Cricket

Cricket Kit

Pakistan Cricket Team

Informain of cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players each on a field at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. Each team takes its turn to bat, attempting to score runs, while the other team fields. Each turn is known as an innings.

The bowler delivers the ball to the batsman who attempts to hit the ball with his bat away from the fielders so he can run to the other end of the pitch (which is counted as one run) without getting run out (the event in which the fielder throws the ball directly onto wickets or to a player who is near to wickets so he can dislodge them from the ground before the batsman or the nonstriker has reached the crease). Each batsman(the other is called non-striker) continues batting until he is out. The batting team continues batting until ten batsmen are out or specified number of overs(6 countable balls bowled is 1 over) have been bowled, at which point the teams switch roles and the fielding team comes in to bat.

In professional cricket the length of a game ranges from 20 overs of six bowling deliveries per side to Test cricket played over five days. The Laws of Cricket are maintained by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) with additional Standard Playing Conditions for Test matches and One Day Internationals.^[1]

Cricket was first played in southern England in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, it had developed to be national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being played overseas and by the mid-19th century the first international match was held. ICC, the game's governing body, has 10 full members.^[2] The game is most popular in Australasia, England, the Indian subcontinent, the West Indies and Southern Africa.

Pakistan cricket records 

1. Highest win/loss ratio in Home TestsPakistan’s home venues have become no-go zone for international teams due to security reasons but surprisingly Pakistan has the best home record in Test Cricket. Pakistan’s Win/Loss Ratio of 2.54 is the best among all nations. Pakistan has played 151 Tests at home; 56 won, 22 lost and 73 drawn, that gives ratio of 2.54 to Pakistan. Australia with 2.26 is second whereas Sri Lanka with 1.86 is third.

2. Fastest delivery bowled in International CricketIn ICC World Cup 2003 match between Pakistan and England at Newlands (Cape Town), Shoaib Akhtar became the first bowler to cross the barrier of 100 mphs, his delivery to Nick Knight clocked 100.4 mph/ 161.9 kmph, making it fastest delivery bowled in International Cricket. Previously Shoaib Akhtar was claimed to bowl 100 mph by Cybernet’s speed gun in a match against New Zealand in Pakistan but ICC didn’t approve it.

3. Most “Sixes” in ODIs and International Cricket“367” is the number of Sixes Shahid Afridi has hit in international cricket (including Tests, ODIs and T20 Int.), the most number of sixes by any batsman in International Cricket. In ODIs alone, he has hit 289Sixes which is another world record.

 4. Most runs by batsman in a calendar year of Test CricketIn 2006, Mohammad Yousuf scored 1788 runs in 11 Tests at average of 99.33. He broke the previous record of 1710 runs in 11 Tests by Viv Richards. Yousuf’s innings were against India, Sri Lanka, England and West Indies. He was in sublime form throughout the year even on hostile batting wickets of England, he scored in bulk; 631 runs in 4 Tests including a double-century and 2 centuries. During course of 1788, Yousuf also scored 665 runs in a 3 Test series against West Indies –most runs by Pakistan batsman in 3 Test series – and he hit 5 centuries in consecutive matches

5. Nine centuries in a calendar year of Test Cricket2006 didn’t end for Yousuf by giving him most runs in a year but it also ended up giving him 9 centuries; another world record. At end of the year, in series against West Indies, Yousuf hit 4 centuries in 3 Matches which made his tally to 9 centuries in a year. Arvinda de Silva, Ricky Ponting, Viv Richards and Sachin Tendulkar have hit 7 centuries in a calendar year.

6. Fastest century in ODI Cricket15 years to date, the auspicious record is still possessed by Shahid Afridi, or should I say Boom Boom Afridi. On 4th October (1996), Shahid Afridi – playing his first ODI innings – annihilated the Sri Lankan bowling attack by scoring century of 37 balls with help of 11 Sixes and 7 Fours. In 15 years, no one has threatened to break this record. The record for 4th fastest (45 balls against India in Kanpur 2006) and 7th fastest (53 balls against Bangladesh in Dambulla 2010) centuries is also held by Shahid Afridi, 3 out of top 10 fastest centuries belong to Shahid Afridi.

