ERST LESEN! » bout liking to heckle Palmer from the oth

Matthew Hayden was recently bitten by a dog while out jogging, which got us thinking about animals that have been associated with cricket, in one way or another. Here are 11 of the finest, but if you can think of others, please send them to feedbackBotham the Pig By the Ashes tour of 1982-83, Ian Botham was beginning to fill out around the waist and was no longer the swing-bowling sylph of his heyday. That was good enough for the crowd at The Gabba, who smuggled a piglet in through the turnstiles (by stuffing an apple in its mouth and convincing the steward he was soon to be lunch), then released him on the outfield with Botham scrawled on one flank, and Eddie (in tribute to the equally rotund Eddie Hemmings) on the other. For anyone contemplating a similar stunt this winter, make sure your pig isnt sponsored. Concerns about ambush marketing mean youd probably have more chance of getting it in than a can of Coke.Cock-eyed SparrowsThere are several instances of sparrows being felled in flight, but the most famous casualty was the bird struck at Lords in 1936 when MCCs Tom Pearce bowled to Jehingir Khan of Cambridge University. The dead bird was stuffed to add insult to injury and can still be seen in the Lords Museum. It is not the only avian victim at Lords. In 1866 during Middlesexs match against Nottinghamshire, Tom Hearne was about to bowl when he spotted a pigeon fluttering overhead. He took aim and brought it down dead as a doornail. It too was stuffed and kept as a Hearne family heirloom.Snakes in the standsWhen Pakistan visited India in 1999, Shiv Sena, a Hindu extremist movement, were less than happy with the idea of sporting contact between the two nations. In the build-up to the Test, they threatened to release poisonous snakes onto the outfield during the game. In response, the police hired 30 snake charmers to patrol the stands and be ready to pounce should the need arise.Mackerel barrageIn 1986 during a match in the Cricketer Cup, Simon Hazlitt, batting for Old Cliftonians against Stowe Templers, was almost felled when a mackerel was dropped from a great height, narrowly missing him as he took guard. The assailant was a seagull who had stolen the fish from the sea-lion enclosure at the nearby Bristol Zoo.Beefy the BullAt Dunstall in June 2005, the players and spectators at Derbyshires second XI match against Leicester got more than theyd bargained for, when a bull leapt over the fence from a neighbouring field and rampaged around the ground for 20 minutes, pursued by a hapless farmer. I think one of the bulls got amorous with a cow or perhaps another bull - I am not sure about the sexual orientation of bulls, said Karl Krikken, Derbyshires coach, who was one of many onlookers sent scattering.Jacko the MonkeyThe Poona Monkey disrupted play in the match between MCC and Maharashtra in December 1951. Local reports state the creature, known as Jacko, quietly ambled onto the field and was spotted by one of the umpires fielding at midwicket. A groundsman was summoned and it was chased away with sticks.Donkey on a lengthIn 1918 a Priestley Cup game between Undercliffe and Lidget Green in Bradford had to be replayed after a mystery damp patch appeared on a length. After subsequent investigations it emerged that the culprit was the club donkey which had relieved itself while pulling the roller during pitch preparations. Lidget Greens suspicions were raised as the animal had hit the spot where England offspinner Cecil Parkin landed to ball to such good effect. Although Undercliffe won the replay, they were banned from playing any future cup matches at home. The donkey was given a severe reprimand.Merv the Mutt The teams were out on the field, ready for the first ball of third Test between England and Australia at Trent Bridge in 1993, but there was an unexpected hold-up. Running up and down at the Radcliffe Road end of the ground was a sandy coloured mongrel with absolutely no intention of leaving the field. Eventually, Merv Hughes took it upon himself to deal with the problem, and got down on his hands and knees to coax the hound to heel. Given Hughes feral reputation, the question on most peoples lips was who was more likely to give rabies to who? But Hughes eventually won the battle of minds, and Michael Slater was on hand to dump the mutt into the arms of the steward on the boundary rope. More than 60 people immediately rang the RSPCA to adopt him, with Graham and Sally Bosnall of Derby winning the race, and naturally enough, naming him Merv.Peter the Cat The most famous mog in Marylebone, Peter was the Lords cat for 12 years from 1952 to 1964, when his ninth life finally ran out on Bonfire Night (it is unknown whether any firecrackers were involved). He is the only animal to earn a mention in the Wisden Cricketers Almanack where, in the obituaries section, it is written that he was a cat of great character and loved publicity ... [whose] sleek brown form could often be seen prowling on the field of play when crowds