The Buzz
The Buzz: Rashid Khan turned 21 today. Or did he?
All the bantz, the jousts, and little bit of eavesdropping from the social media playground and beyond
ESPNcricinfo staff
16-Sep-2019
All the world's cricketers walked into a bar. The LOLs, the chatter, and the occasional mini-brawls, they were endless. And the news cycle was never the same again! Welcome to ESPNcricinfo's Social Buzz, your go-to destination for all the bantz, the jousts, and little bit of eavesdropping from the social media playground and beyond.
September 20
Just what could the joke be about, you wonder.
Full postThe Buzz: The Kohli tweet that made everyone think Dhoni was retiring
All the bantz, the jousts, and little bit of eavesdropping from the social media playground and beyond
ESPNcricinfo staff
09-Sep-2019
All the world's cricketers walked into a bar. The LOLs, the chatter, and the occasional mini-brawls, they were endless. And the news cycle was never the same again! Welcome to ESPNcricinfo's Social Buzz, your go-to destination for all the bantz, the jousts, and little bit of eavesdropping from the social media playground and beyond.
September 12
So one fine day, for some odd reason, Virat Kohli posted this.
Full postThe Buzz: David Warner reacts to abuse with a smile
All the bantz, the jousts, and little bit of eavesdropping from the social media playground and beyond
ESPNcricinfo staff
04-Sep-2019
All the world's cricketers walked into a bar. The LOLs, the chatter, and the occasional mini-brawls, they were endless. And the news cycle was never the same again! Welcome to ESPNcricinfo's Social Buzz, your go-to destination for all the bantz, the jousts, and little bit of eavesdropping from the social media playground and beyond.
September 7
Over the summer, David Warner and Steven Smith have copped a lot of stick from England crowds for their part in last year's ball-tampering scandal. While Smith has mostly won them over with his incandescent batting, Warner's batting woes - six single-figure scores in seven innings - have given fans more material to work with. At Old Trafford, he found a way to get the crowd on his side. When the Australian players were walking down the stairs to take the field after a session break, a spectator yelled out, "You f*****g cheat" to Warner, who responded by turning around, raising two thumbs, and shouting "Wooo!" The crowd cheered and, at least for a brief while, he was villain no more.
Full post'Sir' Ben Stokes and a cheeky welcome for Australia in Manchester
All the bantz, the jousts, and little bit of eavesdropping from the social media playground and beyond
ESPNcricinfo staff
28-Aug-2019
All the world's cricketers walked into a bar. The LOLs, the chatter, and the occasional mini-brawls, they were endless. And the news cycle was never the same again! Welcome to ESPNcricinfo's Social Buzz, your go-to destination for all the bantz, the jousts, and little bit of eavesdropping from the social media playground and beyond.
"Sir" Ben Stokes and a cheeky welcome for Australia in Manchester
Sep 3
Full postShadab's batting form costs Mickey Arthur
The allrounder bet his coach that he would score three fifties in three Tests against Ireland and England. He aced it and had Arthur taking the whole team out for a meal
ESPNcricinfo staff
06-Jun-2018
Mickey Arthur has been waxing lyrical of late about Shadab Khan's potential as an allrounder and the need to invest in his talent. He probably wouldn't have counted on some of the investment coming out of his own pocket, though, as Shadab outperformed the high bar Arthur sets his players.
After being pressed by Arthur to improve his batting before the start of the UK tour, Shadab, with his characteristic self-confidence - watch the Yuvraj Singh lbw review in the Champions Trophy final - bet his coach he would score three half-centuries in Pakistan's three Tests against Ireland and England.
Inevitably, almost, Shadab began to tick them down. He scored a half-century against Ireland in Malahide, raising a finger in the direction of Arthur in the dressing room. That was followed by one at Lord's at which point Shadab had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show his coach two fingers and get away without a fine. The fifty in Pakistan's first innings in Leeds sealed the bet for Shadab, which meant Arthur had to take the whole team out for a meal.
Full postBrendon McCullum goes back to rugby
Back in the day, Brendon McCullum was very good at rugby. Now, at 36, he's trying his hand at it once again
ESPNcricinfo staff
04-Jun-2018
A young Brendon McCullum once famously kept out future All Blacks star Dan Carter from a South Island secondary schools rugby team. He was that good at the sport. Then, he chose cricket. Now, after much success in playing for and captaining his country's cricket team and retiring from the game, he's back to trying his hand at rugby.
