Faith, fun and amusement parks

It is going to be called The Holy Quran Park. Last Friday, June 21, 2013, officials in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates announced that the city would be constructing a theme park that will allow tourists to witness through rides and gardens, some of the content of the Holy Quran. According to Mohammad Noor Mashroom, Dubai Municipality’s Director of Projects, the park will be ready to go into operation sometime in September of next year and will cost $7.4 million dollars. The sixty hectare Holy Quran Park will be located in an area known as Al-Khawaneej. Its features will include “the miracles of the Quran experienced through a variety of surprises by those visiting the Park”. Some of these surprises will be presented while park goers walk through an air-conditioned tunnel so they do not have to experience the searing heat of the desert. Other plans for the park include an “Umrah Corner” as well as gardens said to feature the 54 species of plants mentioned in the Quran. The Park will also have fountains, walking and biking paths and an outdoor theater. In addition to constructing The Holy Quran Theme Park, Dubai also recently bid to construct the “Angry Birds Theme Park” (built to emulate the popular game) and also the world’s largest Ferris wheel. For decades now, Muslim public, especially Pakistanis have been eager to gobble up all that Dubai has to offer. Exhibiting the most voracious consumerism, the bearded and veiled and the clean shaven and unveiled have all delighted in cramming designer purses and French perfumes and British chocolates into their already bursting shopping bags. When offered by an Arab Emirate, eager Pakistanis conclude, shopping, however gluttonous must be religious permissible. For those in doubt, every Dubai Mall boasts not just shops and bars and ice cream parlors, but also mosques and prayer rooms. Nor have many in the Muslim world objected to the destruction of historical sites in Mecca and Medina, the actual places (and not amusement park replicas) that are mentioned in the Holy Quran. A garish clock tower atop a tacky mall now stares down at pilgrims while they complete the rites of Hajj. All around them are shops selling souvenirs and trinkets. If Saudi Arabia’s misguided anti iconisation has led to the destruction of that which is historically important in documenting the history of Islam, now Dubai is insisting that what is left will be the bike rides and carousels in an amusement park. Muslims everywhere have, in the decade of war and imperial overreach become astute experts at decrying the decadent debauchery of Western society. Indeed, colorful examples of just that are presented in every Friday sermon, in countless newspaper articles and television talk shows. One contradiction against this collective lament against Western debauchery has been the free pass given to the purveyors of amusements and entertainments in Dubai whose appropriation of them would otherwise be considered a flattery of the same West that Muslims love to detest. Like the hawkers that sell designer replicas on street corners, the fact that nearly everything Dubai peddles is a crude copy of someone else’s concept is no problem. Dubai takes pride in offering these Western approximations, and all those who visit them lap them up with a duped and greedy gullibility. The Holy Quran Park is the latest in the recipe of replication. Eliding over the fact that theme parks, from Universal Studios to Walt Disney World are primarily entertainment complexes, this latest idea again aims to put the gloss of faith on what is basically a form of corporatised amusement. While the plants and shrubs mentioned in the Holy Quran are going to be showcased for the pious and amusement seeking, the messages of equality will be ignored. The same plants will be watered and tended to by workers, many of them Muslim who live in abject conditions, wait months for compensation and are enslaved to their sponsoring companies. Similarly, ignored will be the Holy Quran’s messages of frugality and equanimity, of not spending piles of cash on baubles and burgers. All those uncomfortable truths and prescriptions are unlikely to fit into the tourist oriented aims of a theme park.

MS Dhoni’s ability to be a fearless strategist paid dividends in the final against England

England needed 28 runs off the last three overs, with six wickets in hand, to overtake India's 129 in a rain-curtailed 20 overs and win their first ICC Champions Trophy. There was spin in the Edgbaston wicket, and England were almost out of it at 46 for four at one time, but a few good blows from Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara had brought the game within their grasp. Two powerplay overs to go should have made it a cinch for them. All the Indian bowlers had kept it tight until then, except Ishant Sharma who had gone at nine an over in his first three overs. Mahendra Singh Dhoni had reserved an over each from Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to bowl the last two powerplay overs. He had to choose between one of the seamers and part-time spinner Suresh Raina to bowl the 18th over before the powerplay. Raina was the one who had given Dhoni so many options, having chipped in with three overs for 19 runs. Of the seamers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar too had given 19 runs off his three overs with the new ball, and Umesh Yadav had conceded only 10 in two overs and picked the wicket of the England captain Alastair Cook to boot. But Dhoni ignored them all and picked Ishant to bowl the 18th over, regardless of the fact that he had been the only profligate bowler until then.

