The Buzz
Kane Williamson - ace dart thrower
Playing a game of darts with his Sunrisers Hyderabad team-mates, the New Zealand captain picked up the highest score possible
ESPNcricinfo staff
12-Apr-2017
January 30, 2017. Kane Williamson hits the target. The crowd goes wild. And New Zealand beat Australia.
April 11, 2017. He hits the target not once, not twice, but thrice in succession. The crowd goes bonkers. He takes a lap of honour. And New Zealand beat Australia again. In darts.
The stakes were not as high as they had been at that Chappell-Hadlee Trophy match two months ago but the outcome was still reasonably spectacular as Williamson pulled in a 180, the highest possible score in a dart game by hitting the incredibly narrow triple 20 zone on all his tries.
Full postLeicestershire 'bemused' at wife-beater connection
Leicestershire County Cricket Club have declared themselves "bemused" at reports that a convicted wife-beater will be taking up a professional contract with the club after being spared a jail sentence
ESPNcricinfo staff
27-Mar-2017
Leicestershire County Cricket Club have declared themselves "bemused" at reports that a convicted wife-beater will be taking up a professional contract with the club after being spared a jail sentence.
Mustafa Bashir, 34, who plays for a local league in Oldham, was handed an 18-month suspended sentence at Manchester Crown Court after being found guilty of assaulting his wife, including beating her with a cricket bat and forcing her to drink bleach in a bid to kill herself.
In mitigation, Bashir's lawyer Hugh McKee had stated in court that "if he is allowed to keep his liberty, he will be employed by Leicestershire as a professional. He was about to sign the contract when he was arrested." This assertion was later repeated by Judge Mansell QC during sentencing.
Full postMisbah's six sixes twist tuk tuk tale
Misbah-ul-Haq did the unthinkable - clobbered six consecutive sixes and produced a most dramatic antithesis to his age and recent form
ESPNcricinfo staff
10-Mar-2017
For a team historically known for their flamboyantly uninhibited brand of cricket, Misbah-ul-Haq's restrained, risk-averse mode of batting has perennially struggled to sit well the Pakistani fans. For the larger part of his career, Misbah's defensive strokeplay has given rise to imaginative witticisms - often snide - with his style of batting becoming synonymous with what is known as "tuk tuk" cricket in Pakistan.
While his captaincy and retirement plans continue to be a constant subject of speculation, the third fixture of the Hong Kong T20 Blitz saw him produce a most dramatic antithesis to his age and recent form.
Misbah, the Hong Kong Island United captain, waltzed six consecutive sixes across the last two overs of the innings, ending with a jaw-dropping 37-ball 82. His knock, studded with four fours and seven sixes, set up his team's 33-run win against Hung Hom Jaguars.
Full postAppeal launched after horrific net injury
Team-mates have rallied round a Bradford League club cricketer who suffered horrific injuries in a freak accident during net practice, and have launched a £10,000 appeal
ESPNcricinfo staff
23-Feb-2017
Team-mates have rallied round a Bradford League club cricketer who suffered horrific injuries in a freak accident during net practice, and have launched a £10,000 appeal to cover his living costs during his recuperation period.
Alex Tait was struck flush between the eyes by a straight drive while bowling during a Lightcliffe Cricket Club practice session on Monday, February 13. He suffered over 15 fractured bones in the incident, including fractures to both eye sockets, his skull, nose, cheekbones and forehead.
After ten days in hospital, Tait has learned that he will have to undergo multiple operations, including the insertion of metal plates behind his forehead. Further operations on his eyes and nose may then follow and he could also be required to see a neuro specialist to assess the impact on his brain and eyes.
Full postDhoni takes a train ride, after years
It had been more than a decade since the former ticket inspector travelled by train. Until last night
ESPNcricinfo staff
22-Feb-2017
MS Dhoni is back where he started: the trains. For the first time in more than a decade, he travelled by train last night, with the Jharkhand team from Ranchi to Kolkata for the Vijay Hazare Trophy that begins on February 25. Dhoni posted a photo of the team's journey on Instagram.
Before he made it big as an international cricketer, Dhoni served as a ticket inspector in the South Eastern Railway in Kharagpur. His life in the railways was amply documented in the biopic made on his life last year.
According to PTI, Dhoni travelled in a second-tier AC compartment of Kriya Yoga Express. "They (Jharkhand) did not have a special coach reserved for them and Dhoni travelled with his team and other co-passengers in 2AC. They had a block booking for 23 passengers including Dhoni," Sanjoy Ghosh, the chief public relations officer of the South Eastern Railway, was quoted as saying by PTI. "We had prior information about this and so we had arranged special security when they boarded in Ranchi last night and upon their arrival this morning in Howrah."
