Word: howard
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Australian Prime Minister John Howard rarely misses an opportunity to comment on his greatest passion: cricket. An obsessive fan of the game?Australians call him a "cricket tragic"?it surprised few to hear that Howard holds an opinion on an issue that is the talk of the international cricket fraternity: Is Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan, a slow bowler with the uncommon ability to spin a ball like a top, a "chucker"? Howard didn't hesitate: "Yes," he told supporters at a political function in rural Australia last month. Howard had, in effect, labeled the most successful bowler in cricket...
...Lanka, predictably, fumed. "Howard has no authority, professional qualification to pass a judgment on a cricketing professional," thundered Colombo's Asian Tribune in an editorial. Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Jeevan Kumaratunga told the Sunday Times that Howard's comments were "absurd," claiming that Australia "could not bear the extraordinary heights the Sri Lankan spinner was achieving." Few in Sri Lanka have forgotten that it was an Australian cricket umpire, Ross Emerson, who was among the first to cast doubt on the bowling action of Sri Lanka's favorite son by repeatedly penalizing Muralitharan for "chucking"?using a bent, instead...
...while Howard may regret his diplomatic faux pas?though not enough to issue an apology?his comment was based on sound principles. At issue is one particular delivery known as the "doosra." It is Muralitharan's secret weapon, a slight-of-hand delivery only he can bowl. The International Cricket Council (ICC), after a series of biomechanic tests, ruled the delivery "illegal" and told Muralitharan to shelve it or face a 12-month ban from the game. Though he insists his action is legal and will be vindicated, Muralitharan has not bowled the doosra in a match since the verdict...
...days are really numbered." HOWARD STERN, controversial radio talk-show host, on air, speaking of the resignation of Viacom president (and Stern backer) Mel Karmazin...
...excellent results," British Conservative leader Michael Howard said at a postelection rally last week, and he had reason to declare victory: his Tories picked up 38% of the total vote in last week's local elections across England and Wales, according to BBC post-election projections. With the perennial also-ran Liberal Democrats grabbing 29% of the vote, it was Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party that came in third, with just 26% - the first time a British ruling party had fared so poorly. Blair's support for the Iraq war made him so radioactive that he barely campaigned...