Browsing Posts in Sport
Evel Knievel is nothing short of a legend. The ultimate motorcycle daredevil became a byword for outrageous stunts. He was simply driven to take things further than anyone else. Knievel’s fame reached such levels that his likeness was snapped up for toys and merchandise, and it is unlikely that the world will ever see a stunt superstar the like of him again.
What comes up must come down however. This infographic shows the stomach churning list of injuries that he incurred performing for the public. The figures show that you are 40 times more likely to be killed or hurt in a motorbike accident than when riding in a car. If you have a list of injuries like Evel Knievel though, it is probably time to adjust you riding style – as a rough guide the number of double decker buses you should be jumping on your way to work should be zero…
The clocks have changes and we are on ‘Summer Time’ again. Spring is in the air, and following a winter of Ashes glory for England (and a slightly less stellar showing at the world cup) the English domestic cricket season has got under way. The sun may be out here, but it is still a little early here for the most quintessential of summer sports. That is why the opening match was held in the perpetual sunshine of Abu Dhabi.
The match, between Notinghamshire and MCC has been the test bed for a few ideas that the English cricket authorities want to experiment with. With an eye to growing the role of day/night games in the English game, a pink ball was deployed. Feedback from bowlers seems to have been fairly positive, a fact no doubt helped by the fact that, going against previous experience, the pitch in Abu Dhabi did not seem to overly favour batters.
On day one of the four day test MCC went to bat first, and were all out for a total of 218 runs across 62.4 overs. Notinghamshire’s response was somewhat lacking, being bowled out for a total of 108 in just 38.1 overs.
The star player for MCC during the first day was undoubtedly Steve Kirby. Taking an impressive 5 wickets was the right-arm fast medium bowler Steve Kirby. The 33 year old, who has recently moved to Somerset took his incredible haul for the cost of just 29 runs, with four of the five batsmen being bowled out for a duck. Also impressing with the ball was young Afghani Hamid Hassan, who looks set to be a name to watch.
Kicking of the most English of English sports thousands of miles away in the desert was always going to be a controversial move. While it has its detractors, for players, the cricket authorities and even fans it has some advantages. You can now get direct flights from Britain to Abu Dhabi, and it is a good trip for cricket fans who didn’t make it to Australia or India. For the players, it is a chance to be seen and noticed outside of the bubble of domestic cricket – with the big bucks of Indian cricket, that can mean a lot.