were biggest. He has since earned an unexpected tenth life, after lending his name to a new anthology. Surprisingly no pictures are known to exist of Peter, although his successor, Sinbad, was snapped during a Southern Schools v The Rest match in 1963.Shark in the deepIn 1934 R Townshend Stephens wrote to The Times to recall an incident in Sohar when a game was taking place on a matting wicket laid out on a beach. A ball was swung out to the deep, but it fell not into the sea but was swallowed by a shark, he explained. Townshend Stephens, who was umpiring, gave the batsman out and the entry in the scorebook read caught Fish bowled Burkitt Ullah.Hansie the rabbit Peter McIntosh, an 11-year-old cricket nut from Northampton, had the misfortune of naming his new pet rabbit Hansie just three days before the match-fixing scandal erupted in April 2000. As Cronje Srs name was dragged through the mud, his bunny namesake sat chewing lettuces and going about his rabbity business, oblivious to the fact that he was now the talk of the town. We couldnt believe it, said Pauls mother, Elaine. 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The team also announced Tuesday that the Braves will wear a commemorative patch on the right sleeve during the season. The patch, shaped like home plate, carries the number 715, Aarons autograph and a "40th Anniversary" banner.TEMPE, Ariz. -- First and foremost, Bruce Arians coaches the offence, even though hes got the whole team to worry about as new head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. And that offence was the target of his criticism as the team resumed OTAs on Tuesday. "Were just not picking it up fast enough," he said. "Were still not picking it up the way Id like to -- at all positions." Arians singled out the receivers. "I dont like mistakes. I really dont like mental mistakes," Arians said, "especially if you made the same mistake last week. That should be corrected and in the books by now, and our receivers are not getting that done." Even the supremely consistent Larry Fitzgerald dropped a sidelines catch he makes 99 per cent or more of the time. Arians shouldnt be too surprised about the offences struggles. After all, he inherits a team that ranked dead last in the NFL on offence last season, bringing an end to Ken Whisenhunts days as head coach. Arians and new general manager Steve Keim have overseen a massive roster overhaul, most notably bringing in Carson Palmer as quarterback. He also brought in running back Rashard Mendenhall and drafted North Carolinas Jonathan Cooper with the seventh overall pick, already sliding him in at left guard and moving veteran guard Daryn Colledge to the right side. He also has a beefed up coaching staff, with 21 coaches, up from Whisenhunts 17. Thats allowed Arians to divide the OTAs into two 45-man groups to go through workouts simultaneously. "Ive always thought that small classrooms make for better success in teaching," he said. "The more eyes on the linemen especially, the offensive linemen and outside backers and tight ends, the more hands-on coaches the better improvement of the player, on the field and in the classroom." Running back Ryan Williams, whose two NFL seasons havve been decimated by injuries, offered a candid assessment of Arians approach, particularly when it comes to discipline.dddddddddddd "Everybodys accountable, thats the No. 1 thing," he said. "Its a respect thing. We used to have egotistical guys who felt like they couldnt be touched and be able to do whatever they wanted to. So having guys like coach Bruce is able to nip that ASAP and were able to have a good, quality practice and sometimes that wasnt able to happen because some guys were just doing whatever they wanted to do." Defensive tackle Darnell Dockett is thrilled with the coaching change and the move to a defensive system that allows him to make more plays rather than simply take on blockers to clear the way for linebackers to get the glory. "This is one of the most energetic head coaches Ive ever been around, and Im not just saying that," Dockett said. "Hes very intense on everything and hes straightforward, too." He talked about liking to heckle Palmer from the other side of the ball, but he called the new quarterback "a great leader for us." "I see him sometimes on the sideline, coaching the receivers and talking to the offensive line," Dockett said. "What a big difference from that position last year. Right now I think hes more respected and a lot of guys are willing to go that extra yard for him. Hes a tough quarterback and hes going to hang in there for us." NOTES: Arians said tight end Jeff King underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and hopes to begin working out in the next set of OTAs in two weeks. ... The OTA sessions Wednesday and Thursday are closed to the media. ... Arizona signed rookie free agent WR Charles Hawkins from Southern and waived-injured WR Javone Lawson (Achilles). Stump Mitchell, Hawkins head coach at Southern, is the Cardinals running backs coach. ' ' '