160 Cool Facts About Cricket

160 Cool Facts About Cricket

Cricket originated in England.
A cricket game has two umpires in the field and one off the field.
A cricket bat usually weighs between 2 and 3 pounds.
There are two parts of cricket bats: the handle, and the blade.
Sachin Tendulkar played the most number of international cricket matches.
Alec Stewart was born on 8/4/63, and the number of test runs that he scored in his career was 8,463.
A cricket ball weighs around 5 ½ ounces.
Asif Karim has also played tennis for his country in the Davis Cup.
Wilfred Rhodes was the oldest cricketer who played for England.
In 1877 Charlie Bannerman from Australia scored the first century in a Test match.
Sir Don Bradman has just hit 6 sixes in his entire career.
Virender Sehwag’s highest scores in T20, ODI and Tests are 119, 219 and 319 respectively.
The Cricket sport was played in 1896 and 1900 in the Olympics.
Virender Sehwag is the only batsman who got an 80+ strike rate after playing 100 or more tests.
Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting are the only cricketers who won world cups on 3 occasions.
Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi played for two nations: England and India.
West Indies opener Chris Gayle is the only batsman to smash a six off the first ball of a test match.
Jim Laker is the only bowler who took 19 wickets in a test match.
Wasim Akram’s highest Test innings score of 257 is higher than that of Sachin Tendulkar's (who has 248 n.o. to his credit).
The England Cricket Team is the only team in ODI history to lose a 60 over ODI Final (1979 World Cup), a 50 over ODI Final (1992 World Cup and 2004 Champions Trophy) and a 20 over ODI Final (2013 Champions Trophy) in ICC tournaments.
The first recorded game was played in 1646.
The longest cricket match took place in 1939 between England and South Africa.
Rain and bad light are the two most common causes for pausing or suspending the game.
When a batsman scores 100 runs, it’s called a century and is considered an achievement.
Sri Lanka has a sole Test win against the Aussies till date.
Sanath Jayasuriya has more ODI wickets than Shane Warne.
Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla stadium and Bangabandhu stadium have hosted more ODIs than Lord’s.
The highest number of runs scored in an over is not 36. It’s 77.
Adam Gilchrist holds the record for playing the most number of Tests straight after debut.
Alec Stewart, OBE had a batting average of 39.54. This is the lowest for a player who has scored at least 8000 runs. Stewart holds a score of 8,463 Test runs. This figure is significant because Stewart was born on April 8, 1963 (8/4/63). He is also the cricketer with the highest Test runs who does not have a career double history.
The cricket bat has been a source of controversy in cricket. In 1771, one player attempted to breach the rules. Thomas White, an English cricketer, took his turn with a bat that was as wide as the wickets in the field. This ensured better defense and gave Thomas an unfair advantage. A protest by the opposing team ensued which later led to a change in cricket laws in 1774, setting the bat width to no more than 4.25 inches.
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket
Cricket became an Olympic sport in 1896. However, no matches were held because there was an insufficient number of teams who attended. Had the sport been played that year, cricket would have earned the distinction of being the only team sport to be played at the time. The first Olympic match in the next Olympics (1900) was participated in by the men’s teams. Great Britain (represented by the Devon and Somerset Wanderers) won gold.
France placed second in the 1900 cricket Olympic games. They were represented by the Union of French Athletic Sports Societies. However, not all the players were French. Most of the players were Britons who were living in Paris during the period.
1900 was the one and only time that cricket was played at the Paris Olympics. The game was participated in by only two teams – one from England and one from France. According to fans, the length of a match and the limited number of countries that participate in the sport may be to blame. There is some talk that cricket may return to the Games in 2028.
The dubious honor of being called the worst Test batsman belongs to New Zealand’s Chris Martin. He has a poor batting average and only ever achieved double figures once. He was so bad that he even starred in an ad for Pulp Sport spoofing his (lack of) batting skills.
Ishant Sharma is responsible for all the three highest scores made by a batsman against India in the 21 st century.
Alistair Cook – 294 Runs, Edgbaston 2011; Michael Clarke – 329 Runs, Sydney 2012; Brendon McCullum – 302 Runs, Wellington 2014. They were all dropped by Ishant Sharma early on in their innings.
On 12 th January 1964, Indian spinner Bapu Nadkarni bowled 21 consecutive maiden overs vs England at Chennai.
