If you thought self-deprecatory quips weren't quite Michael Clarke's thing, his Twitter feed from Tuesday might change your mind. Clarke, replying to questions from fans on the microblogging site, also took the piss on a few occasions, and took it well. The irony of a question on curing lower-back injuries didn't escape Clarke either and he told the fan he, "was asking the wrong guy."

Clarke admitted to trying to grow a moustache for five years, and said he would rather be attacked by "10 duck-sized" horses than one horse-size duck. Shane Warne, Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Glenn McGrath and Jacques Kallis made the list of the five greatest players he has played with or against, while to Ricky Ponting went the honour of being the untidiest team-mate. Michael Hussey and Andrew Symonds were the batsmen Clarke said he most liked to bat with.

Clarke didn't miss the chance for a pithy dig when TV personality Piers Morgan asked him if he could name six current England batsmen better than Kevin Pietersen. "NO!" was the response.

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Fan plunges into river to rescue Gayle six

Chris Gayle's bout of six-hitting in the NatWest T20 Blast has caused at least one fan to strip off and go for a celebratory swim in a freezing cold river to retrieve the ball

ESPNcricinfo staff

02-Jun-2015

Chris Gayle's arrival at Somerset for a brief period in the NatWest T20 Blast has certainly brought excitement, with one spectator braving chilly temperatures to dive into the river to rescue one of his mammoth sixes.

@SomersetCCC #bestinthewest pic.twitter.com/8q6CmwQWis
— Harry Compton (@HarryCompton_) May 31, 2015

Gayle struck the third-highest Twenty20 score in English cricket history at Taunton on Sunday night, including 15 sixes, although he still finished on the losing side as Kent's century-maker Sam Northeast proved to be the decisive factor.

But even defeat did not stop one fan from deciding he would strip down and take a swim to retrieve a souvenir after Gayle's 15th and final boundary saw the ball clear the stand and land in the River Tone that flows past the Taunton ground.

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Kate Cross enters the male preserve

Kate Cross, the England seam bowler, has became the first woman to play in the Central Lancashire League - one of the most fiercely traditional leagues in England

ESPNcricinfo staff

22-Apr-2015

The Central Lancashire League has always been one of the most traditional, unchanging cricket leagues in England. The region is fertile UKIP: talk of protecting the old ways of England plays well here.

That made the achievement of Kate Cross, the England seam bowler, all the more meritorious when she became the first woman to play in the league, attracting plaudits from the ECB, which promotes women's cricket with fervour, and even grabbing column inches in the national media. She had quite a day, too, taking 3 for 19 for Heywood as they beat Clifton by eight wickets, and playing alongside her older brother, Bobby, who struck 75 but to his embarrassment dropped a catch off her bowling.

Kate, daughter of a former West Ham striker, David Cross, and the first woman to be admitted to Lancashire's cricket academy at Old Trafford, admitted: "I never thought I would get the chance to play for the first team at Heywood, the club in which I grew up and learnt my cricket. I'm extremely proud to be the first girl to play in our league and I hope we will see many more."

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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

1:42

'Wanted to break records for my team' - Livingstone

*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.

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Gambhir'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.

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Biker 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.

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Nepal'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.

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Youngest 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.

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Father 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

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London to Melbourne...for the weekend

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.