The Buzz
South Africa's well-laid plans leaked
South Africa's plans for each New Zealand batsman - which included areas to bowl and the use of the bouncer - were leaked in a case of mistake identity on the eve of the first ODI in Centurion
Firdose Moonda
19-Aug-2015
Cricket teams claim to spend almost as much time on analysis and strategy as they do in the nets. Now we know, at least in South Africa's case, it's true. The team's bowling plan, which includes notes on the areas to bowl, the use of the bouncer and the death-overs plan for each New Zealand batsman, was leaked in a case of mistaken identity on the eve of their first ODI in Centurion.
The document, which was addressed to Dale Steyn, was slid under the door of another hotel guest, Cassandra Teasdale, who shared it on Facebook. Teasdale posted an image of the document with a cheeky message: "Something tells me I was not supposed to get the South African cricket team's plan/strategy to the New Zealand team batsman and bowlers under my hotel room door... I wonder if this means Dale think he is sleeping in my room tonight?.."
The South African team's media manager, Lerato Malekutu confirmed to Sport 24 that the incident "is true, unfortunately," but AB de Villiers did not think it would make too much difference to his bowlers' approach. "They enjoy being under pressure anyway," he said at the toss, where Kane Williamson shrugged off the story.
South Africa have identified Williamson as someone who "attacks" but "doesn't pull well", and prefers to "drive on the up through the covers". They plan to bowl "bouncers angling in" if he is around at the end of the innings. Other batsmen they hoped to attack with short balls are Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Colin Munro and Luke Ronchi. Jimmy Neesham, who according to the New Zealand Herald offered Teasdale tickets to the match, was written about as an "lbw option".
Full postHodgson's England scouting trip
England's session of warm-up football at The Oval took on a slightly more competitive edge on Tuesday, due to the presence of one particular onlooker: Roy Hodgson, manager of the England football team
ESPNcricinfo staff
18-Aug-2015
England's session of warm-up football at The Oval took on a slightly more competitive edge on Tuesday, due to the presence of one particular onlooker. Roy Hodgson, manager of the England football team, was in attendance to see Australia and England train ahead of the fifth and final Ashes Test.
Some of England's cricketers possibly fancied their chances of a call-up. Stuart Broad tweeted: "We may have won The Ashes but the highlight of my summer was the England Football manager enthusiastically clapping a rapid one touch counter attacking move from our team in footy warm up!"
Trevor Bayliss's team have already achieved their goal for the summer, so Hodgson was able to offer words of praise before the players began practice. Hodgson has experienced success in various European leagues during a 40-year coaching career but, given England's somewhat patchy record in major football tournaments, it was perhaps a good thing he wasn't required to offer inspiration ahead of a series decider.
Full postDhoni decides to take the plunge
Rather than a holiday by the sea or a bit of quiet time at home, MS Dhoni has decided to use his days off to learn to parachute out of military aircraft
07-Aug-2015
Having given up Test cricket, MS Dhoni has a bit more time on his hands these days. How does he spend it? Rather than a holiday by the sea or a bit of quiet time at home, the Indian ODI captain has decided to use his days off to learn to parachute out of military aircraft.
Dhoni, already an honorary lieutenant colonel in 106 Parachute Regiment of the Territorial Army, will undergo training at the Indian Air Force's Paratroopers Training School in Agra, according to the Hindustan Times. "His two-week training will now start with classroom lessons followed by basic toughening exercises along with fellow paratrooper trainees," group captain Basantkumar B Pande told the newspaper.
And once he has made five jumps from 10,000 feet - including one at night - he will be a qualified paratrooper. Simple.
Full postChennai fans throng Chepauk to #SaveCSK
Be it outside the MA Chidambaram Stadium, or from the top of the world, Chennai Super Kings fans were vocal in their desire to have the team's two-year suspension from the IPL removed
Deivarayan Muthu in Chennai
01-Aug-2015
Even as the IPL top brass processes what could be the fallout of the Lodha Committee's decision to suspend the owners of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for a period of two years, the supporters of Super Kings have already sprung into action, organising a #SaveCSK campaign at Chepauk, the team's home ground.
Hundreds of fans, including a group of school students, assembled outside the Pattabiram gate to sign a petition to the BCCI and the Supreme Court, asking for the team to be reinstated into the IPL next season.
H Saravanan, who can often be seen on camera painted in yellow during Super Kings matches, had initiated the idea and, according to the the franchise's Facebook page, headed the campaign.
Full postSteyn nutmegs in the rain
The bad weather in Chittagong did not deter Dale Steyn from treating a few kids to some of his football skills
Mohammad Isam in Chittagong
24-Jul-2015
The fourth day of the Chittagong Test was boring for everyone. Just before play was called off, Dale Steyn had called the rain "lame". Thankfully for Steyn, though, a few hours later, he spotted some kids playing football in an empty space in front of a nearby mosque.
