Star cricketer Tom Maynard killed under tube train after police chase

June 19, 2012

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London, June 19: Tom Maynard, the Surrey and England Lions batsman, has died aged 23. His body was found dead on the rails near Wimbledon Park tube station in south London around dawn on Monday morning; police say the incident is currently being treated as non-suspicious.

It was reported that Maynard had been pulled over by police while "driving erratically," less than an hour before his death. Metropolitan Police said that he had abandoned his black Mercedes and fled the scene.

A police statement said: "At approx 4.15am on Monday, officers stopped a vehicle after it was seen being driven erratically in Arthur Road, SW19. The male driver of the vehicle - a black Mercedes C250 - made off on foot. Officers were unable to locate the man. At approx 5.10am the body of a man fitting the same description was found on tracks near Wimbledon Park station."

British Transport Police officers were called to the line near Wimbledon Park London Underground station. A BTP statement said: "The incident was reported to BTP at 5.03am and was also attended by Metropolitan Police officers. London Ambulance Service medics attended but the man, believed to be 23 years old, was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident is currently being treated as non-suspicious."

It is believed that the driver on an early morning District Line train alerted the authorities after he witnessed a body on the track but was unable to stop.

As well as a Coroner's Report into Maynard's death, the Independent Police Complaints Commission is expected to receive a routine report on the circumstances, as it occured shortly after the involvement of police officers.

The news was broken to shocked England players as they arrived at Maynard's home ground of The Oval, where the flags were flying at half-mast ahead of the second ODI against West Indies on Tuesday.

A Surrey statement said: "Maynard was an incredibly talented young batsman. His future potential was unlimited, with experts both inside and outside the club predicting he would soon follow in the footsteps of his father Matthew by graduating to full England honours."

Surrey have postponed their Friends Life t20 game against the Hampshire Royals at the Oval on Wednesday, but England's ODI is expected to go ahead.

Tom Maynard was the son of Matthew Maynard, the former Glamorgan batsman who played Test and one-day cricket for England. Tom Maynard was regarded as one of the brightest talents in the game, a destructive middle-order batsman who was perfectly suited to Surrey's enterprising style of cricket. He had played in Surrey's FLt20 defeat by Kent at Beckenham on Sunday.

He left Glamorgan following the removal of his father as director of cricket in November 2010 and joined Surrey where Rory Hamilton-Brown, a former Millfield schoolmate, had been appointed the youngest captain in the country.

Tom Maynard was found on the line near Wimbledon Park tube station © Alex Winter

Tragedy has struck Surrey for the third time in 16 years. Ben Hollioake, an England allrounder of rich promise, was killed in a car crash in Australia in 2002 after driving back late at night from a family meal. Hollioake, 24, died instantly when his black Porsche 924 came off the road on a ramp in the early hours of the morning in Perth, Western Australia.

England's cricketers, who were contesting the second Test in Wellington, New Zealand, when hearing of Hollioake's death requested that the England flag be lowered to half-mast and wore black armbands.

Nearly six years earlier, on New Year's Day 1997, Graham Kersey, the county's wicketkeeper, died in a car accident near Brisbane. Adam Hollioake, Ben's brother and the Surrey captain at the time, dedicated their Benson and Hedges final success the following summer to the player.

From Australia, Adam Hollioake's tweet must have spoken for many when he wrote: "Wot is going on at Surrey? R we cursed or something? Graham Kersey, my bro, now this.... Treasure every moment with loved ones x."

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News Network
May 26,2020

Mumbai, May 26: Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar said that if he was playing currently he and Virat Kohli would have been the best of friends off the field, but real enemies whenever they stepped on the field.

Akhtar also said that he would have liked to challenge Kohli to drive the ball.

"Virat Kohli and I would have been the best of friends as both of us are Punjabi, but on the field, we would have been the best of the enemies. I would have loved to get inside the head of Kohli. I would have told him that you cannot play a cut or pull shot against me," Akhtar told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I would have gone wide of the crease and bowled a ball that would go away from him, I would have forced him to drive the ball as it is his favourite shot. So I would keep forcing him to play the drive shot at my pace," he added.