ICC Champions Trophy 2013: BCCI to award Rs 1 crore cash prize to each player of winning team

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday announced monetary incentives for the members of the Indian cricket team including the support staff for winning the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. Each player in the team will be awarded a cash prize of Rs one crore while the each member of the support staff will be richer by Rs 30 lakh, according to a BCCI media release. India won the Champions Trophy final by beating hosts England by five runs in a thrilling encounter at Birmingham on Sunday.

ICC to dedicate Champions Trophy 2013 final to HIV awareness campaign

The final of the ICC Champions Trophy will be dedicated to the highly successful HIV awareness campaign, THINK WISE, which is a partnership between the ICC, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director, Ms Jan Beagle will attend the final at Edgbaston on Sunday. She will join ICC President Alan Isaac, Chairman of England and Wales Cricket Board Giles Clarke, and two representatives of people living with HIV, and will walk out with the teams for the national anthems in solidarity of people around the globe living with HIV. Over the past decade, the ICC has been promoting awareness for the AIDS epidemic, which led to the creation of the THINK WISE partnership in 2009 with UNICEF and UNAIDS. The campaign has been profiled throughout 2013 through dedicated matches, site visits and coaching clinics with international players and other promotional activities. During the final, both the finalists, as well as match officials, ICC and ECB staff, and cricketers will wear red ribbons to raise awareness about the stigma surrounding people living with HIV. Beagle congratulated the ICC on its commitment to AIDS awareness: "I am moved to see the incredible dedication of the ICC and cricket players to promoting HIV prevention and reaching zero discrimination for people living with HIV. For a decade, UNAIDS and the ICC have been using cricket as an effective avenue to convey lifesaving messages and reach large numbers of people on key issues around AIDS." ICC President Alan Isaac added: "I would like to extend a warm welcome to Ms Beagle and it brings me great pleasure that the ICC's partnership with UNAIDS and UNICEF is flourishing. "By walking out with Ms Beagle, Clarke, the two finalists, the match officials and representatives of people living with HIV, the ICC is sending a message to the world about the importance of getting the facts about HIV and stopping the stigma."