He immediately tweeted, "Stuck in my room all day, watching these kids playing soccer in the rain looks like plenty fun... #shouldigo" at around 4:50pm in the afternoon. A number of his followers, without hesitation, urged him to do so.
Stuck in my room all day, watching these kids playing soccer in the rain looks like plenty fun... #shouldigo pic.twitter.com/0bv7bK45qr
— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) July 24, 2015An hour later, Steyn posted a video on Instagram
where he can be seen playing football with those kids. Steyn even successfully nutmegs one of the boys before someone yells at him: "Bro, you are in our team". In Steyn's defence, he was possibly not sure of his team-mates, and like many of them, was playing with his bare feet on cement.
Full postTendulkar misses a bus, Twitter is all abuzz
Sachin Tendulkar may be retired but he can still create quite a stir even while doing the most day-to-day things
13-Jul-2015
Sachin Tendulkar was quite the recluse during his playing days. Since retiring in 2013, however, he's been a little less stingy in disclosing day-to-day activities. Like being late for a bus.
Tendulkar was at the Wimbledon semi-final between Roger Federer and Andy Murray on Friday. Twenty-four hours later, he found himself stranded in Oxfordshire, a rural town approximately 55 miles away from London. Out came a tweet saying, with a photo of himself as well: "Missed the last bus, can anyone give me a lift??"
And down came the deluge. One said he'd steal a vehicle if necessary. Others tossed their phone numbers out in public. The inevitable, and slightly unimaginative, "giving a lift to you is like giving a lift to God" reared up, a lot. Even Harbhajan Singh, currently with the Indian team in Zimbabwe, piped up with "Coming to pick you master stay there will be there in 15 mins." Who knew it took only so long to get to Oxfordshire from Harare.
Full postAd wars: Cutting-edge technology
A satirical promotion of an industrial cutter featuring Mustafizur Rahman is the latest to stir some trouble
30-Jun-2015
The contest between Bangladesh and India has heated up in the advertising world with a satirical promotion of an industrial cutter in Prothom Alo, a leading daily in Bangladesh.
It depicts Mustafizur Rahman, the 19-year old left-arm seamer, holding the cutter aloft and members of the Indian ODI team in the foreground with half their heads shaved. MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin have also been photoshopped into holding a banner which reads: "We've used the cutter. Now you can use it too."
Subtleties aside, there is a history to this rivalry. The Bangladesh fans had felt irked by the mauka mauka ad that poked fun of the oppositions India had beaten in the World Cup. And they threw it back at the Indian team with feral chants of mauka mauka repeatedly. Then there was the Bachcha re Bachcha ad for the tour itself which called Bangladesh the little kid that was not so little any more. The PA in Mirpur took the opportunity to play it soon after the hosts had won the series and post scripted it with, "We are not kids. We are tigers."
Full postFather Time returns in time for Father's Day
The Marylebone Cricket Club has restored its iconic weathervane - Father Time - after it was bent back by strong winds in March
ESPNcricinfo staff
18-Jun-2015
The Marylebone Cricket Club has restored its iconic weathervane - Father Time - at Lord's to its original position after repair work. The weathervane was blown over by strong winds in March and received treatment to the copper damage it sustained: it had bent back almost 90 degrees.
The weathervane has also been rebalanced to allow it to move with the wind more easily.
It was not the first time Father Time had been taken off for repair work. In 1992 it was struck by lightning and during the second World War it was wrenched from its place when it entangled in the cables of a barrage balloon.
Full postDhoni trumps Rooney, Sharapova in Forbes' rich list
With earnings of $31 million, Dhoni, sandwiched between Rafael Nadal and Brazilian footballer Neymar, was 23rd on the list released by Forbes
ESPNcricinfo staff
12-Jun-2015
MS Dhoni continues to be the only cricketer among the world's top 100 highest-paid athletes. With earnings of $31 million, Dhoni, sandwiched between Rafael Nadal and Brazilian footballer Neymar, was 23rd on the list released by Forbes. He may have dropped a place compared to last year, but his earnings went up by a million, according to the magazine.
The salaries in cricket do not hold the players at par with other lucrative sports, and Dhoni's $4 million has him standing at 97th in the list, but it's the value of his endorsements that prop him right up. The $27 million Dhoni made while not playing cricket was level at ninth with Cristiano Ronaldo, more than Kobe Bryant, Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney and even Maria Sharapova.
The list was topped this year by boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, who raked in $460 million between them, most of it coming from their bout which was billed as the Fight of the Century.
Full postCan Clarke name six England batsmen better than KP?
If you thought self-deprecatory quips weren't quite Michael Clarke's thing, feel free to check out his Twitter feed from Tuesday
ESPNcricinfo staff
03-Jun-2015
10 duck-sized.... https://t.co/ZaSJ7iX8RC
— Michael Clarke (@MClarke23) June 2, 2015If 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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