The Googly

Andy Flintoff with some naked painted ladies

But it's all for charidee you understand.  This is from "The Art of Sport" calendar that Fred is supporting in conjunction with female Dragon-boat crew The Sisterhood.

Each month in the calendar depicts one of the main sporting events of 2008, including Six Nations Rugby, England's cricket tour to India and the Beijing Olympics. In the photographs the girls pose wearing little more than bodypaint of the appropriate sporting kit, with the various sports stars playing a (fully clothed) cameo role in the background. Freddie Flintoff said: "I was really glad to be involved in this calendar, and the shoot was a lot of fun [I bet is was!]. The Sisterhood girls have literally worked their socks off to raise money for these causes, so I hope the calendar is a huge success! As Patron of the CHASE Ben Hollioake Fund, one of the benefiting charities, I also know just how valuable these funds will be."

Retailing at £7.99, this unique calendar combines artistic creativity with a hint of cheekiness (and girls dressed only in paint!), and can be bought through The Sun at www.thesuncalendarshop.co.uk and also through www.sisterhoodchallenge.com

Not strictly cricket news

OK, OK, this isn't exactly news per se, but it is related to cricket.

Believe it or not, the oddest couple in the world joined forces two years ago to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society.  Andrew Strauss linked up with Russell Grant in the summer of 2005 to set up a cricket tournament as a money-making exercise for the charity - and the rotund old star-gazer is doing the same thing this summer.

Cricket clubs across the country have entered Grant's SportswiseUK20 challenge, and the Uxbridge-hosted final will be televised on Star TV on Sunday September 16th - which coincidentally is the same day as I'm going to run the 5k Hydro Active Women's Challenge in Hyde Park, also raising money for the Alzheimer's Society. It must be fate. So join my Facebook group, and throw me a few quid, and keep up to date with my training progress. Plug finished.  Thank you. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: www.alzheimers.org.uk]

The Hog is awarded a benefit

The Hog has been awarded a benefit in 2008 by Yorkshire, but it won't be an exercise to keep him in beer, walking boots and dogs.

Instead, he'll be donating cash to Chance to Shine, which raises money to take cricket back into state schools, and some other local charities, including the Yorkshire Pride Appeal.

The Hog made his debut in 1996 and was awarded his county cap in 2000. Since then he has taken 545 first-class wickets at an average of 27.25, and played 64 Tests, taking 240 wickets.

The man himself seems tremendously pleased, saying: "Playing for Yorkshire throughout my career has been a tremendous honour. I have been extremely lucky to play alongside some tremendous players at county and international level.

"Nothing beats wearing the White Rose of Yorkshire and it is a real honour to have been granted a benefit by the club.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed the last decade and I hopefully can play a big part in Yorkshire's future success."

Sweet. Yorkshire's chief executive Stewart Regan replied: "Matthew has shown tremendous loyalty and service to both England and the Yorkshire County Cricket Club over the past decade and we all wish him a very successful benefit season in 2008.

"He has played in an era where central contracts have restricted England players to fewer county opportunities, but Hoggy has always been eager to represent the county of his birth and there is no
prouder Yorkshire man."

Chairman Colin Graves added: "Matthew has given everything to the club and fully deserves to be awarded a benefit year. He is popular, a great player and a model professional and everyone at the club is extremely proud of both him and his achievements in the game."

What a nice story, an excellent excuse to use my favourite ever photo, and congratulations and good luck to the Hog. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Dig deep for cricket and for charidee

I make no apologies for frequently plugging charities in my writing; cricket has a long and noble tradition of supporting good causes, and those of you who followed the Pakistan and Sri Lanka series with me last summer will remember my friend Laura's magnificent abseil off the top of a very tall building in aid of the Evelina Children's Hospital.

Times sports writer Patrick Kidd has dropped me a line to ask if I can mention a cricket match he is organising at the very lovely Audley End on Sunday 12th August. Here's what he has to say:

"The Kirby Strollers, a team of overweight, unfit and untalented part-timers captained by me, will be playing the PG Wodehouse Society to raise money for The Kids Company, a charity that supports abandoned and underprivileged children in South London, and Ataxia UK, a charity that does research into a neurological disorder.

"The Wodehouseans, playing under the name of The Gold Bats (named after one of Wodehouse's novels), are a fun bunch who have various fixtures against teams like the Sherlock Holmes Society and the Siegfried Sassoon Society, playing where possible (and when remembered) under 19th-century rules, with lob bowlers, different LBW laws, five-ball overs and beards an integral part. Above all, the quality of the tea is more important than the quality of the cricket. We'll be hoping to carry on the tradition next month."

