Only a handful of sports forms have over a billion fans globally, out of which cricket is one of the most prominent. Cricket events and tournaments are watched by hundreds of millions of people all around the globe. Besides merely watching matches, ardent fans of the sport also love to indulge in fantasy cricket, an outlet that facilitates them to test their knowledge of the game besides earning exciting rewards.
Although many reasons make the masses love cricket, one of the primary ones includes the opportunity to watch their favorite players create magic on the field. However, there have been numerous instances in the history of world cricket when even the most favorite and skilled players have set embarrassing records. This article will list some of the most embarrassing records set in cricket history. Let us start:
- Six Sixes in a Single Over
Logically speaking, it is nearly impossible for any batsman to hit a six on every delivery they face. Unfortunately, for specific bowlers, at least, there have been instances when batters have hit many 6 sixes in a single over. In fact, this has happened many times to numerous bowlers.
For starters, Gary Sobers hit six sixes in an over bowled by Malcolm Nash in a domestic county match in 1968. Ravi Shastri repeated this feat in a domestic Indian match in 1985. Shastri hit a six on every delivery bowled by Tilak Raj.
However, the most memorable version of the record is and will always be the six sixes Yuvraj Singh hit Stuart Broad in an international match between India and England in the first edition of the World Cup Championship.
- Most Ducks in ODIs For a Batsman
The ODI format of cricket receives immense love from the masses compared to other formats for numerous reasons. For starters, ODI matches are not as long as test matches and are not short like T20 ones. Moreover, they offer players, especially batsmen, the opportunity to put on exhilarating displays of skillful batting by putting runs on the board.
However, fans’ hopes get crushed when a batsman goes out without scoring any runs. Sanath Jayasuriya is the prolific player who holds the record for having the maximum ducks in one-day international matches for a batsman.
The ex-opener from the Sri Lankan has gotten out 34 times without scoring any runs a total of 34 times. These 34 ducks also include 10 Golden Ducks. Despite having a glorious career, this embarrassing record taints Sanath Jayasuriya’s legacy as a highly-skillful retired batsman from Sri Lanka.
- Most Deliveries Bowled in an Over in ODI History
As mentioned earlier, an over consists of 6 deliveries as per the rules of cricket. However, the six deliveries should be appropriate ones, i.e., no balls, wides, etc., are not counted as deliveries. Many bowlers have bowled seven or eight deliveries, but no other bowler has bowled a 17-ball over besides Mohammad Sami.
The pacer from Pakistan bowled 17 deliveries in an over against Bangladesh in the 2004 Asia Cup. The 17-ball over included 7 wide balls and 4 no balls. This over not only made Sami the holder of the embarrassing record but also added to the Bangladeshi run score in the Asia Cup match.
- Slowest ODI Innings As a Batsman
ODI matches consist of 50 overs for each team. The primary target of the team batting second is to ensure that they chase the target by scoring runs aggressively. To achieve this goal, the team’s batsman plays with the sole objective of hitting the ball for the boundaries whenever possible. However, Sunil Gavaskar, the legendary retired batsman, decided to do the exact opposite in an ODI match in 1975.
It was the inaugural edition of the World Cup, and India was playing against England. The latter set up a target of 335, and India had an enormous score ahead of itself to chase. Opener Sunil Gavaskar decided to start things off slowly but eventually forgot that he was playing an ODI and not a test match. He scored only 36 runs off 174 deliveries, making him the only batsman in ODI history to have the slowest innings of all time.
- Most Expensive 10-Overs Bowled in ODI History
The primary target of batsmen in ODIs is to score as many runs as possible, whereas the objective of bowlers is to prevent them from doing so, i.e., by bowling exceptionally well and not letting batsmen hit boundaries. Although there have been many expensive 10-over spells in the history of ODI cricket, the record for the most expensive 10-over spell in the format is held by ML Lewis.
Australia was playing an ODI against South Africa in the latter’s ground in Johannesburg. The Australian side had set up a gigantic target of 434 runs, which, theoretically speaking, was highly impossible to chase.
However, thanks to the exceptional batting skills of the South African batsmen and the contribution from ML Lewis, the home team won the match by 1 wicket. In his 10-over spell, ML Lewis gave away a whopping 113 runs. This made him, unfortunately, the rightful holder of the record for bowling the most expensive 10 overs in ODI history.
The aforementioned embarrassing records clearly state that even the most remarkable players who have had glorious careers can make mistakes. Although the records have been set, there is no saying which player in the future will break them and claim their rightful ownership over them.
