[GreatBriton]

From BBC News -


[The hotel overlooks the Riverside cricket ground, in Chester-Le-Street, County Durham in the North East of England, where Australia play today against England, who are runaway NatWest Series leaders and have almost certainly booked a place in the final. Australia, the World Champions and world number one ranked team, have lost twice against England, the world number 2 team, in the NatWest Series so far, and have also lost against minnows Bangladesh, the lowest ranked professional team.]

Australian cricketers are refusing to be spooked despite the sighting of a ghost at their hotel on the eve of their match against England.

Media manager Belinda Dennet said she saw a shadowy figure outside her window at the Lumley Castle Hotel, close to the Chester-le-Street ground.

Hotel management said it could be the resident ghost, Lily of Lumley, who was murdered there in the 14th century.

However the team themselves insist they are not afraid and are happy to stay.

Ms Dennet was staying in a room just off the downstairs courtyard, close to the well where the murdered Lily was thrown.

'Frequent sightings'

She said: "I was scared. I definitely saw something, a shadowy figure. It was either a ghost or someone looking through my window at 4am."

However, the fast bowler Michael Kasprowicz denied he or his team mates were frightened.

He said: "I'm not afraid. I encourage any ghost out there to come and see me. Please come and say g'day, and we will sit down and have a beer or coffee and talk things through."

John Dobbs, the hotel's operations director, said the ghost had been sighted frequently in the past.

"Lily was the first wife of Sir Ralph Lumley. While he was away she was murdered by two priests who threw her body down a well, but she keeps coming back and visiting our guests and staff.

"However, I'm sure there's no ghosts in Australia. They don't have castles there."



www.news.bbc.co.uk

[GreatBriton]

From The Sun -

THE Aussies have been spooked by the legend of 700-year-old ghosts at their Durham hotel.

All-rounder Shane Watson was so rattled he left his room and slept on team-mate Brett Lee’s floor.

Ricky Ponting's cricketers are staying in the historic Lumley Castle Hotel in Chester-Le-Street. (Where they will play today against England.)

The West Indies stayed at the same hotel in 2000 - and were so scared three of them checked out.

Local folklore says the hotel is haunted by the ghost of a 14th century aristocrat who was murdered by Catholic priests. A number of Aussies reported either seeing or hearing unusual things during the night.

It is the latest and most bizarre twist to a tour that has descended into defeat, chaos and scandal.

Aussie media officer Belinda Dennett said: "Several of the players were uneasy, although a lot of them in the morning said they were fine...but maybe they were just trying to be brave. I saw ghosts. I swear I'm telling the truth. I closed the blind in my room before I went to bed. But when I was woken at 4am by my phone, the blind was up again.

I looked out the window a saw a procession of white people walking past. It was amazing, very scary.

Then I returned and the blind went up again - and there was someone looking in through the window.

I know I wasn't dreaming because I wrote down the message from my phone and the time.

Certainly, when I started to tell my story, a lot of them didn't want to know the details."

The historic hotel, which overlooks the cricket ground, is where lady-of-the-manor Lily Lumley was reputedly thrown down a well by a pair of priests when she rejected the Catholic church.

The hotel is full of dark corridors and the medieval atmosphere is enhanced by all the staff dressing in period costume.

Before this spooky encounter, the Aussies lost their last four matches - to England in the Twenty20, Somerset, the bombshell defeat to Bangladesh and England again in the NatWest Series.

All-rounder Andrew Symonds was also banned for two matches after a late-night drinking session.

www.thesun.co.uk

[usababe]

spooky...

[ShepherdsDog]

OOh, veddy skeddy eh kids?