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Cricket · Interesting Facts

Chapter 6: Quirky Trivia

10 parts · 10 tests · 100 facts · updated 14 October 2026 · markdown

The odd side of cricket: play stopped by snow, sun, snakes, bees and smog, Tests abandoned or forfeited, a country in two Tests at once, and the stories behind the game's slang.

6.61Play Stopped By...

Matches halted or abandoned by unsafe pitches, sand, vandals, June snow, a snake, bees, smog and the setting sun.

Test 1Unusual reasons play stoppedTake a test

  1. With England 17 for 3, the umpires and captains agreed the newly laid pitch was unsafe: balls flew or shot along the ground.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, 'A Sabina Park farce' (espncricinfo.com); Wisden · recall

  2. Sand laid on the outfield after heavy rain left the run-ups unsafe; the match was moved to the Antigua Recreation Ground two days later.

    Source: CNN, 'Farcical scenes as Antigua Test abandoned' (2009); Dawn, 'Test switched after Antigua 10-ball farce' · recall

  3. Campaigners for the prisoner George Davis dug holes in the pitch and poured oil into them; the match was left drawn.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, 'Vandals stopped play' (espncricinfo.com) · recall

  4. Rain turned to hail and then snow; umpire Dickie Bird put the depth at six inches. It was the first snow in an English June since 1927.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, 'Rewind to 1975: snow stopped play'; Lancashire Cricket, 'Fifty year anniversary: when snow stopped play' · recall

  5. Ground staff removed the snake with sticks and a bucket, and play went on a few minutes later.

    Source: Khaleej Times, 'Snake interrupts play during second India-South Africa T20I' (2022) · recall

  6. The bees settled around a helmet behind the wicketkeeper, and the umpires stopped play until they moved on.

    Source: AFP via GDN Online, 'Swarm of bees stops play at South Africa ODI' (2017) · recall

  7. Air pollution in Delhi was at hazardous levels; Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Gamage left the field and several players were sick.

    Source: ABC News, 'New Delhi pollution halts India-Sri Lanka Test match' (2017); CNN · recall

  8. June 1975, August 1975, 1998 and 2009.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo (Buxton, Headingley, Sabina Park); CNN (North Sound) · recall

  9. February 2017, December 2017, January 2019 and October 2022.

    Source: AFP; ABC News (Delhi, Napier); Khaleej Times · recall

  10. Most pitches run north to south; Napier's runs east to west, so the setting sun shone straight into the batters' eyes.

    Source: ABC News, 'New Zealand v India ODI interrupted by setting sun' (2019) · recall

6.62Odd Matches

Two Tests at once, eleven bowlers in an innings, a forfeited Test, a player who played Tests for two countries, the shortest Test and the rain rule that gave us Duckworth-Lewis.

Test 1Matches that broke the patternTake a test

  1. One England side was in New Zealand and another in the West Indies, so for a short time two England Tests were in progress at once.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, 'Rewind to 1930: when England played two Tests in a day' · recall

  2. Every England player bowled, W. G. Grace taking the gloves while the wicketkeeper had his turn.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, England v Australia, 3rd Test, The Oval, 1884, scorecard · recall

  3. Lyttelton had never bowled lobs before; he became the first wicketkeeper to take a Test wicket.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, England v Australia, 3rd Test, The Oval, 1884, scorecard; Cricket Country · recall

  4. Pakistan stayed in the dressing room after tea in protest at a ball-tampering penalty, and the umpires awarded the match to England.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, 'What we remember: the Oval forfeit, 2006' · recall

  5. He played 24 Tests for Australia and 16 for South Africa, whom he led on their return to Test cricket in 1992, and was the first to make Test hundreds for two countries.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Kepler Wessels profile; SA Cricket Magazine, 'The cricketer who represented Proteas and Australia' · recall

  6. South Africa made 55 and 176, India 153 and 80 for 3; it beat the 656 balls of Australia against South Africa at Melbourne in 1932.