Fight against Fixing: Spot-Fixing and the Indian Penal Code

CricketCountry has always stood for the game in all its purity. In pursuance of that approach, CricketCountry joins hands with gamechangerindia.com to produce a blueprint on what needs to be done by the powers that be to not just clean-up the much-maligned sport of cricket but also introduce fresh measures that will help Indian cricket emerge stronger and wiser from this crisis. In the second part of the series titled ‘Fight against Fixing’, Professor Mrinal Satish examines the ‘crime’ of spot-fixing and sheds light on why our current criminal laws are ill-equipped to prosecute persons for indulging in match/spot-fixing. Within a few days of the Delhi police arresting three Rajasthan Royals players, the Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal announced that the Government proposes to enact a new law to deal with the issue of match/spot fixing in sports. Mr. Sibal argued that it is not possible to effectively prosecute a person for match/spot fixing under the existing criminal law framework. Hence, the need for a special law. At the same time, the Delhi police registered cases against the arrested cricketers under Sections 420 (cheating) and 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, banker, merchant or agent) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (“IPC”), and under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999. This article dwells whether spot-fixing falls within the definition of cheating and/or criminal breach of trust, and therefore whether or not a special law is needed. It is difficult to bring the current situation within the existing Indian Penal Code (IPC) framework, because of the manner in which the offences are defined in the IPC. For example, “property” is a crucial ingredient of the offences of criminal breach of trust and cheating. The framers of the IPC never contemplated “property” as extending beyond money or other movable property. Although the Supreme Court has broadened the definition of this term, even this expanded definition might not be sufficient to convict a person for match/spot fixing. Criminal Breach of Trust The offence of criminal breach of trust is defined in Section 405 of the IPC, which reads “Whoever, being in any manner entrusted with property, or with any dominion over property, dishonestly misappropriates that property…or willfully suffers any other person so to do, commits “criminal breach of trust.” For a person to be found guilty of criminal breach of trust, the crucial element to be proved by the prosecution is that “property” was entrusted to the accused. Once this is proved, the prosecution has to establish that the person dishonestly misappropriated such property. The term “dishonestly” is defined in the IPC (Section 24) to mean the intention to cause “wrongful gain to one person or wrongful loss to another.” “Wrongful gain” and “wrongful loss” are defined in Section 23 of the IPC. Wrongful gain is gaining property that the person is not entitled to, by using unlawful means; wrongful loss is causing a person to lose property that he/she is legally entitled to. Hence, there are various complicated elements that the prosecution has to prove to establish the offence of criminal breach of trust. In the context of spot-fixing, the prosecution would have to prove that “property” was entrusted to the player, which he then dishonestly misappropriated. The question is, what constitutes “property” in this context. The Supreme Court in R.K. Dalmia v. Delhi Administration [1962] ruled that the term “property” should not be given a restricted meaning. The test should be whether “that particular kind of property can be subject to the acts covered by that section.” This was subsequently reiterated by the Supreme Court in Common Cause v. Union of India [1999], where the Court ruled that the term “property” covers only property of the kind against which the offence of “criminal breach of trust” can be committed. As is evident from these rulings of the Court, the decision would depend on the interpretation given by a court to the term “property.” In the context of a player’s contractual obligations with a franchise, it may be argued that certain elements of the contract entrust “property” to the player, which he dishonestly misappropriated by entering into a conspiracy, and committing spot-fixing. It is certainly a difficult legal argument to make, and might not be successful. The question then is whether it is easier to bring spot-fixing within the offence of “cheating.” Cheating Cheating is defined in Section 415 of the IPC, which reads “Whoever, by deceiving any person, fraudulently or dishonestly induces the person so deceived to deliver any property to any person, or to consent that any person shall retain any property, or intentionally induces the person so deceived to do or omit to do anything which he would not do or omit if he were not so deceived, and which act or omission causes or is likely to cause damage or harm to that person in body, mind, reputation or property, is said to cheat”. The section further says that “dishonest concealment of facts” constitutes “deception” for the purposes of the section. This definition has two parts to it. The first part (which is not in bold), requires the delivery of property. If property is actually delivered, the offence falls under Section 420. If not, it falls under Section 417, for which the maximum punishment is one year’s imprisonment. If we assume that it is not possible to establish that “property” is involved in the current situation, the second part of Section 415 (which is in bold) is of relevance. Here, the prosecution has to prove that the accused deceived the victim, and intentionally led that person to do or omit to do something that he/she would, or would not have otherwise done. For instance, it can be argued that if the franchise/captain were aware that the player would indulge in spot-fixing, he/she would not have offered a contract to such player, or made him part of the playing eleven. The accused player, by representing to the franchise that he would play honestly, and to the best of his abilities, deceived the franchise into entering into a contract with him. However, the crucial element for the offence of cheating to be constituted is that the intention to deceive ought to be present before the victim acted/did not act on the basis of such deception. This complicates matters. The prosecution will have to prove that at the time of entering into the player contract, the player already had the intention of indulging in spot-fixing. An alternate and relatively less complicated argument would be that the player deceived the captain into picking him for a particular match, in which he had agreed with third parties to indulge in spot-fixing. Once these elements have been proved, the prosecution also needs to prove that the act/omission of the victim led or was likely to cause damage or harm to the victim’s body, mind, reputation, or property. In the context of the Indian Premier League (IPL), proving that the action caused damage to the franchise’s reputation should be fairly easy. Further, proving damage to the victim’s mind, and/or property might also be possible. Unlike in criminal breach of trust, the interpretation of “property” is not the crucial element for the offence of cheating. The crucial element is proving that intention to deceive preceded the victim’s act or omission. This, in my opinion, is the only way in which spot-fixing can be brought within the ambit of the IPC. Conclusion Convicting a person for the offence of spot-fixing under the IPC will be a challenging and complicated exercise. The odds (pun intended) of the player being acquitted are much higher than of his being convicted, primarily because the manner in which the relevant sections are worded. Hence, the need for a special law to cover fixing in sports, one that expressly deals with the situation, and does not require broad and innovative interpretations to secure a conviction for match/spot fixing in sports.

