A horse called Flintoff
After toiling in the heat of Brisbane, the heavy going at Towcester seemed an unlikely place to offer redemption for the England cricket team yesterday, but Andrew Flintoff’s luck was out again. Flintoff, the horse he part-owns and a 6-1 shot in the 12.45, was beaten into second place by the 5-2 favourite, Principe Azzurro. If losing to a prince on the racecourse is not enough, it appears he’ll be losing to a Punter on the cricket pitch over the next few weeks
Elton abandons England
Three days gone and the bandwagon that left England is already emptying. Sir Elton John is said to have abandoned plans to take in some of the Gabba action in the wake of England’s dire start. He plays the first concert of his Australian tour in Brisbane tonight, but chose to base himself in Sydney and just jet in and out of Queensland. The star, who joined the celebrations in the team hotel when England last won Down Under in 1986-87, apparently had his interest ‘ diluted’ by the tourists’ early toils. Who hasn’t?
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Who are you?
Not everybody in Australia is obsessed with the Ashes. After the first day, Shane Warne nipped out of his hotel to pick up a pizza (still on that sportsman’s diet, Shane?). While waiting, the waitress asked: ‘Go to the cricket today?’
Fanatics flounder
England recorded their first victory at the Gabba when Cricket Australia pulled the teatime entertainment from the Fanatics, the supporters’ group, recruited to sing derogatory songs about the Barmy Army. Weeks ago, Cricket Australia said swingeing penalties awaited anybody found guilty of abusing the players. Moments before the match, the public address issued reminders to this effect. The show of restraint was impressive — the first chorus of ‘Hoggard’s a w*****’ was not heard until the second session and it was almost stumps before Steve Harmison was similarly serenaded
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Live and unplugged
ABC radio went among the well-lubricated fans before England began their reply to Australia’s gigantic total. ‘How do you think the Poms will fare?’ the interviewer asked. ‘They’re going to get f*****. ’ The feed was hurriedly cut. ‘Sorry, folks,’ said broadcaster Jim Maxwell. ‘That’s colour radio for you’
Running on empty
When it’s not your day . . . Geraint Jones was robbed of three runs when a sweep off Shane Warne hit Billy Bowden. It took the pace off the ball and Jones had to settle for a single