he normally gets big. It’s hard to walk away from aspecialist player in that sort of position. But again, when you thinkback, he [Sehwag] was a middle-order player.

if we make a change, it would be more likely to go with someone who is aspecialist [opener] in the squad [Gautam Gambhir.’ – Chappell on using Rahul Dravid as a opener © Getty Images
Could Rahul [Dravid] go up, as he did in Pakistan? That’s an option again, but we haven’t got to that stage. I think if wemake a change, it would be more likely to go with someone who is aspecialist in the squad [Gautam Gambhir].Where do things stand now with Pathan? I’m sure we’ll look back and say that this was a catalyst for him to go toanother level. The work he’s put in on his batting the last 18 months ispaying off. And I think he’s a great example to other players, not justthe bowlers even the batsmen that if you stop working on the basics,don’t continue with them, you can go backwards.Even Zaheer [Khan] batted really well in this game.It’s very much a mental thing, and he’s come to the realisation with hisown batting that this is the thought process he needs to have. And at theend of the day, it’s not about technique. India is probably moretechnique-minded than anywhere else in the cricket world, but thetechnique is an expression of what you’re thinking about. Your techniquecan look totally different one ball to the next, let alone one day to thenext, because of the thought processes.Would you also say that people have been a bit too harsh and impulsivewhen it comes to Jaffer, given he has failed just once? When you’ve got good players who are proven performers, you don’t throwthem away lightly. Cricket history is littered with players who’ve comeout of slumps and made big scores. It was only two or three Test matchesago that Wasim got 200 for us. You’ve got to be very careful in writingpeople off. Again, it’s an adjustment to come back into the group, letalone play. He played a couple of one-day games, but this was the firstgame back, as far as Test matches were concerned, after early July in theWest Indies. It’s best not to be too hasty.

Yuvraj Singh’s 169 was outstanding both for the manner in which he scored the runs and for the situation in which they came

