Hold the back page .. Dickie Bird is making his umpiring comeback. Bird is turning out for a celebrity match organised by the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) at his home ground of Headingley. Let..s hope Sir Geoffrey doesn..t turn up or else there could be a real war of the white roses for the affections of Shilpa Shetty, who..s inevitably making an appearance.
And let..s hope also neither of them, nor star guest Amitabh Buchan, do a Richard Gere .. hmm, pleasant thought... The signs aren..t good, though. The press release expects the match to be ..action-packed and laced with its fair share of gags and sporting misdemeanours.. So there.
The IIFA celebrity team are captained by pin-up boy Saif Ali Khan, and includes Kapil Dev, Mohammed Azharuddin, Zayed Khan, Suneil Shetty, and Abhishek Bachchan. They will play a UK celebrity cricket team, again with a mix of as-yet-undisclosed players and celebrities.
Tickets are more expensive than for any county game, though .. at £22 for adults and £12 for children .. but it..s all for a good cause. The match takes place on Friday 8 June.