Cricket World Cup 2011: The pained casualties, the inept schoolboys and the snack-hunting police

Aussies drop a Bollinger

Doug Bollinger’s left ankle has plunged the World Cup holders into an injury crisis. He flew home yesterday but may return later in the tournament. The Australians came to India already missing Michael “Mr Cricket” Hussey, Nathan Hauritz, Ryan Harris, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty and Shaun Marsh but Bollinger is the first member of the squad to be flown home mid-tournament. “He’s got a thing called posterior impingement,” said Alex Kountouris, the team physiotherapist. “Basically, when he lands to bowl, one bone hits another bone and the bone becomes really inflamed and irritated. It’s fairly common in fast bowlers. Brett Lee has had five or six lots of surgery on that in the past.” If Bollinger doesn’t return, the possibility of a fit-again Hussey as a replacement is seen as a real possibility.

Sehwag's rib tickler

Virender Sehwag, the hosts’ dangerous opening bat, was hit in the ribs while batting in the nets yesterday, but will be fit to play against England in India’s second World Cup game tomorrow. “Virender was hit on the left ribcage in the nets earlier today. He is currently under medication. However, he is expected to be fit for the match against England on Sunday,” BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan said in a statement. Sehwag opened the tournament with a phenomenal 175 against fellow-hosts Bangladesh.

England's schoolboys

Graeme Swann after England’s inept display against Holland in their opening game: “Let’s face it, we fielded like a bunch of schoolboys.” Swann himself put down a straightforward catch during the unconvincing six-wicket win over the Dutch minnows at Nagpur on Tuesday. And he heads into the sell-out clash against hosts India at Bangalore tomorrow admitting: “We will need to raise our standards, it’s going to be a huge game. But there’s nothing better than silencing an Indian crowd.”

One step father

Swann, who bowled a tight spell of 2-35 at Nagpur, produced his most memorable delivery just days before the World Cup began – with the birth of his son Wilfred. The 31-year-old admitted: “It was gut-wrenching to leave him. Within two days of the little fella coming in to the world, I’m saying a teary goodbye. In 18 years he will give me grief for not being there but I’ll be able to say: ‘I had to go to India and beat Holland!’”

Saltzy snack hunters

Andy Saltzman on the security forces at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi, where South Africa crushed New Zealand on Thursday night: “Their indefatigable determination to ensure that no rogue snacks entered the ground was reminiscent of Albert Einstein’s quest to unlock the secrets of the universe.” Saltzman’s cricketing satire is gaining an increasing audience on Cricinfo, but this is clearly no laughing matter. He concludes: “I understand Delhi has had its problems in the past with excessively jaunty crowds but whoever was responsible for this cocktail of incompetence, intrusive overzealousness and administrative dinosaurism seemed intent on stripping the joy from a sporting event.”

Using the remote lack of control

Saltzman on Ricky Ponting’s infamous assault on a television set after his dismissal in Australia’s opening win over Zimbabwe in Ahmedabad on Monday: “It seems clear to this columnist that Ponting was launching an heroic one-man protest against the intrusive ubiquity of 21st century TV. We may disagree with his methods, but we can applaud his sentiment.”

Shocking waste of talent

Shock news: talented musical trio in the bar at Delhi's Intercontinental in Nehru Place have NOT offered me a recording contract or been approached by ANY R&D guys since my startling rendition of Frank Sinatra's My Way on Wednesday night. Video coming soon.

For further Cricket World Cup coverage, go to: http://www.thenational.ae/

The Laureus Sports awards in sunny Abu Dhabi... never mind reality, we've got oil and camels

Ah, the Laureus Sports Awards. Big event for us in Abu Dhabi. Or so I am assured. Looked that way this morning.

There we were, out on the lawns of the magnificent Emirates Palace Hotel, surrounded by autumnal stars and mid-winter sunshine.

Two seven-side-teams, packed with big names from the past decade. Surprisingly, among them, there was the beanpole figure of Patrick Vieira. Surely he should be back with Manchester City helping them usurp their no-longer-unbeaten rivals United in the fascinating Premier League chase?

But no, with vintage performers from all over the world in action, and about 500 people, mostly journalists, watching as they ate a wonderful free breakfast, Paddy and pals were having a kick-about.

Apparently it ended 11-11 and went to a golden goal. Stevie McManaman, still with the same Wednesday legs (at Liverpool, they'd says Wednesday gonna break, his legs are so skinny), may have scored it. Or was it Christian Karembeu, the one with the pert wife?

