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.This is called Eliminator or Super Over.

17 national teams have competed in Twenty20 international cricket since the format was launched at international level in 2005.

Pakistan is the most successful ICC test-playing nation in the format, with a win ration of 75%.

West Indian Chris Gayle and New Zealander Brendon McCullum are the only batsmen to have scored a century in Twenty20 Internationals.

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.New Zealander is the only other one to take a hat trick in this format. He achieved this feat against Sri Lanka in 2009.

Sri Lanka hold the record for the highest Twenty20 international score, hammering 260/6 off the Kenyan attack at the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup.

Only 3 bowlers have taken 5 wicket haul in Twenty20 games.Pakistan's Umar Gul, Kenyan Odhiambo and West Indian Darren Sammy are the three.

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.