Indian cricket coach Greg Chappell enjoys a secret vacation.

Cricket coach Greg Chappell and his wife managed to duck the media and the locals to enjoy a peaceful two-day stay here before they were identified by a cricket-loving auto rickshaw driver when they took a ride on his vehicle. Chappell and his wife Judy were enjoying a quiet holiday in the backwaters of Alappuzha this week, protégé Sreesanth had ensured they were driven down in around two hours from Kochi on Thursday without word spilling out. All was working according to plan — the media had not a whiff about the visit — till the shopping bug bit the Chappells.

Stepping out of the houseboat, the couple flagged down an autorickshaw to go to a garment store. In no time, a large crowd of journalists was tailing them. It turned out the driver had recognised who he was taking for a ride and, thrilled to bits, had called up all his friends. Now, the owner of Rainbow Cruise faces punishment for not letting police know that the Chappells had stayed in his houseboat.

Under the Foreigners Act, hotel owners are required to fill out a form — Form C — and hand it to the police within 24 hours of a foreign national checking in. Mathew could spend six months in prison if found guilty of violating the law.

But Mathew claims he found out he was hosting the Chappell couple only after the media reported on the visit. Kovilakam Lake Villa managers had booked the houseboat, he said, and they did not tell him who the guests were.

Mathew would take heart if he heard Alappuzha police superintendent E.P. Jayraj speak. Jayraj said it was a case of sour grapes for the local TV channels, who had missed the big story of the visit and were now trying to make up by sensationalising the slip. But he admitted that the cruise providers had failed to inform the police of the presence of foreigners, inviting action under the law.