King Ralph (1991) A comedy based on the premise that the entire British royal family is killed in a freak accident (are you laughing yet?), King Ralph was largely forgettable - apart from one particular scene that will stick in the memory of cricket fans.John Goodman, then starring in the sitcom Roseanne, plays Ralph Jones, a Las Vegas lounge singer who is heir to the throne via an obscure out-of-wedlock dalliance between his grandfather, a British nobleman, and a hotel maid. Peter OToole plays the private secretary to the new King Ralph and has the task of acquainting him with British customs, one of which is cricket. A game is set up on the palace lawn, with Goodman in whites, helmeted and padded up and looking as cuddly as Colin Milburn or Mark Cosgrove. OToole advises the king to swing the bat vertically, not horizontally, and tries to convince him that the forward defence is the first shot he should master. Of course, like most of the film, the outcome is predictable. The king goes through all the baseball rituals - whacking the bat on both heels, a huge spit, and faces up with the bat hovering behind him like Jonny Bairstow.First ball he faces, King Ralph clubs the ball over cow corner and through a window into the palace, where a couple of startled policemen draw their guns. Its outta here, the king shouts, before he proceeds to run the bases, starting with the fielder at cover, then to the bowlers end. Thus ends the joke on cricket, with its target audience - Americans - satisfied that cricket is a pathetic imitation of baseball.Most critics viewed King Ralph as a one-joke comedy that relied heavily on Goodmans charm. He certainly won no awards for his role but perhaps the director, Arthur Hiller, saw something in the cricket scene: the following year he cast Goodman as Babe Ruth in the biopic The Babe.The Crying Game (1992) Like Goodman, Forest Whitaker is an American actor who donned the whites and took part in a cricket scene for his art. But whereas Goodman only had to bat like an American baseballer, Whitaker played a Brit in a serious film, and had to bowl a cricket ball convincingly. Mastering the English accent must have been easy by comparison.In summary: Whitaker plays Jody, a British soldier who is captured by the Irish Republican Army. Stephen Rea plays Fergus, an IRA volunteer tasked with guarding Jody. The two develop something of a bond, but when the IRAs demands are not met, Fergus is told to execute Jody. Fergus takes Jody to the woods to do so; Jody makes a run for it and is hit and killed by a British army truck.But Jody had previously asked Fergus to seek out his girlfriend should he be killed. Fergus heads to London and does so. The two hit it off, and while getting acquainted, Fergus suffers from a guilty mind and dreams of Jody - a keen cricketer - bowling a cricket ball at him. Whitakers cricket scene is brief and hazy but - a somewhat clunky action notwithstanding - he makes a pretty good stab at bowling.Of course, this is not the scene for which the film is best remembered. That comes soon afterwards, when Fergus faces up to a couple of mystery balls that challenge him rather more.Blended (2014) Whitaker can act - he has an Oscar to prove it - but can he bowl? The jury is out. Dale Steyn can bowl - he has 400 Test wickets that say so - but can he act? See Blended and decide for yourself. Widely panned, Blended was described by one reviewer as far from the worst movie to come out of a studio-subsidised Adam Sandler vacation. But then, thats a bit like saying one particular Chris Martin duck was far from his worst Test innings. It still doesnt mean it was good.All you need to know about the plot is that it involves a Brady Bunch-style blending of families, and a holiday to South Africa. At the resort, Sandler tries to teach his not-really-son how to play baseball, but all the resort has is a cricket bat and Dale Steyn. Sandler asks Steyn to pitch to the young boy. The first ball is on a good length, and the kid swings and misses. Dale, you think maybe you could reach the plate? That would help, says Sandler. Within the space of two minutes, Steyn gets to play cool, chastened, miffed and angry. And as the scene ends with family infighting, Steyn gets the final word: This shit just got real.For cricket fans who happened to see Blended, Steyn was probably the best thing in it. At least, unlike three cast members, he avoided nomination for a Golden Raspberry Award: Sandler was nominated for Worst Actor, Drew Barrymore for Worst Actress, and Shaquille ONeal for Worst Supporting Actor.The Lady Vanishes (1938) This was Alfred Hitchcocks last British film before moving to Hollywood, and two of the more memorable characters from The Lady Vanishes would have had no place in an American film. Charters and Caldicott, played by Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne, are a couple of cricket tragics whose primary interest is not the title mystery - the elderly lady who goes missing on board a European train - but in getting themselves home to England in time to catch some of the Test in Manchester.In a hotel where the travellers are forced to stay a night (an avalanche has blocked the train), Charters takes advantage of an incoming call from London and the bellhops leaving the phone unattended. Tell me, whats happening to England? Charters enquires of the mystery chap on the other end of the phone. Blowing a gale? No, you dont follow me sir, Im enquiring about the Test match in Manchester. Cricket, sir, cricket! What, you dont know? You cant be in England and not know the Test score.Later, Caldicott is miffed at no mention of cricket in the only newspaper he can find, the International Herald Tribune. The Americans got no sense of proportion, he says. Not surprisingly, the pair profess to having no knowledge of the titular missing lady, largely because getting involved would risk them being delayed to the match.But of course it wouldnt be Hitchcock without some sort of twist. As Charters and Caldicott arrive at the station in London with ample time to catch the 6:50 to Manchester after all, they are stopped dead in their tracks. Well, not literally dead (despite this being a Hitchcock film), but their hope has certainly been killed off. A newspaper boy walks past them and the Evening News headline is plain for all to see: TEST MATCH ABANDONED: FLOODS. Poor Charters and Caldicott. If only ESPNcricinfo had been around back then, to help them keep up with the scores...Slumdog Millionaire (2008) And now we arrive at the big one, the Best Picture Academy Award winner in which cricket not only featured, but was central to the key moment: