Wrong 'un by the BCCI By Ian Chappell

So, what level of punishment does the BCCI envision for a serious cricketing crime? For instance, what would the use of performance-enhancing drugs or physical violence on the field bring by way of punishment? A mere life imprisonment perhaps? Or, maybe, a leisurely month-long inquisition at Abu Ghraib? Or, if really drastic measures were called for, would they consider dusting off the guillotine?
A $50,000 fine for Shane Warne speaking his mind, does seem a bit on the high side.
Too hefty a fine
There's no doubt Warne can pay the fine, so the problem is not with him having to part with fifty grand; although he'd probably prefer to drop it at the nearest casino where he'd at least have a chance of a win. The dilemma for the officials will occur when a serious offence is committed in the future by a young player who is not highly paid.
Because the IPL is a lot like India itself - there are the haves and the have-nots - it's difficult to mete out even-handed fines. When player contracts vary between $2 million and 20,000 a year, it's difficult for the commissioners to treat each offence equally. I guess this is where a stiff suspension rather than a fine becomes the ally of the officials.

The only option
Sure, Warne could have kept his conversation with Mr Dixit private. That way, it should have remained a matter for the two people concerned to resolve. However, my experience tells me that in such cases, involving a high-profile player and a backroom boy, the latter likes to flex his muscles and have his 15 minutes of fame.



Officials vs players
Sporting officials have this distinct distaste for personal criticism from players, never mind a public haranguing. The problem the BCCI has created is one of precedence. The next time a serious offence is committed, it's Warne's fine on which the punishment will be judged. A devil's advocate might say Warne's fine, being so steep, will deter potential future offenders. That's not the way it works.
If the death penalty doesn't deter potential murderers, I don't think a steep fine will make a highly competitive cricketer think twice before he speaks or acts.
Take Gautam Gambhir for example. He's shown himself to be vulnerable to the odd bout of anger but as the highest paid player in this year's IPL, he'll be able to afford a steep fine if he transgresses.

THE BUZZ OF CRICKET

                                                                             Jaffa for Jaffna

High-profile cricket is all set to make its debut in Jaffna after years of a bitter and bloody civil war. The Northern Province, of which Jaffna is the capital, is among the seven teams that will be part of the Sri Lankan Premier League (SLPL) Twenty20 tournament beginning on July 19. “The decision to include Northern Province as one of the teams was taken to promote the game in the region, where the talent pool has been largely untapped because of years of fighting,” Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Nishantha Ranatunga told theIndian Express. “Since the end of the war, we have tried to promote the game in the Northern and North-Eastern Province.”

There have been ongoing efforts over the past year to develop cricket in the region with plans to construct two turf wickets at selected Jaffna schools. “Over 20 qualified coaches have been working to promote the game through the Jaffna Schools Cricket Association and the Jaffna District Cricket Association. Former fast bowler Ravindra Pushpakumara has been in charge of coaching in the Northern Province over the past year and the talent is very promising,” Ranatunga said. Sri Lanka’s cricketers have been doing their bit in Jaffna with former batsman Aravinda de Silva having been involved in school cricket training programmes, while the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara were involved in relief efforts when the tsunami struck the region in 2005.

                                           Kieswetter's "car tweet"

Craig Kieswetter was forced into damage limitation mode after seemingly posting a picture on twitter while driving on the motorway.

On Wednesday he tweeted the following message: "My view right now", followed by a link to a picture taken out of the car's windscreen.

The following day Kieswetter had seemingly cleared his twitter account, kiesy22, which showed no followers and though it said 198 tweets were listed none was available to view.

However, a search of the internet brings up archived versions of his tweets, including one where he said: "Just so everyone knows! That picture wasn't taken by me in my car! Mate took it over my shoulder! Very silly."

