Having been decimated 1-3 by England in the just-

concluded Test series, India already have a 3-0 lead

in the ve-game ODI series, with the opening game
getting washed out and the nal game to be played
tomorrow.
Any pretense that English crickets repair job,
after the Ashes carnage of last winter in Australia,
had moved beyond sticking plasters over gaping
wounds after their Test series triumph over India,
has promptly been exposed in the limited-overs
humiliation.
The question now is: Can England win the World
Cup in six months with Alastair Cook running the
show? When a series of pitiful one-day performances
unites commentary box pundits in their condemnation
of England as boring, outdated, embarrassing and
hopeless, the answer is anybodys guess.
Former captain Michael Vaughan wants Cook to be
sacked as Englands one-day captain immediately.
Cook is a stubborn man, said Vaughan in his column
for Daily Telegraph. He proved it this summer when
he deed people calling for him to go and made his
point by winning the Test series against India. But
one-day cricket is
diferent. If he is not
going to stand down
then the tough call has
to be made.
England will head to Australia and New Zealand
for a World Cup starting in February having yet to
win the tournament in any of its 10 previous editions
stretching back to 1975.
England great Ian Botham, writing in the Daily
Mirror, was even more scathing: Rarely have I been
so angry watching an England cricket team it was
a joke... The one-day game has changed but we have
failed to change.
Cook, though, is adamant he would not resign. Im
still hungry to do it. If the management say they dont
want me, thats a decision they make. The frustrating
thing is that every side I seem to play in for England,
theres a question about my place. Thats a hard place
to work from, he said yesterday.
Cook took charge of England one-day side in 2011,
leading England to the top of the ODI world rankings
in 2012. But England have lost nine of their last 12
completed ODIs under Cooks captaincy against Test-
playing nations.
The nal game against India at Headingley tomorrow
is Englands last home ODI before the World Cup in
Australia and New Zealand, which begins in February.
The players have to look at themselves and turn it
around. The guys are hungry to succeed, were just not
delivering at the moment. If anyone thinks their place
is safe, then they are wrong, Cook said.
More than anyone else, its he who should look at his
own position in the team.
Perhaps, England should bring Kevin Pietersen back.
That seems the most probable remedial step now.
High time Cook
steps down
as ODI captain
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Cook, though,
is adamant he
would not resign
Attenborough was a
longtime advocate of
freedom and education with
no boundaries
By Updesh Kapur
Doha
T
he death last week of
legendary screen and stage
star Richard Attenborough
brought great sadness to the
world of entertainment and sport.
FromHollywood to Bollywood, from
lmlovers and theatre-goers to sports
stars and the common man, tributes
have been pouring in for the 90-year-
old who lost his battle for life after
seven glorious decades in showbiz.
He was by and large the most
complete entertainer of all time a
stage actor, movie star, lmproducer,
writer and director.
Famed for his Oscar-winning
direction and production of the 1982
movie Gandhi based on the life and
times of the Indian freedomghter
Mahatma Gandhi, Attenborough
pursued his pet project for 20 years
against much push back fromthe lm
industry before making it a reality.
It was a meeting with himat a
theatre in London soon after his eight-
Oscar triumph in Hollywood that he
gave me, a student at the time, a few
words of wisdom.
Do what you believe in. Never fear.
Pursue your ambitions with drive and
energy.
Attenborough spelled out his
philosophy in simple words.
Not one to live the limelight, nor
ignore up-and-coming youngsters,
he gave me a fewminutes of his time
discussing my career plans and talking
about his adopted city and my home
town of Leicester in the heart of
England.
It was at a time I was contemplating
which career to followbefore
completing my studies with a
particular eye on journalism, one
which my parents gave me their full
support. I never looked back.
My rst-ever published piece
was a 2,000-word feature on my
experiences travelling through
India. This was printed in a British
newspaper as part of a nine-month-
long Indian festival of arts and culture
being celebrated in the UK.
The Indian connection was ironic.
As a second-generation Indian
born in the UK, my roots were very
much in India. My double-page-
spread dwarfed a twin column
feature by a celebrated British icon
Attenborough himself on the making
of his three-hour epic, Gandhi.
Sharing print space with the man
who enjoyed a brilliant career was,
indeed, a great honour.
Attenborough had a sense of
belonging and love for Leicester
where he studied and made his
theatrical debut treading the boards.
At the age of 17, he went to study and
professionally train as an actor at
the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
(RADA) in London.
The rest, they say, is history. During
a glittering lmcareer, which included
critical acclaimfor his portrayal of
gangster Pinkie Brown in Brighton
Rock, he became chairman and
subsequently president of RADAuntil
his last breath.
Born in the university town of
Cambridge, it was Leicester that he
had fond memories of. He remained
honorary life president of the citys
Little Theatre where he began his
art.
Most today will remember him
as the fatherly figure and creator
of the land of dinosaurs in Steven
Spielbergs Jurassic Park and its
sequel. Many of the older generation
will recall his role as the flight
commander prisoner of war in the
1963 hit film The Great Escape which
featured a notable cast of British and
American actors.
He had a passion as a director to
convey stories of ghters of justice
onto the big screen. Cry Freedom,
based on the life of South African
anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko,
was one of his prized undertakings.
Attenborough was a longtime
advocate of freedomand education
with no boundaries. Colour, race,
creed or religion, were all the same as
far as he was concerned.
But it was the lmGandhi that
propelled himinto the global spotlight
winning accolades around the world
for his work on the life and times of
the Indian civil rights leader who
inspired millions, including the
leaders of today.