Sambit Bal08-Dec-2007

Each one of Yuvraj Singh’s three Test centuries has come under trying circumstances against their old rivals Pakistan © AFP
Perhaps the best compliment for Yuvraj Singh, who played one of the finest innings under pressure you can hope to see, would be that he had a touch of Brian Lara. There was the same high backlift, with the bat flowing down from the eye level, the quick hands, malleable wrists, sensational timing and perfect placement. To top it all, there was the part that couldn’t be seen, only sensed: the ability to create a bubble where the external factors – a fresh pitch with a tinge of green, the hole that his team was in when he walked in, and the fact that he was playing for Test spot – ceased to matter.Yuvraj and Sourav Ganguly, for whom no praise can be too high, did for India what Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have long been renowned for doing, but it will be no discredit to Ganguly to say Yuvraj’s brilliance shaded his second successive hundred. Not that he would have grudged it a whit: his eyes shone brighter when he celebrated his team-mate’s century than when he reached his own. No one present at the ground, even his opponents, could stay untouched by the breathtaking majesty of this innings.At lunch, India would have felt a touch despondent. They had won the toss and chosen to bat knowing that the pitch, which had been under covers for the best part of the last few days, would be soft and offer seam movement. But given their reliance on spin, in the absence of a full-strength pace bowling attack, it was the only option available. Pakistan’s bowlers wasted the first hour somewhat by either spraying the ball wide or bowling too short, but Yasir Arafat changed the course by introducing commonsense, and bowling close to the stumps. At 61 for 4, India were in the danger of having to bowl with the second new ball of the day.Two significant things happened after lunch. Shoaib Akhtar – is he Pakistan’s biggest match-winner or their biggest liability? – went off clutching his back. Far more importantly for India, Yuvraj batted like a dream. He was hit on the head once and played and missed outside off-stump a couple of times, and there was an edge off Danish Kaneria that Younis Khan put down but, rather than being intimidated by the situation, he chose to trust his game. He melted the pressure by allowing himself the freedom to play his strokes and by tea it was the bowling side that looked hunted.Yuvraj’s driving on the offside was sensational, both off the front and back foot, and the bowlers were clueless about what length to bowl to him. Some cover drives were played with the full flourish of the bat and some were punched exquisitely. Initially, Mohammed Sami and Arafat tried to cramp him by bowling straight and he either punched them down the ground or picked them through midwicket, generating velocity with his back-lift and wrists. Ganguly kept him company by piercing the offside either side of the cover fielder and the 127 runs they scored in the middle session changed the course of the innings.After tea, Pakistan were reduced to damage control. Sami sought to deny Yuvraj by bowling a couple of feet outside off stump while Kaneria chose to bowl his googlies from outside leg. And two men were stationed behind square on the leg side for the top-edge to the occasional bouncer. Yuvraj refused to be baited but neither did he slow down. He stayed away from the wide balls but put away everything in driving range. When the sweeper was posted at cover, he still managed to hit the ball wide of him; his only pull was hit through midwicket, all along the ground. As the day progressed and the pitch eased, fours became inevitable, irrespective of the bowler and the field. At the end of his innings, his wagon wheel offered evidence of his all-round domination: 92 on the onside, 77 on the off, 50 between point and cover, 37 between square leg and midwicket. Ten of his 28 fours were hit though cover and five through midwicket. Despite his outstanding run in the shorter version of the game, doubts have lingered over the suitability of his technique and temperament for Tests. Yuvraj has banished those misgivings with an innings of such force and pedigree that to keep him out would be a brave decision – and may ultimately be a foolish one The innings was littered with dazzling strokes but a couple will stay in the mind. The first was a mere push, perhaps a defensive jab, at a full ball from Sami; such was the balance and timing that the ball sped past a bemused mid-on fielder to the boundary. The second was a back-foot cover drive to a ball from Arafat that deserved nothing more than a dead bat. By then, though, Yuvraj was long past his hundred and the merit of the ball had ceased to be of consequence. At that supreme moment, you felt in awe of the batsman but it was difficult not to feel sorry for the bowler.To Indian fans who have long been riled by the tendency of Pakistan’s batsmen to reserve their best for India – Zaheer Abbas and Javed Miandad have been succeeded by Kamran Akmal (three of his four Test hundreds against India) and Salman Butt (all his four one-day hundreds) – Yuvraj’s third Test century against the old enemy would seem soothing retribution. That might be missing the story, because of far more significance is another common thread: each of these centuries have come when his team was in desperate trouble. On a green top at Lahore in 2004, India were 94 for 4 and 147 for 7; at Karachi in 2006, they were 74 for 4 and Mohammed Asif was in the middle of a dream spell, having knocked out Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman in quick succession. To each crisis Yuvraj has offered his fulsome and natural brilliance. His stroke-making has always exceptional, but his three Test centuries have demonstrated that he has that special ability to play them all when the chips are down.His latest hundred has given the Indian management a happy headache. They will have one hell of a decision to make when they sit down to pick the team for the next Test, in Australia. Despite his outstanding run in the shorter version of the game, doubts have lingered over the suitability of his technique and temperament for cricket’s most challenging form. Yuvraj has banished those misgivings with an innings of such force and pedigree that to keep him out would be a brave decision – and may ultimately be a foolish one.There is plenty left in this Test yet, but Yuvraj’s innings is potentially series-clinching for India. For himself, it could turn out to be career-changing.

Nishi Narayanan on how ICC’s Women’s Player of the Year Jhulan Goswami is a role model for female cricketers everywhere and fast bowlers in particular

Nishi Narayanan13-Sep-2007

Jhulan Goswami: Head and shoulders above the rest © Getty Images
A fast bowler’s job may be more glamorous than others in cricket, but it comes with its share of aches and pains. In the women’s game there are few takers for the role, which is why Jhulan Goswami being named Women’s Cricketer of the Year is cause for celebration – especially for the fast bowling sorority.The 23-year-old Goswami was a surprise choice for the award. Not because she hadn’t done enough to deserve it but because her fellow nominee, Australian allrounder Lisa Sthalekar, was a clear favourite with an ODI batting average of 67.30 for the eligibility period, much higher than her overall career average of 36.22. Sthalekar won Australia’s Women’s International Cricketer of the Year at the Allan Border awards in February and then went on to become the Player of the Tournament at the Quadrangular series in Chennai the same month for her 394 runs at the Bradmanesque average of 98.50, with four half-centuries.Goswami’s role in India’s maiden Test victory in England in August last year possibly tilted the scales in her favour. She took 10 for 78 – five in each innings – as India took the second Test by five wickets and the series 1-0. Overall Goswami took 15 wickets at 12.40. In the 16 ODIs played during the eligibility period she took 20 wickets, 11 of them in the seven Quadrangular matches.Following Cathryn Fitzpatrick’s retirement this year, Goswami is the fastest bowler in the women’s game, and a source of inspiration for newcomers like Ellyse Perry, the 16-year-old allrounder Australia expect to fill Fitzpatrick’s shoes.What first strikes you about Goswami is her height, 5’11” – unusual in an Indian woman. When in a huddle, celebrating a wicket, she stands head and shoulders above her team-mates. Goswami, though, does not have the bulk to power her bowling, like some of New Zealand’s players, or England’s Jenny Gunn. In fact, like Fitzpatrick, she is lean.And like Fitzpatrick, what makes her effective is her ability to bowl an accurate line and length over an entire innings. Anjum Chopra, her India team-mate and captain of Air India when Goswami made her domestic debut for the side in 2000, thinks Goswami’s consistency is the key to her success.”She no doubt gets bounce because of her height, but that is a variable factor, depending on the pitch and other conditions,” Chopra told Cricinfo. “What Jhulan has is accuracy and an ability to consistently get the ball in the right areas. Apart from that, she is a quick learner and adapts well to different conditions.”At the Quadrangular, Goswami opened the bowling with the frighteningly economical Rumeli Dhar, and while Dhar choked up the runs, Goswami went for kill. India were defending a low total against New Zealand and she gave them the breakthrough by removing the top three batsmen for 30 inside the first ten overs, finishing with an opening spell that read 7-2-18-3. New Zealand went on to win the match, but their batsmen knew they had just about managed to crawl out of the hole Goswami had begun to dig for them.

