Last updated on June 20th, 2023
49. 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.
50. 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.
51. 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.
52. 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.
53. 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.
54. The longest cricket match ever played went on for an exhausting 12 days, spending 43 hours and 16 minutes in play. The match was played in 1939 in Durban, South Africa. The test match was between South Africa and England, and has been nicknamed the “Timeless Test.”
55. The shortest test match ever played took place at Trent Bridge on June 12, 1926 as England and Australia battled it out for 50 minutes. Only 17.2 overs were played, and England won the game with a score of 32 – 0.
56. West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle made history in 2012 when he hit a six off the very first ball during a test match against Bangladesh.
57. The shortest cricket game, based on the number of balls bowled, took place on January 29, 1998 in Jamaica. In the game between the West Indies and England, only 10.1 overs were bowled, with the game called to an end soon after due to unsafe playing conditions at Sabina Park.
58. New Zealand holds the record for the lowest number of runs ever recorded during a cricket match as they took on the English cricket team in their home town of Auckland in March, 1995. The hosts scored only 26 runs in 27 overs, ultimately losing the game to their English rivals.
59. The record for the largest attendance of a cricket match was set on May 29, 2022 when the Gujarat Titans took on the Rajasthan Royals at a T20 game in Ahmedabad. The match was attended by 101,566 spectators.
60. The lowest attendance of a cricket match was seen on November 22, 2022 as England faced Australia for the final day of their ODI at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia. Only 4,524 fans attended the game, with Australia winning the ODI series.
61. The Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup in 2020 was played in Australia and drew record-breaking spectators to the opening match. Over 13,400 people attended the match between Australia and India.
Some interesting facts about famous cricketers
1. Virat Kohli
He is the fastest batsman to reach the milestone of 10,000 ODI runs, and to achieve this feat, he out mastered Sachin Tendulkar, another famous Indian cricketer. He is also the first Indian batsman to score a century on World Cup debut.
2. Brian Lara
Did you know that Brian Lara set the same world record twice against the same opposition at the same venue? He scored the highest individual test score in a test innings – the 375 vs England at St. Johns in 1994 and 400 runs not out against England again in 2004. His previous record of 375 was shattered by Matthew Hayden of Australia. However, Lara after 10 years, showed his remarkable talent once again and captured the record.
3. Virender Sehwag
He holds the world record for scoring the fastest triple hundred in test cricket in 278 balls. He achieved this amazing feat against South Africa in the Future Cup in Chennai, India, in 2008. He is also the only skipper to score a double hundred in ODIs.
4. M S Dhoni
His 183 not out against Sri Lanka in 2005 is the highest score by a wicket-keeper. This charismatic player also holds the record for most career runs in ODI history when batting at number six position.
5. Yuvraj Singh
He is one of the only three batsman to have scored the fastest fifty in Twenty20 cricket. Yuvraj singh is the only bowler to take two hat-tricks in the same IPL. He proved his might as a bowler in 2009 IPL season when he took the first hat-trick in the semi-final against RCB and the second in the final against Deccan Chargers.
6. Rahul Dravid
Moving on to another great cricket player from India. Rahul Dravid is the only batsman in the history of the game to have scored centuries in four consecutive test match innings. His famous nicknames include “The Wall” or “Mr. Dependable.”
7. Ricky Ponting
He holds the records for the most world cups won under his captainship. Australia became world champions twice when he was the captain – 2003 and 2007. Clive Llyod also achieved similar results for West Indies but in 1975 and 1979. Ricky Ponting is also the most successful cricket captain with the highest number of wins. Australia won 165 ODI matches out of the 230 played under his captainship, putting his win percentage to a staggering 76.14%.
8. Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan holds the World record of highest number of wickets in test cricket. He has taken 800 wickets in the 133 test matches that he played. And he has also taken the most number of caught and bowl wickets in test cricket – 31 times.
9. Don Bradman
Also known as Sir Don Bradman holds the records for the highest individual test batting average – 99.94.
10. Wasim Akram
The Pakistani player is known for securing four international hat-tricks (two apiece in tests and ODIs)
11. Chris Gayle
Did you know that Chris Gayle holds the records for the fastest century reached in any format of cricket? He scored 100 runs in 30 balls and also has the highest individual score in a T20 match besides hitting the most sixes in a single innings in the IPL. Now, that’s a lot of runs, isn’t it!
12. Shane Warne
When Shane Warne played his first cricket test match, he weighed 97 kilos. This match was against India at Sydney. He has different colored eyes due to a condition Heterochromia Iridium. One of his eyes is light blue and the other is green.
13. Glenn McGrath
Did you know that the Australian pacer dismissed 104 batsmen on a duck in Tests, the most by any fast bowler? McGrath ended his career with last ball wickets in all 3 formats of cricket – a feat that no other bowler has yet achieved.
14. Adam Gilchrist
Behind KC Sangakkara, Adam Gilchrist is the second most successful wicket-keeper in the world. He dismissed 472 players in 287 ODIs.
15. Imran khan
Imran khan, the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan, is one of the only six Pakistani politicians who were students at the Oxford University. Imran Khan’s full name is Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi. And according to some sources, he was once looted in Pakistan at gun point. His mobile phone, camera and credit card were all snatched by the looters while he was travelling in his car.