If you can't pop along to support them, why not donate a couple of quid by clicking here? [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Matt Prior does good work for charidee

Those crazy cricketers just can't help doing good work for charidee. Yesterday, Matt Prior launched Vodafone's Big Hit Charity Run Chase by coaching the lovely Pat Cash in the ways of willow and leather, and then picked up a racket to learn how to play tennis.

It was all part of an event to welcome the first International Twenty20 game to London, and coincided with the first day of Wimbledon.

The Big Hit Charity Run Chase will see The Vodafone UK Foundation donate £50 for every run scored during the first international Twenty20 game against the West Indies, and the total fund will be split equally across its three flagship charities Shelter, Samaritans and YouthNet.

Musing upon a potential change of career, the chirpy gloveman said: "It's great the England cricket team can get behind such worthy charities at the first International Twenty20 game against the West Indies.  Pat Cash is a big personality in tennis, so it was great he could join us to launch Vodafone's Big Hit Charity Run Chase.  He's a natural sportsman so his square cut was fairly impressive and I've definitely come away with some areas to improve in terms of my serve." Bless. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Khan and Warne unite for charity

While "Arise Sir Ian" was quite rightly the big story of the weekend regarding cricketers' work for charity, there is another story worth bringing to everyone's attention. Jemima (nee Goldsmith) Khan, former wife of Pakistani cricket legend Imran, and Australia's finest bleached blond and darling of the Rosebowl, Shane Warne, have joined forces for Cricket Unites for Charity.

They are the prime movers behind a dinner to be held at Lord's on 24 June where for a table price of £5000 for 10 people, guests will have the chance to play in the nets before the meal with such cricketing superstars as Brian Lara, Kevin Pietersen, Freddie Flintoff and Warne himself.

Jemima, the mother of two keen young cricketing sons, is a Unicef ambassador - focussing on work with children affected by HIV/AIDS and Shane Warne launched his Foundation in June 2004 to provide help and assistance for under-privileged children in Australia. Both go about their work without seeking public recognition, but deserve as much support and appreciation as we are able to give.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

Paul Collingwood does good work for charidee

Cricketers have a long and proud tradition of supporting good causes. Paul Collingwood is carrying that on - or at least he will be when he brings his bat to the middle at some point over the next 48 hours.

Colly will be batting in the fourth Test with a specially designed bat grip to show his support for the Chance To Shine initiative, aimed at bringing cricket back in to state schools.

His sponsors Slazenger are providing the bat grips, and of course he is very much looking forward to using them. In typical Colly style, he says: "It is fantastic to have the opportunity to encourage the kids to get involved with cricket. Chance To Shine is a great way to raise the profile of the game in schools, and to give pupils first-hand experience of the enjoyment you can get from cricket. We are looking forward to using the bat grips to help raise awareness for Chance To Shine."

As an ambassador for the scheme, the strawberry-blond fielding genius doesn't just pick up promotional goodies - he went back to his old school, Consett Community Sports College, earlier this week to meet and coach the pupils, making him a braver man than many of us, who wouldn't dream of returning to the site of our teenage traumas. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Is this what Beefy is really getting his Knighthood for?

If the rumours about Ian Botham are true, then we can only speculate if this has something to do with his award.  After all, there is nothing like two boys-own, self-appointed jack-the-lads making a fortune for British produce to swing the deciding panel in these matters. There's something about him raising £10m for charity as well apparently; but believe me it is really hard to find entertaining footage of some bloke walking, even if it is for a good cause.

Arise, Sir Beefy

I'm really not sure how to react to this news, but the word on the street is that Ian Botham will be knighted in the Queen's birthday honours next month.

No, it's not for services to punditry, nor for services to heart-healthy breakfast cereals, nor even for services to strangely-coiffeured South African-born English batsmen. It's for his long-standing and excellent work for charidee.

Botham has raised more than £10 million for Leukaemia Research and the Teenage Cancer Trust over the past two decades by organising and participating in 11 exceedingly gruelling walks, on routes including John O'Groats to Land's End, and most recently a 17-city trek around the UK.

We're waiting with anticipation to see whether this little rumour is indeed stone-cold fact, and if it is true, how Beefy will react to it. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

The Wisden Walk

During the tea break on this fourth day of the first Test, I make no apologies whatsoever for drawing the Wisden Walk to your attention.

Hugh Chevallier and Paul Coupar are walking 150 miles across southern England to raise money for the Laurie Engel Fund, the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Laurie, the son of Wisden editor Matthew Engel, died in September 2005 at the age of 13, and his parents set up the charity to raise money for an extension to Birmingham Children's Hospital, hoping to provide better non-medical care for the young inpatients.