Goswami’s success will hopefully get more young girls to try out fast bowling © Getty Images
Speed is a certainly a big factor in her bowling, but the movement off the pitch which she manages with disconcerting consistency adds considerably to her wicket-taking ability. Suzie Bates was frozen at the crease as the ball zipped into her pads; Rebecca Rolls let go one which pitched outside off stump and cut in sharply to knock off the bail; Haidee Tiffen was caught behind edging a delivery that moved away slightly.Like the metronomic Glenn McGrath, her self-declared role model, Goswami isn’t too likely to veer off line, and a bright future awaits. A milestone she will achieve soon enough is 100 wickets – she has 96 – in ODIs. That will make her the second Indian after Neetu David to reach that particular landmark – provided she gets there before team-mate Nooshin Al Khadeer, the offbreak bowler, who is also in the race with 96.Glamorous or not, women’s cricket needs its role models. Goswami has just cemented her position as one. Here’s hoping her success inspires more girls to try out fast bowling.

Andrew McGlashan presents the plays of the third day at Headingley

Andrew McGlashan at Headingley20-Jul-2008Catch of the day

Andrew Flintoff plucks a catch from thin air at slip, but his celebration says it all© Getty Images
Being stuck in the field for hours and days on end is not only tough for the bowlers, but also the fielders who have to try and keep their concentration levels high. The slips require more focus than most, due to the pace the ball can travel in their direction, and Andrew Flintoff showed why he is one of the best in the world. AB de Villiers was on 174 when he drove at Stuart Broad, the edge flying low, seemingly between Tim Ambrose and Flintoff, at a wide first slip. But Flintoff flung his left hand low, plucking out a stunning one-handed grab, before nonchalantly holding it up for the crowd.Stat of the daySouth Africa’s batsmen have ticked off a few milestones of late, and another came the way of Ashwell Prince and AB de Villiers. Their 212-run partnership was the best fifth-wicket stand for South Africa against England, beating the 192-run effort between Gary Kirsten and Mark Boucher at Durban in 1999-2000. That was in a marathon match-saving effort after Nasser Hussain made them follow-on in the Boxing Day Test. Today’s stand, on the other hand, has laid the foundation for victory.Overload of the day
Welcome back to Test cricket, Fred. It certainly hasn’t a gentle return for Flintoff as Michael Vaughan turned to him at almost every turn in the search for wickets. In one sense that isn’t surprising, he looked the most likely wicket-taking option, but as with everything involving Flintoff you have to look at the history. Here is a man who has had four ankle operations, playing in his first Test in 18 months. Yet he bowled 40 overs, the equal second-most of his Test career. Clearly Flintoff and England are confident in his body, and it seems that one way or the other we are going to find out how well-placed that faith is. It wasn’t just Flintoff feeling the burn, either, as James Anderson notched up 44 overs, the most he has bowled in a Test innings.Tension of the day
AB de Villiers isn’t a favourite of the England players at the moment following his claiming of a ‘catch’ against Andrew Strauss on the first day. Even though de Villiers apologised he still got a few words from Vaughan during the tea interval, and there was plenty more needle as he approached his century today. de Villiers went to 99 at 12.07, but it took him 43 minutes to find the precious last run. Flintoff cranked up the pace against him and had a huge appeal for caught behind (rightly) turned down. Flintoff then roared another appeal as de Villiers pushed the ball into the covers and finally sprinted off for his 100th run. There was gentle applause from a few England fielders.Collision of the day
One of the significant features of South Africa’s batting was their quick singles, especially from Ashwell Prince and de Villiers. They often picked on England’s slower fielders – often Vaughan and Panesar at mid-off and mid-on – but de Villiers was confident against anyone. At one point he pushed the ball towards substitute Garry Park at midwicket and raced off for a single. It was a safe run, but Park had a shy at the stumps which went well wide. However, in his eagerness to back-up, Panesar ran backwards into de Villiers, managing to leave him sprawling in the crease. But it was all back-slaps and handshakes between the pair as Panesar returned to his right area.Drought-ender of the day
All England’s bowlers have had to toil of late, but none more so than Panesar. He sent down 60 wicketless overs in the second innings at Lord’s and wasn’t given an easy start here when Prince attacked him yesterday. Finally, though, after 82 overs of waiting he finally claimed another wicket by bowling Morne Morkel through the gate. That’s almost a whole day of bowling. No wonder the celebrations were a little more muted than usual.Adjustment of the day
Makhaya Ntini was severely out of sorts at Lord’s and talk was starting over his place in the team. Graeme Smith quickly came out in support of his senior bowler, but it was important that Ntini found his rhythm in this game. Today he looked more like his old self with two vital scalps, including Michael Vaughan with a beauty just minutes before the close. It has been noticeable that he is bowling from wider on the crease, his traditional style, whereas at Lord’s, by Ntini’s standards, he was almost hugging the stumps.

