Cricket Zone http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/ News Off The Field en-us © 2007 Aprology Solutions Sun, 19 Aug 2007 02:16:20 Warne to turn German for Hampshire http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-08-17-1184.html Switching nationalities is not a new trend in the game of cricket and the latest to join the ranks is Australian spin legend Shane Warne who is all set to reclassify himself as a German for his county side Hampshire The incident came to light after Hampshire revealed that they were exploring the possibilities of getting him a German passport so that they can sign another overseas player next season because from next year each county will be allowed only one overseas player instead of two Incidentally Warne's mother Brigitte is a German national and if the year-old leggie attains  [more]
]]> 2007-08-17 23:18 Monty Panesar declared Sport Personality of the Year http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-07-29-1081.html England's only Sikh cricketer Monty Panesar has been chosen as Sport Personality of the Year at the Asian Achievers Award At a glittering ceremony held at the Hilton Hotel Park Lane in London Saturday night Lord Karan Billimoria leading NRI entrepreneur presented the award to Panesar Lord Navnit Dholakia Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats bagged the Editor's Award while Prof Nathuram Puri NRI industrialist received Business Community Award Other recipients were Naynesh Desai Professional of the Year Ratilal Devchand Shah Achievement in Community Service Renu Patel Achievement in media Art and Culture Firoz Kassam Lifetime Achievement award Dalip Kumar  [more]
]]> 2007-07-29 16:12 When Harry Potter queued for Tendulkar's autograph http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-07-24-1057.html It was boy wizard meeting the batting wizard as Daniel Radcliffe who plays Harry Potter on screen queued for an autograph of Sachin Tendulkar at the end of India's drawn cricket Test match against England Since the seventh and final volume of the quot Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows quot hit the stands the whole world seems under the grip of a quot Pottermania quot but Potter himself seemed a great fan of the Indian batting maestro as he turned up on the final day of the Lord's Test match Michael Vaughan s men however could not gift Daniel  [more]
]]> 2007-07-24 20:05 Dhoni loves to sneak through under Tendulkar's shadow http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-07-19-1022.html Though his charisma is fast helping him close in on his idol in the glitzy world Indian team's new poster boy Mahendra Singh Dhoni says he still enjoys walking under the shadow of Sachin Tendulkar When we are walking through airports I love to walk behind Sachin because that is a time when you can really sneak through You sense all eyes are on him wicketkeeper-batsman Dhoni pointed out The dashing Dhoni says he would like to take a leaf out of how the senior members in the team carry themselves on and off the field All the senior players  [more]
]]> 2007-07-19 22:50 BCCI gave rights to use Sachin images: Nike http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-07-18-1014.html World's largest sportswear firm Nike entangled in a tussle with rival Adidas over using brand' Sachin Tendulkar for advertising has told India's anti-monopoly watchdog that it had secured rights from BCCI for the purpose In a page reply to the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission MRTPC Nike contended that India's cricket body BCCI had permitted the company to use Tendulkar's name and attributes quot This respondent's Nike use of Tendulkar's name and attributes in the manner actually used is permitted by BCCI quot the company said in its reply to the anti-monopoly watchdog It further said quot This permission  [more]
]]> 2007-07-18 21:13 Aviva Life signs Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-07-03-922.html Aviva Life Insurance a joint venture between UK's biggest insurer Aviva and Dabur has roped in master blaster Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador and named its new child insurance policy after the cricketer's title-Little Master Announcing this Aviva India Managing Director Bert Paterson said quot Sachin is the most popular icon in India for all age-groups and his popularity transcends the boundaries of religion caste and region Our new product-Aviva Little Master-is a tribute to our brand ambassador quot The company will be launching a nationwide campaign featuring Tendulkar soon Paterson said This is for the first time that Aviva  [more]
]]> 2007-07-03 22:40 Azhar denies he is entering politics http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-06-27-885.html Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin today visited the Janata Dal-Secular JD-S office in Bangalore to wish his friend and former medium pacer Dodda Ganesh who was joining the party but denied he was joining politics himself quot My presence at this function has no meaning other than wishing my brother' Ganesh on his new role quot Azhar said adding there was no other significance to his presence at the function Azhar's statement comes in the wake of intense speculation in Karnataka political circles that he might be joining the JD-S as he met the party's president and former Prime Minister  [more]