Chris Martin and B.S Chandrasekhar have taken more Test wickets in their career than the test runs they scored.
In 71 Tests, Martin has scored 123 runs, while he has 233 wickets to his credit, on the other hand Chandrasekhar has 167 runs to his name along with 242 wickets.
Wilfred Rhodes took 4,204 wickets in First Class cricket.
No, it’s not a typo. He actually did take more than Four Thousand wickets. Sir Jack Hobbs scored 199 centuries in his First Class career.
In a World Cup Match, chasing 335, Sunil Gavaskar scored an unbeaten 36 off 174 balls.
The fastest cricket pitch ever recorded was thrown by Shoaib Akhtar during the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He clocked in at 100.23 mph (161.3 km/h) during a match with England. Akhtar’s feat made him the first cricket bowler to reach 100 mph and he did this twice during his storied career. He earned the nickname “The Rawalpindi Express” for his impressive pitches.
India and Pakistan are considered the biggest rivals in cricket. This sports feud is supposed to have begun in 1947 after Pakistan became independent from India. The rivalry is good for viewership, however. It is estimated that around 300 million people from different countries would tune in to watch the two nation’s intense matches.
Although cricket is a non-contact sport, players still experience injuries during a game, some of which are career-ending or even fatal. The first known player to have a deadly accident while playing cricket is Jasper Vinall of England. He was hit by a bat on the forehead and died two weeks later.
In case of windy conditions during a match, the umpires may decide to have the bails removed to avoid having them blown off. They may also be replaced by heavier bails to keep them secure on the stumps. Although the bails may not be present, they are assumed to still be on the stump. It will then be up to the umpires to decide if the wicket had been broken or not.
The term “wicket” is used multiple times in cricket. Getting a wicket is dismissing a batsman. Losing a wicket is getting dismissed. A bowler who dismisses a batsman is said to take a wicket. Sometimes, a cricket pitch is called a wicket, although this is considered incorrect by the Laws of Cricket. Regardless, it is still being used, especially by commentators.
Women had been playing cricket as far back as the 1700s. Villages in Surrey, Sussex, and Hampshire held their own local and inter-village tournaments. Prizes for the games included lace gloves and barrels of ale.
In spite of having invented the sport, England has never won a World Cup title. They were the hosts of the first three cups and has appeared in the World Cup 15 times.
Some of the sports’ most loyal fans consider cricket their religion – and they have a god. His name is Sachin Tendulkar. Although there are cricketers with excellent numbers, Tendulkar’s fans may have a point. Over his 24-year long career, he has notched 34,357 runs, averaged 51.74 half-centuries in 664 international matches, and has achieved 100 centuries. This, along with his charisma, earned him the nickname, God of Cricket.
The most common physical injuries among cricketers is a hamstring strain. This occurs among players in this sport due to sudden bursts of movement required in the game. Cricketers often stand still for long periods before they run or bowl. A hamstring strain also occurs due to overuse of muscles and joints.
The first ever international match took place in 1844.
When Australia toured England in 1868, each player wore different color caps so that the audience can recognize them.
Wilfred Rhodes took 4000+ wickets in first class cricket.
Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid share the record of scoring most test centuries for India playing against England.
Hanif Mohammad, a Pakistani player holds the record of longest innings for the test cricket match.
Sourav Chandidas Ganguly is the only cricketer in the world to receive ‘Four-Consecutive Man of The Match Awards
Sachin Tendulkar was the first cricketer to be dismissed by third umpire using television.
Sunil Gavaskar named his son Rohan after the name of West Indies cricketer Rohan Kanhai.
Dean Elgar became the latest batsman to experience the anti-climactic feeling when he was dismissed for 199 during the first innings of the opening Test match against Bangladesh.
In 1997 Women’s world cup, Belinda Clark hit a double ton and made unbeaten 229 against Denmark.
The cricket pitch is 20.12 meters (22 yards) in length and 3.05 meters (3.33 yards) in width. The length of 22 yards is considered a chain, which was used as a standard of measurement for land during the 18th century. The chain is 1/10th of a unit of measurement called furlong, which is the average length of land that a team of workers could plough in one day.
The surface of the cricket pitch may be covered by very short grass and must be flat. In some venues, the playing surface may be made of artificial material or even dry soil. The pitch is never altered or repaired during a game as long as the wear is considered normal. Only during special circumstances is the pitch repaired.