Should England return to India for the rest of their series in the wake of the Mumbai attacks?

01-Dec-2008

Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison are reportedly among the least keen on returning © Getty Images
“If these fanatics are going to target people then the England cricket side could be a very big target for them […] For myself, I don’t think they should go back.”
“We don’t succumb to it [terrorism] in England and I do believe that if the team have the assurances of safety and security why shouldn’t they play?
“Somewhere in the wreckage of the Taj hotel are the white clothes, kit and off-field uniforms of the England team, to be used in the Test series in 11 days’ time. Even if their things are entirely undamaged, how can the players be expected to look at them in the same light as before?”
“A sympathetic understanding of why they left does not prevent me from believing they should return […] I simply think that, having had a brief opportunity to reconsider their position, the cricketers should be wondering if their opposition to playing the Tests solidified too hastily. Farfetched as it probably seems to them this morning, their future may be happier if they take the field at Ahmedabad on December 11.”
Sunday Times”As cricketers, we are entertainers, but we should not be entertaining at a time like this. It is up to England to make their decisions but I can understand their concerns.”
“When England go back their stock with India will surge. They will be in a position to extract favours from India – and Pakistan […] The subcontinent provides cricket with so much of its commercial and cultural lifeblood that the game cannot for long stop being played there. That is why England must resume their tour.”
Times”We shouldn’t allow such attacks to disrupt our determination […] The memories of the Taj for an English cricketer can be sentimental. They have always stayed at the Taj on their visits here. But let’s keep sentiments aside here.”
“There is the danger that the England team could become a bargaining counter in the delicate political negotiations between the ECB and the BCCI. That would justifiably infuriate the players, who are in a stronger position to influence matters than they were in 1984.”
“I do not think we would force anybody to do anything.”
“On a cricket field I might ask people to do things in a certain way but I will never tell people to do anything. A man is a man and he can make his own decisions.”
“Perhaps the tour should not proceed as planned. The desperation to play for reasons of cocking a snook at madmen (for whom cricket is probably not a priority) and to protect other commercial interests can both be accommodated by the simple expedient of a longer postponement.
Independent”If the country is deemed safe […] they should go and play. Otherwise no one will come to England – teams will say we are as much a terrorist target as any country.”
“How anyone can say that we should be carrying on with the tour in the circumstances is beyond me.”
“I would understand if there are doubts about staying on but I would expect that if the players went back to different areas of the country, they would be fine. I would almost suggest that if they went back to Bombay, they would be fine.
, captain on the 1984-85 tour, thinks it’ll be all right“Unless the Foreign Office advice is to stay at home, I shall certainly be going.”
“If they [ECB] have decided to abandon the tour for safety reasons, that shows they are taking their duty of care for the players seriously.”
“I just hope the decision is taken out of the players’ hands, and that it is not a financial decision but is made with their wellbeing – and the supporters’ and media – first and foremost.”
“There is the argument that the show must go, but some things are bigger than sport.”
“If safety and security allow, then I would urge the England Test tour of India to go ahead and if it does so then representatives of the ICC will be there to show solidarity with the competing teams.”

