Former England batsman Robin Smith dies unexpectedly, his family reveals
England’s former batsman Robin Smith has died at the age of 62. The news was announced by his English county, Hampshire, on Tuesday. Smith played 62 Tests between 1988 and 1996, died unexpectedly on Monday in Australia, where he lived, his family said. “It is with the deepest and most profound sense of sadness and loss that we must announce the passing of Robin Arnold Smith, beloved father of Harrison and Margaux and cherished brother of Christopher,” Smith’s family said in a statement released by Hampshire Cricket. Robin died unexpectedly at his South Perth apartment on Monday, 1st December. The cause of his death is at present unknown.” Smith had only recently met with the England Lions squad in Perth ahead of the first Ashes Test at the invitation of team coach Andrew Flintoff. Robin rose to fame as one of England’s most charismatic and popular players,” Smith’s family said. It added: “Since his retirement from the game in 2004, his battles with alcohol and mental health have been well documented, but these should not form the basis of speculation about the cause of death, which will be determined at postmortem investigation.” Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove said: “Robin Smith is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of all time Hampshire cricket heroes. “He was a batsman of awesome power and control, and amongst the most courageous players this club has ever seen — especially against bowling of real pace.”
Convincing FSDL in Wednesday’s meeting is crucial; Will AIFF make financial gain with Union Sports Ministry’s back-up for the resumption of top league?
A section of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) executive committee members seems to be curious about Wednesday’s all-important meeting between the Union Sports Minister and FSDL. The AIFF’s former commercial partner and the organizer of the ISL seem reluctant to continue with the Federation’s existing administration, which is scheduled to continue till August-September next year. Even the company has reportedly refused to make discussions over the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) accepting the financial terms and conditions set by AIFF. Amidst the situation where ISL and the I-League are also going through a stalemate, a section of the AIFF executive committee seems to be waiting for the Union Sports Minister’s initiative to convince FSDL about continuing with the AIFF. One of the executive committee members, when asked about the issue, revealed on condition of anonymity, “FSDL is reluctant to continue. I feel they can change their decision only if the Union Sports Minister can convince them. If FSDL continues, even if preserving their terms and conditions, then AIFF will also have some money after the end of the ISL. But if FSDL sticks to its reluctance, then the top-tier League might also happen with the support of the Union sports ministry.” The section of the executive committee has a gut feeling that the Union Sports Ministry can ask Doordarshan to beam the top leagues live, and even ask the respective ISL-playing states to make the matches happen. “Following the Union Sports Ministry’s instruction, respective state governments can also offer some financial grants to the respective state football associations for the participating clubs. But what will AIFF gain even if the country’s top-tier football league is organized in this way? The central government is unlikely to offer any such amount to the AIFF!” stated another executive committee member on condition of anonymity. Significantly, the AIFF has not yet made an official announcement of the two relegated teams in the I-League last season. Both SC Bengaluru and Delhi FC appealed to the AIFF’s appeal committee, which has been pending for months at the AIFF disciplinary committee. It is learned that the Federation’s top brass has decided to introduce a new disciplinary committee, which is likely to have a fresh hearing on the relegation issue on 13th December. Additionally, complaints from a couple of state associations have been filed with AIFF for allowing Sudeva FC to participate in the Second Division I-League despite the fact that the Delhi-based team did not play in the League for the last year. The Union sports ministry will have meeting with all the ISL clubs, I-League clubs and the stakeholders in Indian football also separately in Wednesday’s meeting.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi becomes the first teenager to smash three T-20 centuries in his maiden SMAT journey
Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s storming performance in domestic cricket continues. The dashing 14-year-old set a new milestone in domestic cricket on Tuesday with his third T-20 hundred for Bihar as the first teenager in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) championship against Maharashtra. It was his fifth T-20 match in the SMAT since his debut last year at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Then again, on Tuesday, Suryavanshi carried the load of run-scoring against a stacked Maharashtra side with another pulverising knock. The 14-year-old stormed to a 58-ball century, unleashing seven sixes and as many boundaries for his side. He clipped a low full-toss onto his pads while on 98 and brought up his third T-20 century in style by clearing the square-leg boundary. Only his U-19 teammate Ayush Mhatre, who has struck two successive centuries in the ongoing SMAT edition, and France’s Gustav Mackeon have recorded two T-20 centuries before turning 20. Interestingly, all three of Suryavanshi’s T-20 centuries within 16 innings in his career have been for three different sides. The blitzkrieg of his stroke-play left the entire cricket world mesmerised when he struck a blistering 35-ball century for the Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match against the Gujarat Titans earlier this year, making him the fastest Indian centurion in the league’s history. Last month, Suryavanshi smashed an extraordinary 32-ball century for India-A in Doha against the UAE in the tournament. With Chris Gayle’s record of 175 well in his sights, Vaibhav eventually fell for a 42-ball 144 in just the 13th over of the T20 match. His knock included a stunning total of 15 sixes and 11 fours, a total of 26 deliveries off the 42 he faced going to or beyond the boundary, sometimes travelling well beyond the fence.
Telangana Chief Minister starts training at midnight to face Messi on 13th December!
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is known for his ability to maintain strong public relationships. One of the most entertaining personalities in South Indian politics, Revanth Reddy, is also an ardent fan of football. Even during the intense 2023 election campaign, Revanth played a game of football in the old city area despite the business. Nowadays, after becoming the Chief Minister of Telangana, Revanth, still passionate for the game, hardly gets time to enter the pitch wearing a jersey. But Reddy finally got time to prepare himself for a football match despite the business, and this will be the first time he will play after becoming the Chief Minister of Telangana. According to a state ministry source, the C has even started training seriously at midnight, around 11:30 PM, after completing a demanding schedule of official duties. The late-night regimen is in preparation for arguably the most anticipated sports event in the state’s calendar: a friendly exhibition match on 13th December against the Argentine legend Lionel Messi as part of the “G.O.A.T. India Tour 2025. It is going to be a clash of nines and tens as Revanth Reddy will wear the number nine jersey, leading the Team-RR9 against a team captained by Messi, who will don his iconic number 10. The match, set to be held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal, is being informally billed as ‘RR9 vs. LM-10’. The chief minister will be playing alongside selected young students from government schools who have demonstrated exceptional football talents. The event is designed to be a lifetime inspiration for these emerging athletes. The exhibition match will serve as the culmination of the Telangana government’s two-year anniversary celebrations (1st December to 13th December), and specifically, the grand unveiling of the Telangana Rising Vision Document 2047 on 9th December.
