10+ Facts About Cricket That’ll Surprise You

Cricket! Goosebumps, right? This bat and ball sport is played by 104 members (12 full and 92 associated members), as per the latest report from the International Cricket Council. This sport connects admirers from all over the world. The fans look forward to the biggest rivalries and high-octane matches in different cricket formats. Cricket is a sport that depicts class, perseverance, performance, sheer grit, and foresight. The decisions made by the batsmen, bowlers, and fielders on the playground are remarkable and admirable at the same time. There are many reasons we find so many users playing Fantasy Cricket League these days. They like to try their understanding and mastery of this sport digitally.

Unknown facts about cricket

Even though cricket is extremely popular in India and other countries, very few know about the fascinating facts of this sport. These facts and events make this game even more beautiful. Let us take a quick look.

1. A children’s game

It was the 16th Century. Children started playing a new game on the streets of Weald, Southeast England. This game has become ragingly popular where a player hit a ball with a stick or a bat, and the rest will chase. Since then, this sport has come a long way, delivering the right entertainment to the fans. The game got new rules framed in due course of time and got modified in different formats. From the streets of Weald, we have one-day test and T20 formats played in big stadiums in the world.

2. First six 6s in cricket

Ravi Shastri, the former Indian coach, has achieved this feat. He was in a booming form and beating the bowlers to their nightmares. It was 10th January 1985. The all-rounder batsman scored the fastest double-century in the history of first-class cricket that day. He hit six consecutive 6s in an over and created a history that Indian cricket fans will always remember.

3. Fastest delivery bowled

It was none other than Shoaib Akhtar, the Rawalpindi Express, who achieved the feat of bowling the fastest delivery in the history of cricket. When he debuted in November 1997, he was feared to be the fastest bowler. Batsmen faced a very hard time adjusting to his killing pace. He bowled at a pace of 161.3 km/hr in 2003 against England and created history.

4. MS Dhoni did not score a ton outside of Asia

Yes! It is hard to believe for MS Dhoni fans out there. All his centuries are within the perimeter of Asia. This is probably the one feat he did not achieve. His captaincy is matchless in terms of team management and decision-making, but his scorecard does not have this achievement.

5. The oldest living cricketer

The oldest-known cricketer who lived almost a century is John Watkins. He is a former South African batsman who died at 98 due to COVID-19 in 2021. Cricket fans will always remember this legend of cricket due to his sports feat and age.

6. White willow bats

Also known as Kashmir willow, white willow is used worldwide to make cricket bats. Willows grow in extremely cold temperatures and are usually found in the upper Himalayan regions of Jammu and Kashmir. The exclusive compressive strength of this wood is perfect for making bats.

7. Longest cricket match ever

The world of cricket is fascinated by the T20 format. People have become busier than ever and can spare less time to watch their beloved sports on TV. It is quite surprising that the longest match took place for a whopping 14 days in 1939! It was played in Durban between South Africa and England. More than 680 overs were bowled in this ‘Timeless Test.

8. Most test runs scored

The highest run scored in the test format is 15,971. It is obvious that Sachin Tendulkar, the God of Cricket, achieved this feat in 329 innings. He is considered a god for a reason.

9. Vinod Kambli’s test average

Believe it or not, Vinod Kambli, Sachin’s childhood friend and fellow cricketer, has a better test average than the god of cricket. Even though his career was a short one, he showed his excellent batsman skills on the field and held this record.

10. Not a part of the Olympics

It is hard to believe that this sport is not included on the list of sports conducted in the Olympics. A proposal was given in 1900 in Paris but was discarded later as the only countries playing it were France and the United Kingdom. Let’s hope that this beautiful sport is included in this auspicious event in the future.

11. The only player to play for two countries

Iftikhar Ali Pataudi is the only cricketer in the world who played for two countries. He played for India and England in the 1940s. He debuted for England first and was then nominated as the captain of the Indian cricket team later in 1946.

12. Sachin played for Pakistan once

It is hard to believe that Sachin once played for Pakistan in 1987. It was before his international debut. He played in an exhibition match in Mumbai and filled in for Javed Miandad.

Wrapping up

Here is another bonus fact for you. The shortest match recorded lasted for only ten balls! It occurred due to poor field conditions in Antigua in 2009. These fascinating facts and events in the history of cricket make this sport even more interesting. The form of cricket we see today is the outcome of so many transformations that occurred across decades.