The Buzz
Liam Livingstone: 350 off 138 balls
Liam Livingstone, a 21-year-old Lancashire batsman who has yet to make his first-team debut, produced a phenomenal display for his club side, Nantwich CC in Cheshire, when he smashed 350 off 138 balls
Andrew McGlashan
19-Apr-2015
Liam Livingstone, a 21-year-old Lancashire batsman who has yet to make his first-team debut, produced a phenomenal display for his club side, Nantwich CC in Cheshire, when he smashed 350 off 138 balls.
*Initial suggestions were that his innings could be a record for a recorded one-day match, but through the power of social media larger innings were soon being thrown forth, including a 381 from a match in Otago, New Zealand and a 358 scored in 2011.
Still, Livingstone's was a stunning display which included 34 fours and 27 sixes as he flayed the bowlers of Caldy around the Whitehouse Lane ground during the first round fixture in the Royal London Club Championship. His innings led Nantwich to a monumental 579 for 7 in their 45 overs.
Full postGambhir's generosity rescues Indian ice hockey
Not many are aware that India even has a Ice Hockey team, but Gautam Gambhir is, and he has taken it as a "moral responsibility" to support the sport, donating Rs 4 lakh to the cash-stripped Ice Hockey Association of India
ESPNcricinfo staff
15-Apr-2015
His team might have been temporarily frozen by a Gayle-storm on Saturday, but Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir's warmth and kindness has not wavered even the slightest.
Not many are aware that India even has a Ice Hockey team, but Gambhir is, and he has taken it as a "moral responsibility" to support the sport. The Ice Hockey Association of India (IHAI) had made a desperate call for support to fund the national team's participation in the IIHF Ice Hockey Challenge Cup in Kuwait from April 18, and Gambhir immediately obliged, donating Rs 4 lakh to help the cash-stripped federation.
"It's the last thing to happen for a sportsperson that he cannot represent his country for the lack of funds. It's the worst thing. After all, they will be called Team India irrespective of the sport they represent," Gambhir told PTI before handing over a cheque to India's Ice Hockey captain Tsewang Gyaltson.
"For any sportsman, it's a great privilege to support any other sport, especially ice hockey which is not really popular in India. Hope they do well with this support and bring laurels to the country.
Full postBiker Dhoni cops a fine
MS Dhoni likes to ride his motorbikes around his hometown Ranchi but his latest joyride brought an unexpected visitor to his house. A traffic cop
08-Apr-2015
MS Dhoni likes to ride his motorbikes around his hometown Ranchi but his latest joyride brought an unexpected visitor to his house. A traffic cop. Pictures of Dhoni on his bike had made the local newspapers and the authorities noticed that the mandatory number plate was absent from both the front and rear ends of the machine. Instead, the bike's number was painted on the left side of the front mudguard. A policeman was promptly dispatched to the India captain's house, where his father had to pay a fine of 450 rupees ($7.25). It was not clear whether Dhoni's autograph was also taken, but an official receipt was issued for the fine.
Full postNepal's 63-over tribute to Hughes
The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has announced a tribute match in memory of Phillip Hughes, the Australian cricketer who died tragically in November last year after being struck on the head by a bouncer during a Sheffield Shield match at the Sydney
Bishen Jeswant
07-Apr-2015
The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has announced a 63-over tribute match in memory of Phillip Hughes. Scheduled to be played at the Tribhuvan University Ground on April 11, 2015, the match will see each team playing for a maximum of 31.3 overs.
The number of overs have been fixed at 63 in honour of Hughes who was batting on 63 when he was struck by a bouncer. The match will be played between two combined teams made up of visiting Australian cricketers, and players from the Nepalese national side.
Before the start of the game, Glenn White, Australian Ambassador to Nepal, will host a reception for the players and other stakeholders. After the match, one of Hughes' bats and playing jersey will be taken to Mount Everest, the world's highest peak. All proceeds from the tribute match will go towards this expedition to the Everest.
Full postYoungest first-class debutant retires - at 19
04-Apr-2015
Four years ago Barney Gibson entered the first-class record books but now the Yorkshireman has decided to retire from the game aged just 19. Back in 2011 he became the youngest English first-class cricketer in history when he kept wicket for Yorkshire against Durham University aged just 15 years and 27 days - needing special dispensation from his school to play - but it proved to be his only appearance at senior level.
Gibson has never progressed from the second XI and was eventually overlooked as wicketkeeper - his last match saw him send down 3.3 overs and he didn't even bat. "This was a difficult decision to make," Gibson said. "I have been involved with the club since I was 11 and I feel that now is the right time for me to look at a career change." Yorkshire's director of cricket development Ian Dews said he was "very much Gibson's own decision".
An early debut, it seems, is no guarantee of success. Gibson broke the records held by Charles Young, who was 15 years and 131 days when he played for Hampshire against Kent at Gravesend in 1861. He played 38 games across the next 18 years before slipping away into history.
