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.
December 14
The knowledgeable Chennai cricket fanatic - well, you find one at the most unexpected places, and times. Like at a hotel room, delivering coffee to Sachin Tendulkar.
A chance encounter can be memorable!
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) December 14, 2019
I had met a staffer at Taj Coromandel, Chennai during a Test series with whom I had a discussion about my elbow guard, after which I redesigned it.
I wonder where he is now & wish to catch up with him.
Hey netizens, can you help me find him? pic.twitter.com/BhRanrN5cm
December 13
Williamson didn't walk? Stuart Broad isn't happy
Stuart Broad is so familiar with the smell of outrage in the morning in Australia, having been accused of "blatant cheating" by a former Australian coach when he did not walk after being caught nicking a ball.
Did he not walk?! Wow
— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) December 13, 2019
How will Kane Williamson be treated for what is surely a line-in-the-sand moment in the eyes of all Australians?
December 11
Ben Stokes coughs up after Headingley-inspired underpants run
Two cricket fans who braved freezing temperatures to complete a charity run in just their underpants and flip-flops have received a donation of more than £19,000 from Ben Stokes, after their exploits were inspired by Stokes' heroics against Australia at Headingley last summer.
Jonathan Lamley, 42, and Mike Macdonald, 62, agreed to the bet midway through England's 359-run run-chase in the third Test in August, which Stokes eventually sealed by one wicket with an unbeaten 135.
"I was stood watching it on TV for about three hours and I couldn't believe what I was seeing," Macdonald told NottinghamshireLive. "Then I realised that we were now actually going to be doing this thing and I just wondered what we had got ourselves into."
The pair wore masks of Stokes' face during their 5k parkrun in Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire, and raised an initial £2,000 for their chosen charity, Alzheimer's Research UK.
Stokes initially tweeted the pair to congratulate them on "sticking to your word". But then, after speaking to the pair during an interview on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, he decided to get more involved.
After speaking to these 2 gents this morning on @GMB I think it would be only suitable to join them with there cause...so I'll donate £1 to every retweet and like I get to this tweet in the next 30mins to @AlzResearchUK pic.twitter.com/OOoS0cPdKT
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) December 10, 2019
"I think it would be only suitable to join them with there [sic] cause...so I'll donate £1 to every retweet and like I get to this tweet in the next 30mins," Stokes wrote, leading his wife Clare to retort "Gonna cost you more than our wedding babe!"
Sure enough, an anonymous donation of £19,127 was made to the runners' Justgiving page on Tuesday evening, with the message: "Well done you 2, great to speak this morning, just holding up my word like you 2 did".
There's a Punter on our timeline
An unprecedented event almost broke cricket Twitter this morning. The world woke up to this post, by a certain former Australian captain:
A day of firsts; finally on social media and the first net with my son Fletcher. pic.twitter.com/DAe79MzqKr
— Ricky Ponting AO (@RickyPonting) December 11, 2019
And Ponting delivered a one-two sucker punch with this:
Cue the aahs, oohs and awws.
Now I have seen it all. Punter on Twitter. This will be fun! @RickyPonting https://t.co/FkfWjfKguz
— Trent Copeland (@copes9) December 11, 2019
The moon landing like Twitter moment
— Damien Fleming (@bowlologist) December 11, 2019
@RickyPonting is on #Punter pic.twitter.com/UlqB3mGIDX
English pop band Bastille's drummer Chris Wood already has visions of what the future might hold.
Thats the Ashes going to Aussie in 20 years time then. Not a bad batting coach to grow up with!
— Woody (@Woodythedrum) December 11, 2019
Everyone wants to be as cool as Faf du Plessis
Faf du Plessis is sexy. You know this. We know this. Osman Samiuddin knows this. And having worked in close proximity to that magnetic personality, his team-mates certainly know it. Here's Andile Phehlukwayo wanting to be as cool as Faf. We feel you, Andile.
December 10
Match stopped by snake!
We've seen matches stopped for the strangest reasons - sun, snow, bees, burnt toast - so when a critter gatecrashed an Andhra v Vidarbha game, it wasn't exactly making hissstory. A happy snake wandered onto the field during the local Ranji match for a pitch inspection (was it looking for the legendary green mamba of Kingsmead?) and held up the game until it was… applauded off the grounds.
SNAKE STOPS PLAY! There was a visitor on the field to delay the start of the match.
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) December 9, 2019
Follow it live - https://t.co/MrXmWO1GFo#APvVID @paytm #RanjiTrophy pic.twitter.com/1GptRSyUHq
And we've seen some snake action on the field before.
What do Darren Sammy and Chandika Hathurusingha have to do with the infamous celebration that has caused friction between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh?
December 9
We want Sanju!
It's pretty common to hear crowds in India chanting "Kohli, Kohli" or "Dhoni, Dhoni" (Ed: back in my day, it was almost exclusively "Sachin, Sachin"), but in Thiruvananthapuram, they are loyal to their own. Ahead of the T20I against West Indies, the crowd made it clear who they'd like to see behind the stumps for India - local lad Sanju Samson. It wasn't to be. Rishabh Pant kept wicket and India lost the match by eight wickets - which may or may not have had to do with Samson's absence.
Cheers from the crowd in Thiruvananthapuram reserved for their very own @IamSanjuSamson #TeamIndia #INDvWI @Paytm pic.twitter.com/8zJSQZ2LeR
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 8, 2019
Shane Warne could soon become super-duper rich
Warne has revealed that when he signed on with IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals in 2008 - and subsequently led them to the inaugural title - he was given a 0.75% stake in the franchise for every year he played. Reports suggest that the Royals are valued at US$200 million now and Warne reckons that figure could double in the next couple of years. "Three per cent of USD 400 million is all right," Warne told the Herald Sun.
Missed all the chatter last week? Catch up on it here.