India favourites against England in ICC Champions Trophy 2013 final, says Alastair Cook

England captain Alastair Cook reckons that India will start as favourites in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 on Sunday, but said his team will be raring to set the record straight by winning their first world ODI title in all these years. "India are a very strong side. They are unbeaten and playing very good cricket. They are batting well at the top of the order and getting early wickets. They will go in as favourites," skipper Cook told the mediapersons ahead of Sunday's high-profile final against India. "They're unbeaten aren't they, and played some very good cricket. We're happy with that. But our record against India last time we played them in England is a good record. So we can certainly take a lot from that", he said. England have a poor record in ODI tournaments and Cook said he was aware of this piece of history. England have not won a major ODI title, losing three World Cup finals and the 2004 Champions Trophy final against the West Indies at home. "I keep getting asked this question in every press conference but yes, I am aware of our record and very keen to set it right this time," he said. Cook is leading England for the first time in an ICC event and was extremely keen to win the last edition of Champions Trophy. "It's a big final for us. The boys are raring to go and ready to play. It's going to be a one-off day and we will give it all," said the 28-year-old Essex batsman. Cook is clearly banking on his fast bowlers and want the troika of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn to do the job against the Indians. "They have the skills and can get the early wickets to put pressure on the middle-order. We have our plans," he said. The English camp is taking a lot of heart from the fact that their home record against the Indians have been very good having beaten them 5-0 when the two teams played bilateral series on English soil during the summer of 2011. "We have a good record at home but it's going to be a one-off day and the better team will win. We have played each other quite often in the last one and half years and there are no hidden secrets," Cook said, adding, "winning the toss can be an advantage but can mean nothing at the end of the day." Asked about plans to counter Shikhar Dhawan who has been in tremendous form, Cook answered, "Yeah, obviously their top order have played very well. I think both top-orders have played well in this tournament and probably that's one of the reasons that we're in the final. "Of course, we've got plans, you know? And we've also got very skillful new ball bowlers, as well. It's going to be a good contest out there, a contest in which if we want to win the game, we're going to have to try and get the best of them because we know how dangerous those guys at the top of the order can be." The talented left-hander said that he isn't surprised by the positive effect that India's Zimbabwean coach Duncan Fletcher has had on the Indian team. "Yeah, it doesn't surprise me. We obviously know what Duncan did for English cricket, as well, when he came over to England and had a very successful reign with the English cricket team and changed quite a few structures in our game and the way we went about things. "So yes, I can see him obviously working the same with the Indian team, and he made some quite big decisions with the way they've gone." Birmingham, Cook felt, will be a "great place" to play the final simply because both teams will enjoy adequate support from their loyal fans. "...it's just a great place to play India here. It's going to be a great crowd. I think both sides will get some great support, and hopefully we can put on a good show." In the last couple of years, both England and India have played each other a lot of times home and away and Cook feels that there isn't much secrets in the opposition ranks as most of the players are known entities. "Look, we've played quite a lot of one-day cricket and Test match cricket against them over the last year and a half or so, so I don't think it's too many unknown quantities from either side, really, not too many hidden secrets. And yeah, it should be a really good game," he added.

India enter final with crushing win

two sets of pitch invaders running on to the field on two separate occasions. On a Cardiff surface with a lot of moisture, the ball seamed, bounced steeply and turned appreciably, and the Indian bowlers were all over Sri Lanka after winning the toss. In the afternoon, the Indian openers continued their run of impressive stands, adding 77 through some luck and some attractive shots, and India cruised home with 15 overs to spare.

It would have reminded India of their first day of international cricket in South Africa on the 2010-11 tour, when they were inserted on a pitch that had absorbed a lot of rain and were bowled out for 136. Watching the first innings of this match, it seemed Sri Lanka had done well to not be rolled over for 136 themselves. The conditions were so juicy India's three frontline quicks bowled the first 22 overs - even MS Dhoni had a bowl later - and India either beat the bat or hit edge on 68 occasions.

The Sri Lankan batsmen couldn't be blamed much, except for probably Kusal Perera. They had to dig in hard just to survive. They strived to - Kumar Sangakkara had left alone 12 out of his first 32 balls - but eventually the ball with your name arrived. However, what really foiled Sri Lanka's plans was the assistance the pitch provided to spin, which they hadn't budgeted for when they were batting out the quicks like it was a Test. The quicks went for 98 for four wickets in their 30 overs; the spinners took four wickets for 81 in their 20.