It matters not. Marcelle Desailly was out there, Victor Baia in goal... even a popular singer by the name of Ronan Keating, who looked the most energetic of the lot! Oh, and there was the world's tennis No1 Caroline Wozniacki cheering enthusiastically. Die-hard Liverpool fan apparently. Thank God for Kenny Dalglish. I didn't tell her the old Roy Hodgson Under 13 story.

In all, the glitzy kickabout apparently earned half a million Euros for charity. Not sure how. But there it is. That's what these Laureus Awards do, have done since 2000.

Earn money for charity, help grass roots football. Something about Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. God knows how it works, but it seems to. All the cynical sports people involved swear by it. Frequently, as sportspeople do.

They were queuing up afterwards, the stars, to say nice things about Abu Dhabi and Laureus. About the things they've done for this strange sporting foundation which first erupted on to the scene in 2000, handing out awards to Tiger Woods and the like.

Tonight they'll do it again. Sebastian Vettel, the Formula One champion, is nominated for Sportsman of the Year, along with racketeer Rafa Nadal and hot favourite Manny Pacquiao, not to be argued with. Caroline Wozniacki is expected to see off British heptathlete Jessica Ennis is the women's category, and I'm backing New Zealand's All Black for the team trophy, though the European Ryder Cup team will run them close.

Look, as Lucas Radbe - the former Leeds and South Africa star pictured with me above - said: "It's a lot of fun coming out here, but they do good too, Laureus."

Fair enough. Why knock it? Tabloid journalists tend to want to knock these things over. The big spending, the lavish entertainment. But hold on. Abu Dhabi is a fairy tale country. Particularly when you're on the lush green lawns of the Emirates Palace hotel, with the fabulous beach, strewn with camels, shimmering in the background. Let's not return to reality. Let's live happily ever after.

So it's back to this unbelievable seven-star hotel to scribble something down. Then the awards tonight. Red carpet out (and it's a bloody big one, must be one of those local carpets they've flown in, Persian style). Ronan will sing, Morgan Freeman will make us cry, Kevin Spacey will hand out the statuettes and make us laugh. Hopefully.

Spacey's so caught up in it, he's apparently launching a dramatic academy out here. Theatrical types aren't that welcome, but if anyone can persuade devout Moslems to come out of the acting closet, Kev can.

I've just been trying to persuade Lucas Radebe - the man who inspired the Leeds-based Kaizer Chiefs rock band - to come out here and coach the locals. Neil Tovey, his old Bafana Bafana team-mate and former Amazulu and Black Stars coach, has already sent me his CV. This is the place to be. Tax free, a vibrant economy, the government pushing sport so hard. Nowhere else like it.

Forget the barren out beyond this fabulous city. The troubled Arab neighbours like Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Lebanon.

Here, they have machines giving out gold in the lobby. Petrol costs less than water. Smoking is so cheap you feel compelled to puff.

And tonight, when the eyes of the world watch sportsmen glitter, we can forget, for a moment, the troubles of the real world.

For a moment. It's mid-winter here. The sun's shining. While the rest of the world endures floods and recession, here we bask and spend. Tax free of course. Have I mentioned that? Paradise. Slightly plastic, very shiny, all brand new, nothing here 30 years ago. But paradise in the style of Milton.

Andy Gray sacked over sexist comments to female official

Top football analyst Andy Gray has been sacked by Sky Sports over the sexism scandal that has rocked English football.
The television pundit lost his £1.7million-a-year job for comments aimed at assistant referee Sian Massey, one of three female Premier League officials.
Barney Francis, the managing director of Sky Sports, said in a statement last night: “Andy Gray’s contract has been terminated for unacceptable behaviour. After issuing a warning yesterday, we have no hesitation in taking this action after becoming aware of new information today.”
Sky News have suspended reporter Andy Burton for his role in the second batch of leaked footage which emerged yesterday.
Analyst Gray and anchorman Richard Keys were suspended for Monday night’s coverage of Chelsea’s win at Bolton after off-the-air comments made on Sky Sports emerged.
Burton has now been stood down from his duties at tomorrow’s Carling Cup semi-final second leg between Birmingham and West Ham. The new footage, also recorded on Saturday before Wolves played Liverpool, shows Gray in conversation with Burton.
A crew member refers to Massey and Gray is heard saying: “I can see her from here. What do women know about the offside rule?”
Keys and Gray were already fighting to keep their jobs before sister channel Sky News provided more damning evidence yesterday.
Earlier footage showed Keys and Gray, a former Scotland international striker, speaking before the kick off. Keys said: “Somebody better get down there and explain offside to her”.
Gray replied: “I know, can you believe that? A female linesman.”
Keys later added: “The game’s gone mad.”
Later he said: “Did you hear charming Karren Brady [the West Ham vice-chairman] this morning complaining about sexism? Do me a favour, love.”
Donna Cullen, a director of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, said Massey was officiating a Premier League match “on merit”.
“She would have come up through the system and her superiors would have thought she was the right person for the job. Why would they doubt her?” Cullen said.
“In a male-dominated sport you are always going to get the odd remark, but in more than 20 years of working in football, I cannot say sexist remarks like that have ever been an issue for me.
“I believe I am treated as an honorary male in football, and I don’t believe being female has anything to do with my work.”
Although Massey is one of only three female officials at the top level, over 20,000 women have successfully attained FA coaching qualifications, according to the English Football Association.
According to FA statistics, the number of women playing organised football in England stands at 150,000.
Didn't use the picture above to illustrate the story when I wrote it for The National in Abu Dhabi tonight. But thought it kind of works. If you're Andy Gray. Today's sacking is a major victory for women in sport.