7.Fastest century in ODI Cricket15 years to date, the auspicious record is still possessed by Shahid Afridi, or should I say Boom Boom Afridi. On 4th October (1996), Shahid Afridi – playing his first ODI innings – annihilated the Sri Lankan bowling attack by scoring century of 37 balls with help of 11 Sixes and 7 Fours. In 15 years, no one has threatened to break this record. The record for 4th fastest (45 balls against India in Kanpur 2006) and 7th fastest (53 balls against Bangladesh in Dambulla 2010) centuries is also held by Shahid Afridi, 3 out of top 10 fastest centuries belong to Shahid Afridi.

 7. Four International Hat-tricksWasim Akram leads the way with FOUR international hat-tricks; two in ODIs and two in Tests, most hat-tricks by any bowler in world. Akram’s two Test hat-tricks came in consecutive Tests against Sri Lanka which is also kind of a record however a bowler named James Mathews has taken two hat-tricks in one Test match. Wasim Akram was also the first Pakistani to take hat-trick in Test Cricket

8. A Hat-trick in Test Cricket as well as ODI CricketWasim Akram and Mohammad Sami are only two cricketers who have taken hat-trick in ODIs as well as in Tests. Mohammad Sami, surprisingly, has hat-trick against Sri Lanka in Tests and against West Indies in ODIs. There isn’t any bowler in World who has taken a hat-trick in all three formats of the game however Brett Lee, the Australian fast bowler, has taken a hat-trick in ODIs and Twenty20 Int.

 8. Most five-wicket hauls in ODI CricketWaqar Younis has taken 13 five-wicket hauls in 262 ODIs; a record of most-wicket hauls by any bowler in ODIs, not only this, he also has record for taking most 4+ wickets in ODIs; 27 times he has taken 4+ wickets in ODI Cricket.

9. Fastest to reach 100, 150, 200 and 250 ODI wicketsAll the tallies belong to one man. Perhaps the best spinner ODI Cricket has ever seen. Saqlain Mushtaq, the off-spinner of Pakistan, has record for being the fastest to reach 100, 150, 200 and 250 ODI wickets. He also has two hat-tricks in ODIs; joint record with Wasim Akram, Chaminda Vass and Lasith Malinga.

10. Most wickets in a calendar year of ODIsIn 1996, Saqlain Mushtaq took 65 wickets in 33 ODIs which was record at that time. A year later, in 1997, he bettered his record with 69 wickets in 36 ODIs. To date, Saqlain’s tally of 69 wickets in a year remains the world record for most wickets in a calendar year of ODI Cricket.

11. Most ODI Wickets on a single groundWasim Akram has taken 122 wickets in 77 Matches at Sharjah, that’s record for most wickets by a bowler on a single venue. Second comes another Pakistani with Waqar Younis taking 114 wickets in 61 matches also at Sharjah. None other than “ The Ws” has taken 100 or more wickets on a single venue in ODI Cricket.

12. Most “Sixes” by batsman in an innings of a TestWasim Akram, in course to his famous 257* against Zimbabwe in Sheikhupura 1996, hit 12 Sixes. Surprisingly its a World Record effort. He broke the record of Wally Hammod’s 10 sixes of an innings in 1933. Later Nathan Astle (in 2002) and Mathew Hayden (in 2003) hit 11 sixes of their innings against England and Zimbabwe respectively.

13. 400 Test Wickets and a Double-centuryWasim Akram, to date, is only Cricketer to have taken 400 wickets and to score a double-century in his Test career. He grabbed 414 Tests wickets and scored double-century, 257*, against Zimbabwe. Akram is also one of few cricketers –Abdul Razzak and James Franklyn are others which I can recall – to have scored a century and taken a hat-trick in Tests. Akram’s two Test hat-tricks and a double-century also give him an unique all-rounder record.

14. Seven players of batting line-up’s top-order scoring 50+ in a Test inningsIn Pakistan’s famous Test victory against India in Karachi 2006, seven Pakistan batsman scored 50+ runs in second innings. In first innings Pakistan were bowled out on 245 but in second innings Pakistan scored 599-7 (declared) with all 7 batsmen who were out scoring 50+ runs. Salmam Butt (53), Imran Farhat (57), Younis Khan (77), Mohammad Yousuf (97), Faisal Iqbal (139), Shahid Afridi (60) and Abdul Razzak (90) were part of this record.

