Controversy and the IPL are never too far apart. The latest one is to do with the 2010 season’s promotional film, which shows a large spool of red carpet being rolled through India as a welcoming gesture. However, this ad is reportedly strikingly similar to Coca Cola's campaign during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Officials at SET Max, the official broadcaster of the IPL weren't too perturbed. "It's pure coincidence that our ad film looks similar to the Coke Olympic campaign of 2008," said Gaurav Seth, vice-president (marketing), SET Max. The IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi, too, tweeted his support: "The campaign (is) the best I have seen in a long time. Max (is) doing an outstanding job, as usual". "Even we are surprised by the similarity,'' said Debu Purkayastha, senior creative director at JWT Mumbai, the advertising agency that conceptualised the campaign, "everything, however, was completely unintentional."

Tim Nielsen had a near-perfect summer as Australia’s coach but his tour to New Zealand began with a funny slip of the tongue at Wellington Airport. "To be honest, we haven't had a huge amount of sex ... um, success, the last two times we've travelled here," he said, triggering off muffled laughs among his listeners. Nielsen grimaced, smiled and went on: "We lost in 2007 and we might have even lost in 2005, so we're looking to right the ship here on this tour and keep our run going."

Nielsen finished without any more slips and had a request: "Could you wipe the sex bit, I don't really want the wife hearing that." Unlikely, considering how mundane majority of press conferences are.

Secret agent Shoaib? © DC Thomson & Co Ltd

The CIA has been blamed for many things since its establishment in 1947, but attempting to fatigue young Indian cricketers and distract the country's students is something even they probably aren't capable of. But that is precisely what Mumbai-based lawyer Prabhakar Pradhan has filed in the city's High Court, alleging that the USA's intelligence agency is responsible for "tiring out" India's young players and causing much shame to the national team.

"It is a CIA mischief. It wants to humiliate our players in international matches," read a Public Interest Litigation filed yesterday that also demanded an inquiry against the Indian board under the Commission of Inquiry Act. Pradhan also argued that students across the country were being distracted due to the busy international calendar and subsequently falling behind in their school and university work.

"It is for the citizens to play or see the matches. When I was a student, I never watched matches when there were exams," he said while adding the his "friend" and former Indian captain Ajit Wadekar could be readily persuaded to file and affidavit in his support.

Swift to present a dead bat to the attempted googly was Chief Justice Anil Dave, who rejected the plea by saying, matter-of-factly, "It is not necessary."

Case closed.

Stuart Broad smites another villain © DC Thomson & Co Ltd

After a string of skirmishes with umpires and a penchant for the odd verbal, Stuart Broad would make a decent cartoon villain. Yet because each tempestuous expletive is spat through a face of utter cherubic innocence, Broad has been selected to feature in a special Sport Relief edition of the BeanoMAX magazine.

Looking every bit the comic-book hero, Broad overcomes the dastardly Roger the Dodger, who sinks to all kinds ill-mannered tactics to defeat the England star, including putting magnets in the ball.

The Sport Relief BeanoMAX features a batch of other sports stars including Michael Owen, Amir Khan and Lawrence Dallaglio and goes on sale on February 18.

© AFP

They may have formed a mighty coalition on the cricket field, architects of their country’s greatest cricket moments. But former Sri Lankan captains Sanath Jayasuriya and Arjuna Ranatunga are now cast against each other in the political arena. Jayasuriya has announced his intentions to enter politics and is expected to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections as a candidate of the ruling United People Freedom Alliance (UPFA) while Ranatunga, formerly with the UPFA, has backed the defeated opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka. And for good measure the pupil has thumbed his nose at the master in another way: “I will not give up cricket though I am coming into politics,” Jayasuriya recently said, ending the debate on Ranatunga’s comment that active cricket players should not join politics.

In an amazing coup, Fly Emirates XI – a team of amateurs who juggle cricket with busy jobs - have recruited Shahid Afridi in a bid to claim a shock victory at the inaugural Emirates Airline Twenty20 competition.

The talismanic ball-biting allrounder will be lining up alongside porters, pursers, check-in staff, baggage handlers and cargo operators as they attempt to upset the odds against some of South Africa and England’s most talented Twenty20 players, with Cape Cobras, Surrey Lions and Sussex Sharks also due to take part.