]]> 2007-06-27 19:49 PIL filed in HC against Dhoni's swimming pool http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-06-20-838.html Fearing water scarcity due to construction of a proposed swimming pool by star cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni a group of residents of the Harmu Housing colony filed a PIL in the Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday The petition which is yet to be admitted by the court claimed that it was not known from where the water for the pool will be supplied and how it would be drained S N L Gupta a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police said The PIL was filed by Advocate Rajeev Ranjan on behalf of the Harmu Housing colony residents he said Gupta  [more]
]]> 2007-06-20 14:15 Botham honoured with knighthood http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-06-16-814.html Legendary cricketer Ian Botham who blazed the field as an all-rounder and raised more than million pounds for leukemia charities was today awarded a knighthood by the Queen The year-old former player received the honour in Queen Elizabeth II's Birthday Honours list officially released in London today Botham nicknamed quot Beefy quot has played Tests for England in a career that lasted from to and took wickets which remains an English record and scored runs He has also helped increase the survival rate of leukemia patients through long-distance walks including one over the Alps with elephants quot I'm delighted that  [more]
]]> 2007-06-16 22:43 Beefy will now be Sir Ian Botham http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-06-15-808.html England's cricket legend Ian Botham has been chosen for knighthood the honour that will be presented tomorrow year-old Botham's on field heroics should have been enough to earn him the knighthood long ago The former captain was one of the greatest all-rounders of his time with runs and wickets in Tests Besides he also single-handedly led England to victory over their archrivals Australia in In fact he was awarded an OBE in But controversies off the field particularly after his playing days seemed to have put him out of favour The charismatic Beefy' has turned it around though If his  [more]
]]> 2007-06-15 21:05 No VVIP treatment for Dravid at Tirupati http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-06-02-725.html Sans any VVIP treatment Indian captain Rahul Dravid and his family members offered worship at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara near Tirupati after standing in the queue for around minutes As the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam TTD which manages the temple had recently imposed a ban on providing free VVIP treatment to non-protocol visitors like cricketers and film stars Dravid and his family had to purchase VIP tickets of Rs each to have darshan of the Lord on Friday They had to wait in the queue for about minutes for the darshan temple sources told said The TTD had  [more]
]]> 2007-06-02 23:43 Botham set to be knighted for charity work http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-05-27-685.html Already an Order of the British Empire OBE England cricket great Ian Botham is now set to be knighted for raising million pounds for children with leukemia through his charity walks The former all-rounder's charity walks to help the children will get royal recognition at the Queen's birthday honours on June quot Ian Botham was a fabulous cricketer but his selfless charity work is out of this world His fund-raising is first-class and no one absolutely no one deserves an honour more than him quot a royal source was quoted as saying by The Mirror on Sunday quot At a  [more]
]]> 2007-05-27 15:01 Adidas drags BCCI, Nike, Tendulkar to MRTPC http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-05-25-669.html Raising the cudgels against Nike Adidas today petitioned MRTPC seeking to restrain BCCI and its sports apparel rival from using images of Sachin Tendulkar for promotions when he is not playing for the country At the same time it asked the fair trade practices body to direct Tendulkar to furnish an undertaking that he personally endorsed Adidas although Nike sponsored Indian cricket team's on-field uniform During the proceedings Adidas argued that BCCI granted Nike only sponsorship and licensing rights and to carry trademarks of the batsman only while playing for the country The company's counsel Shailendra K Kapoor argued that  [more]
