Records and History

Cricket began in England as far back as the 1300’s although there is no documented evidence of this. It is believed it would have been invented and played by children living in the Weald, an area in South-East England made up of dense woodland and open clearings.

English Cricket

The first documented reference to cricket being played as a sport by adults was in 1611. That same year the game was entered as cricket and described as a boy’s sport in a dictionary.

By the middle of the 17th century cricket was being played in villages across English and county teams were formed later that century. 1709 is the earliest reference to teams actually using the counties as their names.

1744 saw organized rules being applied (although there are suggestions there were rules in place before this. That same year saw Kent play against an All-England side in a famous game. It was not unusual for there to be disorder amongst the crowds and heavy betting at cricket games.

Evolution of cricket

In 1811 wide deliveries were banned. 1838 saw an official ruling on the circumference of the ball used. In 1841 pads were introduced for protection, firstly from cork and later from vulcanized rubber. This same new rubber was used to make protective gloves in 1848.

Cricket History and Records boundaries were introduced later in 1870 so not all the hits had to be run. Then the delivery of the ball started to change.

At this time all deliveries were bowled underarm but then someone changed all that. If legend is to be believed then John Willes developed the first ‘round-arm’ delivery. His sister was unable to deliver the ball underarm due to the garments that women wore in those days and threw the ball round-arm instead. Willes then practised and developed this technique.

Because of the popularity of this new development the MCC ruled that the hand must be below the elbow at the time of delivery. However by 1830 it was so popular that the MCC conceded and rewrote the rules to all the new techniques as long as the hand or arm do not go above the shoulder.

Colonisation and the spread of cricket around the world

As Britain got more Imperialist ambitions cricket spread around the world wherever the British navy and army landed. There are even records of cricket being played in North America back in the 1700’s.

Colonisation of Australia in around 1788 brought the game down under and by the 1800’s it had reached the West Indies and India. The 19th century saw the game played in South Africa and New Zealand. All countries that have embraced the game and produced great players and national teams.

It might seem strange that the first International match did not include England where the game was invented but was actually held in New York at St Georges Cricket Club between the United States and Canada. In 1877 England and Australia played their first game ever and their rivalry began.

India falls in love with cricket

Due to the colonisation of India cricket became incredibly popular. This was down to the British Raj and The East India Company. Madras city was founded by the East India Company in 1639. They then acquired Portuguese territory in 1661 on the west coast. This included the city of Bombay. In 1690 there was a treaty (Anglo-Mughai) that let English traders and merchants develop a trading settlement along the Hooghly River. This grew into the city of Calcutta. At all of these locations the British played cricket the native population embraced the sport and the popularity grew.

One of the reasons it became so popular and remains so is that it is so easy to play. Children only need a bat and ball and you can see children on the streets using a stick instead of a bat to swing at the ball. Even though there is no official national sport in India, cricket would be it if there was. It is treated as a religion and is possibly their favorite import from England.

When the sport first arrived in India it led to plenty of opportunities for gamblers too. Cricket matches were places for men to gamble heavily on the sport but then the British banned gambling in 1867. These days gambling is still forbidden in cricket and other sports. In fact there are only three states in India that allow casinos.

The Ashes

One other important development happened in 1882. England lost to Australia and there was a mock obituary for English cricket published. Two women from Melbourne burnt a bail and then presented it in an urn to the England captain of the time.

This is how the Ashes began and the longest running competition in the game was on.

These days cricket continues to be popular and played in schools across England and the rest of the world. While it has been embraced by some countries as if it was started there it is still strangely unknown in others such as China, Brazil and Russia. Where China strongly favors Olympic sports Brazil is a huge foot balling nation and it would take some turn around to get cricket popular there. If you are more of an armchair man then you could always play cricket on a console or PC as there are more than a few on the market or if you like betting on cricket then you can go online to a bookmaker site or online casino and place your bet there.

The Laws o the Cricket History and Records

Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game. Any action which is seen to abuse this spirit of fair play rests with the captains.