“It is going to be a tough challenge, but I am looking forward to it immensely,” said Afridi. “I always enjoy my time in Dubai and am very excited about playing in the first ever Emirates Airline Twenty20 tournament. I know there is a real passion among cricket fans in the UAE and it will be great to play in front of them.”

Nigel Fernandez, the 32-year-old Fly Emirates XI captain who works as an Airport Services Supervisor is delighted his team will get the opportunity to learn from such a naturally-gifted player. “I can’t believe that Shahid Afridi will be playing for us,” he said. “He is among the best players in the world at the moment and to have him alongside us will give us great confidence. He is a player I greatly admire. He is a natural talent who can win matches singlehandedly. It will be an incredible experience for everyone in the team and a real honour to line up beside him.”

© Getty Images

Anyone who heard Bill Lawry’s acceptance speech after being inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame on Monday night could have been forgiven for thinking they were listening to a parody by the Twelfth Man. Lawry brought the house down at the Allan Border Medal ceremony with a speech that could easily have come from the Bill Lawry, This is Your Life album.

On that classic expletive-filled recording, Lawry’s fictionalised wife can’t make it to his big night because it clashes with an important bowls tournament. And as it turns out, it wasn’t that far from the mark, as the real-life Lawry explained that his wife Joy hadn’t joined him for his Hall of Fame honour.

“She’s not here tonight because she’s got no time for the Australian Cricket Board because they treated us like second-rate citizens back then, the wives in particular,” Lawry said. “She’s stood firm for 50 years and she’s not going to budge and good luck to her.”

He also made mention of his fellow Hall of Fame inductee Graham McKenzie, who as a 19-year-old set out for his first Ashes tour in 1961 with his mother asking Richie Benaud to keep an eye on him. Benaud reportedly saw the bevy of young beauties surrounding McKenzie before they set sail and replied that he looked quite capable of looking after himself.

Lawry shared a cabin with McKenzie on the ship and confirmed Benaud’s assessment of their new team-mate. “We were at sea for 21 days and I spent 14 nights sleeping in the bloody life-raft. McKenzie was just absolutely magnificent!”

Ewen Thompson’s perseverance has been talked about in New Zealand domestic circles. Nothing can stop him from bowling, not even a kebab stuck in his throat. The Central Districts left-arm fast bowler bowled ten overs on the trot and even took a catch in the semi-final match against Canterbury at Village Green on Saturday despite a piece of meat lodged in his oesophagus from the previous day.

It blocked food and liquid intake which led to dehydration during the game. He was taken to hospital, placed on drips and the meat was removed.

"ET is kicking himself a bit because he is supposed to watch what he eats,” Central Districts manager Lance Hamilton told the Dominion Post. “He was in a rush to eat before training [on Friday] and he scoffed down a kebab and obviously some meat got stuck.”

Stanley Johnson spent a lifetime touring the world watching cricket, and after he died watching a match in New Zealand in December - his 230th overseas Test – he will be going on one final ashes tour, as his friends scatter his remains at his 12 favourite grounds around the world."Stan had no real home,” said Anthony Robinson, a friend. “He just travelled the world watching cricket."

Johnson, 72, left money for friends to visit grounds around the world with his ashes and their tour will include his home town of Accrington, Oswaldtwistle, Old Trafford, The Oval, Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Wankhede in Mumbai, Premadasa in Colombo, the Basin Reserve in Wellington, the Sydney Cricket Ground, St. George's Park in Port Elizabeth, Harare Sports Club and Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad. Johnson, a former accountant, also included money in his will for friends to have "a locally-brewed beer" while wearing Stan Johnson Ashes Tour T-shirts at each stage of the journey.

	Jonathan Trott's run-out during the Ashes decider at The Oval has bagged the photographer, Gareth Copley, a notable prize © PA Photos

The PA cricket photographer, Gareth Copley, has been announced as the winner of the sports action category in the prestigious World Press Photo contest, after his shot of Jonathan Trott being run out during the 2009 Ashes decider at The Oval was deemed the best entry in its category from a field of more than 100,000 photos.

“I knew the results would be announced today, so I looked on the internet, checked my emails and saw this,” a shocked Copley told the British Journal of Photography.

