Life can get tough for the 50-odd IPL cheerleaders with the heat, cheering crowds and a whole lot of attention. But they take the good with the bad. And the good, for them, is Bangalore, according to a straw poll of their favourite centres conducted ahead of Wednesday’s game between Rajasthan and Delhi. Hindustan Times reported that Bangalore was rated their favourite city while Mohali, the suburb of Chandigarh, ranked at the bottom. “The Mohali crowds get very crude and nasty,” one of the cheerleaders told the paper, “they look as if they’ll get violent.” The atmosphere in Bangalore was described as “excellent” and Mumbai was voted their second favourite city. Another north Indian city, Delhi, was deemed as just “okay” by the cheerleaders. So could there be any connection to the fact that Mumbai and Bangalore are currently the top two teams in the IPL?

Shoaib Malik is reportedly engaged to marry Hyderabad-based Indian tennis sensation Sania Mirza, and the pair is set to tie the knot in April. This has been confirmed by the Pakistani allrounder on his twitter feed, and by Imran Mirza, father of the bride. Shoaib had earlier hinted that he was on the verge of getting married. “I desire to get married soon. You will soon get some good news but it depends on my family. No one can say what will happen, but it will take place with the concurrence of my family,” Shoaib had said. The new development comes barely 20 days after Malik was handed a one-year ban by the PCB in the aftermath of Pakistan’s disastrous tour of Australia. Sania, like her fiancé, has gone through a tough time recently, with a failed engagement to businessman Sohrab Mirza which was called off in January, and a floundering tennis career. This one is truly a match fixed in heaven.

In a continuation of his laudable charity work in India, former Australian captain Steve Waugh was back in the country to meet and play sport with children from Mumbai’s slums. Waugh was in the city on behalf of the Magic Bus project, backed by the Laureus World Sports Academy, of which he is a member. Magic Bus is a sport for development project which helps to improve the lives of children living below the poverty line. Mumbai’s overwhelming slums have produced famous personalities in sports and various other fields and Waugh did his bit in trying to make a difference to their lives. His contribution to Udayan, a home for children of leprosy patients near Kolkata, has been well documented. “I have a 24-year history with India and am inspired by the people of this great country. For over 12 years I have been involved in charity work in India and over this time learnt a lot about the challenges that young people face," Waugh said. "So many of India's children do not have the opportunity to meet their full potential. Magic Bus is an inspirational programme making a difference for some of the children in India.”

Laureus gives you a chance to win an exclusive cricket bat signed by Waugh. The competition ends midnight March 31. Click here for details.

Injuries are part of a pace bowler's life, but Gloucestershire seamer Ian Saxelby has found a bizarre way of putting himself out of action after dislocating his shoulder during an appeal.

It's the second time during the winter he has suffered a dislocation having also done it while climbing out of the pool when he was with the England performance squad in South Africa.

"It was pretty embarrassing and I am taking some stick over it," he told the Bristol Evening Post. "I don't think I'll bother to appeal when the season starts. I'll leave it to the keeper and slips."

The scourge of Pakistan's cricketers, a self-styled moral crusader and head of the national assembly's standing committee on sports Jamshed Dasti has been forced to resign from his seat...after allegations that his MA degree in Islamic Studies was fake.

Dasti stepped down after being given little option by a six-judge bench of the Supreme Court who were looking into the case filed against his certificate in religious education. Geo News reported that Dasti could not answer a volley of basic questions about Islam or even his education hurled at him by the judges. The judges ultimately gave him the option to either be sacked or step down himself and he chose the latter.

The news - and the nature of it - is sure to bring a smile to the faces of many in the cricket establishment, including PCB officials and players such as Younis Khan. Dasti shot to a dubious infamy after he alleged, in the aftermath of Pakistan's semi-final loss in the Champions Trophy, that the side had fixed matches. He summoned Younis to a hearing in the national assembly, where Younis resigned in protest at the treatment. Dasti was widely lambasted for having instigated the chain of events.

Undeterred by the criticism, he continued his campaign to sort out the PCB, regularly calling top officials including chairman Ijaz Butt to hearings and grilling them over any number of issues, from board finances, to selection, to results on the field. With uncertainty over whether he is allowed to stand for elections again, it is unlikely he will be meddling in the country's cricket affairs anytime soon.

