Cricket: Saying goodbye to a little champion personally

Tributes for Phil Hughes left outside the South Entrance at the Adelaide Oval (photo: Davis Harrigan)

It has been one of the most emotional weeks of cricket during my lifetime.

I did not know the man Phillip Hughes – aka “Hughesy” or “Boof” – but I saw him play many times live and on TV.  The situation that unfolded this week, bringing the cricket world to a standstill, truly hit home when I attended a women’s Twenty20 game between the South Australia Scorpions and the Australian Capital Territory Meteors on Friday, at Adelaide Oval No. 2, behind the spectacular main ground.

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Phil Hughes; talented and now gone at 25

Phil Hughes (photo: Cricket Australia)

The cricket world is hurting this week.  I’m hurting. The news rocked us all.

The age of 25 is far too young; what hurts even more is the death was on a sporting field, with the sportsman doing something he loved.

Cricket: Administrators are like great whites without the water

Srinivasan at a recent meeting (picture: Google)

It is a devastating prospect to even contemplate; those “running the game” (think ICC, BCCI etc) have their wallets lined, yet “behind the scenes” it is chaotic.  Corruption investigations galore, everywhere you turn.

These top dogs try – and fail – to hide the problems they say are not there, but to the smart fans out there today, everything is in plain sight.

Cricket: Rohit’s Record Rampage three months from World Cup

Rohit Sharma celebrates 200 runs (photo: Getty Images)

Here’s a table of those that have scored double centuries in ODI cricket:

Name	Team	Score	Against
Rohit Sharma	India	264	Sri Lanka
Virender Sehwag	India	219	West Indies
Rohit Sharma	India	209	Australia
Sachin Tendulkar	India	200*	South Africa
Belinda Clark*	Australia	229	Denmark

*denotes women’s ODI

Cricket: Cameron White is a no-brainer for the World Cup

Cameron White in action at ANZ Stadium (photo: Getty Images)

The resurgence of the former Victorian skipper – first at state, and now at national level – over the last two years has been nothing short of sensational.

His last two domestic one-day competitions (accumulated) have seen him pile on 741 runs at an average above 67.  In the Big Bash League (past two seasons), he has 385 runs at an average above 25.

Cricket: BBL|04, and why KP is going for glory

Rob Quiney & Luke Wright, Melbourne Stars (Photo: Rediff.com)

When the Big Bash League changed to its current format before the commencement of the 2011/2012 Australian season, not much was certain.

There was a litany of changes – state teams became city-based teams, there were overseas imports, and a whole new ball game was born.

Perhaps the biggest story for BBL|04 is the Melbourne Stars signing former England batsman, and now gun-for-hire Kevin Pietersen.  The 34-year-old caused a controversy after the news was revealed, with the England Cricket Board reluctant to release him until the release of his book earlier this month.