Akhtar also said that he wishes that Kohli could have played against some of the top bowlers in the game.

The Rawalpindi Express said that Kohli would have enjoyed the challenge of facing bowlers like Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, and Waqar Younis.

"I would also keep talking to him, because if I get him to lose his focus then that would have been great. The great thing about Kohli is that he gets more focused when he is challenged. But I believe Virat Kohli would have still scored the same amount of runs if I was playing," Akhtar said.

"I really wish that he had played against Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shane Warne, and then Virat would have also enjoyed the challenge," he added.

Akhtar played 224 matches for Pakistan in international cricket and took 444 wickets across all formats.

Over the years, comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have been growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar called time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli has 70 centuries across all formats.

Currently, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in second place in the Tests rankings.

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News Network
June 10,2020

Kingston, Jun 10: "Enough is enough", said West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo as he opened up on the raging issue of racism and called for "respect and equality" for black people, who have faced discrimination for years.

Bravo joined the likes of his former captain Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle in denouncing racism in the wake of African-American George Floyd's killing at the hands of a white police officer in the USA.

"It's sad to see what's going on around the world. As a black man, we know the history of what black people have been through. We never ask for revenge, we ask for equality and respect. That's it," Bravo told former Zimbabwe cricketer Pommie Mbangwa in an Instagram live chat on Tuesday.

"We give respect to others. Why is it that we are facing this over and over? Now enough is enough. We just want equality. We don't want revenge, war.

"We just want respect. We share love and appreciate people for who they are. That's what is most important."

The 36-year-old, who has played 40 Tests, 164 ODIs and 71 T20Is for West Indies, said he wants the world to know that they are powerful and beautiful people and gave the example of greats such as Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan.

"I just want our brothers and sisters to know that we are powerful and beautiful. And at the end of the day, you look at some of the greats of the world, whether it is Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan we have had leaders who paved the way for us," he said.

Two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain Sammy had earlier alleged that a racist nickname was used to address him during his IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad and demanded an apology.

Sammy said he was called 'Kalu' while he was in India. 'Kalu' is a derogatory word to describe black people.

Gayle, who too plays in the IPL, took to Twitter to back Sammy, saying that racism does exist in cricket.

"It's never too late to fight for the right cause or what you've experienced over the years! So much more to your story, @darensammy88. Like I said, it's in the game!!," Gayle tweeted.

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Agencies
February 20,2020

New Delhi, Feb 20: Grappler Divya Kakran on Thursday became the second Indian woman to win a gold medal at the ongoing Asian Wrestling Championship.

Divya, a bronze medallist at Asian Games 2018, earned her first gold by winning all her four bouts against Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Japan.

Her final bout against Naruha Matsuyuki of Japan was the closest one but she managed to outclass her opponent 6-4 to seal her name on the gold medal. The 68 kg category was played in round-robin format as only five wrestlers were in the fray.

India is likely to add some more medals to its tally when Nirmala Devi, Pinki, and Sarita go out to grapple for the yellow metal in their respective weight categories.

Three-time Commonwealth championship gold medallist, Nirmala Devi (50 kg) first defeated Munkhnar Byambasuren of Mongolia in the quarterfinals by 6-4 to reach the semis.

In the semi-finals, Nirmala got the better of Dauletbike Yakhshimuratova of Uzbekistan by 10-0 and will play against 2018 Under-23 World Champion Miho Igarashi of Japan for the gold medal.

Pinki (55 kg) started her day on a winning note against Shokhida Akhmedova of Uzbekistan by 12-4 in round 3 and lost to Kana Higashikawa of Japan to enter the semis where she defeated Marina Zuyeva of Kazakistan by a score of 6-0.

Pinki will play in the gold medal bout against Dulguun Bolormaa of Mongolia.

Sarita (59 kg) will now face Battsetseg Altantsetseg of Mongolia in the gold medal bout after winning against her opponents in the qualifiers, quarterfinals and semi-final by a score of 10-0, 11-0 and 10-3, respectively.

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