What connects Ellyse Perry, Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine? All these women have represented their country in cricket as well as another sport. Perry also represents Australia in football, Bates was part of the New Zealand basketball team at the Beijing Olympics and Devine is a hockey international for New Zealand.

Add to that list: Liz Perry. Perry made her debut for the New Zealand women’s hockey team, the Black Sticks, last year and will play her first international cricket match at the World Twenty20 in the West Indies in May. “It has always been a goal of mine to play for two teams at an international level,” Perry said. "I never thought it would happen so quickly because the hockey international programme has kept me busy."

Nothing ceases to amaze in Pakistan cricket. In less than a fortnight you could go from being branded a bad influence to being rewarded for your performance by none other than the President himself.

On March 10 the PCB - the President of Pakistan is its patron - banned Younis Khan (and Mohammad Yousuf) from playing for Pakistan in any format for an indefinite period because his infighting - according to the PCB - brought down the morale of the team and resulted in the side's disastrous, winless tour of Australia. Shahid Afridi, of ball-biting infamy, was punished by the PCB for that very incident during the Perth ODI, where he was captain, with a fine of Rupees 3 million. On Tuesday, both Younis and Afridi were awarded the President's Pride of Performance Award. Seriously. Both were nominated for this award a few months ago and their names were recommended to the President. Talk about changing perceptions.

We’ve heard of cricket bridging boundaries between countries – remember India vs Pakistan, Jaipur 1987 and Chennai 1999? – but has had limited opportunities in India’s bitterly fractious national politics. Step up the IPL. According to the Telegraph, Shashi Tharoor, the junior – but very high-profile – foreign affairs minister, sought the help of Arun Jaitley, one of the senior-most members of the opposition BJP, ahead of the bidding for the two new IPL franchises. Tharoor is a known cricket fan and helped Rendezvous Sports World to win the Kochi bid; Jaitley heads the Delhi cricket association.

The Telegraph quoted “sources” as saying Tharoor sounded out Jaitley for some informal advice on the IPL’s bidding process – the sort of reachout he would harp on during his days at the UN. Jaitley , though, has denied that Tharoor ever approached him “He did not ask me,” Jaitley told the paper. “He is a very good friend of mine and I knew he was speaking to various people but I was certainly not one of them.”

Adolf Hitler wanted to use cricket to train German troops according a new book about to be published by the BBC’s former World Affairs Editor, John Simpson.

However Hitler, who was taught the basics of the game, found the complex rules too much to comprehend and wanted to do away with the use of pads because they were “unmanly and un-German”.

Simpson’s claims are based on a report in the Daily Mirror in 1930 by Oliver Locker-Lampson, a British right-wing MP and Nazi sympathiser, who claimed Hitler thought cricket would be the ideal preparation for war.

In his book Simpson says that, after recover from injuries from being shot, he challenged the British to a “friendly” game but afterwards said the sport was “insufficiently violent”.

The result of the match was never recorded and neither was it possible to confirm claims that Hitler was dismissed for a golden duck.

Picture perfect: The Indian team take a speedboat ride during their tour of New Zealand in 2002-03 © Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble, on the boundary’s edge, or from the team balcony, camera in hand, ready to capture a historic moment for posterity, has been a common sight for years. His passion for photography, however, was not restricted to cricket and now you can see what Kumble’s been capturing in his book, Wide Angle, which was released by Shane Warne in Bangalore on March 17.

“I always told my team-mates that while I am in the Indian team, there will be no privacy for them because I would be taking pictures,” Kumble said at the launch. “I have always been fascinated with photographs. I travelled on my first longish trip from Bangalore to Srinagar for an Under-17 national camp. My brother gave me a small aim-and-shoot camera, and you could say the bug bit me then. I have always had a camera with me on every tour after that.

“There have been some interesting events over the years and, as I said, there have been great characters in the team – [Venkatapathy] Raju, [Javagal] Srinath, Vinod Kambli and Harbhajan. Bhajji is the one of the funniest guys in the team, he is always a livewire irrespective of what may have happened. And Srinath, with all his antics, he was always game.”

Kumble’s favourite picture is of the city of Durban, taken from the 17th floor of his hotel at 4 am on a stormy morning. His favourite cricket shot is of Sachin Tendulkar reaching his 35th Test century, breaking Sunil Gavaskar’s world record.

