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India.com
3 hours 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.
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First Post
6 hours ago
- Sport
- First Post
Big boost for India ahead of Manchester Test; Pant, Bumrah set to play with series on line
India face a must-win fourth Test against England at Old Trafford with doubts over Jasprit Bumrah's workload and Rishabh Pant's fitness. Here's the latest update on their availability. read more Rishabh Pant injured his finger in 3rd Test, while Jasprit Bumrah is slated to play just three games. Image: Reuters With India trailing 1-2 in the five-match Test series against England, the visitors face a must-win situation in the remaining two games. However, the big question ahead of the fourth Test in Manchester is whether Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant will feature in the playing XI. Bumrah, who was rested for the Edgbaston Test to manage his workload, was earlier expected to play only three matches in the series, as confirmed by head coach Gautam Gambhir, captain Shubman Gill and the bowler himself. With two games left and the series on the line, fans are eagerly waiting to know which match Bumrah will be rested for next. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Will Bumrah play Manchester Test? Gill refused to give a clear answer about Bumrah's inclusion after a narrow 22-run defeat in the third Test at Lord's, saying, 'You'll get to know soon' when asked about team selection. However, a Sky Sports report suggests that Bumrah is likely to play the crucial fourth Test at Old Trafford. Bumrah has been receiving a lot of criticism over his decision to play just three Test matches in the ongoing five-match series against England. After missing out on the second Test when India were 1-0 down in the contest, several experts questioned the decision to rest Bumrah despite a seven-day rest period between games. Pant set to play 4th Test Meanwhile, there were concerns about Rishabh Pant's availability after the wicketkeeper-batter hurt his finger in the first innings at Lord's. Pant was replaced by Dhruv Jurel to keep for the rest of the match. But Gill confirmed that Pant's scans showed no major injury, making him almost certain to play in Manchester. The report also suggested the same that Pant will play the much-anticipated fourth Test match in Manchester. Pant will reportedly take the gloves is expected to play a crucial role as India eye a victory to level the contest. The fourth Test is slated to begin on 23 July at Old Trafford.
Spectator
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Spectator
The sorry demise of Windies cricket
The tub-thumping atmosphere in the Long Room at Lord's was so raucous late on Monday afternoon as India and England fought out the tightest of Test matches that it made a Millwall home game against West Ham seem like the Albert Hall. So a great triumph for Test cricket, yes? Well, up to a point. While England and India were showcasing the five-day game at its most thrilling and competitive, in front of a sell-out crowd for the fifth day running, one of the sadder events in the history of Test cricket was unfolding in front of no one in Kingston, Jamaica, where the West Indies were being flattened by Australia for 27 in the third match of the series to lose by 176 runs. The pitch was clearly a factor – only one of the four all-out totals was more than 200 – but that couldn't obscure the fact that it was yet another example of what a sorry state Windies cricket is now in. This was in Jamaica, the home of Chris Gayle, Courtney Walsh, Michael Holding and countless other stars of the game. How the mighty and all that… The total of 27 only missed out on being the lowest-ever score in Test history because of a misfield by the hapless Sam Konstas. Mitchell Starc took six wickets for nine runs and Scott Boland three for two, including a hat-trick. It was an utter demolition of a team that dominated Test cricket for two decades in the last century and were admired all over the world. But it's not just the decline of the Windies that rankles: Sri Lanka, home of legends such as Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene and not forgetting the most successful bowler in Test history, the great Muttiah Muralitharan, are but a shadow of their former selves. Or take Pakistan, again a country with a great Test history but who barely play much red ball cricket these days. Even South Africa don't have a home Test match until October 2026 at the earliest. So by all means celebrate the glories of the five-day game, but until it expands beyond the might of England, India and Australia it will be a bit shallow. Do we just want to see the 'Big