Cricket has been a hugely popular sport for centuries, with most countries having a national team and many considering it the sport of their country. There are a huge number of world records up for grabs with so many small details going into a cricket match, but in particular, there are some records that just don’t seem physically possible. When it comes to the best cricket records, people are going to have different opinions on what is considered best. For example, do you consider the fastest bowler in the world to be the best, or would you be looking for the one that bowls the most wickets? It’s all subjective and with cricket being the fast-paced popular game it is there are plenty of exciting records to choose from. Here are three of the most impressive cricket records in our opinion.
Shoaib Akhtar- The Fastest Bowler
Shoaib Akhtar is well known for being an incredibly talented bowler, but during a match for England in 2003 his name was cemented in the history book. During a 1 day international at the 2003 World Cricket Cup, the bowler managed to clock in at an impressive speed of 161.3 km/h, sailing past some of his rivals. Despite having retired over a decade ago, his record still stands. The next closest bowler managed 161.1km/h, so it’s fair to say that the record might not stand forever. Shaun Tait is close behind with his 161. km/h and in fact holds the record for the fast bowler in Australia!
Mahendra Singh Dhoni – The Most Expensive Bat
While not a record specific to his cricketing talents, this was no less an interesting record so it felt wrong to leave it out! Mahendra Singh Dhoni made the record books in 2011 for the world’s most expensive bat. The bat sold at auction for over £100,000. To collectors, this price is justified by Mahendra Singh Dhoni using it to hit the winning shot at the 2011 World Cup Final against Sri Lanka. This hit took the Cricket World Cup trophy home to India after 28 years of missing out. You might assume that paying out such an amount for a bat is a waste of time, however, if it brings you home the World Cup trophy maybe it isn’t such a waste after all. Players likely spend plenty on their sporting equipment but there probably aren’t many players that would fork out quite so much money for a bat- who knows!
Alyssa Healy – Highest Cricket Ball Catch
Sporting prowess in cricket is usually noted when describing how fast a player runs or bowls, or how well they bat. Potentially one of the most interesting records relating to a player’s talents is that of Alyssa Healy who entered the record books for achieving the highest cricket ball catch. The Australian player caught the ball which was dropped from a drone over 80m above Melbourne Cricket Ground. This record smashed English player Kristan Baumgartner’s previous record of 62m, and Healy remains in the Guinness Book of World Records to this day.
Cricket is not only one of the most longstanding sports but also one of the most interesting. Cricket is such an in-depth sport that there are potentially hundreds of ways to enter the record books, from the highest catch, the fastest bowler and even the most expensive bat!
Of course, as with any records and best statistics these could change at any time. The 2022 cricket calendar is already filling up fast and as such, maybe this year will be the year that someone bowls quicker or catches a ball from a higher height, let’s see what the new cricket season brings.