With a stellar cast, including Sir
John Gielgud, Sir John Mills, Edward
Fox, Martin Sheen and notably Ben
Kingsley in the starring role, he
managed to overcome two failed
attempts to nally take his project
to the silver screen and enjoy the
adulation that followed.
Having the courage to overcome
obstacles demonstrated his
willingness and determination to
pursue what he believed in at any
cost. He was obviously following the
Gandhi philosophy of overcoming
fear and not succumb to outside
pressures.
His acting and directing prowess
earned himgreat recognition on both
sides of the Atlantic. In Britain, he was
bestowed with a Knighthood fromThe
Queen for services to the British lm
industry.
Sir Richard was later made a peer,
becoming a member of the House
of Lords in Britain that helped him
pursue his charity work with vigour.
But sport too was his love,
particularly Chelsea Football Club, of
which he was an avid supporter for
more than seven decades, serving as
director for 13 years and earning other
honorary titles before becoming Life
President in 2008.
Howironic that just days before his
death, the two places in his heart
Leicester and Chelsea were playing
in the London clubs rst home match
of the season, marking a return for his
adopted to the Premier League after
a 10-year absence.
He sadly wasnt there to watch an
exciting game of football as a long-
termillness had conned himto a
nursing home where he passed away.
Afectionately known as Dickie,
Lord Attenborough was a monumental
gure in cinema. He made a name
for himself with grace and integrity
with a passion for human dignity and
equality for all.
He achieved plenty during his
lifetime. He earned the plaudits from
many. His words of wisdomand
enduring energy remained.
Five years after my rst meeting
with Lord Attenborough, I was
honoured once again to shake hands
with the cinematic legend during a
reunion in Leicester.
He was in the city to attend a
charity event. I had just completed my
training as a journalist on one of the
countrys leading daily newspapers
Leicester Mercury slogging it out
on diferent beats covering crime,
inquests, plane crashes, council
meetings, sports stories and so on.
I was tasked to interviewLord
Attenborough for a feature story on
the legend. His words of wisdomyears
earlier echoed in my ears.
I revived those words during the
interviewand he said success doesnt
come easy. It comes with shear hard
work, grit and determination. He
said the Leicester Mercury was one of
the nest newspapers around. I was
chufed.
Stick with it, he said. Make a name
for yourself and then chart out a
career path pursuing other avenues
and the world is your oyster. To hear
such words echoing family support is
a blessing.
Howtrue. The world then became
my mission with a career in journalism
and PR spanning the globe.
Lord Attenborough, I salute you.
Updesh Kapur is an aviation, travel,
tourism, social and entertainment
writer. He can be followed on twitter @
updeshkapur
Lord Attenborough: the most
complete entertainer of all time
Foley, Ferguson and threats to press freedom
ByDavidASteinberg
The Seattle Times/MCT
F
reedomof speech. Its a
deceptively simple phrase.
And while governments and
local authorities have sought
to curb this freedomlong before it was
enshrined in our Constitution, the
complexities of exercising this right
are nowcentre stage.
The absurd trial of Al Jazeera
journalists in Egypt and the gruesome
beheading of US journalist James Foley
by the Islamic State are perhaps the
most obvious attempts to intimidate
and silence those who are working to
get vital news out to the rest of the
world.
But we dont need to go as far as the
Middle East to nd instances of the
powerful trying to control the voices
of the disenfranchised. In a town that
could be Anywhere, USA, Ferguson,
Missouri, is serving as a microcosmin
the conict between a governments
need to maintain order and the
publics right to know.
Two reporters were arrested for
not leaving a McDonalds restaurant
as quickly as police demanded. ATV
crewwas hit with tear gas and after
it ed, authorities tampered with its
equipment. Journalists have been
ordered to stop lming police, in clear
violation of the First Amendment.
In all, about a dozen and a half
journalists have been arrested or
detained in Ferguson for no other
reason than gathering information in
a place that law-enforcement didnt
want themto be.
As the situation in Ferguson
illustrates, the need for informed
and sensitive coverage is increasingly
important, and it is impossible to meet
that need when journalists trying
to report the story are harassed and
arrested.
But this isnt just about Ferguson
or Michael Brown, the African-
American teen whose shooting death
sparked riots there. Its not just a
racial issue that can be reduced to
a storyline about black victims and
white cops. Nor is it limited to the
First Amendment rights of journalists
whose job it is to give voice to those
who have none.
When it comes to diversity issues,
there are tinder boxes everywhere,
because such situations tap into some
of the most dif cult issues of race,
immigration and ethnicity. The better
job we as news professionals do in
raising awareness about and through
our coverage, the better informed
people will be.
The journalists coveringthe Ferguson
storycome fromnewsrooms that are far
more diverse than50years ago, when
the Civil Rights Act was enacted. That
diversity, combinedwiththe watchful
eye of people onsocial media, canbe
creditedwithimprovingcoverage.
These diverse perspectives give the
public a fuller picture of the details and
context of who, what, where, when,
howandwhyevents like the Ferguson
protests are important.
Heres to hoping that the diverse
corps of journalists covering Ferguson
and beyond can tell the story with
impunity and without restrictions.
David ASteinberg of Oakland,
California, is president of UNITY:
Journalists for Diversity, a coalition
of the Asian American Journalists
Association.
Attenboroughs
acting and directing
prowess earned him
great recognition
on both sides of the
Atlantic
A poster of Oscar-winning film Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough.
When it comes to
diversity issues, there
are tinder boxes
everywhere
Attenborough in Steven Spielbergs Jurassic Park .
Attenborough: seven glorious decades
in showbiz