England name Collingwood new one-day captain

Durham batsman Paul Collingwood [Images] was named on Friday as England's [Images] new one-day captain, taking over the reins from his friend and Test captain Michael Vaughan [Images].

Collingwood, 31 takes up the captaincy after Vaughan relinquished it after four years on Monday.

England's chairman of selectors David Graveney told the ECB web site (www.ecb.co.uk): "The selectors believe that Paul Collingwood's experience and performances in the one-day game make him the ideal candidate to lead the side.

"He has been a key member of the one-day team for a while and we believe he is ready to take on the additional responsibility of captaincy.

"Overall, we were keen to identify the best way for the team to play in the one day game, pick players who can perform certain roles and keep one eye on the need to build towards the World Cup in 2011."

Vaughan said on Monday he would continue to play one-day cricket for Yorkshire, but would only look at returning to international one-dayers after giving the new skipper time to establish his authority.

He was not named in a re-shuffled squad to face West Indies [Images] in the one-day series.

NEVER SPARKLED

Vaughan has never really sparkled in the one-day game -- averaging 27.15 in 86 matches, compared to a Test average of 43.65.

Collingwood, with a better one-day average of 34.89, showed his batting talents by smashing 128 against West Indies on his home ground in Durham on Monday, setting England on their way to victory the next day in the fourth test and a 3-0 series win.

Collingwood made his one-day debut in 2001 and is an excellent fielder and a useful bowler. He will be expected to add fresh bite to a side who are only ranked seventh in the one-day world, compared to second in Tests.

England flopped at the World Cup, failing to reach the semi-finals and or to beat any of the top sides. The disappointment was all the sharper after a promising tri-series win over Australia and New Zealand [Images] in February.

England face West Indies in two Twenty20 games this month and three one-day internationals in July, before going on to play seven one-dayers against India in August and September.

Sivaji gold rush sweeps the globe

Every Rajnikanth [Images] release is a festival of sorts for his diehard fans. But with the superstar's latest release Sivaji: The Boss, the fans have outdone themselves.

Here is a look at what happened around the world during the release of the star's 100th Tamil movie.

From the United States to Britain, from the Gulf countries to the South Asian countries, Sivaji has ruled, with the South Indian Diaspora lapping up the film. An online booking site claimed that the opening shows across the United States were sold out within 24 hours.

'Nothing like this has ever been witnessed before. Shows in New Jersey, Chicago, Minneapolis and Virginia are experiencing unheard of sales. One of the biggest centres in the nation, San Jose/Fremont, will be opening up shortly. There is no doubt this centre will have sold out crowds in a matter of hours,' the site said.

In Chicago, for instance, the film was booked for the first 12 weekends even before its release, with fans paying up to $25 for a ticket. When Spider-Man 3 opened, the tickets were priced at $18.

The Chicago Tribune reported : After hoisting a watermelon with a flaming candle above their heads, club members smashed it to the ground as a gesture of celebration, eliciting cheers from the waiting crowd.

'This is like seeing a movie with Brad Pitt [Images] or watching something like Pirates of the Caribbean,' the report quoted a fan as saying.

One expatriate fan bought popcorn for $50 and distributed it to the audience in a hall in the US. Generous? No, crazy is the word, for the popcorn was to substitute confetti and used whenever Rajni appeared on screen!

'There was this guy in the theatre who wore a Sivaji-style wig, and entertained people even before the movie started. There was another guy, who spent around $50 on popcorn and distributed it to everyone so people could throw it in the air when Rajni filled the screen. Another gang brought camphor and pumpkins to show to a Rajni poster. They started dancing and yelling way before the film started,' a fan wrote in.

A theatre in Singapore, struggling to keep up with overflowing fans, is reported to have screened 15 shows in a day.

'Every film I will not miss and I see them at least one time -- minimum one time, and maximum up to 10 or 20 times. He is my very favourite actor. He is a very good inspiration for me. I love him,' the report quoted a fan as saying.

Trade data from Britain shows Sivaji overtaking Fantastic Four, Ocean's 13 and the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean!

Sivaji, which is being shown only in 12 screens in Britain, has fetched one of the biggest starting collections ever on the island and has put to shame the much hyped Yash Raj film Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, which has only collected nearly Rs 23 million despite being shown in 47 screens,' the report said.

Movie halls in Abu Dhabi did not fail to cash in on Sivaji mania either. They hiked ticket prices and sure enough, the fans didn't mind.

'I have watched the movie four times and I will watch a few more times. Price hike does not make a difference because such movies deserve it,' said the Khaleej Times quoted a caterer named Gopinath as saying.

While Gopinath would have burned a hole in his pocket, about a thousand labourers in Dubai were in luck. The Rajni World Welfare Trust, an NGO, will distribute tickets free of costs to the workers, including housemaids.

'There are many hard-working labourers in Dubai who wish to watch the movie but cannot afford it. That's why we decided to buy tickets for them,' an organiser said.

In Malaysia, like everywhere else, it broke the box office records, collecting Rs 60 lakhs on its opening day.

Earlier, fans had gone berserk when the movie's screening was delayed, causing losses running into lakhs.

'Movie fans turned violent causing thousands of dollars worth of damage in Malaysia when the screening of a new South Indian flick was delayed or cancelled,' a report said.

'In the central Selangor state, northern Perak and Penang states, police were needed to stop Friday's violence, the New Straits Times newspaper said. At the Sri Intan theatre in Klang, west of the capital Kuala Lumpur, fans destroyed speakers, tore the screen and curtains and broke chairs after the movie came to an abrupt stop midway due to a technical problem,' the report added.

And finally, fans in Japan -- where the star has an inexplicably huge following -- will get to see the movie by the end of June.

The movie will also be released in South Africa sometime around the end of June for which 50 prints are in the making.

Kalam not to contest presidential poll

President Abdul Kalam has declined to run for a second term, S M Khan, the president's press secretary, said.

Kalam also conveyed his decision to a delegation of United Progressive Alliance leaders led by Jayalalithaa and Chandrababu Naidu.

"The president has made it clear that he does not want to run for another term in the office as he does not want to involve the office of the President in any controversy," Khan told rediff.com.

Jayalalithaa had flown from Chennai in a last ditch effort to ask Kalam to contest the election as the joint candidate of the UNPA and National Democratic Alliance.

Though the decision had been conveyed to the leaders of UNPA during the meeting itself, they chose to meet NDA leaders and address the media at the residence of Amar Singh of Samajvadi Party in Lodhi Estate.

Two days ago, Kalam said he was willing to consider a second term in office provided there was certainty about his victory.

Leaders of the United Progressive Alliance -- particularly Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar [Images] -- and the Left parties had launched a scathing attack on Kalam.