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Cricket facts

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Cricket facts

Cricket facts

  • The origins of cricket are shrouded in mystery, but we do know that its history goes right back to the 16th Century and that it was a children's game in Kent and Sussex before being taken up by working men. The earliest known reference to the game came in 1597, when it was referred to as "kreckett".

  • Wickets are so named because the word 'wicket' actually refers to a small gate, and the pattern formed by the cricket stumps led to the term being adopted.

  • "The Ashes" Test series got its name from a satirical column written in 1882 after Australia triumphed over England. The column said that English cricket had died and been cremated, with the ashes taken to Australia. The teams' next confrontation was therefore billed as the quest to regain "the ashes".

  • All bowling in cricket was originally underarm. Kent cricketer John Willes is credited with popularising the "roundarm" bowling motion which eventually became the overarm we see today. Legend has it that he was inspired by his sister, who started bowling in this outrageous fashion while playing in the garden because her massive 19th Century skirt made underarm rather difficult.

  • The longest cricket match on record took place between England and South Africa in 1939. Play began in Durban on March 3rd and continued till March 14th, and it would have carried on for even longer if England's boat wasn't due to leave, forcing the teams to agree a draw.

  • True cricket fans will recall umpire David Shepherd hopping about rather oddly whenever the score hit 111. This is known as the "Nelson" after Admiral Nelson, who died with only one eye, one arm and one leg (a fallacy, as both his legs were in tip-top condition). It's regarded as a bad omen for the team in question, and Shepherd popularised the practise of raising a leg from the ground to ward off ill luck.
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