1. There are two Laws which place the responsibility for the team’s conduct firmly on the captain. Responsibility of captains The captains are responsible at all times for ensuring that play is conducted within the Spirit of the game as well as within the Laws. Player’s conduct In the event of a player failing to comply with instructions by an umpire, or criticising by word or action the decisions of an umpire, or showing dissent, or generally behaving in a manner which might bring the game into disrepute, the umpire concerned shall in the first place report the matter to the other umpire and to the player’s captain, and instruct the latter to take action.
2. Fair and unfair play According to the Laws the umpires are the sole judges of fair and unfair play. The umpires may intervene at any time and it is the responsibility of the captain to take action where required.
3. The umpires are authorized to intervene in cases of

• Time wasting
• Damaging the pitch
• Dangerous and unfair bowling
• Tampering with the ball
• Any other action that they consider to be unfair

4. The Spirit of the Game involves RESPECT for:

• Your opponents
• Your own captain and team
• The role of the umpires
• The game’s traditional values

5. It is against the Spirit of the Game:

• To dispute an umpire’s decision by word, action or gesture
• To direct abusive language towards an opponent or umpire
• To indulge in cheating or any sharp practice, for instance:

(a) to appeal knowing the batsman is not out

(b) to advance towards an umpire in an aggressive manner when appealing

(c) to seek to distract an opponent either verbally or by harassment with persistent clapping or unnecessary noise under the guise of enthusiasm and motivation of one’s own side

6. Violence There is no place for any act of violence on the field of play
7. Players Captains and umpires together set the tone for the conduct of a cricket match. Every player is expected to make an important contribution to this.

Most runs in a career

The list of cricket world cup winning captains list since 1975 below

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Winners List

The list of ICC T20 WC winning captains

Interesting Facts On Cricket World Cup 

• Australia is the country with the maximum number of World Cup Titles for both Men and Women tournaments.
• There are a total of 12 teams currently that participate Men’s tournaments. These include India, Australia, England, New Zealand Pakistan, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Bangladesh, Ireland, West Indies, and Sri Lanka.
• India and Australia are the only two countries to have won the World cup in both 50 and 60 overs format.
• India is the only country till date to have won the Men’s World Cup for 50 overs, 60 overs, and 20 overs

Cricket Records, made or broken, have always captivated its passionate enthusiasts all over the world. In this section you can find the updated information of Cricket world records in One Day International (ODI) matches, Test matches and also in World Cup matches recognized by International Cricket Council (ICC). These records have been further divided into sub-categories of Test, ODI and T20.

ICC Women’s World Cup History

1973, England
Winner: England

The first winner at a limited-over’s World Cup was, in fact, not West Indies, but the England women’s team, at the first Women’s World Cup in 1973, two years before the first men’s event.

Seven teams – England, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, an International XI and Young England – participated in the event. It was held in a round-robin format, with each team playing the others once, and the top team on points lifting the title. “The tournament created huge public awareness of the very existence of women’s cricket,” Rachael Heyhoe-Flint, the England captain, said years later.

England’s Enid Bake well and Lynne Thomas hit the first centuries of the tournament in its opening match against International XI. Its total of 258 for 1 in that game was the highest until its last game, against Australia, when another century by Bakewell and a fifty by Heyhoe-Flint took England to 279 for 3 in 60 over’s and a 92-run win.

England won five of its games, losing only to New Zealand in a rain-affected match. It was closely followed by Australia, with four wins and one no result.

New Zealand and International XI had three wins each, Trinidad and Tobago two, and Jamaica and Young England one each.

Top run-scorer: Enid Bakewell (England) – 264 runs in 6 matches
Top wicket-taker: Rosalind Heggs (Young England) – 12 wickets in 6 matches

1978, India
Winner: Australia

India made its debut in the tournament at the event hosted in the country. Only four teams participated: Australia, England and New Zealand joining the home side. Each team played the others once, with the winner being decided on points. The games were played before large, enthusiastic crowds.

Australia was undefeated in the tournament, winning against New Zealand by 66 runs, India by 71 and getting its revenge over England from the 1973 edition with an eight-wicket win in Hyderabad. Put in, the defending champion was reduced to 28 for 6 by the pace of Sharon Ann Tredrea, who finished with 4 for 25, before finally putting up 96 for 8. Glynis Hullah then struck twice as Australia fell to 6 for 2, but a patient effort from Sharon’s sister Janet (37 not out) and Margaret Jennings, the captain (57), completed an eight-wicket win.

