Interesting Facts About Australian Cricket Team

The game of Cricket has been in action worldwide since time immemorial. In the 1920s, there were two leading teams in the limelight. They were Australia and England. The test match series played between Aussies and English was named Ashes. The first Ashes test is dated back to 15 March 1877, played in Australia.

Since then, the Ashes test series has been popularized and organized frequently. If we go through the stats of Ashes, we will find it’s in favor of Australia since all the series from 1989 have been won by the Aussies. Australia has won 13 test matches to England’s six with six draws, all held in England.

Interesting Facts About Australian Cricket Team

Glimpses of the Past! – The first cricket match in Australia took place in Sydney in December 1803 and according to the Sydney Gazette in 1804, this game was already established in the infant colony. By 1862, clubs like Currency Cricket Club, Military cricket club, and Australian Cricket Club were formed. In 1838, the Melbourne Cricket Club was formed in Victoria, becoming Australia’s most exclusive and influential cricket club.

Is the Australian Cricket team the best? – Indeed!! There is no doubt about this question. Australia is regarded as one of the most successful teams in ODI cricket history. It has won more than 60% of its matches, with a record of seven World Cup final Appearances ( 1975, 1987,1996,2003,2007, and 2015) and has won the world cup a record five times: 1987,1999,2003,2007 and 2015. Well, the above data is sufficient to prove that the Australian cricket team is one of the best cricket teams in the world.

Let’s talk about Popularity – Isn’t it? Well, Popularity is something which we all look upon. Cricket is the most popular game in India, and globally it holds the second position. But if we look into the figures of Australia, more than 2.3 million people attended Cricket during the 2017-18 summer, surpassing the record of 1.8 million set in 2016–17. Separately, official audience data shows that 93.6% of Australians watched at least some Cricket on TV in the 2010–11 calendar year.

Much more than a game! – In Australia, Cricket is not just a game. It is much more than a game. The game now boasts 96 counties from all parts of the globe. It is a part of the national psyche and firmly entrenched in Australian culture. Famous players like Sir Donald Bradman and Steve Waugh are idolized, and some excellent test matches, such as the infamous Bodyline series, have become important moments in Australian history.

The most Famous Australian cricketer – Well, the most Famous Australian cricketer is Sir Donald, George Bradman. He was born on 27 August 1908 and died on 25 February 2001. He was supremely talented and extraordinary. He was nicknamed “The Don .” Australian international cricketer and widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman’s career Test batting average of 99.94 has been cited as the most significant achievement by any sportsman in any major sport.

Unfurl of Cricket in Australia – The Van Diemen’s Land (which later became known as Tasmania) was formed during the same time. The history of the first intercolonial cricket match in Australia is traced to 1851, when a team from Victoria went to Tasmania.

The Oldest – The oldest Cricket Club in Australia is Vienna Cricket Club. Vienna Cricket Club (VCC) is the oldest and one of Austria’s most active cricket clubs and the reigning ACA Open League champion.

Eight balls over! – You will be surprised to know that Australia had eight balls over in-home states in the 1924-25 season and then from the 1936-37 season to the 1978-79 season. Apart from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Pakistan and England have had eight ball overs in Test cricket at different times. Eight-ball overs were used in Test cricket in 1978-79 in Australia and New Zealand, whereas India, West Indies, and Sri Lanka used only six-ball overs in-home tests.

The Aluminum Bat – In the first match of 1979 Ashes which was held at Perth, the Aussies were at 232/8 and on the verge of losing. The number 9 batsman Dennis Lillee remained unbeaten on 11 at stumps on Day 1. Lillee, till then, was using a wooden bat. When the game restarted the next day, Lillee walked to the stadium with the Aluminum bat in his hand.

The aluminum bat was the result of Lillee’s friends’ imaginations. That friend also happened to be Lillee’s business partner. Later on, in Lillee’s autobiography, he confessed that the aluminum bat used in that test was entirely a show for marketing.

Just Sixes in the entire tournament! – Yes, you read it right!! It was Sir Donald Bradman who just hit sixes in his entire test career. If you ever think of Test cricket, the name that comes to mind will be Sir Donald Bradman. He is synonymous with batting perfection and played a total of 52 Tests from his debut in 1928 till his last match Vs. England in 1948. Sir Don Scored 29 Test Centuries and 13 Test Fifties and hit just six sixes in his entire career.

Magic and Luck at Lord’s – You will be surprised to know that Australia didn’t lose a single Test match at Lord’s for 75 years, from 1934 to 2009. Since their draft in the 1934 Ashes Test at Lord’s, the Aussies remained unbeaten at the home of Cricket for an astounding 75 years. They played 18 Tests at Lord’s in that period and won nine. However, the unbeaten streak was broken in 2009 when England beat them by 115 runs.

Great Hosting – Australia is the only country in the world to have hosted a 7 Test match series. In the 1970-71 Ashes, Australia hosted seven tests. However, the experiment didn’t work out as England won the series 2-0, with wins in the Fourth and Seventh Tests. Australian captain Bill Lawry became the first Aussie skipper to be sacked during the series. He was removed after the sixth test ended in a draw, and Ian Chappell was named a new Captain, and then a new era began in the history of Australian Test cricket.

Milkman – You must be curious to know about the life of some amazing cricketers. Rodney Hogg was one of them. He used to be a milk man before becoming an amazing bowler.

When marking waugh left their brother steve waugh stranded on 99 – In the 90s, for a certain period, Steve Waugh was kept dismissed from the century. Interestingly Steve Waugh ended his innings in the 90s at least ten times in the history of test cricket. In the February 1995 test match between England and Perth, Steve was left stranded on 99, when his brother Mark Waugh came in as runner for the last man Craig McDermott was down charged and fell short of the crease. As a result, McDermott was run out leaving Steve unbeaten on 99 in the first innings of Australia. The Aussies did win the test match by a whopping 329 run margin.

The history of the Australian cricket team is quite historic and memorable. The world has witnessed how tough, more robust, and resilient these kangaroo men are !!

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