    Source: Guinness World Records, shortest completed Test match; ESPNcricinfo records, shortest matches by balls bowled · recall

  7. Duckworth presented a first formula to the Royal Statistical Society in 1992, Lewis joined him, and the ICC adopted their method for the 1999 World Cup.

    Source: Duckworth, Lewis and Stern, 'Cricket's raining champion', Significance (Royal Statistical Society, 2019); ICC · recall

  8. 1884, 1930, 2006 and 2024.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo (1884, 1930, 2006); Guinness World Records (2024) · recall

  9. Debut 1982, last Australia Test 1985, the 1992 World Cup, then South Africa's first Test after readmission, April 1992.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Kepler Wessels profile; SA Cricket Magazine, 'The cricketer who represented Proteas and Australia' · recall

  10. The rule then in use dropped the batting side's target only by the runs scored in the fielding side's least productive overs, so a short rain break left an impossible task.

    Source: Duckworth, Lewis and Stern, 'Cricket's raining champion', Significance (Royal Statistical Society, 2019); ICC · recall

6.63Words and Their Stories

Where cricket's slang comes from: the duck, the hat-trick, the Bunsen, chin music, dibbly-dobblies, sledging, cow corner and a word Wisden retired.

Test 1The origins of cricket slangTake a test

  1. The 'duck's egg' was a 19th-century name for nought; in 1866 a newspaper wrote that the Prince of Wales had gone back on a 'duck's egg'.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, 'A glossary of cricket terms' (espncricinfo.com); The Daily Star, 'Duck in cricket: the quirky origins of a zero run' · recall

  2. After he took three wickets in three balls at Sheffield, a collection was taken and he was presented with a new hat.

    Source: NHL.com, 'Hat trick traces its history back to 19th century'; Mental Floss, 'Where does the phrase hat trick come from?' · recall

  3. It is Cockney rhyming slang: a Bunsen burner is a 'turner'.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, 'A glossary of cricket terms' (espncricinfo.com) · recall

  4. The ESPNcricinfo glossary traces the phrase to the West Indies.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, 'A glossary of cricket terms' (espncricinfo.com) · recall

  5. Rod Latham, Gavin Larsen, Chris Harris and Nathan Astle formed New Zealand's famous dibbly-dobbly quartet.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, 'A glossary of cricket terms' (espncricinfo.com) · recall

  6. Chappell dated the term to Sheffield Shield cricket at Adelaide Oval in 1963-64 or 1964-65.

    Source: ABC News, 'Percy Sledge: soul singer's link to cricket's sledging' (2015) · recall

  7. Wisden called the old word no longer appropriate after objections that it was a racial stereotype.

    Source: Cricket Country, 'Wisden replaces Chinaman with slow left-arm wrist-spin bowlers' (2018); CricTracker · recall

  8. 1858, 1866, the 1960s and 2018.

    Source: NHL.com; The Daily Star; ABC News; Cricket Country · recall

  9. 0, 50, 111 and 222: a Nelson is the score that English superstition holds unlucky.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, 'A glossary of cricket terms' (espncricinfo.com) · recall

  10. Fielders at Dulwich College were sent to the corner of the field where cattle grazed, and the name stuck.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, 'A glossary of cricket terms' (espncricinfo.com) · recall

6.64Substitutes and Twelfth Men

The players who came on for someone else, and the rules that kept changing.

Test 1SubstitutesTake a test

  1. Australia felt England were using substitutes to rest their bowlers; Ponting was fined.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, England v Australia, Trent Bridge 2005 · recall

  2. He later wrote about chasing a catch from Kapil Dev that he could not reach.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Sachin Tendulkar; his autobiography 'Playing It My Way' · recall

  3. He went on to make four fifties in the series.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, England v Australia, Lord's 2019 · recall

  4. It began in July 2005 and was dropped early in 2006.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, the Super Sub experiment · recall

  5. It suited a charity of cricket lovers who liked to watch from the Tavern.

    Source: Lord's Taverners history · recall

  6. He held a catch to dismiss Tup Scott, the first such case in Tests.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, England v Australia, Lord's 1884 · recall

  7. Durham supplied several of England's substitute fielders that summer.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, England v Australia, Trent Bridge 2005 · recall

  8. 1987, 2005, 2006 and 2019.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

  9. England won the match by three wickets.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, England v Australia, Trent Bridge 2005 · recall

  10. Pratt became a hero of the Ashes summer and was at the open-top bus parade.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, England v Australia, Trent Bridge 2005 · recall

6.65Superstitions and Rituals

Lucky rags, taped bats, a favourite hat and the numbers players fear.