England finished the tournament with two wins, while India couldn’t open its account.

Australia’s good form was underlined by the fact that three of the top five batters (Jennings – 1, Sharon – 4, Wendy Hills – 5) and top five bowlers (Sharyn Hill – 1, Sharon – 2, Peta Verco – 5) were all from the cup-winning side.

Top run-scorer: Margaret Jennings (Australia) – 127 in three matches
Top wicket-taker: Sharyn Hill (Australia) – seven wickets in three matches

1982, New Zealand
Winner: Australia

There were five participants this time around, including an International Women’s XI, but what was noteworthy was the number of matches played. Each team played 12 matches in the round-robin stage, with the two teams at the top of the pile taking each other on in the final.

It was therefore fitting that the most consistent team won the title. In its 12 matches, Australia won a stunning 11. The one it didn’t win was a tie, against England in Christchurch. England, having posted 167 for 8, managed to bowl Australia out with the scores level. Remarkably, it was the second tied contest in the tournament – the clash between England and New Zealand, the second of the edition, had also ended with spoils shared.

The final was again a closely-contested affair. Opting to bat, England posted 151 for 5, largely thanks to Jay Allen’s 53. In response, Australia put in a fine team performance. Jen Jacobs’s 37 was the highest in the innings, and she was closely followed by Karen Read (32), Sharon Ann Tredrea (25) and Marie Cornish (24). Their combined effort ensured Australia sailed home with three wickets and an over to spare.

Top run-scorer: Janette Brittin (England) – 391 in 12 matches
Australia were the winners of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 1982

1988, Australia
Winner: Australia

It was once again a five-team tournament, but instead of an International Women’s XI, there were two associate nations making their debuts – Ireland and the Netherlands, while India was missing. The number of matches played also drastically reduced, with each team playing eight games.

The main scrap was once again between Australia and England. Australia won seven and lost one – against England – to finish at the top of the table. England came second, its two losses coming against New Zealand and in its other clash against Australia.

As for the newbies, the Netherlands struggled and lost all eight of its matches. Ireland fared a bit better, winning both its clashes against the Netherlands to avoid the wooden spoon.

The final between the arch-rivals – England and Australia – wasn’t quite the thriller it was in the previous edition. England, batting first, was restricted to 127 for 7, with Janette Brittin’s unbeaten 46 largely responsible for that total. Lyn Fullston, the left-arm spinner, was the pick among the Australian bowlers, returning 3 for 29.

England started the chase spiritedly, reducing Australia to 14 for 2. However, Lindsay Reeler scored an unbeaten 59 and put on an unbroken, decisive 115-run stand with Denise Annetts (48) to seal an eight-wicket victory and Australia’s third title.

Top run-scorer: Lindsay Reeler (Australia) – 448 runs in eight matches
Top wicket-taker: Lyn Fullston (Australia) – 16 wickets in eight matches

1993, England
Winner: England

The fifth edition was played in England. The tournament was very close to being cancelled until a £90,000 donation from the Foundation for Sport and the Arts allowed it to go on. A total of eight teams featured in the competition, with Denmark and West Indies making their debuts. India, too, made a comeback to the championship.

After the round-robin stage of seven matches for each team, New Zealand and England made the final, the three-time champion Australians losing out. The group stage was dominated by New Zealand, which remained unbeaten, while England’s only loss came against New Zealand, by 25 runs.

In the final, England rode on the 85-runs partnership for the second wicket between Janette Brittin (48) and Carole Hodges (45) to get a good start. In the process, Brittin became the first woman to score 1000 World Cup runs. After them, Jo Chamberlain bludgeoned 38 runs from 33 deliveries to take England to 195 for 5. New Zealand’s reply never took off and it was shot out for 128, giving England a 67-run win.