A score of 100 runs by a batsman is called a “century”. It is one of the most sought-after levels of achievements in the sport. The first century ever scored was made by Australia’s Charlie Bannerman.
The Nelson is a term used to refer to a score of 111 by an individual player or a team. This is also used for multiples of 111, such as 222 (double Nelson), 333 (triple Nelson), and so on. The Nelson is considered unlucky because the number 111 is similar in appearance to a bail-less wicket. Players and fans believe that something bad or unlucky would occur when a player or team reaches that score.
John Traicos is known as tri-nation man as he was born in Egypt and played for Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The first ever cricket match was played between the USA and Canada on September 1844 at St George’s Club Ground.
Kate Cross is the first woman in the world to play in the men’s Lancashire League.
Viv Richards played both cricket and football world cups.
Ellyse Perry played football world cups and women’s cricket.
EOIN Morgan- an Irish-born cricketer doesn’t sing the national anthem before starting a game.
India is the only nation to win three different world cups.
The length of a cricket pitch is 22 yards i.e. 61.31 m2.
Kumar Sangakkara, a player from Sri Lanka is the only batsman to score 4 consecutive hundreds in ODI history.
Australia’s Donald Bradman (The Don) is considered the greatest batsman of all time. He has an unmatched 99.94 Test batting average – the best performance among all other players in all sports. Many fans believe there will never be another player like him.
The winningest cricket captain is Australia’s Ricky Ponting (served 2002-2012). During his time with the Australian team, he was instrumental in clinching 220 wins. His win rate is an impressive 67.90.
When it was first mentioned in 1624, the cricket bat was not a bat but merely a stick, similar to the one used in hockey. In the 1770s after changes in the game’s laws, a swell was designed at the bottom. It was, however, very heavy. The oldest preserved cricket bat was made in 1729 and is kept in Oval’s Sandham Room in London.
The name for the sport is believed to have originated from “criquet”, the Old French term for stick, goal, or post. It may also have come from “kricke”, a Middle Dutch term for stick or staff.
The longest cricket match occurred in 1939 between South Africa and England. The game lasted for 14 days and ended in a draw.
Jim Laker once took 19 wickets in a Test match.
Saurav Ganguly is the only Indian player to score a century in the knock out stages of a World Cup.
After Virat Kohli’s debut, India has chased down 300+ targets five times.
Mahela Jayawardene is the only batsman to have scored centuries in both the Semi-Final and Final of a World Cup.
The player with the most number of not outs in Test cricket is not Rahul Dravid, but Courtney Walsh.
Saurav Ganguly is the only player to win four consecutive Man of the Match awards in ODIs.
Dirk Nannes has represented both Australia and Netherlands in International Cricket.
Shahid Afridi used a bat borrowed from Waqar Younis to score the fastest century in a ODI match.
In 1989, along with Sachin Tendulkar, 23 other cricketers made their International debuts. The last one to retire before Sachin, was New Zealand's Chris Cairns, who retired in 2004.
Inzamam Ul Haq took a wicket off the very first ball he bowled in International Cricket.
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Lance Klusener, Abdur Razzaq, Shoaib Malik and Hashan Tillakaratne are the only players to have batted in 10 different batting positions in ODIs.
MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina have never scored an ODI ton outside of Asia.
Cricket is a popular sport – so popular that it is considered the second most-loved sport in the world. It is enjoyed by more than 2.5 billion fans in 180 countries. This sport is most popular in England, Australia, and subcontinental Asia (especially India and Pakistan).
Cricket was originally a children’s game played in England during the 16th century, specifically in the southeastern counties. When the British expanded overseas, they brought the game with them.
The man considered as the father of cricket is William Gilbert (W.G.) Grace. He played amateur cricket in England and is credited for helping develop the sport into the modern obsession that it has become.
The first Test cricket captains for the English team were James Lillywhite and David Gregory. Of the two, Lillywhite was the first to play. He died in 1929, becoming the last player of the very first Test match to pass away.
Cricket is played in several formats but the three major forms are: Twenty20, One-Day Internationals (ODI), and Test matches. Of these, the Test match is the traditional form, having been used since 1877. It is also considered the highest level.
Although there are 31 countries that play cricket in the international stage, only 12 have qualified for Test status. The first countries to acquire this status are England and Australia (1877) and the latest is Afghanistan (2018).
The biggest event in cricket is the World Cup, which is organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was founded in 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference. The three founding countries include England, South Africa, and Australia.
