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India.com
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- India.com
From Wickets To Watercolors: Jack Russell Says He Earned More As A Painter Than Playing For England
In a posh corner of London, amidst the refined elegance of the Chris Beetles Gallery, Jack Russell—a name once synonymous with sharp reflexes behind the stumps—is now celebrated for his striking cricket-themed paintings. A mainstay in the England squad from 1988 to 1998, Russell played 54 Tests and 40 ODIs, facing legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, and Anil Kumble. But in his own words, art—not cricket—has become his "addiction". Having painted for over three decades now, Russell quips, "I probably earned more money now painting than I did playing." A Brush With History: Cricket's Legacy Captured on Canvas Russell's deep bond with the game remains unshaken—only now, it's expressed through oil and canvas instead of leather and willow. His portraits often spotlight legendary figures from cricket's rich past. One of his recent masterpieces features Ranjitsinhji, the first Indian to represent England. "Every year, I try to paint someone from cricket history. This year, it was Ranjitsinhji—the man was a trailblazer," Russell told PTI. His love for history and cricket beautifully collides in these works, creating timeless visual tributes to the sport. From Lord's to Local Markets: Russell's Love for India Russell fondly remembers his India tours—first in 1989 for the Nehru Cup and again during the 1996 World Cup. His fondness for the subcontinent goes beyond cricket. During off days, he wandered through bustling markets sketching locals, capturing life in its most candid form. "I used to sit in restaurants at night and paint people, musicians, local landscapes. I even painted on the streets wearing my England shirt—until the police asked me to move on!" he recalls with a chuckle. He cherishes his painting of Brabourne Stadium and considers his creative time in India and Pakistan among the most fulfilling of his life. 'I could spend the rest of my life there,' he admits. The Art Pays: "Probably Earned More Painting Than Playing" In the modern cricketing era of multimillion-dollar contracts, Russell's statement might surprise many. But his artworks, especially from the 2019 Ashes series, have fetched up to £25,000. Unlike today's stars, who can retire comfortably after a solid stint, Russell belonged to an era of modest paychecks. "We got paid decently back then, but nothing like what cricketers earn today," he says. "But I don't paint for the money—I paint because I love it." Keeper's Eye: Russell On Pant, Jamie Smith & The Art of Wicketkeeping Despite dedicating his days to painting, Russell remains an avid cricket watcher. He took time off his canvases to attend the third India vs England Test at Lord's and offered insights on two of the game's most exciting wicketkeepers—Rishabh Pant and Jamie Smith. "Pant's an entertainer. Whether he's batting or keeping, you can't take your eyes off him," he said. However, Russell does believe Pant still needs fine-tuning in his glovework, especially standing up to the stumps. As for Jamie Smith, Russell sees greatness. 'He's got the potential to be England's best ever batsman-wicketkeeper—maybe even in the Gilchrist league,' he opines. Off the Grid but Always Connected In true Jack Russell fashion, the 61-year-old defies the digital age—no phone, no WhatsApp. The only way to reach him is via email or a gallery visit. Yet, he maintains a dedicated fanbase across the cricketing world, especially in India, thanks to his social media presence focused on art. 'I just paint, paint, paint. It's what I do,' Russell says. That passion echoes through every brushstroke, just as it once did with every catch behind the stumps.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Made more money doing this than playing cricket: Former England Cricketer Jack Russell shares the skill that changed his life
Tucked away in a posh lane in central London, Jack Russell is hard at work, not at the crease, but in front of a canvas. The former England wicketkeeper-batter is now better known in art circles than cricketing ones, though his love for the game has never truly faded. As reported by PTI, Russell remains as delightfully eccentric in retirement as he was in his playing days, a man who paints obsessively, avoids mobile phones, and is still not on WhatsApp. The only way to reach him? An email. And if you're lucky, you might spot him at the Chris Beetles Gallery in London, where his cricket-themed artworks bring nostalgic joy to purists and fans alike. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Artificial Intelligence Healthcare Technology healthcare MBA Operations Management Management PGDM others Leadership Product Management Design Thinking Cybersecurity CXO Public Policy Finance MCA Degree Project Management Data Science Others Data Science Digital Marketing Data Analytics Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Exec Cert Prog in AI for Biz India Starts on undefined Get Details From Gloves to Gallery Now 61, Russell is still recognised for his quirky style, the funky sunglasses, the battered sunhat that looked permanently attached to his head, and those lightning-fast hands behind the stumps. He was England's heartbeat behind the wicket for years. But more than two decades after retiring from county cricket, it's his brushstrokes, not his footwork, that get him praise. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 임플란트 부담되서 미루셨다면, 지금이 기회입니다 과잉진료, 추가금액 없는 치과 지금 신청하기 Undo 'I retired from England in 1998, county cricket in 2004, and I've just been painting ever since. It's the only skill I've got left,' he told PTI with a chuckle. 'That's what I do. I just paint, paint, paint.' And he's not exaggerating. Russell has been painting for over 35 years, longer than his entire professional cricket career. It all started during rain breaks in county games. While teammates grumbled, Russell would pull out sketchbooks and paint whatever he saw, often amusing or annoying the dressing room. Live Events Painting Ranjitsinhji, and a Little Piece of India Russell's love for cricket still runs deep through his brushes. He recently unveiled a portrait of Ranjitsinhji, the first Indian to play for England. 'Every year, I try and paint someone from cricket history. Last year it was Douglas Jardine. This time I thought it was the right moment to paint Ranjitsinhji, such a colourful character and a stroke player. It's one of my favourites,' he said. A big chunk of his followers are Indian fans, and Russell has fond memories of touring India, for the Nehru Cup in 1989 and again during the 1996 World Cup. One of his prized paintings is of Mumbai's Brabourne Stadium. 'I loved India and Pakistan. On days off, I'd wander through local markets and sketch people. People would knock on my hotel room door asking to be painted! I'd sit in restaurants, sketch musicians and landscapes, sometimes even paint on the street, though once the police had to move me on, which is fair enough,' he laughed. 'I could paint all day in India. I had such a great time.' 'I Probably Earned More Painting Than Playing Cricket' Some of Russell's works have fetched impressive prices, one from the 2019 Ashes sold for £25,000. But for him, it's not about the money. 'Back in our day, we got paid well, but not like now. Players today, if they play for England for 10 years, they can retire comfortably. But I don't paint for the money. I do it for the love. Still, yes, I've probably earned more as an artist than I ever did as a cricketer.' Watching Pant, Backing Smith Despite being immersed in the world of art, Russell remains deeply connected to the game. He visited Lord's during the ongoing India-England Test series and says he has watched 'more than he should,' often putting painting aside to follow the matches. As a fellow wicketkeeper, he keeps a close eye on the current crop. 'Pant, you've got to watch him, whether he's batting or keeping. He's an entertainer. I'm glad to see him back after that accident.' 'Jamie Smith, I think he could become England's greatest ever batsman-wicketkeeper. He's a big guy, but agile, with great batting power. Maybe even in the Gilchrist mould.' On Pant's wicketkeeping skills, he says: 'He'll make mistakes, there are a few technical things to iron out, especially when standing up to the stumps. But those are small things, more mental than anything. If he asks, I'll happily share what I've noticed.' He also fondly recalls Indian greats like Syed Kirmani and his Gloucestershire teammate Javagal Srinath, 'He could bowl quick,' he says with admiration. Inputs from PTI
Hindustan Times
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Players lacked desire against Bangladesh: AIFF's national team director
Kolkata: India lacked desire in the 2027 Asian Cup qualifier against Bangladesh, said national football team director Subrata Paul. The former international has also listed team spirit among the challenges faced by the senior men's team after the 0-0 draw in Shillong on March 25. Subrata Paul. (Facebook) The minutes of a technical committee meeting on April 17 states that Paul, a former India No. 1 and Arjuna award winner in 2016, 'highlighted several key challenges faced by the Senior National Team (sic). These included issues related to Player's attitude (sic), patriotism and overall team spirit.' HT has seen the minutes. Paul should explain why he said this, said Bhaichung Bhutia, an executive committee member of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), over the phone from Gangtok. 'And he should name the players who he felt had not given their best so that they are not chosen anymore,' said Bhutia, Paul's India captain for five years during which the team won two Nehru Cup titles, the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup and qualified to the 2011 Asian Cup. On Friday, Paul, 38, did referencing Bhutia and a host of his former India teammates while doing so. 'I missed the desire that I saw in so many of my seniors and contemporaries such as Bhaichung bhai, Climax Lawrence, Sameer Naik, Deepak Mondal to name a few. The desire to play for the national team overrode everything including injuries,' Paul told HT, speaking in Bangla. 'It is my responsibility as national team director to point that out. If this makes me unpopular, so be it,' he said. The qualifier against Bangladesh was Paul's first official match after being appointed in February. Before that, India won a friendly against Maldives 3-0. 