Three' play crowd-pleasing series against each other? But what a game that was at Lord's. Ben Stokes was singled out for his heroics with the ball and his magnetic captaincy but it was Jofra Archer who was equally the player of the match. The sheer excitement of seeing that elegant, effortless run-up before some unplayable rocket was unleashed did so much to stir the crowd up to the fever pitch that encompassed the game. Archer removed the prolific Jaiswal cheaply in both innings, as well as taking out Pant's middle stump and leaping to take a brilliantly athletic catch off his own bowling to remove Sundar. As Pant departed, Archer wondered in his ear quite why he hadn't given the ball the charge as he had done two balls earlier. Top sledging. The England set-up deserves great credit for persevering with Archer through all his injury travails. Personally, I have loved the Club World Cup despite the abuse flung at the contest, and Gianni Infantino, Fifa's biggest fromage. Where else do you get to watch the best Saudi and Brazilian clubs? And as for Chelsea, does their brilliant 3-0 win over PSG suggest they may be close to cracking the Premier League? Is the remarkable Joao Pedro the missing piece in the jigsaw? They were suffering from their usual problem – too many £60 million talents to fit in the first team. But now, thanks to a bit of ruthlessness (goodbye Sancho and Madueke)and some hard-nosed selection decisions (take a breather Jackson), they look like plausible title contenders. And their odds of winning it (8-1 with some bookies) look way more alluring than Man City (3-1), Arsenal (5-2) and Liverpool (9-4). Just saying.
India.com
12 hours ago
- Sport
- India.com
Will Rishabh Pant & Jasprit Bumrah Play In 4th Test Against England? Report Makes Shocking Claim
India lost the Third test at Lord's against England by a narrow 22-run margin. The hosts now lead the series 2-1 with two games to be played in the ongoing Test series. With India trailing 1–2 in the five‑match Test series against England, winning the final two games has become vital. However, Jasprit Bumrah's participation for the Manchester Test remains uncertain until the toss. The star pacer was rested for workload management during the Edgbaston Test, and head coach Gautam Gambhir has confirmed that Bumrah will feature in only three matches in the series. With two matches left, fans are eager to know which one he'll sit out next. Despite this, India captain Shubman Gill did not reveal Bumrah's status at the press conference on Monday, simply stating, 'You'll get to know soon.' Yet, according to Sky Sports, Bumrah is expected to play in the next Test starting July 23. There were also concerns about Rishabh Pant after he suffered a finger injury during the first innings at Lord's. However, scans revealed that the injury isn't serious, and Pant is 'all but certain' to play at Old Trafford. Gill confirmed this, saying, 'Rishabh went for scans. There is no major injury, so he should be fine for the fourth Test in Manchester.' Dhruv Jurel kept in the whole match and Pant only came to bat. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan criticised the workload management approach, comparing Bumrah's situation to England captain Ben Stokes. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Pathan said: 'Ben Stokes bowled a 9.2‑over spell in the morning on Day 5. He is a 4D player. He bowls, bats, and even executes the crucial run out of Rishabh Pant—yet there's no talk of workload management when he bowls. But with India, it's different. Bumrah bowls five overs and then waits for Joe Root to come out, when you need to control the game. His workload was managed as he did not play at Edgbaston. When you're playing a match, there is no workload.' In summary, Sky Sports reports that both Pant and Bumrah are fit and set to play in the fourth Test, which begins on July 23 in Manchester an important opportunity for India to level the series
India Today
18 hours ago
- Sport
- India Today
How India went the ‘extra' mile in Lord's Test defeat
