Twenty20 World Cup Trivia

• While the England and Wales Cricket board have claimed the credit for introducing Twenty20 cricket to the world, an Australian mathematician by the name of Dr George Christos claims to have first suggested the format as early as 1997.
• The Twenty20 Cup, the world’s first domestic twenty20 tournament, was launched by the ECB in 2003.
• The Stanford Twenty20 for $20 Million, played annually by England and the West Indian All Stars, is one of the richest sporting events in the world, with each player on the winning team earning $1 million.
• The first ever Twenty20 international, played between Australia and New Zealand in 2005, was something of a circus, with players attempting to alter their appearances to look like 1980s era players. Australia won the match.
• Bowl-outs, involving 5 bowlers from each team bowling at an unguarded wicket to settle drawn games, were used at the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup. This method of settling a tie was abandoned in 2009 and replaced by an over of ‘extra time’ per side.
• 17 national teams have competed in Twenty20 international cricket since the format was launched at international level in 2005.
• Ireland goes into the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup as the most successful team in the sport. The Irish have never lost a match, giving them a 100% win record.
• Pakistan is the most successful ICC test-playing nation in the format, with a win ration of close to 80%. India is not far behind on 72%.
• West Indian Chris Gayle is the only batsman to have scored a century in Twenty20 Internationals. He achieved this against South Africa at the 2007 Twenty20 world cup, reaching his century off 50 balls.
• Australia’s Brett Lee was the first bowler to take a hat-trick in the batsman friendly format, taking 3 consecutive wickets while playing against Bangladesh at the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa.
• Sri Lanka hold the record for the highest Twenty20 international score, hammering 260/6 off the Kenyan attack at the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup.
• A bowler is yet to take a 5 wicket haul in Twenty20 international cricket. New Zealand’s Mark Gillespie holds the record for the best figures in the format, taking 4/7 against Kenya at the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup.
• India’s Yuvraj Singh holds the record for the most explosive batting attack in Twenty20 international history, hitting a 50 off just 12 balls against Australia in 2007.