Fletcher, film stars, fast bowlers

A change of direction
He was on the winning end of an epic Ashes series. He was on the receiving end of an Ashes whitewash. He coached England during a dismal World Cup and hung up his boots straight after. He then delivered stinging criticism of the nation's cricket's heroes in his book. Now, fascinated by the prospect of a sudden change in direction, Duncan Fletcher has decided to try his luck at rugby union.

"The big thing in rugby is changing direction," Fletcher told the Independent. If you can change direction, you've got a one-metre advantage over the opposition, and by the time they've woken up, you've stolen that metre. I find that fascinating." Wonder if there's any such thing as PUI (Playing Under the Influence) in rugby.

Hiding for justice
Imran Khan's change of direction, however, has brought him more trouble in the recent past than good fortune. In the latest instance, the former allrounder, and leader of the Tehreek-e-Insaaf party (Justice Movement), had to go into hiding after authorities surrounded his house wanting to arrest him following the imposition of a state of emergency in Pakistan. A jump over his house wall was what it took Imran to edge past his waiting captors, after which he has been moving around the city of Lahore, voicing his call: "Our aim is to continue the struggle and mobilise the youth of the country from underground."

The hardest hit
The imposition of the emergency was probably the worst thing to happen, in terms of the India-Pakistan series. For a brief period private television channels faced a blackout, resulting in angry cricket fans. It was the cricket betting market in Pakistan, however, that faced the brunt. A series that would otherwise have witnessed a heavy movement of cash, received only lukewarm response thanks to the fallen stock market, the prevailing uncertainty, communication problems, and the channel-blackout which meant that some matches were not available to viewers.

Makhaya strikes back
Makhaya Ntini has retained his position as the most popular South African sporting personality among junior fans even after a rare disappointing Test series, against Pakistan. The 2007 BMI Junior Sporttrack Survey - an annual poll of sports spectators in the 13-18 age group - had the fast-bowler warding off stiff competition from football players Benni McCarthy and Benedict Vilakazi to come out on top. Ntini has also been the most popular sports star on the BMI Adult Survey for the last two years.

Catching the eye
Irfan Pathan's impressive return to international cricket has been heavily praised in cricketing circles. The praise, however, stretches far beyond those circles - as was borne out when a former Miss India and Bollywood star, Sayali Bhagat, who once proposed to Rahul Dravid on TV, confessed her fondness for the Indian allrounder.

Pathan, it seems, is not the only one catching the eye. Sania Mirza, Asia's most popular tennis star, was present at the second ODI between India and Pakistan, apparently being charmed by... Shoaib Akhtar. "I like watching Shoaib Akhtar," Mirza said. "He is fast and aggressive and these are key qualities in a sportsman."

Shunned
Shahrukh Khan may just have been India's lucky charm at the final of the ICC World Twenty20, but his presence was deemed unnecessary and a recipe for crowd trouble by the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) for the third ODI at Kanpur. The UPCA apparently advised the BCCI not to invite the Bollywood superstar to the ground, since it was going to be hard enough to control the crowd, what with the presence of government ministers and the like. Oh well, Chak de India anyway.

And before that happened...
At Chandigarh, after the second game, a few members of the Indian team went to the cinema to watch Om Shanti Om starring, ironically, the same Shahrukh as above. Ones paying homage to the great actor included MS Dhoni, and Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly with their families.

Yuvraj Singh, meanwhile, drove around the city in his sports car attracting fans, while Shoaib surprisingly turned up at a much quieter venue: an orphanage in Chandigarh where he played cricket with the children.