The pitch might have been great help, but India exploited the toss advantage with impressive accuracy. The first extra came in the 20th over. Angelo Mathews, among others, fought the conditions, but like others he too fell the moment he became adventurous.

It didn't help that Sri Lanka had lost Dinesh Chandimal to injury before the match began and Tillakaratne Dilshan retired hurt in the fifth over. Kusal showed again that his game is not suited for these conditions as he followed a full and wide delivery to edge it for Suresh Raina to take one of his three catches at second slip. It was the seventh time in 12 matches that Buvneshwar Kumar had taken a wicket in his first spell, including five openers dismissed in single figures.

India kept the pressure up with Bhuvneshwar bowling a nine-over spell, and Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma getting appreciable movement every time they landed the ball on the seam. Ishant got the ball to stick into the pitch and steep tennis-ball bounce too.Then Dilshan seemed to have pulled his calf while trying to keep out a sharply swinging delivery. He tried to bat on, but with the new no-runner regulations he had to leave the field. Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne began to play it like the first morning of a Test, and justifiably so.

Sangakkara began to take the odd risk at the end of the 13th over, but when he charged at Bhuvneshwar and square-drove him for the first boundary since the fourth over, the score had reached only 32. Around this time, Ishant was beginning to get balls to misbehave a lot. The batsmen had to start playing at balls sooner or later, and when they did it didn't bring good news.

The combination of that bounce and seam movement finally accounted for Thirimanne, who followed a short-of-a-length delivery and fended in front of his chest. Sangakkara provided a replay in case you had missed it. Raina had taken all three, and the score now was 41 for 3 after 18 overs. It was so inviting that when Dhoni finally took off a seamer after 22 overs, he gave up the pads and began to bowl the 24th over.

During their 78-run stand in 18.1 overs, Mahela Jayawardene and Mathews successfully reviewed an lbw call each, and seemed to have put Sri Lanka back on track. With the ball turning thanks to the moisture, their plans unravelled. Jayawardene was bowled by a Jadeja skidder, and the batting Powerplay's analysis read 5-2-12-1.

Everyone who tried big hits in the remaining overs fell to the tricks of the pitch. Dilshan came back to bat for the last two overs. Sri Lanka, though, could manage just the 54 in the last 10. About an hour later, by when the Indian openers had seen off the Nuwan Kulasekara threat, it almost seemed the pitch had lost all its moisture. Shikhar Dhawan continued to drive and cut fearlessly, Rohit Sharma continued to provide the starts, and Virat Kohli added a fifty to four centuries in his last seven matches against Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka didn't help themselves. They used Lasith Malinga - their best hope despite his poor record against India - only for three overs at the top and then when India had chugged along to 93 for 1. They dropped Dhawan thrice, first when he was on 18. India were not complaining, though.

Injured Dilshan out of West Indies tri-series

Upul Tharanga will replace the injured Tillakaratne Dilshan in Sri Lanka's squad for the tri-series in West Indies, while Ajantha Mendis also got a recall atThisara Perera's expense. Scans after Thursday's Champions Trophy semi-final against India showed Dilshan had suffered a second-degree tear to his right medial calf muscle and will be in recovery for four to six weeks. The injury also put him in doubt for South Africa's limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka, which begins on July 20.

Mendis has been increasingly regarded a Twenty20 specialist, and has not played an ODI for Sri Lanka since January. His inclusion strengthened Sri Lanka's spin resources on tour, with Rangana Herath, Sachithra Senanayake and Jeevan Mendis also traveling. Perera's exclusion was a surprise, though, and Dilhara Lokuhettige, who has been with the team in the UK without having played a match, will remain in the squad as they head to the Caribbean.

Perera has been a fixture of Sri Lanka's limited-overs sides in the last 18 months, but made only 15 runs in two innings in the Champions Trophy, and bowled eight overs for no wicket. Tharanga has also been out of the side since January, but had an encouraging season of first-class cricket, in which he averaged 66.66 in 14 innings.