Top run-scorer: Janette Brittin (England) – 410 runs in 8 matches
Top wicket-takers: Karen Smithies (England) and Julie Harris (New Zealand) – 15 wickets in 8 matches

1997, India
Winner: Australia

This edition featured a record 11 teams and was played over 50 overs for the first time. High scores, the lowest total, big crowds, this edition of the tournament offered everything a cricket fan could dream of.

Australian Belinda Clark’s 229 not out against Denmark and England’s Charlotte Edwards’s 173 not out against Ireland still remain the top two individual scores in women’s cricket history. But, while the tournament recorded four 300-plus totals, Pakistan was dismissed for 27 in a mere 82 balls, still the shortest completed innings in the women’s game.

After some tough competition in the group stages, England, Australia, New Zealand and India made it through to the semi-final. While Australia defeated India by 19 runs in the first, New Zealand took out England by 20 runs in the second game.

New Zealand could only put up 164 in the final, courtesy Debbie Hockley’s brilliant 79. Australia got off to a solid start, as Clark (52) led the side from the front and it went past the target in 47.4 overs with five wickets remaining, giving Australians its fourth championship title in front of 80,000 spectators at Eden Gardens.

Top run-scorer: Debbie Hockley (New Zealand) – 456 runs in 7 matches
Top wicket-taker: Katrina Keenan (New Zealand) – 13 wickets in 7 matches

2000, New Zealand
Winner: New Zealand

The seventh edition was hosted by New Zealand and was won by the home side in a cliff-hanger of a final against its Trans-Tasman rival.

The tournament, which featured eight teams, was spread over 31 games in Lincolnshire and Christchurch. Apart from Australia and New Zealand, India, South Africa, England, Sri Lanka, Ireland and the Netherlands took part. All the teams played each other once in a round-robin format, and India and South Africa made it into the final four apart from New Zealand and Australia.

Australia, which went unbeaten into the semi-final, brushed South Africa aside with a nine-wicket win. New Zealand, which had lost to Australia in the group stage, also won easily, beating India by nine wickets.

In sharp contrast to the semi-finals, which were lopsided affairs, the final was a nail-biting affair. Australia, the favourite, was set 185 for victory, and it took a collective effort by the home side bowlers to stop it four runs short with Belinda Clark’s 91 going in vain.

Top run-scorer: Karen Rolton (Australia) — 393 runs in 9 matches
Top wicket-taker: Charmaine Mason (Australia) – 17 wickets in 8 matches

2005, South Africa
Winner: Australia

The tournament format was exactly the same as in the previous edition, and had a new finalist in India, which took on Australia, the pre-tournament favourite.

Australia was the most dominant team through the course of the competition, winning five of its seven round-robin games by big margins, the other two being washed out. India also had two of its games washed out, while it also lost to New Zealand.

In the semi-finals, Australia defeated England by five wickets with Cathryn Fitzpatrick returning 3 for 27 to stop England at 158 and Belinda Clark leading the chase with a knock of 62, while India beat New Zealand by 40 runs, Mithali Raj’s 91 not out and Amita Sharma’s 3 for 24 standing out.

In the final, Australia posted 215 for 4 after Karen Rolton, the No. 3 batter, scored an unbeaten 107. India didn’t stand a chance after that, and was bowled out for just 117.

Highest run-getter: Charlotte Edwards (England) — 280 runs in 6 matches
Highest wicket-taker: Neetu David (India) — 20 wickets in 8 matches

2009, Australia
Winner: England

In this, the first edition of the tournament to be organized by the International Cricket Council, the teams were split into two groups, with each team playing the other once. The top three teams from each group then qualified for the Super Sixes. Both England and New Zealand, the eventual finalists, won all their group stage matches and lost one match each in the Super Sixes.

A lot was expected from the home side, but Australia lost to New Zealand in the opening match of the tournament and was also beaten by India in a crucial Super Sixes match. But it bounced back to win the third-place playoff, beating India by three wickets. South Africa and Sri Lanka failed to win any matches in the tournament.

In the Super Sixes match against Pakistan, New Zealand’s Suzie Bates and Haidee Tiffen were involved in a 262-run second-wicket stand – the second-highest partnership in women’s One-Day Internationals, and the highest in a women’s World Cup match – that set up a massive 223-run win.