It is the end of an era. By mutual consent, after a 27-year partnership Bakers will no longer be sponsoring the Bakers Mini Cricket programme after its contract with Cricket South Africa expires in June.

The programme is the longest running developmental sports programme in South Africa. Over 100,000 primary school children from over 5,000 schools take part in the programme annually, and it was the starting point for some of the country’s most famous cricketers, including Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher and Makhaya Ntini.

The brainchild of Ali Bacher, who was managing director of the South African Cricket Union at the time, the progamme was designed to bring together young children of all races to play cricket together in a structured environment that promoted racial harmony and healthy relationships.

“It is with much regret that CSA announces that the contract with National Brands Limited, through its brand, Bakers Biscuits, will not be renewed this year,” said Gerald Majola, Cricket South Africa’s chief executive. "Over many years, we have together pioneered the way for children, boys and girls, from all communities to gain entry into the game through Bakers Mini Cricket.

“There has been an accelerated growth of cricket in South Africa and CSA wants to harness this growth in terms of our strategic plan for South African cricket in the future," he added. “The expansion of the game, with mini cricket at the heart, is essential to this strategic plan. Consequently, we have secured a long-term partnership with a major international brand to assist with mini cricket in this regard and an announcement will be forthcoming soon.

“History will record the critical role that Bakers has played in developing South African cricket to this point, and CSA will always be grateful for this.”

From the creator of the ‘Dil-scoop’, here comes his latest creative offering. And this time the canvas has shifted from the cricket field to the big screen. Yes, after electrifying the cricket world with his audacious batting at the top of the order, Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan is now set to dazzle tinsel town.

Dilshan, who had started writing a film script almost two years ago, confirmed it was now ready. Speaking to the Times of India Dilshan said, “I am relieved now as I am done with the script.” And true to his unconventional batting style, Dilshan said he had worked on a “different” plot line. “It’s [the script] is very different from the conventional ones. I have added a twist to it by putting in love and loads of thrills and drama,” he said. Though it is set to be a Sri Lankan film, Dilshan plans to market the movie in India as well. The title and cast is yet to be decided, but don’t be surprised if the cast has an Indian connection. “I am thinking about the cast, though I want to have someone like Hrithik Roshan in it,” said Dilshan.

Can the money, glitz, glamour (and the cricket of course) of the IPL entice 40-year-old Brian Lara out of retirement? The fourth IPL player auction is in a few months and, in the middle of a few laughs during a television appearance ahead of the Kolkata-Bangalore match, Lalit Modi told Lara that he should make himself available for sale. “Lara was always our first choice,’’ Modi said, ‘‘He was the first one I had approached when the IPL was conceived. Unfortunately, he was not available then (because of his ICL connections).”

Later, on Twitter, Modi said: "Spent the last 24 hours with Brian Lara in Kolkata. He is excited of the prospect to be available for IPL 4. Told him to get into training."

Lara, who quit international cricket after the 2007 World Cup, did not refuse. ‘‘Maybe it’s time for me to hit the gym again,” he said light-heartedly. ‘‘Maybe in four months I’ll be in a position to decide. It all depends on how my body reacts.”

IPL 2010 is only two days and three matches old and already four captains have been fined because their teams maintained a slow over-rate. The first to cop the whopping $20,000 fine was Sourav Ganguly, in the tournament opener between Kolkata Knight Riders and Deccan Chargers on Friday. Ganguly’s team was found to be three overs behind the over-rate.

On Saturday, Mumbai Indians were assessed to be two overs behind against Rajasthan Royals, and Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils only one over each in their match in Mohali, but all three captains – Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Kumar Sangakkara – was slapped with a $20,000 fine.

By Osman Samiuddin

Geo Super, Pakistan’s only local sports channel, is not broadcasting this year’s IPL after cable operators in Pakistan threatened to boycott any channel showing the league.

The channel signed a three-year contract last season to broadcast the IPL – having also shown the inaugural season – and was preparing to do so this year as well but had to shelve their plans a few days ago in light of the boycott threat.

“There was a press release and circular from the Cable Association of Pakistan saying that any channel showing it would be boycotted by them,” Mohammad Ali, the channel head, told Cricinfo. “Their decision is due to no Pakistani players being signed up this year at the auction.”

The decision has hit the channel hard, not only its revenue streams, but also in depriving them of content for the next 45 days. “We are an events-based channel and when a situation like this happens, that hurts us as much as the revenue streams hit. We had content for a month and a half and now we have to reschedule it,” Ali said.