Benni McCarthy Scores For QPR But Will They Take Him Off West Ham's Hands as the new loan ranger?

Benni McCarthy’s canny knack of scoring goals may have secured a loan move to Championship leaders Queens Park Rangers this week.

The 33-year-old, frustrated at current club West Ham where Avram Grant refuses to even grant him a place on the bench, was allowed to play in a reserve friendly for QPR against Spurs on Tuesday.

And South Africa’s all-time top-scorer promptly scored despite a heavy 9-2 defeat against a tough Spurs second string side that included Republic of Ireland striker Robbie Keane, England centre-back Jonathan Woodgate and young Jamie O’Hara.

Ironically, cash-rich West London outfit QPR – backed by steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and Formula One moguls Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briattore – could replace EastEnd strugglers West Ham in the Premier League in May.

McCarthy’s agent Rob Moore is believed to be “in talks” with QPR boss Neil Warnock. The deal appears to involve McCarthy moving on loan, with QPR paying most of his £50,000-a-week salary until May.

If he scores the goals to help QPR gain promotion back to the top flight for the first time since 1996, he will be signed on a full-term basis.

Warnock, a shrewd, experienced boss who gave up his day job as a chiropodist when he took non-League minnows Scarborough into the Football League way back in 1986, is urgently seeking a goal-getter for the second half of the season, having lost two strikers - Jamie Mackie and Patrick Agyemangboth – with broken legs before the New Year.

McCarthy was signed from Blackburn Rovers by Gian Franco Zola for £2.5m last January but a knee injury suffered on his debut wrecked his Upton Park career. By the time he had battled back to fitness, he had been fined for putting on weight by new club owner David Sullivan, missed the World Cup in his own country, and dour Israeli Grant had replaced the flamboyant Zola.

Despite assurances from his agent Moore that the Capetonian “has been at the right weight since October”, Grant rarely even gives McCarthy a glimpse of the bench. If he leaves this week, he will go without a single goal for West Ham’s first team. In a year, he has made just 13 appearances for West Ham, with 10 of those as a substitute.

Meanwhile Steven Pienaar’s transfer to Tottenham, first predicted by this writer three months ago, was confirmed on the club’s official website yesterday.

Pienaar, who will wear the No40 shirt at Spurs when Spurs play Newcastle on Saturday, twittered yesterday: “Saying final goodbyes at Everton tomorrow. It’s not easy after many great years. Thanks to all the fans, you have been brilliant.”

Pienaar said of his first appearance at Tottenham’s Chigwell training facility yesterday: “Friendly reception from players yesterday. Michael Dawson first to say hello then Rafa (van der Vaart, his former team-mate at Ajax in Amsterdam). Great to team up with him, he's been great this season.”

Come in No40... Steven Pienaar Confirms His Move To Spurs Personally. You read it here first, two months ago

Steven Pienaar is all set to play for new club Tottenham against Newcastle on Saturday – and will wear No40 on the famous white jersey at St James’s Park

Twittering frantically, the wizard from Westbury near Johannesburg said: “To end speculation I am going to Spurs. I've had brilliant years at Everton and it will always be a special place in my heart.

“And I can also confirm I will be jersey No40.”

A relieved Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, who has pursued Pienaar ruthlessly through his unsettled months at Everton, admits he nearly lost out to Chelsea at the final hurdle when the January transfer window opened.

