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 21,2020

Mumbai, May 21: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has chosen legendary Sachin Tendulkar over current skipper Virat Kohli as a better batsman in the ODI format, considering the changed rules of the game and the Mumbaikar's longevity of career.

Tendulkar, who retired in 2013, played 463 ODIs and amassed 18, 426 runs with 49 hundreds at an average of 44.83.

Kohli, on the other hand, has played 248 ODIs and scored 11, 867 runs with 43 tons at an average of 59.33.

"Sachin Tendulkar, because probably with one white ball and four fielders inside the circle, not five fielders outside, it will be Sachin Tendulkar for me," Gambhir said on Star Sports show 'Cricket Connected'.

Nowadays, a one-day innings is played with two white balls and with three powerplays.

In the first power play (overs 1-10), two fielders are allowed beyond the 30-yard circle, while in the second powerplay (overs 10-40) four fielders are allowed. In the last powerplay (overs 40-50), five fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle.

Gambhir, who was the star performer in 2011 ODI World Cup final which India won, feels that the change in rules has helped batsmen.

"It's difficult because Virat Kohli has done phenomenally well but I think the rules have changed as well, which has helped a lot of new batters," elaborated Gambhir, who played 58 Tests and 147 ODIs.

"The new generation, with 2 new balls, no reverse swing, nothing for the finger spin, five fielders inside for the 50 overs, probably that makes batting much easier.

He said he would also go with Tendulkar, considering his longevity and flow of the ODI cricket format at that time.

"Probably I’ll go with Sachin Tendulkar if we see the longevity and flow of the one-day cricket format.

"Look at how Sachin Tendulkar has played, different rules, that time 230 to 240, was a winning total," Gambhir signed off. 

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News Network
May 19,2020

Karachi, May 19: Babar Azam wants to take a leaf out of Imran Khan's aggressive captaincy and besides cricket, he is also brushing up his English to become a "complete leader" like the World Cup-winning all-rounder.

Last week, the star batsman took over the reins of Pakistan's white-ball cricket after being appointed as the ODI skipper.

Azam, who was one of the world's leading batsmen across formats last year and already the T20 skipper, replaced wicket-keeper batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed as the ODI captain for the 2020-21 season.

"Imran Khan was a very aggressive captain and I want to be like him. It is not an easy job captaining the Pakistan team but I am learning from my seniors and I have also had captaincy experience since my under-19 days," Azam said.

He said that to be a complete captain one must be able to interact comfortably with the media and express oneself properly in front of an audience.

"These days I am also taking English classes besides focussing on my batting," he said on Monday.

The 25-year-old Babar said he was not satisfied with Pakistan's current standing in international cricket.

"I am not happy with where we stand and I want to see this team go up in the rankings."

Babar said captaincy would be a challenge for him but it would not affect his batting.

"It is an honour to lead one's national team so it is not a burden for me at all. In fact, after becoming captain, I have to lead by example and be more responsible in my batting."

Babar hoped the T20 World Cup is held this year in Australia as he wanted to lead his team in the ICC event.

"It would be a disappointment if the event was not held or rescheduled because I am looking forward to playing in the World Cup and doing well in it," he said.

About plans for Pakistan to fly to England in July to play three Tests and three T20 internationals amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Babar said a lot of hard work and planning would be required to make the players feel comfortable and safe.

"Touring England won't be easy. Health and safety of players is of great importance and the tour will only be possible when proper arrangements are in place," he said.

"Both England and Pakistan team fans, along with the cricketers, are missing cricket because of the pandemic."

"We will still try to perform to the best of our ability despite no support from the fans in the stadium," he added.

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News Network
April 28,2020

New Delhi, Apr 28: West Indies flamboyant batsman Chris Gayle has lashed out at former teammate Ramnaresh Sarwan calling him 'worse than coronavirus'.

Gayle, the colossal figure in the shortest format of the game blamed Sarwan for his departure from Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise Jamaica Tallawahs.

The left-handed batsman joined St Lucia Zouks as their marquee player for the 2020 CPL season after Tallawahs chose not to retain him.

Gayle has played for Tallawahs and St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in the past. He has won the CPL title twice with the Tallawahs and played in the final with the Patriots in 2017.

"The owner of the franchise is a very nice man, I have no problem with him. I think he was actually persuaded to get rid of Chris Gayle," Gayle said in three parts on his YouTube channel.

"So someone has to be in his years telling him to get rid of Gayle. Sarwan, you are worse than the coronavirus right now. What transpired with the Tallahwahs, you had a big part to play.

Sarwan, you are a snake. You know, you are not the most loved person in the Caribbean. You are still stabbing people in the back," he added.

Gayle is the leading T20 run-scorer of all time as well as the man with the most centuries in the format. He is also the leading CPL run-scorer of all time, having amassed 2,344 runs in the tournament.

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