It's a fabulous cause, so go on, donate a few of those hard-earned readies. For more information, or to donate, click here. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

The Hog is awarded a benefit

The Hog has been awarded a benefit in 2008 by Yorkshire, but it won't be an exercise to keep him in beer, walking boots and dogs.

Instead, he'll be donating cash to Chance to Shine, which raises money to take cricket back into state schools, and some other local charities, including the Yorkshire Pride Appeal.

The Hog made his debut in 1996 and was awarded his county cap in 2000. Since then he has taken 545 first-class wickets at an average of 27.25, and played 64 Tests, taking 240 wickets.

The man himself seems tremendously pleased, saying: "Playing for Yorkshire throughout my career has been a tremendous honour. I have been extremely lucky to play alongside some tremendous players at county and international level.

"Nothing beats wearing the White Rose of Yorkshire and it is a real honour to have been granted a benefit by the club.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed the last decade and I hopefully can play a big part in Yorkshire's future success."

Sweet. Yorkshire's chief executive Stewart Regan replied: "Matthew has shown tremendous loyalty and service to both England and the Yorkshire County Cricket Club over the past decade and we all wish him a very successful benefit season in 2008.

"He has played in an era where central contracts have restricted England players to fewer county opportunities, but Hoggy has always been eager to represent the county of his birth and there is no
prouder Yorkshire man."

Chairman Colin Graves added: "Matthew has given everything to the club and fully deserves to be awarded a benefit year. He is popular, a great player and a model professional and everyone at the club is extremely proud of both him and his achievements in the game."

What a nice story, an excellent excuse to use my favourite ever photo, and congratulations and good luck to the Hog. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Dig deep for cricket and for charidee

I make no apologies for frequently plugging charities in my writing; cricket has a long and noble tradition of supporting good causes, and those of you who followed the Pakistan and Sri Lanka series with me last summer will remember my friend Laura's magnificent abseil off the top of a very tall building in aid of the Evelina Children's Hospital.

Times sports writer Patrick Kidd has dropped me a line to ask if I can mention a cricket match he is organising at the very lovely Audley End on Sunday 12th August. Here's what he has to say:

"The Kirby Strollers, a team of overweight, unfit and untalented part-timers captained by me, will be playing the PG Wodehouse Society to raise money for The Kids Company, a charity that supports abandoned and underprivileged children in South London, and Ataxia UK, a charity that does research into a neurological disorder.

"The Wodehouseans, playing under the name of The Gold Bats (named after one of Wodehouse's novels), are a fun bunch who have various fixtures against teams like the Sherlock Holmes Society and the Siegfried Sassoon Society, playing where possible (and when remembered) under 19th-century rules, with lob bowlers, different LBW laws, five-ball overs and beards an integral part. Above all, the quality of the tea is more important than the quality of the cricket. We'll be hoping to carry on the tradition next month."

If you can't pop along to support them, why not donate a couple of quid by clicking here? [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Matt Prior does good work for charidee

Those crazy cricketers just can't help doing good work for charidee. Yesterday, Matt Prior launched Vodafone's Big Hit Charity Run Chase by coaching the lovely Pat Cash in the ways of willow and leather, and then picked up a racket to learn how to play tennis.

It was all part of an event to welcome the first International Twenty20 game to London, and coincided with the first day of Wimbledon.

The Big Hit Charity Run Chase will see The Vodafone UK Foundation donate £50 for every run scored during the first international Twenty20 game against the West Indies, and the total fund will be split equally across its three flagship charities Shelter, Samaritans and YouthNet.

Musing upon a potential change of career, the chirpy gloveman said: "It's great the England cricket team can get behind such worthy charities at the first International Twenty20 game against the West Indies.  Pat Cash is a big personality in tennis, so it was great he could join us to launch Vodafone's Big Hit Charity Run Chase.  He's a natural sportsman so his square cut was fairly impressive and I've definitely come away with some areas to improve in terms of my serve." Bless. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Khan and Warne unite for charity

While "Arise Sir Ian" was quite rightly the big story of the weekend regarding cricketers' work for charity, there is another story worth bringing to everyone's attention. Jemima (nee Goldsmith) Khan, former wife of Pakistani cricket legend Imran, and Australia's finest bleached blond and darling of the Rosebowl, Shane Warne, have joined forces for Cricket Unites for Charity.

They are the prime movers behind a dinner to be held at Lord's on 24 June where for a table price of £5000 for 10 people, guests will have the chance to play in the nets before the meal with such cricketing superstars as Brian Lara, Kevin Pietersen, Freddie Flintoff and Warne himself.