Both clubs were eager to swoop despite the fact that Pienaar would have been available on a free transfer at the end of the season. Pienaar and astute agent Rob Moore is believed to have agreed a deal of around £70,000-a-week with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.

With the 28-year-old only a medical away from signing after Spurs upped their bid to match Chelsea’s £3m price tag, Redknapp told Sky Sports News: "I think we've done it - I think it's done. I think everything's agreed and he's going to join us, we're pretty sure.

"He's a good signing. He's a good footballer, I think he'll fit into the way we play great and I've always liked him.

"He has a good attitude, a good trainer, a good player. I know David Moyes loved him at Everton and it was unfortunate he decided not to stay

"But in the end I think it is a fair deal - Everton got a decent fee in the end for him, Chelsea were in for him, and I think he spoke to Chelsea and he came and spoke to us and he's decided to come here."

Redknapp added: "He should be available to face Newcastle - hopefully we will get him sorted in time and if everything goes through, it shouldn't be a problem. I think he'll be in the squad for Saturday."

If all goes well today, Pienaar will join David Beckham and recently signed-compatriot Bongani Khumalo, 23, at Tottenham’s Chigwell training facility.

Pienaar Nearly Ready To Earn His Spurs As Everton Move To Reassure Fans

The long-running saga which has finally taken Steven Pienaar from Everton to Tottenham Hotspur is not yet over – and already the Goodison Park faithful are being assured: “He’s replaceable.”

As predicted by this writer three months ago, Pienaar finally snubbed Chelsea for Spurs last night when Everton agreed a fee with the rising North London hopefuls rather than the ailing West London champions.

Both clubs are believed to have offered £3m for South Africa’s brightest star, who would be out of contract and available free at the end of the season.

Chelsea’s initial £3m bid was accepted by Everton on Sunday night but the club failed to agree terms with Pienaar, who was believed to be seeking £75,000 a week - a pittance next to the £130,000-plus paid to John Terry and Frank Lampard.

When Spurs upped their bid to £3m from an initial £1.5m, they were granted permission to speak to their long-term target, as predicted by me on eNews in South Africa last night.

Pienaar, 29, will now join newly-signed compatriot Bongani Khumalo, 24, at White Hart Lane during the January transfer window and will presumably be in line for a Champions League debut against AC Milan, which has always been his aim, according to agent Rob Moore.

Moore told me: “This move was never motivated by money. Steven is looking to sign that final contract with a side that can offer him regular Champions League football. Everton last managed that in 2005. I think that says it all.”

Pienaar’s transfer to Spurs had barely been agreed when Everton’s US international goalkeeper Tim Howard appeared on Sky News to reassure fans: "The gaffer David Moyes is really shrewd. He found Mikel Arteta, Tim Cahill and Steven Pienaar.

"Steven has been our engine for the last couple of years. There is no hiding from that. He has been our star player.

"But my feeling, having been at this club for so long, is that we just get on with it. We don't dwell on things. There will be another. That's just the way it is here at Everton."

Transfer Special: Chelsea Swoop As Tottenham's Harry Redknapp Admits: Steven Pienaar Is Looking Blue

Steve Pienaar will sign for Chelsea today after Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp admitted he can’t match the Blues’ £3m bid for the unsettled Everton midfielder.

Redknapp’s side drew 0-0 with Manchester United yesterday but he took time out to explain that his efforts to team-up Pienaar with Bafana Bafana team-mate Bongani Khumalo at White Hart Lane have failed.

Reknapp said: “We were interested in him but I see Chelsea have offered £3 million. That would make it difficult for us to compete with that money for him.

“He’s a player we like but he belongs to Everton at the moment but I think they would sell him perhaps if we agreed a fee.”

Pienaar has just six months left on his current contract and could have moved for free in June. He missed Everton’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the Merseyside derby yesterday.

Redknapp added: “I don’t know what will happen there. The chairman deals with it, I haven’t been involved in it at all.

“He’s a player we like but he belongs to Everton at the moment but I think they would sell him perhaps if we agreed a fee.

“They agreed a fee with Chelsea apparently for £3 million then that’s probably a bit more than we want to go to.”

Explaining Pienaar’s absence yesterday, Everton boss David Moyes said: "We've given his representatives a chance to talk to Chelsea but they've not got permission to talk to Tottenham because they've not offered the same money.

"Steven came to see me yesterday and said he didn't feel he was in the right place to play...I felt it would be better not to use him if that was the case.

"He will be in training tomorrow because at the moment we don't have a deal. If Tottenham offer the same money, that may change or maybe he will agree terms with Chelsea."