Full postFather Time takes a knock at Lord's
It has been a fixture of Lord's since 1926 but on Monday morning there was a different look to English cricket HQ with the famous Father Time weathervane bent back almost 90 degrees
30-Mar-2015
It has been a fixture of Lord's since 1926 but on Monday morning there was a different look to English cricket HQ with the famous Father Time weathervane bent back almost 90 degrees. Stiff winds in St John's Wood caused the damage and the MCC are working with specialists to restore an iconic item of Lord's.
Father Time has been damaged before - in 1992 it was struck by lightning and during the Second World War was tugged off it's perch by cables from a barrage balloon.
The weathervane - the Grim Reaper holding his scythe over his shoulder and one bail over the stumps in a skeletal hand - has stood over Lord's since 1926 when it was presented by architect Sir Herbert Baker as an apology for building work being delayed by the general strike
Full postLondon to Melbourne...for the weekend
To support his team during the World Cup final, a New Zealand fan has decided to embark on a journey so long in terms of distance, yet so short in terms of time, that it will surely inspire a whole new generation of cricket followers
ESPNcricinfo staff
26-Mar-2015
To support his team during the World Cup final, a New Zealand fan has decided to embark on a journey so long in terms of distance, yet so short in terms of time, that it will surely inspire a whole new generation of cricket followers. Peter Thompson of London has his trans-continental jaunt all neatly planned out: finish work on Friday, get on the plane to Melbourne, see McCullum's men lift the trophy hopefully, and be back at work on Tuesday morning.
All in all, that's a trip of almost 34000 kms but it will only last 55 hours door to door, for a roughly 18.5 hour Australian holiday. And he'll have to fork out more than 7000 dollars.
"After the semi-final and the emotion of the way that happened, there was no way I was going to miss out on the opportunity to go," Thompson told the New Zealand Herald.
However, a bigger challenge awaits Thompson. The match kicks off at 2.30 pm local time, and 3.30 am London time, probably well beyond his bed time. No wonder it's keeping him awake.
Full postEarly photograph unearthed of cricket at Eton
A photo dated c1862 of cricketers at Eton is thought to be one of the oldest school cricket photos in existence
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Mar-2015
One of the earliest cricket photographs ever recorded - and perhaps the earliest schools cricket picture ever - has been discovered in a box of books and ephemera about Eton, the public school where the British prime minister, David Cameron, and a fair proportion of his cabinet, were former pupils.
The image has been dated c1862 and is signed on the mount by Victor Prout, who was best known for his portraits of the River Thames. It shows 11 schoolboys in trousers and waistcoats and such is its sense of languor it is not immediately clear whether the match is in progress or they are waiting for it to begin.
It is expected to raise in the region of £500 when it is put under the hammer by Dominic Winter Auctioneers in Cirencester. The earliest cricket photo of all is thought to precede this photo by about five years.
Full postCon man dupes BBC as Pakistan star
A club cricketer in northern England has duped the BBC into paying him to appear on programmes by pretending to be the former Pakistan batsman Nadeem Abbasi.
ESPNcricinfo staff
15-Mar-2015
A club cricketer in northern England has duped the BBC into paying him to appear on programmes by pretending to be the former Pakistan batsman Nadeem Abbasi.
Abbasi is furious about being impersonated regularly on BBC World News, BBC Asian Network and Radio Five Live and told The Sun that he would punch Alam in the face if he ever met him for "damaging the country's reputation".
Abbasi, 46, played three Tests for Pakistan in the late 1980s and now coaches a team in Rawalpindi. The wannabe Abbasi is reported to live in Hulme, a suburb of Manchester, and has just played a bit of local cricket in and around Huddersfield.
A BBC spokesman said: "We apologise to the real Mr Abbasi and we will be looking seriously into what has happened."
Full postAll head to McLean Park
Napier's 10022 at the New Zealand v Afghanistan match was 7.59 per cent of the regional population, with Wellington, where 7.14 percent of its regional population of 422103 i.e. a crowd of 30,148 showed up for the New Zealand v England game, a close secon
ESPNcricinfo staff
11-Mar-2015
If cricket loves its statistics, Statistics New Zealand loves the World Cup even more. Napier has been name as the country's "most prolific cricket-watching centre, by the the country's official statistical body, reported the New Zealand Herald. Napier was given top-dog status from a calculation made after dividing the crowd figures at every New Zealand World Cup venue. Napier's 10022 at the New Zealand v Afghanistan match was 7.59 per cent of the regional population, with Wellington, where 7.14 percent of its regional population of 422103 i.e. a crowd of 30,148 showed up for the New Zealand v England game, a close second.
The best crowd figures for every World Cup game in New Zealand were compared to their regional populations i.e. people living within 50km of every ground. Statistics New Zealand spokesman Colin Marshall spelt out the official stance, "We at Statistics New Zealand love cricket and cricket statistics in particular." He added that the calculation did not include a few factors: travelling fans at every game, the capacity of every ground or whether it was sold out and the likely performance of England cricketers (said with a straight face no doubt).
Full post