Top 10 Guinness World records held by cricketers

        Whoever has heard the term ‘Guinness book of world records’ must be aware of the fact that it is considered as the most respected and eminent record book in the world. It is a reference book published annually, featuring world records both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. It also lists sporting records, including cricket.

There is no doubt that cricket is one of the most followed sports all over the world and the popularity of the captivating game has moved newer heights ever since the inception of T20 format.

There is a plethora of records created and broken every now and then in the cricketing world. No wonder, the unique record book takes note of everything.

Let’s have a look at top 10 Guinness World records held by cricketers:

1. Most Expensive Bat – Mahendra Singh Dhoni

This unique record is held by former India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni when his bat was sold at the auction for £100,000 ($161,295). It was purchased by R K Global Shares & Securities Ltd (India), at MS Dhoni’s ‘East Meets West’ Charity Dinner, in London, on July 18 2011.

Those wondering why this bat was exceptional, well it’s the same bat which was used by Dhoni in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium. MSD had hit the winning shot with the bat, which brought the World Cup Trophy in India after 28 years.

2.  Sachin Tendulkar – Most runs in World Cup

In the 2003 World Cup, Sachin Tendulkar steamrolled the bowlers and created a unique record.

The ‘Master Blaster’ scored an incredible 673 runs, comprising a hundred and six fifties, at an average of 61.18 and also awarded with ‘Man of the Tournament’ award. Tendulkar scored 152 against Namibia, 81 against Zimbabwe, 97 against Sri Lanka, 83 against Kenya in the semi-final, and 98 against arch-rivals Pakistan.

3. Fastest delivery of a cricket ball – Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar was widely known for his electrifying pace and unbelievable ability to bowl consistently at 150 kmph. The right-armer has a long history of frightening batsmen across all the teams purely by his long run-up, bulk physique and fantastic speed.

In the year 2003, Akhtar etched his name in ‘Guiness book of world records’ when he bowled the fastest delivery in cricket history. During the 2003 World Cup, Akhtar bowled at 161.3 km/h (100.23 mph) which is still the quickest delivery in world cricket. 

4. Largest cricket tournament

Eenadu Cricket tournament in India has listed in the record books by registering the largest cricket tournament in the world.

The tournament consists of 16,215 participants and was achieved by Eenadu Cricket Champion Cup- 2013 (India) in different venues across India from 30 December 2013 to 20 February 2014.

5. Youngest cricketer to hit six sixes in an over – Anthony McMahon

The youngest cricketer to hit six consecutive sixes in the same over is England’s, Anthony McMahon.

He achieved the remarkable achievement, at the age of 13 years 261 days, on May 24 2003. Anthony was playing for Chester-le-Street against Appleton at The Appleton Cricket Club in Durham.

6. Most watched cricket fixture – India versus Pakistan, World Cup 2019

The rivalry between India and Pakistan attracts numerous viewers whenever the nations face each other in an ICC event. Last year in the World Cup, India and Pakistan played out the most anticipated clash of global showpiece events in Manchester with more than 1 billion viewers worldwide. Many streaming websites crashed minutes before the scheduled start of the match, such was the craze of India versus Pakistan match.

The contest took place on June 16, 2019, where India (336 for 5) defeated Pakistan (212 for 6) by 89 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in a rain-affected match.

7. Highest cricket ball catch – Alyssa Healy

Australia wicket-keeper Alyssa Healy established a Guinness World Record after achieving the feat for the ‘highest catch of a cricket ball’ at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Healy caught a ball which was dropped from a drone 80 metres above the MCG.

With the achievement, Healy broke the record of amateur English cricketer Kristan Baumgartner who previously held the record of highest catch at 62 metres.

8. First player to bat at No.12 in a Test match – Shannon Gabriel

Shannon Gabriel, the West Indies player, accomplished the amazing feat when he batted at No.12 during the second Test against India. The match was played at the Sabina Park, Kingston in Jamaica, from August 30 to September 2 2019.

Gabriel was bumped down the order from his usual No.11 position due to team-mate Jermaine Blackwood coming on as a concussion replacement for Darren Bravo, who had retired hurt on 23 earlier in the innings.

Gabriel (0 not out) faced just one ball before the West Indies suffered a 257-run defeat.

9. Most International Wickets

Muttiah Muralitharan's incredible career haul of wickets seems almost impossibly high given the average time at the top for an international cricketer.

With 1,347 victims, 800 in Test matches and 547 in the white-ball formats, the spinner terrorized batsmen for two full decades.

Given that Murali's closest contemporary Shane Warne is still 346 wickets behind the Sri Lankan, it will be some career that even gets close to this total.

10. Most ODI matches as a captain the Women’s Cricket

Belinda Clark, former Australia captain, who was the first player, male or female, to strike a double-century in one-day internationals holds a massive record to her name.

She is the owner of the record, which says the most number of ODI matches as a captain and the most One Day International cricket matches played as captain by an individual female cricketer is 101.