First game of Rugby for 18 years today for the United Matamata B team in the local derby. Loved it! Unfort we went down but had a lot of fun with the boys.
— Brendon McCullum (@Bazmccullum) June 2, 2018
McCullum, who played for King's High School first XV back in the day, made a comeback on Sunday, aged 36, at fullback for United Matamata Sports B. The club was playing a local derby against Hinuera B. "It was meant to be a bit of a soft entry from a contact point of view, but that was never going to happen given it was a local derby," McCullum reportedly told Radio Live. "I had to get through that first tackle and it may have been a little bit late, but it wasn't too bad."
Full postMaking the gloves a 'mattress'
How South Africa worked on extra padding for their batsmen on a difficult Wanderers track
ESPNcricinfo staff
01-Feb-2018
South Africa needed creative methods to protect their fingers at the Wanderers, where variable bounce resulted in several batsmen taking blows to the body and hands. On the fourth morning, Hashim Amla was seen wearing what Herschelle Gibbs called "a mattress" on Twitter, essentially a heavily padded glove which was reinforced by splinting material.
South Africa's physiotherapist Craig Govender roped in opening batsmen Aiden Markram, who was dismissed early, to help. The pair used different coloured Kineso-tape to add some "flair," in Govender's words, to the gloves. Hashim Amla, Vernon Philander and Dean Elgar were among the worst affected on a pitch that the ICC rated as poor.
Full postRahul Dravid, back in blue
The "Bangalore boy" has been named brand ambassador by the ISL team from the city, Bengaluru FC
ESPNcricinfo staff
14-Nov-2017
Former India captain Rahul Dravid is officially back in blue, this time in the colours of Bengaluru FC, the Bengaluru-based Indian Super League (ISL) team which unveiled him as its brand ambassador ahead of its first season in the league.
Dravid won't be the first cricketing stalwart to show up in the league, which already boasts of names like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni as co-owners of various franchises.
"It's great to be an ambassador for Bengaluru FC, a team who I have been tracking across the last four seasons. Also, the connect is instant given I am a Bangalore boy," Dravid said of the association. "The way the city has responded to BFC has been tremendous and the club has some of the most passionate fans. The ISL will be a new chapter in the club's history and I'm looking forward to being part of it in my capacity with BFC."
Full postGoing postal over Pakistan's Champions Trophy triumph
Three months since Sarfraz Ahmed's men produced Pakistan's biggest ODI triumph in 25 years, the nation's postal service commemorates the achievement
ESPNcricinfo staff
02-Nov-2017
Just over three months since Pakistan's extraordinary win in the Champions Trophy, the nation's postal service has issued a set of commemorative stamps and souvenir sheets to mark the achievement.
The stamps, priced at Rs 10 and available for purchase at post offices across the country starting today, show Pakistan's cricketers celebrating with the trophy at the Oval, apart from a separate set with shots of the trophy and a list of nations that took part in the tournament.
Pakistan's win in the Champions Trophy was their biggest global ODI tournament victory since the 1992 World Cup, when Imran Khan's side lifted the trophy in Australia. Incidentally, Pakistan Post had issued a set of stamps to mark that achievement, widely described as the nation's greatest moment in cricket history.
Full postThe Kotla gets a Virender Sehwag gate
And Karun Nair gets overlooked...
Srinath Sripath
31-Oct-2017
On the eve of the first T20 international between India and New Zealand at Feroz Shah Kotla, the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) honoured Virender Sehwag by renaming the stadium's Gate 2 after the former Delhi and India batsman.
Addressing the media at the DDCA event to unveil the gate, Sehwag said naming gates, dressing rooms, stands and areas in the stadium after former cricketers like him would serve as great motivators for aspiring cricketers. When asked about his thoughts on his former India and Delhi team-mate Ashish Nehra playing his final international game at the stadium the following day, Sehwag quipped, "We will talk about it tomorrow. Today is my day."
The gate itself contains, among other things, a cut-out of Sehwag, with the line "Legends are forever", and a panel recounting statistics and achievements from his remarkable international career spanning 14 years.
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