I've relaunched my central cricket webspace, cricket.rickeyre.com on Posterous.
After thinking about retiring it completely, I've decided to give it a reboot after successfully spinning off my cricket-only Twitter account @rickeyrecricket in December and raising my profile a little, including the start of a monthly column for iSportconnect.
Two items from the sportsbiz world caught my eye this week, both coming from the UK.
From London's Olympic Delivery Authority comes the news that boats transporting passengers in the vicinity of London's Olympic Park will be exempt from advertising restrictions during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This is despite that the fact that these waterways encroach on the "exclusion zone" for non-sponsor advertising as defined by the ODA.
On 30 June 2012 Haroon Lorgat will step down as the International Cricket Council's (ICC) third Chief Executive Officer, having decided not to take up the option of extending his four-year contract. There are many possible directions from which Haroon Lorgat’s successor as ICC CEO could come.
Here again is my annual selection of the biggest stories in world cricket in the 2011 calendar year. Unlike all the media agencies whose end-of-year lists have to be finalised in early December to meet deadlines, this list, which I have compiled on an intermittent basis since 1996, doesn’t go to deadline until after the Boxing Day Tests were completed in Melbourne and Durban.
"Tendulkar’s 100th 100 a certainty and what a place to do it. 1st Test played at MCG as well as 1st ODI"
- Tony Greig, Twitter, 5.42pm 27.12.11"Did I jinx him...if so sorry"
- Tony Greig, Twitter, 6.01pm 27.12.11, five minutes after Tendulkar was dismissed for 73.
The continuing expectation of Sachin Tendulkar's "100th international hundred" and a delightful partnership with his rejuvenated team-mate Rahul Dravid. The highlights of the second day of the Melbourne Test between India and Australia, 27 December 2011.
Tendulkar fell for 73, and that faux statistical milestone remains unconquered for now. But it was still a joyous innings to watch, encapsulated in these highlights, from the official Cricket Australia Youtube channel, of the post-tea session of play:
"Ever felt like you walked through the wardrobe and ended up in Narnia? What a day: one I will cherish and remember forever"
- Ed Cowan, Twitter, 26.12.11
Australia's sensational seven-run loss to New Zealand at Bellerive Oval on Monday was the first Test defeat for new chairman of selectors John Inverarity and new team coach Mickey Arthur. Signs are that there will be more losses against India. Change is coming, but it is neither quick nor easy.
A weak New Zealand side was expected to be easybeats for the Australian eleven, and in the First Test at The Gabba they were. But at Hobart, they prevailed, in three-and-a-half days by seven runs in an exciting if low-scoring match on a greentop.
We've seen two great Test matches between South Africa and Australia in the past fortnight.
At Newlands, Cape Town, a dramatic South African collapse was followed by an utterly historic Australian one, after which the home side's batsmen stormed back to claim a stunning win by eight wickets within two and a half days.