The oldest cricket world championship is the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup. The first tournament, which was hosted by England, was held in 1973. The English team was champion of the first edition.
The first cricket World Cup was held in 1975, participated in by the men’s teams. The title was won by the West Indies, with Australia placing second.
The country with the most losses in International Cricket is England, having played 691 unsuccessful matches. They have also played the most games (1,885).
The condition of the cricket pitch may change the strategy of a team. If the ground is dry, the best bowl would be the spin, which means the team’s top spin bowlers should be chosen for the job because their skill will give their team a significant advantage.
The cricket ball weighs 163 grams. Its core is made of cork which is wrapped with several layers of yarn. The outer casing is made of leather, which is then coated with lacquer.
The small gates through which cricket balls must pass through are called “wickets”. The term is used due to the similarity of the stumps to wicket gates, which are small pedestrian gates or doors.
The original cricket wickets used only two stumps over which a bail is attached. This design was changed in 1775 after an English cricketer, Lumpy Stevens, was able to bowl three consecutive balls that shot clear between the stumps. This is why modern wickets have three stumps instead of just two.
Bails, the horizontal pegs that sit on top of the stumps, are not attached to the top surface. Instead, they rest on shallow grooves on the free ends of the stumps. Bails are critical for determining if the wicket has been put down or broken. This in turn will help identify the status of the batsman, if he has been run out, out bowled, or stumped.
The roundarm action used for throwing the ball was used prior to the overarm throw used today. Prior to its conception, the underarm throw was used. The roundarm throw was conceived by English cricketer Tom Walker during the 1790s. Some insiders credit a woman, Christiana Willes to have devised the roundarm style. Wearing the bulky dresses of her time, Willes found the underarm throw difficult and inaccurate and decided to change it.
A freak accident ended the life of a promising young batsman from India in 2015. Ankit Keshri was captain of the Bengal U-19 team. Keshri collided at full-force with teammate Sourav Mondal when they both ran to catch the ball. Although he was hospitalized after the incident, he later died of a heart attack during treatment.
Muttiah Muralitharan holds the record for the most wickets in ODI cricket (534) and the most number of Test wickets (800). Murali is the only cricketer to capture over 100 Test wickets at three events. He has also been awarded the most number of Man of the Series in Test cricket.
The oldest cricketer to play the game is England’s Wilfred Rhodes while the oldest living Test cricketer is South Africa’s John Watkins. Rhodes was 52 years old while Watkins (born 1923) is in his late 90s. Rhodes also holds a distinction in first class cricket, taking down over 4,000 wickets.
The Man of the Match title is awarded to the player who has contributed the most to make the best impact in a match or series. This title was first used in cricket and can be awarded to any player, whether his team has won or not. The only cricketer to have won the title four consecutive times is Sourav Chandidas Ganguly. The left-handed Dada played for the national team of India.
Although the Nelson is feared by some players, there is no solid evidence that it is actually inauspicious. Regardless, some people choose to take precautions. Umpire and former cricketer David Shepherd would lift one leg up when it is a bowler’s turn to run in to bowl and the score is at 111. Fans would cheer him on when he did this.
At no other time was the unluckiness of the Nelson so dreaded as during a match between Australia and South Africa. The time was 11:11 and South Africa needed 111 runs to beat Australia. The date was November 11, 2011. The umpire and most of the crowd performed the David Shepherd leg raise for a minute as the scoreboard read: 11:11, 11/11/11. South Africa bested Australia by 8 wickets.
Among Australian players and fans, the score considered unlucky is 87. They call it the Devil’s number because 87 deducted from 100 is 13.
Still on the subject of cricket superstitions, the player with the most rituals performed during a match is arguably Neil McKenzie of South Africa. Before a game, for example, he would attach his cricket bat to the ceiling with tape. When it’s time for him to bat, he would check all the changing room lights to make sure they were shut off and that the toilet seats were down.
England is the first country to play 1,000 Test matches. They reached this milestone at Edgbaston in Birmingham in August 2018 against India. England won the series 4-1.
The highest-paid cricketer is India’s Virat Kohli. The New Delhi native is currently captain of the national team. Chikoo earns $4 million a year but rakes in an estimated $24 million in endorsements. He receives sponsorship deals from Audi, Google, Flipkart, and Puma. He is also the sole cricketer to land on Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes in 2020.

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