20 Amazing Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Cricket

Last week, a cricket tournament was conducted in Indianapolis which was considered a remarkable success. Nearly a thousand spectators turned up to witness the home team play in person, a number that is quite large considering the popularity of cricket in America. It is clear that the sport is being pushed hard in the country and is being offered as an alternative to the big four. Here is a set of 20 amazing facts about cricket that could help you peak your interest in the game:

Highest Runs In a Single Over

Contrary to popular belief, the highest runs conceded in a single over is not 36 but in fact 77. This rare feat was accomplished in a game between Canterbury and Wellington and the bowler who holds this record is R.H Vance.

Wilfred Rhodes’s Unbelievable Record

A talented and hardworking gentleman named Wilfred Rhodes who played for England ended up taking a total of 4,204 wickets during his stint in first class cricket.

Attacking In A Test Match

Test matches can be gruelling affairs that last five days unlike any other match in the world. The duration of the match makes the players more cautious but it didn’t work on the West Indian giant Chris Gayle, who is the only player to have ever hit a six off the first ball of a test match.

Fastest Ball In Cricket

Shoaib Akhtar from Pakistan holds the prestigious record of bowling the fastest recorded delivery in cricket. He bowled the delivery at a staggering pace of 100.23 miles per hour during the World Cup conducted in South Africa in 2003.

Longest Innings In Cricket

The Pakistani genius all-rounder Hanif Mohammad spent 970 minutes at the crease during his marathon innings of 337 against West Indies in 1957-58. This is by far the longest time spent by any cricketer in the field in a single innings. He was also ambidextrous which meant that he was one of the rare bowlers in the world who could bowl using either of his hands.

Technique Always Prevails

The late great Don Bradman, considered by many as the greatest batsman to have ever played the game, was such a purist in his batting style that he only ever hit six sixes during his entire international career.

Cleaning Out The Opposition

Only two bowlers have ever taken all 10 wickets in a single innings during a test match. This is an incredibly rare feat that is nearly impossible to replicate. Jim Laker from England did it in 1956 and Anil Kumble from India did it in 1999.

Double Hundred In One-Day Cricket

Only three players have ever hit a double-hundred in One Day cricket in the history of the game. Coincidentally, all three players hail from India. They are Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma.

Merciless Game

England is the only cricket team in the world to lose a 60-over ODI final, a 50-over ODI final and a 20-over ODI final. India is the only team to have won all three types of finals.

Easy Milestone To Remember

Alec Stewart had a remarkable career as one of the most vital cogs in the English Cricket Team. He ended his career with a staggering 8463 runs but what makes this even more special and easy to remember is that the number is also his birthday. Weirdly enough, he was born on 8-4-63.

Steely Resolve

Allan Border is widely credited with the revival of Australian cricket in the 80’s. He did this with his instinctive captaincy and amazing batting skills. He also had the drive and determination to play 153 test matches consecutively without taking a single match off. This is truly remarkable as most batsmen dream of playing 100 test matches during the course of their entire career.

Rapid Test Match

Most test matches go down to the wire in the 5th day but two test matches in cricket history had the exact opposite result. The intense matches between England and West Indies in 2000 and Australia and South Africa in 2011 saw all four innings played out in a single day. Fans who purchased tickets for the remaining days must have been mighty cross!

Limited Success

M.S Dhoni, India’s current one-day captain, has achieved almost every possible variant of success in the sport. He is also considered a thunderous batsman who can single-handedly change the game. Despite his success and skill, he has never scored an ODI century outside Asia.

Burden Of Captaincy

Captaincy is probably more important in Cricket than any other sport. This is why South Africa decided to hand over the reigns to a young 22-year old captain back in 2002. Graeme Smith responsibly shouldered the burden for over a 100 test matches, the only player to have ever accomplished that feat. The pressures of the game did, however, eventually get to him which is why he retired at the age of 32.

Playing For Two Teams

Dirk Nannes is the only player to have played international cricket for both Australia and Netherlands. He was so impressive when he took the field for Netherlands that the Aussies offered him a part in their own team. To be poached by the best cricket team in the world is indeed an honor any player can be proud of.

Class Meets Longevity

India’s greatest batsman, Sachin Tendulkar, played International cricket for the first time in 1989 at the age of 16. During that year, 23 other cricketers around the world made their debut as well. The last player to retire out of the 23 was Chris Cairns for New Zealand in 2004, nearly a decade before Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement. This is a great example to prove the amazing class of Sachin Tendulkar.

Last Man Standing

The player to not be dismissed the most number times in International cricket is not any of the great batsmen of the game, but a legendary West Indian bowler, Courtney Walsh.

Scoring When It Matters

Playing a World Cup Match can be quite nerve-wrecking, even for the best players in the world. Only one man has ever hit a century during the semi-finals and finals of World Cups. Mahela Jayawardene from Sri Lanka holds this rare record, even though both centuries did not allow him to lift the trophy.

Greatest Team Of All Time

By lifting the World Cup for a staggering fifth time this past year, Australia managed to establish their dominance in cricket yet again. The team holds the record for the longest World Cup winning streak of 34 watches that extended over 3 editions of the cup.

Hundred Hundred’s

Just before retiring from all forms of the game, Sachin Tendulkar scored one last century that brought his tally to a hundred international centuries. This is by far the most by any player in the world.