'Even there, the performance was not what was expected and I pointed that out to the technical committee,' he said. About team spirit, he said: 'This is a team that has some players with a lot of experience and some with little. It is a team in transition and maybe that is why it did not gel.' Paul said he did not know how the technical committee minutes were phrased. He said he did not speak about players' patriotism. Going into the match, India were ranked 126 and Bangladesh 185. At the post-match press conference, India head coach Manolo Marquez said the performance was 'very, very poor'. Maybe this is the reality of Indian football, the Spaniard had said. Since his first match (in September 2024), Marquez said he had felt in every training session and in matches the players had improved. 'Today, I felt we took two, three steps back.' Paul played 67 matches for India between 2007 and 2017 and was adjudged best goalkeeper in the 2007 Nehru Cup. It was his save in the sudden death shootout that helped India retain the title in 2009. In the 2011 Asian Cup match against South Korea, Paul was given the nickname 'Spiderman' for his saves that kept the margin of defeat down to 1-4. He played the AFC Challenge Cup semi-final, a 1-0 win against Myanmar, with a dislocated finger leading to permanent damage. Since the Bangladesh tie, India have lost to 0-2 Thailand in a friendly and 0-1 to Hong Kong in another Asian Cup qualifier. Email error An email from Paul on June 24 stating that a coach has to be appointed for the senior men's team led to speculation that Marquez had stepped down as he is reported to have wanted to. It also contradicted AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey's comment that the executive committee, scheduled to meet on July 2, will discuss the head coach's future. 'A wrong email was sent out,' said Paul. 'We will discuss Manolo's performance at the executive committee meeting, not the appointment of a new coach. Manolo continues to be India's head coach.'
India Gazette
01-06-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
Know Your Opponents: India and Thailand renew rivalry in men's football
Pathum Thani [Thailand], June 1 (ANI): From the Asian Games to the Asian Cup, from the King's Cup to the Nehru Cup, the history of India versus Thailand clashes in men's football is a long one. Including the first meeting, which India won 4-1 at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta, the Blue Tigers and Changsuek have played 26 times, as per the AIFF official website. The head-to-head reads seven wins for India, 12 for Thailand, and seven draws. The previous two matches, however, were both won by India in 2019. A sensational 4-1 win at the AFC Asian Cup 2019 in Abu Dhabi, before a narrow 1-0 victory to win bronze at the King's Cup on Thai soil. Sunil Chhetri, who scored the first two goals in the Asian Cup victory, reminisced about the performance that ended India's 55-year wait for a win at the continental showpiece event. 'That was a long time back. What I remember of the game was that the team was outstanding. (Anirudh) Thapa was amazing. So was Udanta (Singh Kumam). The defence was amazing. Ashique (Kuruniyan) started with me, and he was good. The whole team was really, really good in that game,' he told 'I think at that time, Thailand were probably better than us on paper by a mile. We were underdogs in that game, and to win the game the way we did -- it wasn't just four goals but the way we held ourselves and dominated the game -- was really fantastic,' said Chhetri, who became the first Indian to score at two Asian Cups in that game. The 40-year-old added that it serves as a source of motivation for the Blue Tigers as they prepare to face Thailand again in the FIFA International Friendly on June 4 at the Thammasat Stadium in Pathum Thani. 'That's also a marker for us to know that on a good day, if we work hard, that's what we can achieve. That game was special because a lot of young people did really well. So, we are taking a lot of positivity and inspiration from the game,' said Chhetri. While India are currently placed 127th in the FIFA Rankings, Thailand are 99th. The Changsuek have risen 14 places since Japanese coach Masatada Ishii took charge in December 2023 and led them to the round of 16 of the Asian Cup a month later. Except for missing out on the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers after finishing behind Korea Republic and China in the group, 2024 was a fairly successful year for Thailand. They won the King's Cup after beating the Philippines and Syria, and were finalists in the Asean Championship, losing 3-5 on aggregate to Vietnam. For the Changsuek, the friendly against India serves as preparation for their AFC Asian Cup Final Round Qualifier against Turkmenistan. Thailand began their campaign with a 1-0 win over Sri Lanka in March -- a game the island nation 'did not deserve to lose,' according to Manolo Marquez. Among those who ply their trade outside Thailand are midfielder Jaroensak Wonggorn (Cerezo Osaka in the Japanese top tier), midfielder Ekanit Panya (Ehime FC in the Japanese second tier) and defender Elias Dolah (Bali United in the Indonesian top tier). Domestically, BG Pathum United and Muangthong United contribute the most to the Thai squad, with five and four players each, respectively. The notable names in the Thai squad are captain and midfielder Chanathip Songkrasin, who is the most experienced player with 70 caps, forward Supachai Chaided, Swedish-born defender Elias Dolah, midfielder Ben Davis, who has three goals in just six caps, and Italy-born defender Marco Ballini, with a towering height of two metres. Indian winger Lallianzuala Chhangte shared his thoughts on Thailand, which will be a solid test before the Asian Cup Qualifier against Hong Kong. 