On the free days during a tour, some players go go-karting, some go sailing, some go shopping; some run marathons. South Africa are playing the third ODI of their tour of New Zealand on March 3, in Auckland, but coach Gary Kirsten and Test captain Graeme Smith hope to make it to New Plymouth, more than 250km away, to run the Bayleys Mountain to Surf Marathon on the morning of March 4. The match on March 3 is a day-night game that could finish as late as 10pm, after which Kirsten, Smith, conditioning coach Rob Walter, physio Brandon Jackson and perhaps other members of the squad plan to leave for New Plymouth and get there at 4am, just three hours before the start of the marathon.

Kirsten has run just one marathon before and needs to run this race to qualify for the Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town, which he wants to participate in. He will run the full 42.5km race. To put that in perspective, he will be running the equivalent of 2113 lengths of a cricket pitch. This, in the middle of a tour. Smith, who will captain South Africa in the first Test, on March 7, plans to run half the marathon, with Walter completing the other leg.

The Mountain-Surf marathon is reputed for being one of the quickest in the world because it is largely downhill. That said, it is still a marathon in the middle of a tour.

Michell Johnson's wife Jessica Bratich Johnson wore a dress by Zhivago © Getty Images

Matthew Wade’s date for the Allan Border Medal awards night, Julia Barry, wore a dress she designed herself and made by Shirley Keon from Keon Couture, while Mitchell Johnson's wife, Jessica Bratich, accessorised herself. How do we know that? Cricket Australia’s commitment to make the awards night a glamorous event had them send out a press release with details of those attending and what they'd be wearing - in some cases down to jewellery and accessories. The event, held at Crown Casino in Melbourne, saw players and their dates arriving in 30 cars - the press release also detailing who would arrive in which car. And, hours after Oscar night, Hollywood was in attendance too - Shane Warne turned up to be inducted into the hall of fame.

Sachin Tendulkar was presented with a bust of Sir Donald Bradman, alongside his SCG honorary membership © Getty Images

Top form, team successes and that century might elude Sachin Tendulkar on his trip down under, but seldom does the celebrated batsman complete a tour without being, well, celebrated. On Sunday, Tendulkar was conferred honorary life membership at the Sydney Cricket Ground, ahead of India’s one-dayer against Australia at the venue. Alongside the membership, Tendulkar was presented with a bust of Sir Donald Bradman.

Tendulkar is only the second cricketer, after Steve Waugh in 2003, to be extended the honour, and the first overseas sportsman. “Cricket fans have been treated to many splendid innings by Sachin at the SCG, including his innings of 241 in 2004 where he shared a magnificent partnership of 353 with VVS Laxman,” the SCG trust chairman, Rodney Cavalier, said on the occasion. “Sachin has also conducted himself with grace and dignity throughout his career. I’m sure all members and cricket fans would welcome him back to the SCG at any time.”

New South Wales premier, Barry O’Farrell, who presented the award, was all praise for Tendulkar as well. “Sachin is one of the greatest cricketers ever and it’s only appropriate we honour him with life membership of one of the world’s greatest cricket grounds. The batting legend has said the SCG is his favourite ground outside of India and it’s no wonder when you look at his record at this ground.” Tendulkar averages 157 in five Tests at the SCG, with three hundreds.

David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd, the former England player and coach turned popular commentator, also played for Accrington football club before his cricket career took off and has now been made a member of the board.

"I am honoured to be a part of the ongoing success of the club. No matter where I am or what I am doing, my links with Accrington have never waned,” Lloyd said. "I was proud to become a shareholder last year and now look forward to assisting the board in its efforts to create a well-run, community-based football club we can all be proud of."

We now wait with interest for updates on Twitter along with the usual news about ‘Vipers’ and the ‘Brigadier.’

We’ve heard of underwater weddings and getting married in a hot-air balloon. But if you are a cricket lover and are planning to get married, here’s something that could be right up your alley. Lord’s – the home of cricket – is now licensed for civil marriage and civil partnership ceremonies. And if you do choose to say your holy vows there, some of the perks include - champagne on arrival, a three-course wedding breakfast and a personalised scoreboard message. And to top it all off, the three wedding packages on offer even include two tickets for the couple to a day of a Test match. And while you are there, you could even upgrade to include a tour of Lord’s as well. Starting a new innings takes on a very different meaning.

Cameron White might be out of form at the elite level, but he regained his touch with 147 in Melbourne's grade cricket on Saturday. And he nearly had to do it on a pitch that was the wrong length.

Don Bradman's Invincibles famously played on a pitch that was two yards short when they stopped over in Ceylon on the way to England in 1948. Ian Johnson became suspicious and had the pitch measured, and it was found to be only 20 yards long.

In this weekend's case, it was too long. The match between Prahran and White's side, Richmond, was brought to a pause in the second over when the Prahran and sometime Victoria allrounder Daniel Salpietro raised doubts about whethere the stumps had been placed too far back at either end.

"We bowled two overs with a pitch 24 metres [approximately 26 yards] long before we had to re-measure the pitch and start again half an hour later," White said. "The bowlers thought there was something a bit wrong. They got the tape measure out and found it was too long.

"There you go. The things that happen in club cricket!"

Virat Kohli has had a tough few months. Facing up to an inspired Australia attack aside, he’s not been on good terms with the fans and has had to man difficult press conferences. If he was looking for some light entertainment to take his mind off things, he might just have got it from an unexpected quarter: he has been named one of the ’10 best dressed international men’ by men’s lifestyle magazine GQ.

The latest issue of the magazine, which says that Kohli is as famous in India for his style as he is for his batting, puts the batsman at No. 3 on the list. Others on the list include the likes of actors Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling and Vincent Cassel, US President Barack Obama, and business tycoon Ratan Tata.

Mouthwash or tobacco? That’s the big question facing Cricket Australia, and they’ve decided to play it safe: the Australian board has pulled Hindi advertisements displayed at the grounds during the series against India, after being alerted that they could be promoting tobacco. Tobacco ads would reportedly fetch CA fines to the tune of Aus $66,000, since they breach the local tobacco advertising ban that was implemented in 1992.

"We asked [the Indian government's] advice because we are not familiar with the Hindi language," a CA spokesman said. "They came back and said it's an Indian mouthwash – or at least they said it's not a tobacco product. We don't have one million per cent certainty about all of the detail. It appears that there is a tobacco company with the same or similar brand name to the product that is being advertised. We have just become uneasy about it and said, let's withdraw this."

So you might see blank boards along the boundary starting with the India-Sri Lanka one-dayer in Perth on Wednesday. But CA is not in the clear just yet, with Australia’s health minister Tanya Plibersek saying the government has taken up the matter with the board.

"The Gillard government has received a number of complaints alleging that advertisements for tobacco products have been displayed at cricket grounds," Plibersek told News Limited newspapers. "The government is taking the allegations very seriously and has written to Cricket Australia seeking detailed information about the advertising."