Sellsy's Monday Supplement

Quality from Kevin Pietersen, just before the first Ashes Test, tweeting “No one has heard of Brisbane outside Oz!” It seems that KP and Stuart Broad are having a bit of banter with Aussie journalist on Twitter.

KP was pictured walking alone, listening to ear phones and wearing a rucksack as he arrived at Brisbane airport on Monday. Brisbane’s tabloid newspaper, The Courier Mail, put a picture on the front page with a headline stating “he’s so arrogant even his own team does not like him”.

KP thanked the reporter for the story. He wrote: “putting me on the front page does wonders for my ego! You've done me proud. Thank you x” then adding “I would have preferred a Sydney front page.....No one has heard of Brisbane outside Oz!”

Broad on the other hand, was somewhat different, as he was accused in asking that two spectators be ejected from the SCG for heckling him.

Broad was defending himself from accusations by Jimmy Smith, a former rugby league player who is now a radio journalist in Sydney.

Broad answered “If you're gonna make stuff up to get attention for yourself you may as well make it half decent. Pathetic.” Smith defended his claim by saying "not making it up Stuart. Heard directly from a witness. No knowledge of this then?" to which Broad replied “I think you can answer your last question from my previous tweets. Have a good day.”

This all stems from Broad not walking in the recent series here in the UK, where he edged the ball to slips and didn’t walk. Darren Lehmann, the Australian coach, then stoked the fire by asking the Australian fans to send “cheating” Broad home by making him cry following his refusal to walk in the Trent Bridge Test.

Somehow me thinks that this series could be a bit vocal, with loads of chatter, banter, abuse, sledging, whatever you want to call it. So who is going to have the last laugh? We will soon find out as the Ashes begin Wednesday night / Thursday morning, now how is my sleep pattern?

Nick Compton, who should be in Australia, has been keeping himself busy over the winter months by doing some excellent ambassadorial work.

He has visited a place called Compton, a suburb of Los Angeles. Just three years ago the FBI ranked it the 15th most dangerous place in the US. In the last six months alone there have been nearly 700 violent crimes. It is under gang rule and covered in their graffiti, the birthplace of drive-by shootings and drug warfare. In other words, the Compton name in LA is plains away from Lord’s, the home of the cover drive and the flick off the hip.

So why is Compton in Compton, well, there is a Compton Cricket Club, and Nick was intrigued and accepted an invitation to go over and see if he could help in a place rendered helpless.

In Nick’s words: “To give you an idea — three of the original Compton Cricket Club have since died and that is considered a pretty good survival rate in these parts. One of the victims, Jesse Cazarez, brother of fellow players Emidio and Ricardo, was killed in a drive-by shooting outside his home in February 2009, aged 20.”

“It was always my grandfather’s dream to give children who were deemed ‘at risk’ the opportunity to travel and go on tour, and reap the benefits of cricket with its sportsmanship and camaraderie. He wanted to convey the message of peace and cricket that the original members of the Compton CC have done. I’d like to realise my grandfather’s dream. It may not be the Ashes, but it’s certainly an exciting new adventure for me and not a bad way to spend the winter.”

The Daily Mail website has some very thought provoking pictures and more to the story about Cricket in the Hood! Well worth a look.

Nick is also an ambassador for FRANK Water, which saves lives through funding innovative and sustainable clean water projects in developing countries, and has recently come back from India, where he first become of their work during England’s tour last winter. More of this over the next few weeks, but anyway, well done Nick, great stuff.

 

Anyway, 5.27, time for skittles and Thatchers up the Cottage. Come on England!