Dilshan tore his calf in the fourth over of Sri Lanka's innings, after he had struck Umesh Yadav for two boundaries. Though he took painkillers, he was unable to continue batting and retired hurt in the next over. He returned in the penultimate over of the innings, but hobbled between the wickets during his stay, and did not take the field as Sri Lanka failed in their attempt to defend 181.

The tri-series in the West Indies will feature India, as well as the hosts, and begins on June 28.

Pietersen feared serious injury

Kevin Pietersen has marked his return to first-class action for the first time in three months by suggesting that his fear of prolonged injury lay-offs was precisely the reason why last summer he wanted to retire from England's one-day side.

There was no angry self-justification, no forceful opinion likely to incur the wrath of the England management, just a gentle acceptance in a chat on Talksport radio with his old England buddy, Darren Gough - billed as his only interview of the summer - that his injury might never have happened if he had been allowed licence to plot his own career.

Pietersen's disgruntlement over England's refusal to let him retire solely from ODIs - he was obliged togive up T20 as well - to an outburst after the Headingley Test against South Africa, a rift with the England dressing room, a stand-off with officialdom,exclusion from England's World Twenty20 squad and finally a triumphant return in the Test series against India as he agreed to continue in all three formats.

Despite being rested for the T20s in India and both limited-overs series against New Zealand, he suffered a badly bruised knee bone in Queenstown, which has caused him to miss both the IPL and Champions Trophy. While England face India in the final of the latter competition at Edgbaston on Sunday, Pietersen will be engaged in the third day of a Championship match against Yorkshire at Headingley. The English media he so mistrusts were out in force to watch him field on the opening day as he made a rare Championship appearance for Surrey.

In the interview, Gough suggested to Pietersen: "Only last year you were talking about looking after your body; you don't want to get injured playing all forms of the game. You went back on that, and ended up playing all forms of the game and got injured. So it highlighted what you were saying, that at some point every individual's body is going to break down."

"Exactly," Pietersen responded. "You can feel it as a player. I probably didn't go about it in the best fashion. You make mistakes, and you get over them, and that's the way you grow as a human being, by learning from things that you don't do well. So I take it on the chin, no dramas, it's just a case of looking forward and making sure that you do the right things now."

Pietersen's relationship with the English media has never been more strained. His disenchantment with the ridicule he received during his power struggle with England was deepened when it was erroneously suggested in New Zealand that his knee injury was not serious and that he was just trying to pick up an insurance payout from IPL.

"It was really bad," he said. "In New Zealand I couldn't duck a bounce, I couldn't sweep, I was in all sorts of trouble. I was on the strongest painkillers and eventually my stomach just gave up with me in the second Test match. I probably did it a lot of damage by playing, but I just tried to get through and played for as long as I could because I hate missing Test matches.

"A bruising on your bone is a lot worse than breaking it. You know with a break it'll be back. I've broken my arm, I've broken collar bones, I've broken my leg. I've broken plenty of bones and you know that within six, seven, eight weeks you're firing again. The bruising has been really frustrating but over the last three weeks I turned a real positive corner.

"I'm just going up to Yorkshire this week to get through four days. If I get runs, I get runs. If I don't get runs, I don't get runs. I just need to wake up on Tuesday morning or the day after being on the field knowing that my knee's not an issue.

"The professional in me will want to score as many runs as possible and that never stops, never fades, but the most important thing from this four-day game is to wake up every morning with no knee issue and to know that I've turned a good corner and I can handle a day in the field - because that's the only thing that hasn't been tested yet. I can bat in the nets, I've done all the fielding drills you can do but it's not the same as fielding for 96 overs.

Pietersen also dwelt upon the problems at Surrey which have seen Chris Adams sacked as team director and Alec Stewart, the former England captain, take temporary charge. He revealed for the first time - doubtless unintentionally - that Steve Davies' need to take a break from the game after the death of his team-mate, Tom Maynard, in a tube accident, led him to turn down offers of at least one England tour last winter.

If this was the case, it has never officially been made public.

Pietersen said the tragedy had "moulded the dressing room". He added: "The guys are really super-tight as they looked after each other so well last year. A lot of them took a big hit last year, but in terms of their performances, some of the guys have come back really well.

