Pietersen weds pop star

London: England cricket star Kevin Pietersen has married pop singer Jessica Taylor in a private ceremony, a spokesman said. Hampshire batsman Pietersen and Taylor, who topped the British singles charts with her former band Liberty X, married at St Andrew’s Church in Wiltshire, South-West England Saturday. Henry Jacob of the outside organisation, which represents both the 27-year-olds, said: “We can confirm that today Kevin Pietersen and Jessica Taylor were married. The private wedding was attended by close family, relatives and friends of the couple. They are now going away on their honeymoon and will return to the UK in January.” Former England fast bowler Darren Gough was Pietersen’s best man. England Test captain Michael Vaughan and ODI skipper Paul Collingwood were among the stars in attendance.

Ranatunga tipped

Colombo: World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga is tipped to take over as the interim committee chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). The former captain — now a member of parliament representing the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) — will replace Jayantha Dharmadasa, reported a Sri Lankan daily. Dharmadasa is likely to become chairman of a government body, it said. Senior SLC officials said no official communication has been received on the appointment. Ranatunga, one of the most reliable middle-order batsmen that Sri Lanka ever produced, played in Sri Lanka’s inaugural Test match as an 18-year-old in 1982 and then went onto lead the team from 1988 to 1999.

Ban on ICL players

Wellington: Six former New Zealand internationals who played in the Indian Cricket League (ICL) this month have effectively been banned from playing for the national team again. Allrounders Chris Cairns, Nathan Astle, Chris Harris and Craig McMillan, batsman Hamish Marshall and bowler Daryl Tuffey all played in the breakaway Twenty20 league, which is not sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC). “There’s an understanding that we don’t support the ICL and that we don’t want to give them unnecessary traction,” New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive Justin Vaughan said.
Harris (38), Cairns (37), Astle (36) and McMillan (31) have all retired from international cricket while Marshall and Tuffey had recently been consistently overlooked by selectors.