Vaughan the captain put you in a good space, Vaughan the batsman was one of the best England had. So what if he isn’t exactly a Yorkshireman?

Matthew Hoggard30-Jun-2009Before I crack on with my eulogy to Michael Vaughan, there is one thing I’ve got to get off my chest: he ain’t a Yorkshire lad, he’s from fricking Lancashire! He always wanted to be a Yorkshire lad, but unfortunately for him he will always be from the wrong side of the Pennines. But we have tried not to hold that against him, and he has probably been at Headingley long enough now to have earned honorary status.Seriously, though, this is a very sad day for Michael and for everyone who played under him during his days as England captain. I remember him from the days when he was just getting into the first team at Yorkshire. He used to be a batter who couldn’t hit it off the square, but then all of a sudden he turned into a fantastic, elegant and free-flowing run-scoring machine.He obviously wanted to get back into the England team and play in this summer’s Ashes, but his not making the squad made his decision for him. His knee is clearly still troubling him, and playing county cricket day in and day out isn’t good for it. But he captained England, took them to an Ashes victory and is one of the most successful captains in recent history. He has done a lot for the game, and now he’s looking forward to new challenges.It was great to grow up with and play alongside a man like Michael, and I particularly remember how my England debut, against West Indies at Lord’s in 2000, was made so much easier by the presence of three of my Yorkshire team-mates, Darren Gough, Craig White and Michael, in the same England dressing room.In fact he had been a team-mate for so long at county and international level that I never really thought of him as a captain until the moment it happened. I know he captained England A before he played his first Test, but when Nasser Hussain stepped down the choice was between Vaughany and Marcus Trescothick. And I remember looking at Tres – and I knew him pretty well by then – and thinking that if he tried to tell me off, I’d just laugh at him. I just couldn’t envisage Tres handing out bollockings, so I thought, “Yeah Vaughany will be the captain.” And what a good captain he turned out to be.He always had a humour about him. Even when things were going against you, he’d come out with a quick one-liner, or a wry little look and a smile, as if to say, “Yeah, we’re in the shit here, but you know what you’ve got to do, get on and do it.” He was fantastic like that – he never got at you, even when you weren’t bowling at your best. Instead he always seemed to know what you were feeling, and would coax the best out of you anyway.Of course he had very high standards, so did we all, but he was a completely different kind of leader to Nasser, who used to kick the dirt and chunter whenever you bowled a bad ball. Vaughany would just roll his eyes at you, and say: “Hoggy, Hoggy, Hoggy, what the f*** are you doing?” Instead of thinking “I need to bowl well because I’ll get a bollocking if I don’t” it was more a case of thinking “Yeah, it’s my performance, I need to sort this out”.

Michael was a completely different kind of leader to Nasser, who used to kick the dirt and chunter whenever you bowled a bad ball. Vaughany would just roll his eyes at you, and say: “Hoggy, Hoggy, Hoggy, what the f*** are you doing?”