In the final at North Sydney Oval, Nicky Shaw, the England pacer, took 4 for 43 to restrict New Zealand to 166 and a solid batting performance then took England to a four-wicket win.

Top run-scorer: Sarah Taylor (England) – 324 runs in 7 matches
Top wicket-taker: Laura Marsh (England) – 16 wickets in 6 matches

2013, India
Winner: Australia

The tenth edition of the tournament proved to be a great advertisement for the women’s game. Four teams – Australia, England, India and New Zealand – had already qualified for the main event and were joined by Sri Lanka, South Africa, Pakistan and West Indies, who qualified through the 2011 Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Bangladesh.

Katherine Brunt and Anya Shrubsole (England), Megan Schutt and Holly Ferling (Australia) and Jhulan Goswami (India), were the pacers who dominated the bowling charts. While the power-hitting of Eshani Kaushalya (Sri Lanka), Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin (West Indies) was at par with some of their male counterparts.

Sri Lanka sprung a surprise by pulling off a thrilling one-wicket win over England, the defending champion, in the group stage, and even went on to beat India by 138 runs, thus scripting the home side’s exit from the tournament, while Pakistan remained winless.

After suffering heavy defeats to India and England in the group stage, West Indies did a turnaround in the Super Sixes, winning all three games, including first-time wins over New Zealand and Australia.

But in the final, the Jodie Fields-led Australians bounced back in style to beat West Indies by 114 runs and clinch its sixth World Cup title.

Top run-scorer: Suzie Bates (New Zealand) – 407 runs in 7 matches
Top wicket-taker: Megan Schutt (Australia) – 15 wickets in 7 matches

2017, England 
Winners: England

The 11th edition of the premier event was hosted by England, who went on to win the tournament, beating India in the final at Lord’s in a thriller.

The tournament began with a league stage comprising all eight teams, with every side clashing with each other once – the top four teams at the end of the group stage would progress to the semi-finals.

England finished atop the table at the end of the group stages, level on points with Australia, with both teams just losing one fixture each in seven matches. India and South Africa joined them in the semi-finals.

India shocked Australia in their semi-final, with Harmanpreet Kaur smashing a magical 171* off 115 balls – the fifth-highest World Cup score overall, and the highest individual score made by an Indian in the women’s World Cup. In the other semi-finals, England eased past South Africa in a nail-biting thriller, with just two balls remaining, to set up a cracking finale.

India looked primed to chase down England’s 229-run target in the final, having reached 191/3 in the 43rd over. However, a collapse, triggered by the nerveless Anya Shrubsole, who returned 6/46 – the best figures in a women’s World Cup final – helped England snatch victory in front of a near full-house at Lord’s.

Top run-scorer: Tammy Beaumont (England) – 410 in 9 matches
Top wicket-taker: Dane van Niekerk (South Africa) –15 wickets in 7 matches

Famous Athletes / Cricketer names

Virat Kohli

Ben Stokes

MS Dhoni

AB de Villiers

Sachin Tendulkar

Kane Williamson

Steve Smith

Babar Azam

Rashid Khan

Shakib Al Hasan

Joe Root

Quinton de Kock

Andre Russell

David Warner

Suryakumar Yadav

Jasprit Bumrah

Ricky Ponting

Kagiso Rabada

Shaheen Afridi

Mahela Jayawardene

Dwayne Bravo

Jonny Bairstow

Kumar Sangakkara

Brian Lara

Chris Gayle

Don Bradman

Virender Sehwag

Viv Richards

Rahul Dravid

Sunil Gavaskar

Jack Hobbs

Anil Kumble

Wally Hammond

Muttiah Muralitharan

Jacques Kallis

Wasim Akram

Shoaib Akhtar

Shane Warne

Rohit Sharma

Yuvraj Singh

Lasith Malinga

Shahid Afridi

Brett Lee

Imran Khan

Garfield Sobers

Sanath Jayasuriya

Ian Botham

Kapil Dev

Richard Hadlee

Glenn McGrath

Steve Waugh

T20 World Cup 2023 schedule

T20 WC 2023 Stadiums/Venue List