'We played against Thailand multiple times. They are a good team, a hungry one. They like to make runs behind. They are also a team that want to play with the ball. But again, we are totally focused on ourselves. It's all about executing what we have been doing on the training pitch in the match. And if we can do it, I believe we can win these two matches (against Thailand and Hong Kong),' said the 27-year-old. (ANI)
Hans India
01-06-2025
- Sport
- Hans India
Chhetri recalls India's 'fantastic' 2019 AFC Asian Cup victory ahead of Thailand friendly
From the Asian Games to the Asian Cup, from the King's Cup to the Nehru Cup, the history of India versus Thailand clashes in men's football is a long one. Including the first meeting, which India won 4-1 at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta, the Blue Tigers and Changsuek have played 26 times. The head-to-head reads seven wins for India, 12 for Thailand, and seven draws. The previous two matches, however, were both won by India in 2019. A sensational 4-1 win at the AFC Asian Cup 2019 in Abu Dhabi, before a narrow 1-0 victory to win bronze at the King's Cup on Thai soil. Sunil Chhetri, who scored the first two goals in the Asian Cup victory, reminisced about the performance that ended India's 55-year wait for a win at the continental showpiece event. "That was a long time back. What I remember of the game was that the team was outstanding. (Anirudh) Thapa was amazing. So was Udanta (Singh Kumam). The defence was amazing. Ashique (Kuruniyan) started with me, and he was good. The whole team was really, really good in that game," he told the AIFF's official website. "I think at that time, Thailand were probably better than us on paper by a mile. We were underdogs in that game, and to win the game the way we did — it wasn't just four goals but the way we held ourselves and dominated the game — was really fantastic," said Chhetri, who became the first Indian to score at two Asian Cups in that game. The 40-year-old added that it serves as a source of motivation for the Blue Tigers as they prepare to face Thailand again in the FIFA International Friendly on June 4 at the Thammasat Stadium in Pathum Thani. "That's also a marker for us to know that on a good day, if we work hard, that's what we can achieve. That game was special because a lot of young people did really well. So, we are taking a lot of positivity and inspiration from the game," said Chhetri. While India are currently placed 127th in the FIFA Rankings, Thailand are 99th. The Changsuek have risen 14 places since Japanese coach Masatada Ishii took charge in December 2023 and led them to the round of 16 of the Asian Cup a month later. Except for missing out on the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers after finishing behind Korea Republic and China in the group, 2024 was a fairly successful year for Thailand. They won the King's Cup after beating Philippines and Syria, and were finalists in the ASEAN Championship, losing 3-5 on aggregate to Vietnam. For the Changsuek, the friendly against India serves as preparation for their AFC Asian Cup Final Round Qualifier against Turkmenistan. Thailand began their campaign with a 1-0 win over Sri Lanka in March — a game the island nation 'did not deserve to lose,' according to Manolo Marquez. The notable names in the Thai squad are captain and midfielder Chanathip Songkrasin, who is the most experienced player with 70 caps, forward Supachai Chaided, Swedish-born defender Elias Dolah, midfielder Ben Davis, who has three goals in just six caps, and Italy-born defender Marco Ballini, with a towering height of two metres. Among those who ply their trade outside Thailand are midfielder Jaroensak Wonggorn (Cerezo Osaka in the Japanese top tier), midfielder Ekanit Panya (Ehime FC in the Japanese second tier) and defender Elias Dolah (Bali United in the Indonesian top tier). Domestically, BG Pathum United and Muangthong United contribute the most to the Thai squad, with five and four players each, respectively. Indian winger Lallianzuala Chhangte shared his thoughts on Thailand, which will be a solid test before the Asian Cup Qualifier against Hong Kong. "We played against Thailand multiple times. They are a good team, a hungry one. They like to make runs behind. They are also a team that want to play with the ball. But again, we are totally focused on ourselves. It's all about executing what we have been doing on the training pitch in the match. And if we can do it, I believe we can win these two matches (against Thailand and Hong Kong)," said the 27-year-old.
