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Cricket is a sport with a fascinating history, so it comes as no surprise that there are plenty of interesting facts about the popular pastime. If you wish to bet on cricket after reading the facts, then we recommend that you use a promotional offer. Here are some facts and figures worth noting:

  • Asif Karim was not only a world-class cricketer, he also played tennis in the Davis Cup for Kenya.
  • At one time there was more than 1000 cricket clubs in the US, spread across 46 states.
  • A cricket bat weighs 2-3 pounds and is made usually made from willow wood – a wood prized for its toughness and lightness.
  • At 11:11am on 11/11/11, South Africa needed 111 runs to win against Australia.
  • Australia’s Peter Siddle is the only bowler to date who has scored a hat-trick on his birthday.
  • Alec Stewart was born on 8-4-63 and he scored 8463 test runs throughout his career. A coincidence of numbers?
  • The oldest person to play cricket to date is Wilfred Rhodes of England. He played Test cricket until the age of 52.
  • The only player who has been captain of a team for more than one hundred test matches is Graeme Smith.
  • Dirk Nannes has represented two countries throughout his career in international cricket – The Netherlands and Australia.
  • Currently, Sri Lanka has only won a single Test win against Australia.
  • Shoaib Akhtar from Pakistan bowled the fastest recorded delivery in cricket history. In the World Cup 2003, he bowled a delivery at an amazing speed of 100.23 miles per hour!
  • Sachin Tendulkar used to play for Pakistan before he played for India.
  • MS Dhoni has yet to score a century in a match outside Asia.
  • Australia‘s Charlie Bannerman was the first person to score a century in Test cricket in 1877.
  • Many of the original cricket rules have been modified since they were first written. The only rule that has not changed is the length of the pitch.
  • When Australia first toured England in 1868, each player wore a different colored cap on their head to make it easier for spectators to tell them apart and to identify the players.
  • India is the only country to win the 20-Over, 50-Over and 60-Over in the World Cup tournament.
  • The longest match ever played in cricket took place in 1939 in South Africa. The game took more than 2 weeks before the game was declared a draw.
  • A “Nelson” is a score of 111 and is considered unlucky by some.
  • Superstitious players often lift one foot or both from the ground before a goal is added to the scoreboard. This originates from a myth that Lord Horatio Nielson had one eye, one leg and one arm. In fact, he had both of his legs.
  • Australian batter Greg Ritchie let out chimpanzees in his team’s locker room during a 1984 tour of Zimbabwe.
  • Bill Lawry once nailed Richie Benaud’s shoes to the floor before a cricket match.
  • Jeremy Coney once received $100 from the team manager from New Zealand during his first season to get a new haircut and to buy some new cricket gear. Coney ended up buying a guitar instead! He eventually rose to the occasion and ended up becoming captain of the team.
  • Cricket is thought to have been created by English shepherds to pass the time while they were guarding their sheep flocks.