Generally, the urban TV viewer has a number of alternatives to choose from as far as sports are concerned. Most cable operators have a wide range of international sports channels on offer, often illegally shown. But even those channels, such as the South African SuperSports network, on which IPL games would be normally available are currently not available.

There are reports, however, that in cities such as Rawalpindi and Lahore, and other areas of Punjab, the IPL is being shown by some cable operators.

Zimbabwe Cricket has been forced into a major overhaul of its IT systems after hackers broke through their security settings enabling them to steal passwords and send out emails.

It isn't the first time ZC has had such problems. Last year their website was hacked and users visiting it were redirected to other sites.

"Since the security breach was first detected in December 2009, several ZC employees have fallen victim to malicious hackers who have broken into private and company email accounts for the purpose of either generating emails in the name of the organization or circulating classified information," said ZC's head of media and communications, Shingai Rhuhwaya.

"The security breach is serious. We communicate regularly with our foreign-based counterparts on a variety of sensitive issues including local and international player travelling logistics, banking details and future tours programmes."

So if anyone receives an email from Ozias Bvute in the next few days it's probably wise not to open it.

Over the years, Matthew Hayden has gained the reputation for using the long handle to good effect, and at IPL 2010, he will literally be doing just that. The former Australia star is set to use the innovative Mongoose bat, with a blade that is 33% shorter and a handle 43% longer than the conventional bat. Despite the modifications, the bat’s dimensions are within ICC’s weight and size stipulations. Hayden will not be the first batsmen to wield the Mongoose – Dwayne Smith, Azhar Mahmood, Stuart Law and Lou Vincent have used the radical blade in domestic tournaments, though it is yet to feature in international cricket or the IPL.

Despite its radical dimensions, the Mongoose is said to generate more power and speed than the normal bat. Hayden has been working with the manufacturer to customize the bat to his requirements, and early signs are that he has taken a liking to it – he was clearing the ground effortlessly on Chennai Super Kings’ first day of practice at their home-base. In particular, Hayden was pleased with the big sweet spot and the thicker edges that meant a higher chance of hitting boundaries.

The Cricket Society and MCC Book of the Year Award shortlist has been announced, with biographies of Imran Khan and Harold Larwood and a historical perspective on South African cricket included in the five-book list.

Vic Marks, cricket correspondent for The Observer, chairs the panel of judges and said: “There is a strong international theme to this year’s list. All five books have their advocates among the judges and I anticipate frank and lively exchanges when we meet later this month to determine a winner.”

The competition, run by The Cricket Society since 1970 and in partnership with MCC since 2009, is for books nominated by members and not publishers and has become highly regarded by writers and publishers. Previous winners have included Mike Brearley, EW Swanton and David Frith.

The £3000 prize, will be presented at an awards evening in the Long Room at Lord’s on Monday 26 April to an expected sell-out audience of 200 people. Scyld Berry, editor of the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, claimed the award three years ago and will be a keynote speaker at the event.

The shortlist:

• Of Didcot and the demon: The cricketing times of Alan Gibson; by Anthony Gibson, Fairfield books
• Harold Larwood; by Duncan Hamilton, Quercus Books
• Empire and cricket: The South African experience, 1884-1914; edited by Bruce Murray and Goolam Vahed, Unisa Press
• Golden boy: The bad old days of Australian cricket; by Christian Ryan, Allen and Unwin
• Imran Khan: The cricketer, the celebrity, the politician; by Christopher Sandford, HarperCollins

The other nine books on the longlist:

• The captains’ tales; by David Fulton, Mainstream Publishing
• Inside the box, my life with Test Match Special; by Peter Baxter, Quiller Publishing
• Cricket in the park; by Roger Packham, Methuen
• From Sophia to Swalec: A history of cricket in Cardiff; by Andrew Hignell, The History Press
• And God created cricket; by Simon Hughes, Doubleday
• Testing times: In pursuit of the Ashes; by Andrew Strauss, Hodder and Staughton
• John Shepherd, The loyal cavalier; by Paddy Briggs, ACS
• Cricket grounds from the air; by Zaki Cooper, Daniel Lightman and Ian Hay, Myriad Books
• From commons to Lord’s, Volume 1: 1700-1750; by Ian Maun, Roger Heavens

He’s been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately, but not this time. Shahid Afridi – brutal batter, canny legspinner, pitch pirouetter, ball biter - has been appointed Pakistan’s national ambassador for the environment. Seriously. He will promote this noble cause and raise awareness among the public, Pakistan’s federal minister for environment announced. The minister believed Afridi would be ideal to convey the “soft” image of Pakistan and thereby spread the message of conservation at the national and global level.