But from time to time, he’d have a few harsh words with us. I remember our first game in South Africa in 2004-05. We were hammered by South Africa A in Potchefstroom, and afterwards he got us all into the changing rooms, and said, “Look, I don’t give a f*** about this game, it’s a warm-up, I really don’t care. But this was an absolutely crap performance. We need to improve our game immensely. Again it’s only a warm-up, so don’t take it too much to heart, but get your f***ing acts together.” He got his message through loud and clear, and we went on to win the series.He was great on an individual level as well, and he was the first captain who really managed to spell out what it was that he wanted from me. It was in the Caribbean in 2003-04 when he basically told me he wanted me to be the shop-floor steward, the guy he could rely upon to put the ball on the spot and give him control of the game by not going for more than two or three an over.He told me that the big fast lads, Steve Harmison and the like, would take the limelight and get the wickets. He just told me to do my job quietly and nicely, and if I did the right thing by the team I’d still pick up a few wickets here and there.He used to make me laugh, stationed under his sun-hat at mid-off, and yelling to me, “Hoggy, get off those office steps, you’re not going up there. Now get down and sweep the freaking floor.” It was lovely to be captained with such a fresh approach. He showed no fear of failure, and so long as you were seen to be trying the right thing at the right time, whether you were batting or bowling, it didn’t matter whether you succeeded or failed.As a captain, he was good at hiding the pressure. Even when the heat was on at the height of the 2005 Ashes, he was still the same chilled-out, laid-back guy that I’d always known. Off the pitch he had some tough times like everyone else, but his outward persona around the team and the media, he was still Vaughany, still the same relaxed character you’d come to expect.Scoring centuries at will in Australia, with a broken shoulder•Tom Shaw/Getty ImagesCricket is a cruel game, though, and it was massive bad luck when he was struck down with that knee injury in Pakistan, which effectively ended England’s run of success, straight after the 2005 Ashes. He had been in good form, leading the team well, and it was always going to be tough to lose such an influential captain, and one of the team’s best batters. We didn’t exactly cover ourselves in glory after his injury, but there’s no way that Michael can be blamed for our poor performances in the following seasons.Who knows what might have happened if he’d got the right treatment for his knee straightaway. Unfortunately it robbed him of some of his best years, and it still troubles him. If he turns the wrong way, or dives in the field and lands a bit funny, it clearly troubles him. He played a shot at Warwickshire the other day, and just collapsed. Everyone thought he’d slipped, but his knee had actually given way. It still gives him a lot of gyp.But that’s the thing about Michael. He goes through a lot of pain that nobody knows about. I remember his first Ashes series, in Australia, when he scored three centuries – he actually did it with a broken shoulder. Jason Gillespie hit him on the point of the shoulder in the first Test and broke it. But he still played and not only did he score a massive amount of runs, he didn’t moan on the pitch or complain about the pain. He just got on and did it, which is the Vaughany way.But now that he has taken the decision to retire, the world is Vaughany’s oyster. He can seriously turn his hand to anything. He has got a business brain, he is good at speeches, he’d be a good coach and a mentor, and he has even turned himself into an artist with his Artballing project. And then there’s Sky, they’d be silly not to have him on their books. He will succeed in anything he wants to turn his hand to.

A packed stadium, sizzling sixes, a stunning save, and some cool music made this fan’s day

Vasanth Raghavan11-Apr-2010The game
I wanted to catch a game at the stadium this IPL season. However, I found most matches were sold out within the first two weeks. So I bought tickets for the next available game.Key performer
Robin Uthappa. Though Vinay Kumar took three wickets, Uthappa provided the necessary fire power at the death to complete a comfortable run-chase.One thing I’d have changed
Ajit Agarkar dropping S Sriram on 17. If he had held on, perhaps the match would have been more tense and interesting.Face-off I relished
Brendon McCullum v Dale Steyn. No one can forget what McCullum did when he first played in Bangalore. However, Steyn bowled tight lines and kept him quiet – though McCullum got away against the other bowlers.Wow moment
Ross Taylor fielded near our stand and was cheered by the fans. At one point a skier headed towards him, looking likely to cross the boundary. Taylor jumped and swatted the ball back on to the field, saving five runs, much to the delight of the crowd.Shot of the day
Uthappa hit 17 runs off the 16th over, bowled by Ishant Sharma. The first delivery was hit straight down long-off, on to the pavilion terrace.Crowd meter
Fans from this cricket-mad city usually turn up in force for Test matches. Needless to say, the atmosphere for the Twenty20 was electric. A partisan crowd backed Bangalore – chants of “RCB, RCB”, egged on by the DJ, drowned out Kolkata’s “”. But there was a lot of support for Sourav Ganguly. There was a big banner with “Dada” written on it that hung from the first tier of the stadium.Entertainment
The music was wonderful. The emcee kept the crowd on its feet, egging us to shout “Ross the Boss” and “Draaavid… Draaavid”.Banner of the day
“Red Spicy Uthappa too hot to handle for the purple knights”.TV or stadium?
The stadium any day. Firstly, you are spared the torture of the commercial blitz on TV. There are no ads between overs and between balls. Secondly, you can see the captain adjust his fields, the exercises players do to loosen up, team huddles etc. And the giant screen at the stadium ensures you don’t miss the replays of dismissals, sixes and fours. It also flashes shots of celebrities in the stadium and contributes to the electric atmosphere with innovative captions for the big hits or dismissals.Hardship factor
It’s difficult if you’re in a group and everyone doesn’t arrive at the same time. Once you’re in the stadium, it’s impossible to come out to hand a ticket to a person who arrives late because of traffic. We had to wait for everyone to arrive before entering the stadium, and since seats in a stand are basically first-come-first-served, we didn’t get the best seats.Marks out of 10
9.5. It would have been 10, only Bangalore won comfortably.