16. First maiden in Twenty20 InternationalsMohammad Asif, Pakistan fast bowler, has distinction of bowling the first ever maiden-over in history of Twenty20 Internationals. On 28th August 2006, Asif bowled maiden over against England in Bristol and also took 2 wickets in that over. Astonishingly, it was also Pakistan’s first ever appearance in Twenty20 Internationals.

15. Nine consecutive fifties in ODI CricketBetween March and October of 1987, Javed Miandad scored 9 fifties in consecutive ODIs. Javed’s innings were 78 , 78*, 74*, 60, 52*, 113, 71*, 68 and 103. He is the only batsman to go that far as second best is 6 consecutive fifties by Gordon Greenidge.

17. Most Wickets in Twenty20 InternationalsStar Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi leads the way with 53 wickets in 43 T20 Internationals, most wickets, so far, by any bowler in Twenty20 Internationals. He is also the first, and last so far, to take 50 wickets. Second and third are also Pakistanis, Umar Gul (47 wickets in 34 matches) is second whereas Saeed Ajmal (43 wickets in 30 matches) is third.

18. Only player to take 5-wicket haul and score Fifty in a match “twice” in his ODI Career. Shahid Afridi has rare all-rounder’s feat of claiming five wickets and score 50 in an ODI match twice in his career. 15 times it has happened in ODI Cricket but Afridi is the only player to have done it more than once: first, in year 2000, against England at Lahore where he 5 wickets for 40 runs which was followed by 61 as Pakistan successfully chased the target to win the game. Second time, it happened in “second home” of Pakistan, i.e UAE, more precisely Sharjah, in year 2011, against Sri Lanka. At difficult time, Afridi hit 75 of bat to take Pakistan mediocre total of 200 and then, at even more difficult time – when Sri Lanka were 155-3 in chase of 201, he grabbed 5 quick wickets to shock Sri Lanka with a defeat by 26 runs.

19. Youngest to take 5-wicket haul and most consecutive 5-wicket hauls in ODIsWaqar Younis also holds the record for being youngest bowler to take 5 wickets in an ODI. In 1990, at age of 18 years and 164 days, Waqar took 6 wickets for 26 runs in a match against Sri Lanka at Sharjah. Second youngest is also a Pakistani as Wasim Akram, at age of 18 years and 266 days, took 5 wickets for 21 runs against Australia in Melbourne 1985.In 1990, Waqar Younis also took three consecutive 5-wicket hauls in ODIs. None other than Waqar has taken 5-wicket hauls for three consecutive times. Waqar also took 7 wickets for 36 runs against England at Leeds in 2001, that remains the best bowling figure, in ODIs, by captain.

20. Highest partnerships for first and second wicket in First Class CricketWaheed Mirza and Mansoor Akhtar hold the record for highest opening partnership in First Class Cricket, both added 561 as openers in Karachi 1976-77. Record for highest second-wicket partnership also belongs to Pakistan’s pair of Aamir Sajjad and Rafatullah Mohmand; they added 580 for second wicket against Sui Southern Gas Corporation while playing for WAPDA in 2009.

21. Youngest to make Test and ODI DebutsHassan Raza, at age of 14 years 227 days, became the youngest player to make play a Test match. He debuted against Zimbabwe in Faisalabad in October 1996. Second and third youngest to make Test debut are also from Pakistan; Mushtaq Mohammad and Aqib Javed made their Test debuts at age of 15 years 124 days and 16 years 189 days respectively.Hassan Raza, at age of 14 years 233 days, also became the youngest to play an ODI Match. He made his debut against Zimbabwe in Quetta in October 1996.

22. Youngest to score century in ODIsShahid Afridi’s maiden ODI century was not only the fastest it was also a century by youngest player in ODI Cricket. Afridi aged 16 years 217 days amassed century of 37 balls against Sri Lanka at Nairobi in 1996. 6 out of top 10 youngest players to score ODI century are from Pakistan.