In the midst of recession charities like Oxfam would welcome any scraps that come their way. But a local store in Hertford landed a lot more than scraps when editions of the first four Wisden Cricketers’ Almanacks, bound up in a box, were dropped off at the shop.

Left in a 99p pile the staff quickly realised what good fortune had come their way and re-bound the four books- from 1864 to 1867 - before passing them on to auctioneers Bonhams, where they were sold on Tuesday for £8520.

The 1864 edition, which sold back then for a shilling, fetched £3120, the highest of the four editions. Wisden has been published yearly since that first edition and a Bonhams spokesman told reporters: "We're very pleased that the books have sold well and raised a lot of money for such a worthy cause."

It’s not quite as impressive as Paul the octopus predicting World Cup results, but meteorologists are already getting in on the act to tip the outcome of this year’s Ashes series. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Australia nearly always win the Ashes in summers when El Nino conditions have prevailed for the first half of the year.

Not since Bodyline have England claimed the urn in Australia after El Nino. The conditions bring lower than average rainfall across south-eastern Australia, which climate scientist Manoj Joshi believes helps dry out pitches to provide more bounce and spin.

On the other hand, Australia have won only five of 13 Ashes series after La Nina weather conditions. That means this year’s El Nino event might help Australia, although it depends on how quickly an expected La Nina comes along.

If that all sounds a bit too complicated, the alternative is simple. Just find an octopus who likes cricket.

He holds the record for the most runs in Tests and ODIs and the record for the most centuries as well; he was the first batsman to score fifty international hundreds and recently became the first to score a double century in ODIs. No surprise then that Sachin Tendulkar is perhaps the most popular cricketer in the world. He’s been conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna – India’s highest sports award – the Padma Shri and the Padma Vibhushan by the Indian government. And the latest feather in Tendulkar’s cap could be an honorary post with the Indian Air Force.

“The IAF has proposed to honour Sachin Tendulkar by granting him the honorary rank of Group Captain. We have sent the proposal to the Defence Ministry and they are considering it,” an IAF official told PTI. Once the Ministry clears it, the file will go to the prime minister's office and then to the president, the supreme commander of India’s armed forces, for approval. In 2008 allrounder Kapil Dev received the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel of the Territorial Army.

Jon-Jon Smuts, the Warriors and South Africa Under-19 batsman who was recently named in the South Africa Emerging Players squad to tour Australia next month, has broken a club record with an innings of 177 for Chorley, playing against Carnforth at Lodge Quarry in the United Kingdom, according to a report on the ECB’s webpage.

His innings eclipsed the previous best – 151 by Bob Yardley in 1978 – as the club’s highest individual score in the Northern League. After reaching his hundred in the 46th over of a 50-over game, Smuts went on the rampage, collecting 77 runs off 22 balls including ten sixes and three fours to set up a total of 278 for 6.

Carnforth bowlers Darren Nelson and John Denwood finished with the unsightly figures of 4 for 122 and 1 for 133, respectively, and the club then crashed to 139 all out in reply.

Do you know how to hurl? Neither did many of the Australians until they were given lessons by one of the legends of the sport. Ricky Ponting’s team, which is currently in Ireland, play the hosts in a one-off ODI in Dublin on Thursday. But on Monday, the Australians as well as the Irish team indulged in a spot of hurling at Clontarf under the guidance of one of the greats of the game, Kilkenny’s DJ Carey. Both teams played a Long Puc competition at Croke Park. The Australians started off with mixed results but got into the groove soon enough with big-hitting Cameron White looking the most natural. “They can certainly adapt,” Carey told Irish Times . “They’re very athletic and the eye-hand coordination is there.” Ponting, being competitive as ever, couldn’t wait to improve on what was a sluggish start at hurling for him. “I’m itching to get back out there and have another go,” he said. “It wasn’t the best start with the first couple of hits.”

The fear that corrupt cricketers could send coded messages to illegal bookmakers live on air means that the ICC will not allow broadcasters to strap microphones to players during one-day internationals, and could review their use in Twenty20 internationals as well, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Channel Nine, the Australian broadcaster, is trying to get the ICC to ease their stance, and argue that if players are allowed to be miked up in Twenty20s, then there is no reason they couldn’t be in ODIs.

''There is absolutely no difference as far as we're concerned, that is one thing we're going to investigate, we can't see any problems with it,'' said Brad McNamara, Nine’s executive producer of cricket. ''I think it is a little bit overprotective, we think they are being way oversensitive about it.”

''We allowed players to wear microphones in Twenty20s in the early days because it was a new form of the game and we wanted to give it every opportunity to succeed,'' said an ICC spokesman. ''There is a relaxation to players being miked in Twenty20s, but the board can review that decision if it wishes.''

The prospect of making your debut for one’s country can be thrilling enough, but what could possibly add more excitement to it? Definitely, a helping hand from a legend of the game. Pakistan’s rookie batsman Umar Amin is looking forward to making a successful debut for his country in the upcoming Asia Cup and he plans to do it by playing with a bat that belonged to none other than Sachin Tendulkar.

The bat was gifted to Amin, who plays for Rawalpindi, by Shoaib Akhtar after Amin played well in a domestic game last year. “I got the bat for scoring a match-winning innings in a domestic game and I still have it with me," said Amin. “It is a treasured possession for me. I intend to make my debut for Pakistan with that bat.” The 20-year old Amin has been a prolific scorer for Pakistan at the domestic level and has also enjoyed success with the Pakistan U-19 and A teams.

England’s cricketers no longer have to worry about the cars they drive. In a sponsorship deal with Jaguar, 11 of England’s contracted players got to choose a free XF, XK or XJ model. The players who benefited form the deal are James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Graham Onions, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss and Graeme Swann. In return, the players will be available to Jaguar for promotional appearances.

The Times reports the younger members of the squad went with the quickest car on offer - the supercharged XKR sports model (starting at $109,700) - while the “family men” went with the roomiest option - the XF saloon model (starting at $43,600).

As part of the deal, Jaguar will also form a strategic partnership with the ECB’s National Cricket Performance Centre. The deal is for four years and replaces the 2008 deal with Volkswagen that supplied the team with Touaregs.

Swann reacted to the news on his Twitter page, saying “Am going to give my mum and dad a lift home from Lord’s. I estimate at least ten ‘slow down son’ and five ‘you’re too close to that car’.”

The French are coming and they want to conquer Lord's. Banned as an alien sport by the Vichy regime 70 years ago, cricket has been introduced in primary schools in France, where, Adam Sage writes in the Times, “pupils are getting to grips with le coup d’équerre (the square cut), la balle courbée vers l’extérieur (the outswinger) and a triumphant cry of et alors (howzat).”

The prevalence of a sport traditionally mocked as an “incomprehensible activity practised by British eccentrics” can be put down to the widespread immigration of Britons and South Asians, who make up the bulk of France’s cricket-crazy community. The country has also established a state cricket diploma, which is expected to received official approval this year, in order to develop its own professional coaches.

To help its new coaches understand the MCC’s 42 laws and five appendices, France Cricket has translated them into French and published the translated version on its website for the first time. If you have ever wondered what the French term for bouncer is, the answer is rase-tête, which literally translates to head shaver.