This week's England Tour diary comes from our correspondent, Santhosh S, who covered the recently concluded three-dayer between the England XI and the Indian Board President's XI at Hyderabad.

Charminar, Autorickshaws and the Paradise Biryani

There is nothing special about an overnight train journey from Chennai to Hyderabad on the Charminar Express. It was Wednesday morning, and Hyderabad was cool and dry, unlike sultry Chennai. The people in Hyderabad are renowned for their warmth and hospitality, which makes a visit to this city a pleasure. The autorickshaws (beetle shaped vehicle on three wheels) in Hyderabad should rank among the best of its kind in India. The drivers always turn on the meter (which is not tampered, as in many other cities in India) and are very polite to their passengers.

It was time to rush towards Secunderabad, which, along with Hyderabad, shares the twin-city status. Hyderabad and Karnataka were playing a Ranji match, so I watched the listless bowling of Sunil Joshi and Dodda Ganesh for a while at the good old Gymkhana grounds. This used to be the playground for many a generation of cricketers; Ghulam Ahmed, Abid Ali, ML Jaisimha and Mohammad Azharuddin are only a few of the illustrious sons of this wonderful city.

A visit to Hyderabad is never complete without making a trip to the world-famous Charminar. And, I have never missed out on making it to a restaurant in Secunderabad called Paradise. Hyderabadi chicken biryani is a gourmet’s delight, and what they serve in Paradise is simply the best.

Slowly making his way back to cricket

Mohammad Azharuddin © AFP

On Thursday morning, I picked up a copy of the national daily Times of India and was rushing in an autorickshaw towards the Lal Bahadur Stadium to get myself a vantage position in the press box. My eyes lit up on seeing a column in the sports page, the headline of which read, 'Neutral umpiring is the answer.' There, beside the column, was a small picture of a very familiar face: Mohammad Azharuddin. The Indian batsman, who personified style and grace at the wicket before he was banned by the BCCI after the shocking match-fixing affair, was back in the limelight, this time wielding not the bat but a pen, writing a newspaper column.

In what is intended as a hard-hitting article, he writes about the current match-referee drama in South Africa, "Personally, I feel match referees do more harm than good. For theirs' is a job created basically to police the players and ensure that umpires perform their responsibilities impartially. But, in no way does he help improve the standard of the game."

Azharuddin goes on to write that the only answer to this is perhaps neutral umpires at both ends in an international match. "And now the way to diffuse the situation current volatile situation is not by talking to the ICC from Kolkata or Mumbai, but to go to South Africa and take stock of the situation." The next hearing in Azharuddin's court case against the BCCI comes up on Monday, November 26. Would all this have had anything to do with his observation that "the best man for the job is none other than our board chief Jagmohan Dalmiya"?

Sunshine, security and a pack of biscuits

Mark Ramprakash © CricInfo

A few English players like Andrew Caddick and Robert Croft decided to stay back at home, considering that it is safer than playing cricket in India. But there are some players who are thoroughly enjoying their time in India. A visibly sunburned Matthew Hoggard prompted a British scribe to call him a red ball in whites! Mark Ramprakash has also been busy making runs when the sun shines.

The huge contingents of khaki-clad policemen, who clearly outnumber the spectators in the stadium, provided their share of entertainment. Early on Friday, the cops pulled up this CricInfo correspondent. They objected to the packet of biscuits being carried in to the media box, which is really only a temporary tent on the roof. It was a pleasure to put some common sense between the ears of a few senior policemen. That did the trick - the pack of biscuits found its way to the media box, along with the CricInfo correspondent, safe and secure!

Sabbath for the English scribes

Saturday morning on the final day of the three-day match in Hyderabad saw just four English journalists in the press box. I almost wondered whether they had lost interest in the cricket. Tanya Aldred, the only lady scribe from UK, was seated next to me, not feeling too good after taking anti-malarial medicines and having given the breakfast a miss.

The afore-mentioned biscuits turned out to be a blessing for the petite assistant editor from Wisden. She later explained, much to my astonishment, that most of the English scribes do not have to work during the weekends, no matter whether the game was being played or not. Most of them, however, joined us in the press box by afternoon and helped themselves to a few beers, thanks to the hospitality of the Hyderabad Cricket Association.

When I mentioned that smoking in public places was now officially banned in India, most of the scribes just could not believe it. The Kerala High Court, which is located in the city of Kochi, was the first to take such an action. A man from Kochi, meanwhile, was enjoying his brief moment in the sun after sending Michael Vaughan's off and middle stumps flying out of the ground, a sight that left the English journalists surprised.

Ramps the Bloodaxe!

One could not fail to notice the familiar burly figure of Derek Pringle, the former England all-rounder, who is in India covering the series for a leading newspaper in England. Pringle has been a journalist for the last eight years, ever since his retirement from cricket. The big man was never known to be flamboyant in his playing days and is a quiet guy with whom you can always have a nice conversation.

When asked about Mark Ramprakash's nickname, Pringle said, "They call him Ramps these days; but then, he is better known as the Bloodaxe to his former county mates in Middlessex." The nickname fell on Ramprakash for his fiery nature, which was compared to that of the Viking, Eric the Bloodaxe! Rather aptly, then, the Englishmen do seem to be relying a lot on Mark Ramprakash's blade on this tour.

© Cricinfo

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