]]> 2007-05-25 15:48 Kumble bowled over by Bangladeshi sherbet http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-05-19-630.html Anil Kumble may have foxed hundreds of batsmen with his googlies but he has been bowled over by the taste of wood apple sherbet in Chittagong Kumble liked the preparation so much that he asked the chef of hotel Peninsula where the Indian team has put up for the first Test the recipe for the drink Manager Ravi Shastri has been relishing his favourite yoghurt during breakfasts and lunches The former Indian captain has declared during a media conference after the second ODI in Dhaka that yoghurt and honey were his staple diet every morning The hotel has laid out  [more]
]]> 2007-05-19 11:28 CAG faults tax exemptions to Tendulkar and Gavaskar http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-05-14-603.html Cricket stars Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar have come under the scanner of the Comptroller and Auditor General who has found that they have been given wrong benefit of income deduction as sportsmen which has resulted in a short levy of over Rs crore in tax The assessments for the relevant years from to in case of Tendulkar have been reopened and assessment for has been selected for scrutiny The report of the CAG which was tabled in Parliament today faulted the income tax department for giving incorrect allowance of deduction of income for both the stars for their earnings  [more]
]]> 2007-05-14 22:10 Tendulkar to feature in Virgin Comics http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-05-02-528.html Sachin Tendulkar will soon be a comic book super hero and remain an icon among the youth of the country Under an agreement with Virgin Comics Tendulkar will be featured in various escapades and actions featured in comics as Master Blaster' from July when the first issue will be released According to the Gotham Entertainment Group which distributes Virgin Comics in India and other parts of Asia the Master Blaster would have India focus and will be based on Indian stories Master Blaster would not be restricted only to comics Games mobile content and other entertainment avenues would be explored  [more]
]]> 2007-05-02 15:14 Dhoni's swimming pool raises heat http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-04-17-433.html Mahendra Singh Dhoni s woes refuse to die down since his return from a disastrous World Cup First his under-construction house was attacked now a proposed swimming pool there has attracted the ire of neighbours Alarmed at possible scarcity of water due to the presence of a swimming pool people of Dhoni's neighbourhood have petitioned the Ranchi Regional Development Authority RRDA against the construction of the same quot About of us petitioned the RRDA and Chief Secretary A K Chugh drawing their attention that the swimming pool will create water scarcity in the area because it will require four lakh  [more]
]]> 2007-04-17 23:18 Warne escapes punishment for promoting gambling site http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-04-09-356.html Aussie spin legend Shane Warne has escaped punishment for promoting an illegal gambling site after regulators closed the matter by shutting down the website Pokercricket Com was deemed illegal by the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation after an investigation quot It is illegal to offer or advertise in Victoria the playing of interactive gambling games quot executive commissioner Peter Cohen was quoted by the Herald Sun' as saying quot Gambling is a strictly regulated business and we would expect all people to comply with legislation whether they are high profile or not quot he added The regulators decided not to  [more]
]]> 2007-04-09 12:54 Brand Tendulkar can't erode: Ad makers http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-04-05-330.html Most celebrities mellow and fade with age but Indian cricketers never seem to be falling out of favour with corporates who have bet anything between Rs crore on old warhorses Sachin Tendulkar Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly for their advertising campaigns Though the trio may not make it to the next World Cup especially after throwing away their chances in the current edition ad makers feel that their faltering performance would not hurt long term endorsements quot It will be a very immediate reaction to say a brand like Tendulkar has eroded If a brand like him was event specific  [more]
]]> 2007-04-05 23:18 Brett Lee chalking out post-retirement plans in Bollywood http://www.cricketzone.com/news/news_off_the_field/2007-04-05-327.html Australian pacer Brett Lee out of the ongoing World Cup due to an ankle injury is using his unscheduled break to build a platform for his post-retirement career in Bollywood Lee is spending a fortnight in India to meet with sponsors and negotiate a recording contract after the success of his previous album shot during the Champions Trophy last year with legendary Asha Bhosle quot The focus is to build a platform for Brett to perform at Bollywood level after his career quot said his manager Neil Maxwell quot He doesn't want to be starting from scratch when he retires  [more]
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