Cricket 101: 5 Myths About Cricket That Need to Be Busted ASAP!

There are definitely much more than just 5 myths when it comes to the sport of cricket. We cannot dispel them all, but we’ve chosen to tackle the 5 cricket myths that bother us the most and bust them once and for all. 

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There are Ten Ways of Being Dismissed from Bat

The thing that irks us when we hear someone state this myth is usually the sheer confidence with which they say it. We must confess, this myth is pretty close to fact, but close is not enough. Fact is fact and anything that falls short of it is simply not fully factual. 

If, like thousands of cricket fans, if you believe that there are ten ways that you can get out while batting, then you now stand corrected. There are, technically, 11 ways in which you can get dismissed while batting. 

Any half-decent cricket fan can list the five popular dismissals off the top of their head, these are:

Bowled, Caught, Run Out, Stumped and Leg Before Wicket. 

Now, let’s list the five other ways which aren’t as commonly witnessed, these are:

Hit Wicket: when the batsman accidentally hits the wickets with the bat when attempting to hit the ball, this is called a hit wicket. It does not always have to be when attempting to hit the ball. If the batsman hits the wicket when initiating the first run of the ball, this too is considered a hit wicket. 

Ball Handling: if either the facing or non-facing batsman touches the ball with his or her hand (the one free of the bat) intentionally and without the permission of the opposition, then it is considered ball handling. 

Obstructing Field: when a batsman obstructs any member/fielder of the opposite team from fielding or collecting the ball to execute a run out, it is considered obstructing field. The obstruction may come in the form of words being said or physical action. 

Hitting Ball Twice: Except for when needing to protect the wickets, if the batsman hits the ball twice intentionally, it is a case for dismissal. 

Timed Out: if, after a wicket falls, the next batsman takes longer than 120 seconds to appear on the field, he or she is considered timed out. 

So, these ten ways constitute the myth that there are only ten ways of getting out. However, there is a 11^th way and it involves substitution law. 

The 11^th way is termed ‘retired out’ and it refers to a situation when a batsman who is able to bat refuses to do so. 

The Olympics Used to Include Cricket 

This myth originates in the form of records showing a cricket match between England and France as having taken place in the 1900 Olympics. The reality, however, is this:

In the 1900, there was a massive festival in the city of Paris and the 2^nd edition of the modern Olympics as we know it today was a part of this festival along with various other sporting competitions. The festival went on for a handful of months. The proponents of the Olympics saw the opportunity to market the Olympics as being something bigger than what it was at the time by declaring that all sporting events that took place in the festival was part of the Olympics and they proceeded to award medals to the winners as well. 

Therefore, many events that took place in the 1900 Paris festival have wrongfully been recorded as Olympic events. One such event was a Cricket match between an English club team from Devon and another team of Englishmen living in Paris. The game was recorded as being a match between “England” and “France”.

The truth is that Cricket has never been a competitive event in the Olympics, legitimately. 

India lost More Matches when Sachin Scored a Century

Not sure how this Myth came about, but it seems to be common consensus among many Indian cricketing fans from the 90s and early 2000s. Contrary to popular belief, Sachin has scored 49 One Day International centuries and 33 (67% of his centuries) of them were in matches that India ended up winning. 

Yuvraj Singh Scored 84 Runs in his First Cricket Match for the Indian National Team

In reality, Yuvraj Singh’s first cricket match was actually against Kenya, but he never had to bat in that match. So, his 84-run spell against Australia was not his debut match for India, it was just his first innings for the country. 

AB de Villiers was a Prolific Hockey Player

Not sure how this myth did the rounds, but there was a rumor going around that South African player AB de Villiers was a top flight hockey and football player as well. His autobiography, however, made it clear that this was never the case.