Test 1SuperstitionsTake a test

  1. The red rag became his trademark through his Test career.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Steve Waugh profile · recall

  2. Team-mates also say he liked every toilet seat in the dressing room put down.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Neil McKenzie profile · recall

  3. The hat was stitched and re-dyed many times.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Jack Russell profile · recall

  4. He liked it just so, the same way every day of a match.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Jack Russell profile · recall

  5. Many players follow the same order every time they pad up.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Sachin Tendulkar profile · recall

  6. He tapped the bail into the ground with his bat handle.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul profile · recall

  7. It became part of his famous sling-arm routine.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Lasith Malinga profile · recall

  8. 1985, 1988, 1989, 1994, 2000 and 2004.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, player profiles · recall

  9. Umpires got used to removing the bail at the end of his innings.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul profile · recall

  10. Thirteen is thought unlucky, and 100 minus 13 makes 87.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, cricket superstitions · recall

6.66Strange Dismissals

Handled the ball, obstructing the field and retired out: the stories behind the rarest ways to go.

Test 1Rare dismissalsTake a test

  1. He tried to hit the ball away from his stumps a second time and stopped the keeper taking a catch.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, England v South Africa, The Oval 1951 · recall

  2. The ball had stopped behind him after he swept, and he pushed it away.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, India v England, Bangalore 2001 · recall

  3. Both had made big hundreds and left the field to give others a bat.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, Colombo 2001 · recall

  4. The throw was heading for the stumps as he dived back.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, England v Australia, Lord's 2015 · recall

  5. Timed out finally happened in a men's international in 2023, but not yet in a Test.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Test records, modes of dismissal · recall

  6. He was out in the two ways in 1986 and 1989.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, ODI records, modes of dismissal · recall

  7. He moved his bat into the path of a throw coming at the stumps.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Pakistan v India, Peshawar 2006 · recall

  8. 1951, 1979, September 2001, December 2001 and 2015.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

  9. The appeal was within the Laws but seen as poor sportsmanship.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Australia v Pakistan, Perth 1979 · recall

  10. Andrew Hilditch was the batter and Sarfraz Nawaz the bowler.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Australia v Pakistan, Perth 1979 · recall

6.67Records Nobody Wanted

Long ducks, pairs on debut, short careers and the over that went for 36.

Test 1Unwanted recordsTake a test

  1. He batted 101 minutes without scoring to help save a Test against South Africa.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Test records, longest ducks · recall

  2. Bombay duck is a dried fish dish.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Ajit Agarkar profile · recall

  3. Four noughts looked like the four circles of the badge.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Mark Waugh profile · recall

  4. He made 0 and 0 against Australia at Edgbaston, then went on to 8,900 Test runs.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Graham Gooch profile · recall

  5. He was struck by Malcolm Marshall and spent days in hospital.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Andy Lloyd profile · recall

  6. Fast bowlers who cannot bat fill this list, and Martin tops it.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Test records, most pairs · recall

  7. India were chasing 335; his slow innings is still debated.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, England v India, Lord's 1975 · recall

  8. June 1975, July 1975, 1984, 1992, March 1999 and the 1999-2000 tour of Australia.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

  9. 17, 77 and 174 balls.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

  10. Allott was trying to save the match at Auckland in 1999.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Test records, longest ducks · recall

6.68Umpires' Tales

Crooked fingers, slow fingers, neutral umpires and the men in the white coats.

