With the first 'neutral' cricket Test match in England in 98 years, now being played between Australia and Pakistan at Lord's, delayed yesterday morning because of a light drizzle, poor light and a damp outfield, the small crowd at the ground found comfort in diverse trivial pursuits

Musings from the press box

Surfing the Internet in the landmark galactic press box, I was amused upon reading a news item forwarded by a friend from across the continents in antipodean Australia.

Croc attack
According to the report, a man, thrown out of a pub in Australia, broke into a zoo and climbed on the back of a swamp crocodile named 'Fatso' which, not amused by the antics of the inebriated intruder, bit him on the leg but, miraculously let him go.

Swamp crocodiles are known to be vicious and this was probably the first instance of a human being spared a gruesome death when attacked.

The 36-year-old told police he scaled the fence at Broome Crocodile Park last night to 'give the five-metre reptile a pat.'

Only in Australia, as I always say.

Crocodile Dundee: Fatso bit a man's leg after the man entered its enclosure on Monday night. Pic/AFP

Soldiers killed
On a serious note, three soldiers of the British Gurkha Rifles were killed and four injured when a rogue Afghan soldier fired a rocket propelled grenade at them in their base at a checkpoint at the Helmand base in Afghanistan.

The men were on duty at 2.30 am on Monday night when the soldier opened fire in a premeditated attack
without warning.

One of the dead was said to be a Nepalese and the other two UK nationals.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai apologised for the attack in Nahr-e-Saraj, but it has fuelled suspicion among allied forces about the loyalty of some Afghan police and soldiers.

Offering his condolences to the families of the dead in order to allay these concerns, General David Petraeus, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, said, "This is a combined joint mission, Afghan and Alliance soldiers fighting shoulder-to-shoulder against the Taliban and other extremists."

"We have sacrificed greatly together and we must ensure that the trust between our forces remains solid in order to defeat our common enemies."

Second attack
This was the second such attack by local recruits in nine months and the third in three years.

It echoes a similar attack eight months earlier when an Afghan shot five British soldiers dead and has put a question mark here over NATO's plan to start pulling out of Afghanistan.

In the earlier incident, an Afghan policeman opened fire without warning in a military compound in the Nad-e-Ali district.

The men, three Grenadier Guards and two military policemen, were off duty and had removed their body armour and helmets as they relaxed after a patrol with Afghan police.

Six other soldiers were injured. The policeman escaped on a motorbike and has not been caught. NATO and the Afghan security forces have launched a joint investigation into the latest killings.

In the past the insurgents have claimed to have deliberately infiltrated the Afghan military forces.

The attack has dealt a grievous blow to NATO's mission to rapidly train the Afghan army and the police and allow the US and British soldiers to start pulling out.

Wasted assurances
Despite British prime minister David Cameron's assurance that he wants to bring British soldiers home by 2015, the UK is deploying 300 more troops to Afghanistan, taking the total British force to 9,800 plus special forces.

British military chiefs have warned that setting a timetable for withdrawal could play into the hands of the Taliban.

The Royal Gurkhas, dubbed the 'bedrock of the British army,' are a highly respected unit and are known for their bravery and loyalty in the two World Wars and elsewhere.

Folkestone, where the unit is based, was in a state of shock and mourning yesterday with many local residents lauding the Gurkhas for the sacrifices they continue to make fighting for England.

Describing yesterday's attack as an 'act of betrayal,' a British Defence Forces spokesman said the vetting procedure for army recruits would be reviewed.

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