Cricket Facts

Cricket Facts – Part 1

• Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world.

• Cricket laws were created in 1744.

• Cricket was popular in the U.S. during the 19th century.

• The first century (100 runs) in Test Cricket was scored by Charlie Bannerman in 1877. He was an Australian.

• A chucker is another name for the bowler who bowls the ball.

• A duck is a score of zero.

• Cricket is played in 130 countries.

• The first bowler to take 10 wickets in a Test innings was Jim Laker. That happened in 1956.

• A lifter is a ball that unexpectedly rises.

• A lollipop is a ball that is incredibly easy to hit.

• In 1859 the first international sporting event occurred when Canada and the U.S. played each other in cricket.

• Cricket started out as a workers’ sport and later became the sport of royalty.

• The birthplace of cricket is the Marylebone Cricket Club in London, England.

• The player in Test Cricket with the longest career was Wilfred Rhodes. He played for 30 years, 315 days from 1899 to 1930.

• A full toss is a ball which reaches the batsman without bouncing.

• A dolly is an easy catch.

• A no ball is an illegal delivery from the bowler.

• The highest score ever by a player in his last Test as captain was 192 by Ian Chappell against England in 1975.

• A jaffa is a ball that is too good for the batsman to hit.

• A bye is a run that is scored without the batsman touching the ball.

• A bat-pad is a fielding position close to a batsman where the fielder tries to catch the balls that pop up off the bat.

• An arm ball is a ball that when bowled stays in a straight line.

• A box is an abdominal protector worn by batsman and wicket-keepers.

• The loop is the flight of the ball.

• Strike rate is the number of runs scored by a batsman per every 100 balls.

• Dead ball is a term first used in 1798. It means no runs can be scored or wickets taken from the ball.

• A yorker is a hard ball aimed at the batsman’s toes or the base of a wicket.

• A grubber is a ball that hardly bounces.

• Middle is the heart or meat of the bat. To middle a ball means to hit it well.

• Line is the path by which the bowler attacks the batsman with the ball.

• A googly is a spinning ball that goes toward right-handers and away from left-handers.

• A minefield is a pitch that is in very bad condition.

• A twelfth man is an extra fielder or a substitute.

• A bumb ball is a ball that is caught by a fielder almost immediately upon leaving the bat.

• A paddle is a sweep shot.