World Cup Diary (11 June 1999)
Anneka Rice might have done cricket a service after all since implying at a sponsorship launch at Lord's that she did not even like the game
11-Jun-1999
11 June 1999
World Cup Diary
Charles Randall
Anneka Rice might have done cricket a service after all since
implying at a sponsorship launch at Lord's that she did not even like
the game.
Damage seemed to have been done when the TV presenter representing
the juice firm Outspan, one of the World Cup sponsors, at last
month's media conference, said with a grimace that cricket was a
"dodgy game".
However, Anneka enjoyed watching her first game so much - last week's
Super Six game between Australia and India at the Oval - that she
asked to see today's match there between Zimbabwe and Pakistan. And
her enthusiasm was apparently not fired simply because some nearby
India supporters chanted her name during their team's better moments.
Outspan chose Rice because market research had identified the biggest
juice buyers to be mothers with young children, and they accepted
that her media views on cricket were typical for many women. The
ripples from the controversy actually helped.
An Outspan official said: "She enjoyed the atmosphere at the Oval and
the occasion, and she really took to the game. She was pleasantly
surprised." The ECB, too, can breath a sigh of relief.
Henry Blofeld, the most recognisable voice not on radio at the
moment, is recovering at home near Norwich after his narrow squeak on
the operating table. 'Blowers' needed three heart by-pass operations,
about 47 hours' surgery, and there was a crisis when his heart
stopped and his lungs collapsed. "One's lucky to be alive," he said.
The fund for Winston Davis, the former West Indies fast bowler who
needs 24-hour care because of his paralysis, has shot past £20,000 as
a result of the recent Viv Richards comeback match for the Bunbury XI
in Northamptonshire. Hundreds of cheques for small amounts were also
received when The Telegraph mentioned his plight a couple of weeks
ago.
The Winston Davis Fund: c/o Melanie Henson, 28 Eastfield Crescent,
Finedon, Northants NN9 5DJ.
Some old benches from Lord's - did we really watch cricket on those
for a day? - are up for sale at the charming cricket art, photography
and memorabilia exhibition at Nick Potter's basement gallery in
Sackville Street, London.
The teak benches, white-painted or natural, can be bought for £345
each. An original Vanity Fair watercolour of the Victorian player
Albert Hornby is on offer at £7,850, and an old Daily Telegraph bill
poster, featuring E W Swanton, has added a certain gravitas to the
exhibition at a very reasonable £275.
Prices were pushed up by bidding from Internet and Sky Television
viewers during last week's Phillips memorabilia auction at Bayswater.
It was no surprise that an 1864 Wisden Almanack, the first, was sold
for an unprecendented £7,475.
Source :: The Electronic Telegraph