Who Stewards The Stewards?

‘ON the pitch, almost everything has gone right for England’s cricketers in their first Test against India at Lord’s.

Pitch invasions used to be more genteel affairs

Off it (or occasionally straying onto it), it has been a disaster with the visitors launching a furious protest last night after a spectator got onto the pitch and accompanied the world’s top batsman Sachin Tendulkar off the field as stewards stood and watched.

As if that wasn’t enough, Indian commentator Harsha Bogle claims he was heckled and assaulted by a steward as he left the ground on Saturday night.

The Mail explains that Bogle, who works for ESPN, was giving a live radio update by mobile phone when he was unceremoniously bundled out of the ground by a drunken steward, while a supervisor looked on.

”I am not on duty and you can’t touch me,” the steward is alleged to have said. ”Tomorrow morning I will be back on duty and you can’t do anything. I will be here when you are dead.”

With the MCC launching an investigation into the incident, unless Bogle is hit by a bus in the next 24 hours, the steward is likely to find that that is not entirely true.

The two incidents have somewhat taken the shine off a great England performance on the pitch, which leaves them on the verge of victory today. India are still 354 runs behind with only four second-innings wickets remaining – and, unless something goes seriously wrong, England should wrap up the victory early on this morning.

The Sun salutes Matthew Hoggard, who broke the back of the Indian innings with the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly in consecutive deliveries.

But the Mail puts England’s recent improvement down to skipper Nasser Hussain, who Graham Otway describes as ”a modern Brearley” and says should claim the man-of-the-match award not only for his first-innings 155 but for the way he has led the team.

There was better news for England in Manchester yesterday after the debacle of the Commonwealth Games 100m when Paula Radcliffe, Jonathan Edwards and Mick Jones all grabbed gold medals.

Radcliffe is the darling of this morning’s papers after running the fifth fastest time ever in the 5,000m to shatter the Games record by well over a minute.

”It feels brilliant, as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,” she tells the Express after her first major championship win. ”It has been hanging round my neck a bit.”

Now the only thing hanging round her neck will be a gold medal. ‘

Posted: 29th, July 2002 | In: Back pages Comment | TrackBack | Permalink