Full postEngland players gather for unique dinner
Over 250 England cricketers past and present gathered at Lord's on Tuesday night for a commemorative dinner
ESPNcricinfo staff
22-Feb-2017
Over 250 England cricketers past and present gathered at Lord's on Tuesday night for a dinner to commemorate the rare achievement of playing at international level.
The first gathering of its type was open to all England players, male and female, with at least one cap at Test, ODI or T20 level, including Alan Jones, whose only England appearance - against a Rest of the World XI in 1970 - was subsequently downgraded when the match lost its Test status.
The event was organised by Andrew Strauss, the director of England cricket, and hosted by Test Match Special's Jonathan Agnew (three Tests 1984-85). Each player who attended was presented with a cap with their name and unique cap number, and the dress code was England blazers, several of which had not been worn for decades.
Full postBarmy Army trumpeter loses - then finds - trumpet
Billy Cooper, the Barmy Army trumpeter, succeeded in recovering his instrument after leaving it on a train
George Dobell
10-Feb-2017
Billy Cooper, the Barmy Army trumpeter, has had his trumpet returned* after leaving it on a train.
Cooper, a professional musician who has played with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and on the Divine Comedy's most recent single among many other credits, was traveling on the 22.30 Southeastern line train from Charing Cross to Tunbridge Wells on Thursday night having played in "Matilda" in the West End. Moments after leaving the train at Orpington, he realised he had left his silver Vincent Bach trumpet in a black protect gig bag on an overhead luggage rack. Initially, it seemed it had not been found or handed in to lost property.
"I usually leave it at the theatre," Cooper told ESPNcricinfo. "But I had a recording session in the morning, so I wanted to take it home with me. It wasn't until I reached home, about half an hour after getting off the train, that I realised what I had done. Someone, somewhere must know where it is and if they could return it I would be eternally grateful."
Full postMohit Ahlawat's T20 triple-ton turns heads
A 21-year-old from Delhi has achieved the extraordinary feat of hitting 300 in a T20 match
ESPNcricinfo staff
08-Feb-2017
At the start of the week, Mohit Ahlawat was a 21-year-old with three Ranji Trophy appearances to his name and a first-class batting average of 1.00. Those three things have not changed but, after achieving the extraordinary feat of hitting a T20 triple-century at a club tournament in Delhi, he has moved a step closer to making his name as a cricketer.
Ahlawat said he had put himself forward for the IPL auction and the Times of India reported that he had been asked to attend a trial with Delhi Daredevils on Wednesday.
His feat came in the Friends Premier League at Lalita Park, a particularly small ground in east Delhi, on Tuesday. Opening the batting, Ahlawat thrashed 14 fours and 39 sixes in a 72-ball innings, scoring 300 not out - although the presence of three twos and six singles on the scorecard suggested it should have been 302 - in a total of 416 for 2.
Full postLord's displays green credentials with 100% renewable energy drive
Lord's has become the first cricket ground in the UK to run completely on renewable energy
ESPNcricinfo staff
07-Feb-2017
Lord's has become the first cricket ground in the UK to run completely on renewable energy, amid warnings that extreme weather linked to climate change has caused £3.5m worth of damages to the sport.
Research presented at Lord's during the launch of the #ShowtheLove campaign - which aims to show that cultural hotspots, such as sporting venues, could be lost to climate change - states that increased rainfall has caused significant loss of fixtures in recreational cricket and impacted on the professional game.
Other sports are also taking note of the issue. The National Hockey League (NHL) has previously warned that the future of ice hockey is under threat from climate change and water scarcity issues.
Full postHonorary doctorate? Dravid leaves it alone
Dr Rahul Dravid? We may have to wait for that one
ESPNcricinfo staff
26-Jan-2017
Over the years, cricket's had its fair share of doctors. In the early days, there were a handful of medical practitioners who even played cricket - the legendary Dr WG Grace being one.
In recent times, though, the doctorates have been more of the honorary nature - the likes of Mark Taylor and MS Dhoni are among those who have been conferred such degrees. Rahul Dravid could have joined the list on Monday, but he declined the honorary degree being conferred on him by Bangalore University. It's not the first time Dravid has shied away from a doctorate: in 2014, Gulbarga University decided to give him one, but Dravid did not attend the convocation ceremony.
But don't rule out calling him 'Dr Rahul Dravid' yet. In its press release, the university said that Dravid had "conveyed that he would try to earn a doctorate degree by accomplishing some research in the field of sport rather than receiving an honorary degree".
Full post