A vada-pav seller’s son, Gurudas Shenoy, finds himself on the cusp of realising his dream to become a cricketer. Between maintaining attendance at his engineering college and helping his father at the vada-pav shop – the family’s only source of income – Shenoy feared his dream of becoming a fast bowler would die an early death. But thanks to a nationwide pace bowling hunt, Shenoy is all set to train under Australian coach Rodney Marsh at the ICC’s Global Cricket Academy in Dubai. Shenoy, who took five wickets on his Kanga League debut, caught the eye of former India fast bowler Manoj Prabhakar at the talent hunt. “The best thing about his bowling is the nip that he gets off the wicket,” Prabhakar told the Indian Express. “He is quick and can generate 140-plus. If he is properly trained back home, he has a long future.”

Sachin Tendulkar's record has united a nation © DC Thomson & Co Ltd

Only Sachin Tendulkar, perhaps, can unite India’s often fractious, bitterly divided members of Parliament. His record-breaking ODI double-century has prompted the MPs to put aside their differences over budget deficits and spiraling inflation and their concerns over terrorism and armed insurgency to demand that Tendulkar be awarded the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour.

The award – which translates as “Jewel of India’ - has been conferred on 41 people since it was first instituted in 1954, and has seen only three recipients in the past decade. It’s also an award more associated with age and experience – the average age of a Bharat Ratna is 60-plus, though Rajiv Gandhi’s posthumous award came when he would have been 47. No sportsman has been given the award but it’s fair to say that, as in most other spheres, Tendulkar has a shot at creating history. He even has the public backing of his former team-mate Sourav Ganguly, who said only a Bharat ratna deserved the Bharat Ratna. The man himself, typically, says he would prefer to focus on his game. No rest for bowlers, then.

For 21 years, Stephen Boock had to live with the dubious honour of having the worst bowling figures in New Zealand first-class history, until February 28, 2010. The former left-arm spinner had his record taken away by yet another left-armer, Canterbury’s Jason Donnelly, in a Plunket Shield match against Northern Districts in Rangiora. Donnelly leaked 257 runs and took four wickets in 69 overs of toil as Northern Districts piled on 726. Boock’s experience was relatively more embarrassing, to put it mildly, as it came in a Test match, at Eden Park against Pakistan in 1989. On a pitch that was glued together, Boock sent down 70 overs, conceded 229 runs but took three wickets less than Donnelly. The main tormenters were Shoaib Mohammad and Javed Miandad, who scored 112 and 271 respectively.

After his record was taken away, Boock found time for sarcasm. "Another left-armer though, that's outstanding," Boock told the New Zealand Herald. "At least it's kept in the family." To rub it in further, the New Zealand cricket board launched a baseball card-type promotion and the write-up on the back of Boock’s card mentioned his forgettable record. "You would like to think that memories are made of more positive stuff," he said. "Mine, card No 24 I think, was the only one with a negative write-up, leading me to wonder about the intentions of the person who wrote it."

The hockey World Cup in India got off to a flying start with underdogs South Africa scoring the first goal of the tournament against the more fancied Spanish side. And how is that relevant to cricket, you may ask. Julian Hykes, who scored the opening goal, is an aspiring cricketer who has represented Border twice in List A matches. Hykes follows in the fine tradition of South African cricketers who have made a mark in both games – Jonty Rhodes was selected for the national hockey side during the 1996 Olympics, an offer he had to refuse due to cricketing commitments. Despite being equally proficient at both games during his younger days, Hykes has focused more on hockey since breaking into the national team in 2007. However, like Rhodes, he too is keen on making a mark in cricket. “For the last three years I have been focusing more on hockey. I am 27, and am running against time if I want to make it big in cricket, but I haven’t lost hope,” Hykes told the Indian Express.

The cricketing connection does not end there – the Australia team is coached by Ric Charlesworth, a silver medallist at the Montreal Olympics in 1976, who also played 47 first-class games for Western Australia.