when the tea-boy Jamal Malik, played by Dev Patel, wins big on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? by correctly naming the batsman with the most first-class centuries in history.Throughout the film, we see the flashbacks through Jamals life that have helped him acquire the answers he needs to win on the quiz show. The cricket flashback involves Jamal in conversation with his love interest, Latika, while cricket is on TV in the background. Eagle-eyed viewers will note there are some inconsistencies with this scene, though. At first we are told of history unfolding at the Wankhede Stadium, where Sachin Tendulkar is on the verge of an Indian record 38th century. In what format? Certainly not first-class cricket, which is Jamals question. When we see the action, though, it is clearly a one-day international between India and South Africa. When Tendulkar is run out for 99 it becomes clear the match in question was in fact the first ODI of the Future Cup in Belfast in 2007.Despite the best efforts of the host to feed him the wrong answer, enough cricket knowledge has seeped into Jamals brain by osmosis that he correctly identifies Jack Hobbs as the man with the record for most first-class centuries. Tendulkar and Michael Slater - yes, Michael Slater - are ruled out when Jamal uses his 50-50 lifeline, and he is left to choose Hobbs over Ricky Ponting.For good measure, there is also a scene early in the film in which a group of boys are playing cricket on a tarmac and a very young Jamal drops a skied catch when a plane flies overhead. But for sheer novelty, the cricket highlight of Slumdog Millionaire has to be Damien Fleming commentating and Billy Bowden being name-checked. What other winner of the Best Picture Oscar gives you that? Not Schindlers List, thats for sure. Air Max Pas Cher Chine . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. Yeezy 350 v2 France . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. http://www.airmaxpaschervente.fr/destockage-air-max-tn-france.html . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. Fausse Balenciaga a Vendre .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Fausse Air Max 270 Pas Cher . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- When six of nine scholarship players score in double figures and three register double-doubles, even hard-to-please Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim can find a few reasons to smile.Andrew White had 15 points and the No. 18 Orange (4-0) held South Carolina State to 27 percent shooting in a 101-59 victory Tuesday night.Im very happy with what these guys have accomplished to this point, Boeheim said. Weve gotten guys a lot of experience in game situations and I think they have a good understanding of what theyre doing.Tyler Lydon had 14 points and 10 rebounds, one of three players who finished with a double-double for the Orange (4-0). He was 4 of 5 from 3-point range.Frank Howard had 10 points, 11 assists and only one turnover. Tyler Roberson had 13 points and 12 rebounds.Weve got nine guys and its different than playing six or seven. Weve got to get them all in there, Boeheim said. Guys play different positions, so they get in there and play different positions. We have some flexibility with this team, and weve got to keep working on it.Six players scored in double figures for Syracuse, and five hit at least one 3. John Gillon had 14 points and Taurean Thompson tied his career high with 12.Thompson and Paschal Chukwu each had four of Syracuses 11 blocks.We have so many different weapons who are able to do so many different things on the court, said Lydon, a sophomore. We have seven, eight, 10 guys or whatever, who can score the ball. It creates things for everybody and it makes us really hard to guard.Lydon entered 2 of 8 from 3-point territory after shooting 40 percent from deep during his freshman season.I put some pressure on myself and I was able to get it off my back tonight, he said. My teammates were able to find me in open positions, in good spots, and I was able to knock them down. Youve just got to keep shooting the ball.Ozante Fields led the Bulldogs (1-3) with 11 points, and James Richardson added nine.Syracuse has overpowered four undermanned opponents by an average of 34 points per game, so its hard to tell just how good the Orange will be. Next up, they hit the road for games against South Carolina and Wisconsin, two good tests.Games like these are learning games, Howard said after the first double-double of hhis career.ddddddddddddExecution is the big thing. Being crisp and sharp.Syracuse went 13 of 24 (54.2 percent) from 3-point territory and 37 of 68 overall (54.4 percent), while the Bulldogs shot 5 of 27 (18.5 percent) from beyond the arc and 19 of 70 overall.Last year we made it to our (conference) championship game. This year our goal is to win our conference championship. Thank God we dont have to beat Syracuse to win the MEAC, Bulldogs coach Murray Garvin said.South Carolina State scored the first basket of the game, a 3-pointer by Edward Stephens at the shot-clock buzzer. Syracuse responded with a 15-0 run, highlighted by 3-pointers from Lydon, White and Howard. The Bulldogs missed 11 straight shots before Tashombe Riley connected.The Orange led 46-31 at halftime and outscored the Bulldogs 55-28 in the final 20 minutes.Weve proven so far that we can shoot the ball really well as a team, Lydon said. We have a lot of different weapons and we can do a lot of different things. When we can get inside and create plays, it opens up the outside shots.BIG PICTURESouth Carolina State: The overmatched Bulldogs were never really in this one, but should find an opponent more to their liking when they play Holy Cross on Friday.Syracuse: The Orange step up in class Saturday against undefeated South Carolina. Much more will be known about Syracuse after games against the Gamecocks and Tuesday at No. 16 Wisconsin.POLL IMPLICATIONSThis victory probably wont have much bearing on Syracuses standing in the poll, but wins against South Carolina and at Wisconsin would likely bump the Orange up.FEELING FINEThompson showed no ill effects from a foot injury sustained Friday against Monmouth.HIGHLIGHT REELThompsons turnaround slam -- with authority -- extended the Orange lead to 41-26 with 1:37 to go in the first half.TURNING POINTDajuan Coleman gave the Orange some breathing room in the first half with five straight points on two point-blank shots and a free throw that extended Syracuses lead to 23-12.UP NEXTSouth Carolina State hosts Holy Cross on Friday.Syracuse travels to Brooklyn on Saturday for a matchup with South Carolina. ' ' '