A regular member of the touring England press pack, Copley was named as the SJA British Sports Photographer of the Year back in 2007, but until today his real claim to fame was his jinx-like tendencies on overseas tours. Until their victory at Durban this winter, England had never won an away Test match when Copley had been sat on the boundary.

According to the SJA newsblog, the judges awarded prizes to 63 photographers from 23 countries, after spending two weeks reviewing a record 101,960 photographs by 5,847 photographers, from 128 different nations.

Copley added that he always enters the contest, which is only open to professional photographers, in order to receive the annual book that is sent to all participants. This time, he will also be receiving a prize of 10,000 euro and a camera, which will be presented at a ceremony in Amsterdam on May 2.

Cricketers have had all sorts of things named after them – grounds, stands, traffic signals, and now ale. The first pint of Trueman Ale was pulled at Skipton’s Copper Dragon brewery by former international umpire Dickie Bird, who said his old pal Fred would have “wholeheartedly approved” of an ale being named after him. The request to have ale named after Trueman was made to the brewery boss by Fred’s wife, Veronica.

“If Fred had been here he’d have enjoyed himself. Fred, my old pal, wherever you are this is for you. Cheers,” Dickie Bird said, before taking his first sip.

Legendary West Indies batsman Brian Lara has been robbed of cash, jewellery and several personal belongings – including more than 40 VVIP tickets for the Beyoncé concert to be held later this month at the Queen's Park Savannah – with a combined value of $1 million. The items were in a safe which was removed from Lara’s home. Lara also lost the honorary 'Order of Australia' which was bestowed on him by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Port-of-Spain last year.

Six people have since been arrested for the theft from his Lady Chancellor mansion, with police believing it to have been an inside job. “It has to be people who knew exactly where to go, and they knew what they were looking for...They timed him very well before making their move,” a police source was quoted as saying by the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian.

The theft was discovered during the early hours of Wednesday morning by Lara. Astonishingly, it appears the safe was stolen while he was asleep in another room in the house. Lara told investigators that at around 8pm, he was watching television when he fell asleep. He said he got up at around 2am and discovered the safe missing from a bedroom. This is not the first time Lara has suffered at the hands of thieves at his home.

The Ireland cricket team are lending their support to the 'Shave or Dye' fundraising campaign launched by Today FM earlier this week. Members of both the team and management will be either shaving or dyeing their hair in aid of the campaign for the Irish Cancer Society. The team are currently in Dubai for the World Twenty20 Qualifiers which takes place from February 9-13.

"It really is a fantastic charity, and we're delighted to be able to support such a worthy cause,” explained Trent Johnston. “Obviously it's a bigger sacrifice for some than others losing their hair! I know Niall and Kevin O'Brien have a few different colours in mind, but I suspect green may be the winner. Their sister Ciara is a bit worried though, as there's a family wedding on March 27 and she isn't thrilled by the prospect of having her wedding album ruined!"

Details of the event, and how to donate can be found here.

A group of cricketers in New Zealand took the Trans-Tasman rivalry to a new level, participating in the longest cricket game of all time. Even the timeless Test in 1939 failed to measure up to what a determined bunch from the Cornwall Cricket Club, along with a few extras from Greenlane and Ellerslie, achieved; they went past the record of 66 hours and 16 minutes, set by an Australian team, to raise funds for the Starship Foundation, a children’s health initiative. And they're not done yet, for they're aiming for 100 hours.

Twenty-four players took part in the monumental feat, breaking the record at 4.14am on Wednesday. The 100-hour mark will be reached on early Thursday. It’s not the first time Cornwall Cricket Club has undertaken this ardous task. They were the record-holders in 2008, playing for 55 hours, before their neighbours overtook them. “We’ve got unfinished business. The last time we did it for 55 hours and we could have kept on going. We’ve got a bit of an alliance going on. It’s us verses the Aussies,” Mike Butler, a participant from the club, was quoted as saying on New Zealand Cricket website. “It’s a real relief to have reached that 66 hour mark this morning."

How do the teams of 12 cope? They fight the heavens, dirty themselves in the rain, take turns to eat and sleep and use a special ball and light machines to battle it out. “The weather has been friendly to us except for Monday when the heavens opened and flooded the ground! But we were out there between overs trying to clear the water,” Butler said. “We also use a special ball so we can see it at night. We’ve got light machines to help us see at night. It’s no MCG but it does the job!”

All for a noble cause.