                              

Parore's 'Himalayan' task

Former New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Parore is just days away from scaling the biggest challenge of his sporting career - the Mt. Everest. According to a report in the Dominion Post, Parore, who is is climbing the world's highest mountain to raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, left for Nepal on March 27 in a bid to train and acclimatise for the task. However his first attempt to reach the summit ended in disappointment, as the climbing group had to turn back because of 50kph-to-60kph winds and poor weather forecast for what was to have been their summit day, May 14. Parore, who has been regularly updating a Facebook page while trying to scale the 8848m mountain, wrote about the first failed attempt, after the group returned to base camp. "All up a 16-hour day – Sherpa-esque. 1000m up, 2000m down and about 15km covered all up. 100 calories intake, about 20,000 expended. I was a bit tired after that. Unsurprisingly I slept like a dead man. Strangely I woke yesterday morning feeling 100%, like I normally do at sea level. Go figure? I feel better now than before we left for the summit."

However, he posted on Sunday that the the group was heading off at two in the morning "for another crack at the big girl". Parore said the group was expecting to summit about mid-day on Saturday, all things equal. "Same drill as last week except we are hoping the weather window holds this time. I was just thinking that it all seemed a little easy – not any more. Everest the hard way we're calling it. Fingers crossed for blue skys and happy trails," he posted.

THE BUZZ

                         A woman scoring a hundred against men

Louth CC beat Market Deeping CC by 72 runs on the back of steely century by Arran Brindle. So what’s the big deal, you wonder? Well, turns out Arran Brindle is a woman, playing in the ECB’s Lincolnshire men’s premier league. Brindle’s 128 is the first hundred by a woman in men’s premier league cricket in England, and possibly anywhere.

Brindle, who has represented England in nine women’s Tests and 58 ODIs, took a break from international cricket in 2005 to spend more time with her family. She will return to international cricket this summer, following her inclusion in England Women's 14-player squad for the 2011 NatWest Women's Quadrangular Series. In the interim, she captained the Louth first XI over three seasons.

“The timing of my innings means that my confidence is high going in to the international women's quadrangular tournament this summer,” Brindle said. “I have played for Louth men's first XI for several years now, and I captained the side in 2007, 2009 and 2010. It's a totally natural environment for me."

                 Cricket’s Clockwork connection

What’s the connection between a set of pristine, genteel cricket whites and the violent anarchy of Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 film A Clockwork Orange? Actor Malcolm McDowell, who played the role of the psychopath Alex in the cult classic, has revealed that his ultra-stylish look in the film – in full whites with a giant codpiece - was inspired by his cricket gear. Actor and director were pondering over the charismatic delinquent’s possible costumes when McDowell said, “Well, I've got my cricket gear in the car. We could try that.” Kubrick loved how McDowell looked in the crisp white uniform and suggested that he wear the outfit's groin protector on the outside. The outfit and makeup went on to make Alex one of Hollywood's most memorable menacing young on-screen hooligans. The film was recently re-screened at the Cannes Film Festival ahead of a special 40th anniversary release.

                                

                                                          Tiger stopped play 

To the list of cricketing stoppages, from the familiar 'rain stopped play', to the more confusing 'reflecting sun stopped play', the downright bizarre ‘stuffed toy stopped play’ can be added after an academy match at the Rose Bowl was held up by a cuddly toy.

A stuffed toy animal brought a large-scale police operation in Hampshire after an alarm was first raised by a concerned member of the public who believed there was an escaped white tiger hiding in a field near Hedge End.

Officers were sent to the scene along with a helicopter and thermal imaging cameras, at about 1600 BST on Saturday. When no body heat was detected police moved in and found a toy tiger.

The match between South Wiltshire and Hampshire Academy was stopped for 20 minutes before they were given the all-clear to continue. A police spokeswoman said: "After a brief stalk through the Hedge End savannah, the officer realised the tiger was not moving and the air support using their cameras realised there was a lack of heat source. The tiger then rolled over in the down draft and it was at that point it became obvious it was a stuffed life-size toy.

"This incident will definitely be the highlight of our day. The CCTV footage convinced us all we were dealing with a real tiger. It's not often an incident leaves our staff with a smile on their face and it.”