"I mean Steve Davies for one. He was hit by the Tom Maynard incident really hard last year. He went away all winter, turned down a few England tours and he said 'I need to go away, sort my head out' and I've never seen Steve Davies play as well as he has this summer. I mean, he's back and I think he's back a better player."

Pietersen was in affable enough mood to express his love for county cricket, even if it is a love from afar. "It serves a great purpose, it's a great learning facility. I learnt to be the cricketer I was through county cricket and the more you play it, the better you become. The more you do anything the better you become, so I love county cricket, it's a great form of the game, and it looks like it's still flourishing."

Jonathan Trott feels winning ICC Champions Trophy 2013 will be ideal boost for England

Jonathan Trott hopes England's ICC Champions Trophy 2013 final against India at Edgbaston on Sunday can lay the platform for the remainder of a successful season. Trott, third in the list of the tournament's leading run-scorers with 209 runs behind only that of India's Shikhar Dhawan (332) and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (222), will be looking to help England to their first major One-Day International title this weekend. England have been trying for nearly 40 years and 16 previous tournaments to break their duck and success on Sunday could act as a springboard for their defence of the Ashes starting next month. "You always have a little cheeky sneak at the fixtures, and where the final is going to be played, and I was very excited about getting here -- and it's happened," Trott said at Edgbaston on Friday. "It's been a fantastic tournament (for England), with regards to coming back from a loss against Sri Lanka. We had the high of beating Australia first up, and then the game against New Zealand -- a tight one in the end, but I thought we played really well - and to beat South Africa at The Oval (in Wednesday's semi-final was a great performance)." He added: "I hope we are peaking. There's obviously still a lot of cricket left this summer, and I hope it will be a great one for England." Victory over India would be an ideal start and Trott added, "To walk out at Edgbaston will be extra-special. For me personally, I'm very excited. It's always fantastic for me, Ian Bell and Chris Woakes (his Warwickshire team-mates in the one-day squad) to play at Edgbaston -- representing England is always a fantastic honour. The guys are looking to seize the opportunity. They don't come around very often."

de Villiers hopes to rise above 'choking' tag

Twice during the last ICC tournament in Sri Lanka, AB de Villiers evoked the most taboo word in the South Africa cricket lexicon: unprovoked. Perhaps in an attempt to redefine the word, or maybe feeling that acceptance of it would bring progress, he spoke of previous South African teams having "choked" at the pre-tournament press conference in Colombo. He was keen to impress then that the team that had arrived at the World Twenty20 had made a clear break from that past. Funnily enough, three weeks later, he was using that same word to describe South Africa's loss to Pakistan.

In London, de Villiers did not embrace the tag quite as zealously, but that hardly means South Africa are paying little heed to the mental side of their game. As in last year's English summer, when South Africa captured the Test mace, they have been working with explorer Mike Horn, who, having also worked with the India team prior to their 2011 World Cup triumph, is quickly gaining a reputation as the world's preeminent cricket whisperer.

Before they arrived in England, South Africa had spent five days in Amsterdam, where they played Netherlands in an ODI as part of their preparation. "When we arrived there, the weather was quite bad and we were very worried about the preparation we were going to get in," de Villers said. "But it actually turned out to be a great week for us. We had a nice run in with Mike Horn, a very good fitness day and basically saw the whole of Amsterdam on bicycle, rowing and on foot. It was a great experience, and we learned a lot from him."

For first time in years, however, South Africa have arrived at a major tournament with a side that may not, on paper, be one of the tournament frontrunners. A pace attack featuring Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe looks as menacing as any in the country, but without Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis in the squad, the top order appears to lack solidity. But perhaps, free of the mental baggage of previous campaigns, the fresh faces who have replaced the old hands can provide the antidote for South Africa's big-tournament ailment.

"Graeme and Jacques will be missed experience wise," de Villiers said. "They've played for a long time. But I like to look at things in a positive way. There is a lot of energy coming in a guy like David Miller. We saw him in many games in the IPL, and he brings a lot of confidence to the team. To have an added number six or seven that can win a game from anywhere is great."

England's early-summer pitches may ply South Africa's fast bowlers with helpful wickets, but the attack once again looks light on spin, with left-armers Robin Peterson and Aaron Phangiso providing the slow-bowling options. De Villiers did not believe his side's spin bowling to be a weakness, and given Peterson's agreeable record in England, where he averages 21.71 in five matches, perhaps his faith is not misguided.

