10 Intresting Fun Facts About Cricket

Cricket was founded in 1611 and gained popularity in the 18th century, during which all the major cricket-playing nations began to play bilateral series with each other. From then to now, we have seen amazing players and records being broken.

However, throughout this time period, there have been many instances that can be considered fun facts in the game which most of you might not be aware of at all. So, it is the responsibility of CricEye to let you know about the best and most interesting fun facts about cricket.

Table of Contents

List Of Top 10 Interesting Fun Facts about Cricket

1) First One To Smash A Century Without Helmet

Can you even imagine a player in this modern era of cricket playing without a helmet and facing a single ball from fast bowlers? You wouldn’t, because playing against fast bowlers without a helmet would be like inviting serious injury.

Now, the fun fact is that West Indies legendary batsman Viv Richards was the first player in the history of ODI cricket to not only face some of the toughest bowlers, like Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, but also to smash a century without wearing a helmet in the late 1900s.

You can imagine how risky it was back then to play against some of the most ruthless bowlers of all time without wearing a helmet. It was truly a courageous thing to do on the field by Sir Viv Richards.

2) Highest Run Scored By Player In ODI

We often see teams scoring between 250 and 300 runs in One Day International (ODI) cricket in today’s modern game in 2024. However, back in 2014, Indian captain Rohit Sharma alone smashed 264* runs against Sri Lanka in an ODI match, which is still the highest score by any batsman in the ODI format.

It is actually quite remarkable and miraculous because batsmen usually find it difficult to even reach the 100-run mark, whereas Rohit Sharma, known as the “Hitman,” ridiculously made 264* runs.

3) Longest Match Of Cricket

A T20I match takes around 3.5 hours to complete, an ODI 7-8 hours, and a Test match typically runs for 5 days.

Here’s a fun fact: there was a Test match played between England and South Africa that lasted 12 days in 1939.

The reason for this unusually long match was its format; it was termed a ‘timeless Test match,’ meaning the match would only stop when a result was achieved. Additionally, the weather conditions in Durban caused delays, as there were several interruptions due to rain.

4) Record Of Fastest Hundred In ODI

South African former legendary batsman AB de Villiers, who enjoys immense popularity in Asian countries, particularly in India, for his extraordinary batting skills in white-ball cricket, achieved something extraordinary in 2015.

He smashed the fastest century in ODI cricket in just 31 balls, supported by 9 fours and 16 sixes, cementing his place as the 4th most fascinating cricket fact in history.

5) Akash Chopra’s Cricket Career

Another fun fact about cricket is that Indian commentator Aakash Chopra is widely beloved by Indian cricket fans for his entertaining,statistical commentary, and for his deep game sense and cricket analysis.

Many might assume Chopra’s extensive cricket knowledge stems from a long playing career, but here’s a surprising fact: despite playing only 10 Test matches in his career, he possesses substantial experience in technical analysis and other aspects of the game.

6) Only Team To Win WC In All Formats

Let me remind some of the new generation cricket fans that there were actually three formats in the world cup before the ICC Test Championship was added in 2019: 60 overs, 50 overs, and T20.

India is the only team in the world to have won the World Cup in all three formats: the 60-over World Cup in 1983, the T20 World Cup in 2007, and the 50-over World Cup in 2011. Hence, India holds three different World Cups, a unique achievement.

However, the 60-over format World Cup was discontinued after the 1987 World Cup due to decreasing popularity and interest among fans.

7) Hilarious Debut Wicket Of Virat Kohli in T20I

Virat Kohli, the heart and soul of Indian cricket, is known for a remarkable debut wicket in T20 internationals against England in 2011, where he dismissed the batsman without bowling a single delivery.

It may seem miraculous to some—how can a bowler get a wicket without bowling a delivery?

This unique feat occurred when Kohli’s first ball was bowled as a wide, and England’s Kevin Pietersen was stumped by MS Dhoni behind the stumps.

This made Virat Kohli the only player in the world to claim his first T20I wicket without bowling a legal delivery.

8) Womens Played Cricket World Cup Before Mens

I was a bit surprised when I found out that the first Cricket World Cup was held in 1973, where the women’s cricket team of England won the inaugural tournament before the men’s team.

Despite cricket traditionally being more popular among men, with its emphasis on power hitting and athleticism, the first men’s World Cup took place in 1975, two years after the women’s.

This historical fact underscores the equal participation of women in the sport, albeit less recognized at that time due to its lower popularity.

However, in the modern era, both men’s and women’s cricket have gained immense popularity, drawing large numbers of fans to stadiums worldwide.

9) MS Dhoni Without Century In ODI

India’s greatest finisher of all time, MS Dhoni, smashed 10 centuries in his ODI career. However, a notable fun fact is that he never scored a century outside of Asia throughout his entire one-day international cricket career.

His performances in countries such as South Africa, Australia, England, New Zealand, and the West Indies were generally mediocre and below par, which explains his lack of ODI hundreds outside of Asian countries.

10) Ben Stokes is not from England

Moving on to our last interesting cricket fact: England’s test captain, Ben Stokes, is currently leading England with his new holistic and aggressive approach in the test format.

However, Stokes was born in New Zealand but plays for the England Cricket Board. You might wonder why he did not represent New Zealand, given his birthplace.

The reason is that during his childhood, his father, Gerard Stokes, played rugby and represented England. As a result, Ben Stokes moved to England with his family and began playing cricket there, eventually making his debut for the England team in 2011.

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Dhruvv

Founder and Senior Content Writer at Cric Eye.

Contact me at : founder@criceye.com