Jemima, the mother of two keen young cricketing sons, is a Unicef ambassador - focussing on work with children affected by HIV/AIDS and Shane Warne launched his Foundation in June 2004 to provide help and assistance for under-privileged children in Australia. Both go about their work without seeking public recognition, but deserve as much support and appreciation as we are able to give.

[Image: Getty] [mimitig]

Paul Collingwood does good work for charidee

Cricketers have a long and proud tradition of supporting good causes. Paul Collingwood is carrying that on - or at least he will be when he brings his bat to the middle at some point over the next 48 hours.

Colly will be batting in the fourth Test with a specially designed bat grip to show his support for the Chance To Shine initiative, aimed at bringing cricket back in to state schools.

His sponsors Slazenger are providing the bat grips, and of course he is very much looking forward to using them. In typical Colly style, he says: "It is fantastic to have the opportunity to encourage the kids to get involved with cricket. Chance To Shine is a great way to raise the profile of the game in schools, and to give pupils first-hand experience of the enjoyment you can get from cricket. We are looking forward to using the bat grips to help raise awareness for Chance To Shine."

As an ambassador for the scheme, the strawberry-blond fielding genius doesn't just pick up promotional goodies - he went back to his old school, Consett Community Sports College, earlier this week to meet and coach the pupils, making him a braver man than many of us, who wouldn't dream of returning to the site of our teenage traumas. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Is this what Beefy is really getting his Knighthood for?

If the rumours about Ian Botham are true, then we can only speculate if this has something to do with his award.  After all, there is nothing like two boys-own, self-appointed jack-the-lads making a fortune for British produce to swing the deciding panel in these matters. There's something about him raising £10m for charity as well apparently; but believe me it is really hard to find entertaining footage of some bloke walking, even if it is for a good cause.

Arise, Sir Beefy

I'm really not sure how to react to this news, but the word on the street is that Ian Botham will be knighted in the Queen's birthday honours next month.

No, it's not for services to punditry, nor for services to heart-healthy breakfast cereals, nor even for services to strangely-coiffeured South African-born English batsmen. It's for his long-standing and excellent work for charidee.

Botham has raised more than £10 million for Leukaemia Research and the Teenage Cancer Trust over the past two decades by organising and participating in 11 exceedingly gruelling walks, on routes including John O'Groats to Land's End, and most recently a 17-city trek around the UK.

We're waiting with anticipation to see whether this little rumour is indeed stone-cold fact, and if it is true, how Beefy will react to it. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

The Wisden Walk

During the tea break on this fourth day of the first Test, I make no apologies whatsoever for drawing the Wisden Walk to your attention.

Hugh Chevallier and Paul Coupar are walking 150 miles across southern England to raise money for the Laurie Engel Fund, the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Laurie, the son of Wisden editor Matthew Engel, died in September 2005 at the age of 13, and his parents set up the charity to raise money for an extension to Birmingham Children's Hospital, hoping to provide better non-medical care for the young inpatients.

It's a fabulous cause, so go on, donate a few of those hard-earned readies. For more information, or to donate, click here. [Carrie Dunn] [Image: Getty]

Bringing cricket back to schools

Cricket has seen a steady decline in state schools in England & Wales over a number of years.  This is due to a number of factors: no decent coaching available, poor facilities, the dominance of the omnipotent and ever present football, and a national team that until 2005 did nothing to inspire (and very little since). 

However, Chance To Shine are seeking to put an end to this decline and put cricket firmly back where it belongs in the school experience; they have decided to leave sorting out the national team to someone else.  Wise move.

Please take a few moments to have a look at their site and give your support, as this cause is for the benefit of all of us who love the game in Britain.  [lee calvert]

Sport Relief crashes to defeat

As mentioned the other day, Sport Relief are out in India with a number of celebrities to raise funds for the less advantaged. It’s a good charity, made all the better by involving the Great Game.

The charity side, known as the Red Socks, lost their opening match with Jack Russell, Chris Evans, Phil Tufnell and Rosalie Birch all failing badly. Red Socks, chasing 177, slumped to a woeful 120 in 20 overs! Perhaps the choice of Tufnell as captain needs reconsidering.

Andrew Flintoff attended a Sport Relief function today, too, to lend his support in Mumbai.

Having despatched some shots deep into the streets, the all-rounder then missed one from an excitable youngster and was bowled.

The Mumbai project is designed to give an education to homeless children and, in addition, Flintoff’s visit coincided with an Indian festival where people are painted with coloured powder.

Will Luke writes for Cricinfo.com and edits The Corridor of Uncertainty