Brit bats for 26 hours in world record attempt

A British graduate collapsed in a heap on Tuesday at The Oval cricket ground in London after batting for 26 hours in a bid to break the world record. Alby Shale, a 22-year-old from Oxfordshire, began his marathon stand in the indoor nets at 6:45 am (0545 GMT) on Monday and finally declared his innings at 8:45 am on Tuesday. The attempt was in aid of the Rwanda Cricket Stadium Foundation -- a charity set up to build the first proper cricket ground in the African country. The previous batting record of 25 hours was set in October by Australian batsman Jade Child. Shale, who has just graduated from Newcastle University, is now waiting for the Guinness World Records to go through the documentation and confirm his new landmark. "At the final ball he just sort of collapsed into a heap and everyone piled in on top of him," a spokesman for the attempt told AFP. "Someone sprayed a bottle of champagne all over the place." Shale faced around 200 bowlers in his spell at the crease -- including Prime Minister David Cameron, who turned up for a few overs. The rules set down by Guinness World Records allowed only a five-minute break for every full hour completed -- to refuel and go to the toilet. And while Shale toiled away in the nets Monday, out on the pitch, visitors Essex beat Surrey by eight wickets in a Twenty20 match, with former Australia captain Ricky Ponting scoring 65 for the hosts. A 6.3 percent jump in gasoline prices in June accounted for about two thirds of the rise in CPI, the Labor Department said. The overall energy index rose 3.4 percent, after just a 0.4 percent increase in May. Food prices edged up 0.2 percent following a 0.1 percent decline the prior month. Source: AFP