"I believe Robin is a very good spin bowler. He's been around a long time. He's actually surprised a lot of people in the last few years with the amount of wickets he's taken. He's a wicket taker for us, so that always makes him a dangerous bowler. It's just a matter of me finding the right time for the spinners to have the biggest impact on the game."

The Champions Trophy will be coach Gary Kirsten's last assignment in charge. He had scripted the side's rise to the top of the Test rankings. In addition to also having won the World Cup with India, de Villiers said he deserved nothing less than a triumphant finish with the team.

"It would be nice to give him a good farewell. He's been a great coach to us. We've learned a hell of a lot from him in the few years that he's been our coach. He's more like a mentor on the team. I find it funny calling him coach because no one calls him coach. He's almost like one of our friends and a mentor kind of guy that's really managed the team very, very well."

South Africa play Pakistan in a warm-up match at the Oval on Monday, and will begin their tournament against India on Thursday.

Guptill leaves England shell-shocked

Martin Guptill made the highest score by a New Zealand batsman in one-day cricket - his second hundred in three days - and his monumental, unbeaten 189 powered the visitors to a mammoth 359 for 3 at the Ageas Bowl which left England a huge task to avoid their first home ODI series defeat since 2009.

Guptill went past the previous individual mark of 172 by Lou Vincent against Zimbabwe during the penultimate over of the innings. The final 10 overs were carnage, costing 132 runs, as Guptill and Brendon McCullum brought up their hundred stand - the third of the innings - in just 45 deliveries as England's bowling was scattered to all corners.

As at Lord's, Guptill was dropped. Here he was on 13 when he pulled Chris Woakes to midwicket where Jonathan Trott spilled a head-height catch. And as at Lord's he made England pay with a century in 111 balls - his fourth in ODIs. He equalled Viv Richards' 189 at Old Trafford in 1984 as the highest innings against England in an ODI.

His two hundreds in three days was also a repeat of the feat achieved by Mark Greatbatch, the only other New Zealand batsman to score a one-day ton in England, when he notched back-to-back landmarks in 1990.

Two partnerships formed the bedrock of the New Zealand innings which allowed the later onslaught: Guptill and Kane Williamson added 120 for the second wicket, then Ross Taylor joined in a third-wicket alliance worth 109 in 17 overs as the innings accelerated. Not that Taylor's departure slowed things down as Guptill and McCullum ensured mayhem in the closing overs with the last 18 balls costing 54 runs.

Apart from James Anderson first spell, England's bowling was disappointing throughout, occasionally verging on woeful, albeit on the best batting surface of the international season so far, coupled with a lightning fast outfield.

Anderson made an early breakthrough for England by knocking back Luke Ronchi's middle stump to continue his lean start with the bat. Tim Bresnan, who is waiting in news of his heavily pregnant wife, was also economical with the new ball as England kept control during the first Powerplay but that wasn't to last.

Woakes, after suffering a dropped catch off his bowling for the second time in three days, sent down another expensive opening spell which cost 29 as New Zealand's second-wicket pair increased the tempo. Both Guptill and Williamson timed the ball beautifully square of the wicket - particularly off the back foot - although Guptill nearly picked out mid-off when he drove Woakes uppishly but it would have taken a super-human leap from Alastair Cook to intercept.

Joe Root was the first spin option used by England and when Graeme Swann did come on his first ball was crunched through cover by Guptill. Williamson, who fell for a duck two days ago, completed an unfussy half-century off 59 balls, his tally of three fours highlighting the efficient running which kept the pressure firmly on England - a point hammered home when Guptill dismissively pulled Woakes for six off the front foot - before Williamson bottom-edged a pull off Swann into his stumps.

Taylor took time to play himself in; he used 28 balls to reach 21, then clubbed 39 off his next 26 deliveries which included two sixes, one from a full toss by Bresnan, then a second with a trademark bottom-hand flick against Anderson. He fell next ball attempting a repeat - Woakes having an age to wait for the ball to drop to him at deep square-leg - but the damage had been done.

Guptill just kept on going. He went from 100 to 150 in 30 deliveries, his second six just clearing Root at long-on when he lofted Swann, and six of the last seven balls he faced went to the boundary. England were left shell-shocked.