In the end, the scorebook will show that India lost the Lord's Test by 22 runs—a narrow margin by any standard. But buried in that margin, in the white spaces between the runs scored and wickets lost, lies a deeper, more damning truth: India conceded 63 extras in the match. Not a mere oversight but a telling indictment—a haemorrhage of discipline that, in a contest this tight, proved for comparison, conceded just 30 extras. And in their second innings—when the ball moved, the mood darkened and the match tilted—India leaked 32 extras out of a team total of 192, amounting to 16.67 per cent of the total. Of these, a staggering 25 came in byes, the third-highest contribution to the scorecard after Joe Root's 40 and Ben Stokes's 33. Such figures signal a collective lapse—of execution, urgency and chase that never took offTo chase 193 in the second innings at Lord's is, in most conditions, a manageable task, well within the realm of the possible. India, however, emerged with an approach as if they had a mountain of runs to chase. They were tentative, prodding. The shot selection was not just conservative—it was defeatist. Jofra Archer and Stokes, with their typical blend of craft and carnage, found swing and bounce. Each picked up three wickets. Ravindra Jadeja's innings was valiant—he struck the ball cleanly, looked unflustered by the collapse unravelling around him—but it came too late. K.L. Rahul's 39 was the only other score of intent, but by then the rot had set in. If there was ever a match to seize, it was this. Instead, India waited—and watched it Pant fellMomentum in cricket, like mood in theatre, shifts almost invisibly—until suddenly it's everywhere. In India's first innings, that moment came just before lunch on Day Three, with Rishabh Pant batting fluently on 74. India were 248 for 4, with a fragile England reeling. And then, without warning, came the set off, Rahul hesitated and the stumps were broken. It was not just the loss of a wicket—it was the unravelling of intent. Pant had been India's most expressive batter across the series, his innings that morning blending risk with reason. The run-out had no logic, no tactical benefit—a moment of added just 139 more runs for their remaining six wickets, folding for 387, only matching England's first innings total. They should have taken a 40 to 60-run lead. Instead, they re-entered the game at parity—and mentally on the back foot.A dropped catch that hauntedFor a brief moment in England's first innings, India had the upper hand. Mohammed Siraj, hustling in with the ball tailing under grey skies, had Jamie Smith on 5 when he drew an outside edge. It flew at a comfortable height to second slip, where Rahul stood. But the ball thudded into his palms and fell out—a regulation chance gone begging. Siraj's hands went to his head; so did India' went on to make 51 off 56 balls, a counter-attacking cameo that, in retrospect, may have been the knock that kept England alive. It prevented collapse, changed the tone and handed momentum back to the hosts. When margins are slim, errors grow Deep: A hero missed his cueIn the previous Test, Akash Deep had emerged as an unlikely hero—swinging the ball, seaming it late, ransacking top orders with gusto. At Lord's, a venue tailormade for seam and precision, the scene was set for him to build on that his returns were sobering: One wicket for 122 runs across two innings. It wasn't simply that he failed to take wickets—he failed to exert pressure. His lines wandered, his lengths drifted, and England's batters—particularly the middle order—picked him off with impunity. His inability to hold one end allowed England to reset after every key contrast, Jasprit Bumrah delivered one of his finest match performances, picking up seven wickets, crafting dismissals with nuance and menace. But bowling, like warfare, demands pressure from both flanks. While Bumrah attacked, Akash Deep failed to hold the strategy backfiredIn the second innings, India's strategy unravelled further. Choosing to send Akash Deep as nightwatchman, they hoped to shield their middle order from the late burst of English quicks. Instead, Akash Deep fell early, exposing the Jaiswal, so promising earlier in the series, made 13 and 0, undone by rash stroke-play. Karun Nair, handed another opportunity, flattered only to deceive. India's top three yielded little, and the middle order never looked secure. As collapse loomed, so did the final session, India had clawed within 40 runs of the target. Jadeja played audacious strokes, the crowd held its breath, and for a fleeting moment, the improbable pressure found the edges, and wickets fell in clusters. What lingered in mind, however, were the extras—not anomalies, but symptoms. At 63 extras in a Test match and 25 byes in a single innings, it's more than a statistical oddity—a lapse in fundamentals. It betrays a side that let the game slip not just with the bat or ball but with by detailTest cricket, unlike most sport, allows for complexity. One can play well and still lose. One can dominate sessions and still fail. But when a team loses by 22 runs, having conceded 63 in extras, drops a batter on 5 who goes on to make 51, and runs out their vice-captain while cruising, it's not just a loss. It's a case was not a defeat born of English brilliance alone. It was shaped by Indian indecision, polished by Indian error, and finalised by a scorecard that will never quite capture how avoidable it all to India Today Magazine- Ends