Test 1UmpiresTake a test

  1. Rheumatoid arthritis made a straight finger painful.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Billy Bowden profile · recall

  2. He raised his finger famously slowly when giving a batter out.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Rudi Koertzen profile · recall

  3. Imran Khan had pressed for neutral umpires to end suspicion of home bias.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Pakistan v West Indies, Lahore 1986 · recall

  4. He won it each year from 2004 to 2008.

    Source: ICC Awards; ESPNcricinfo, Simon Taufel profile · recall

  5. It shows him giving a batter out.

    Source: Barnsley Council; ESPNcricinfo, Dickie Bird profile · recall

  6. He is the only man to play in and umpire a men's World Cup final.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Kumar Dharmasena profile · recall

  7. He umpired the finals of 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Steve Bucknor profile · recall

  8. 1986, March 1996, June 1996, 2008 and 2019.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

  9. 1956-59, 1960-64, 1973, 1996 and 2009.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Dickie Bird profile · recall

  10. His hop-and-wave signal for a six was just as famous.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Billy Bowden profile · recall

6.69Famous Words

Remarks, rhymes and catchphrases that cricket never forgot.

Test 1Words that stuckTake a test

  1. West Indies, fired up by the remark, won the series 3-0.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, England v West Indies 1976 · recall

  2. It was his complaint about the modern game on Test Match Special.

    Source: BBC, Fred Trueman obituary · recall

  3. Waugh described it as working on the opposition's confidence.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, Steve Waugh profile · recall

  4. He said he used it to dry his hands, and was fined for not saying so at once.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, England v South Africa, Lord's 1994 · recall

  5. It became one of the best-known sights of Australian coverage.

    Source: Channel Nine; ESPNcricinfo, Tony Greig obituary · recall

  6. The Yorkshire opener turned commentator had many such sayings.

    Source: BBC Sport, Geoffrey Boycott · recall

  7. Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee shared 58 wickets in the series.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, the 1974-75 Ashes · recall

  8. 1974-75, 1976, 1994 and 2007.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo · recall

  9. The fine came from England's chairman of selectors, Ray Illingworth.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, England v South Africa, Lord's 1994 · recall

  10. He lost the vice-captaincy over it, and the papers called it the 'Fredalo'.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, the 2007 World Cup · recall

6.70Ice, Sand and Matting

Cricket on a frozen lake, on a sandbank at low tide and on matting pitches.

Test 1Unusual surfacesTake a test

  1. Teams play on the frozen lake below the town.

    Source: St Moritz Ice Cricket · recall

  2. The bank appears only at the lowest tides of the year.

    Source: Royal Southern Yacht Club; Island Sailing Club · recall

  3. The two sailing clubs take turns to 'win', whatever happens.

    Source: Royal Southern Yacht Club; Island Sailing Club · recall

  4. The sands are notorious for shipwrecks.

    Source: Kent Cricket heritage · recall

  5. Turf pitches came in during the 1930s.

    Source: ESPNcricinfo, South African cricket history · recall

  6. About five per cent of the surface is artificial fibre, which makes it last longer.

    Source: ECB, hybrid pitches; SISGrass · recall

  7. The rest of the field is frozen lake.

    Source: St Moritz Ice Cricket · recall

  8. The 1800s, the 1930s and 1988.

    Source: Kent Cricket; ESPNcricinfo; St Moritz Ice Cricket · recall

  9. Spectators watch from boats around the bank.

    Source: Royal Southern Yacht Club · recall

  10. The St Moritz tournament draws former Test players as well as amateurs.

    Source: St Moritz Ice Cricket · recall

Sources

Primary/official sources only, no Wikipedia citations: ESPNcricinfo (stories, scorecards and its glossary), Wisden, the Royal Statistical Society's Significance, ABC News, CNN, Dawn, Khaleej Times, AFP. Told as 'did you know', never as officiating; the Laws track covers how the rules work. Nelson and David Shepherd, Mathews' timed-out and the Mankad are asked in Knowledge Testing and left out on purpose.

  • ESPNcricinfo6
  • ESPNcricinfo, 'A glossary of cricket terms' (espncricinfo.com)5
  • ESPNcricinfo, England v Australia, Trent Bridge 20054
  • St Moritz Ice Cricket3
  • ESPNcricinfo, Kepler Wessels profile; SA Cricket Magazine, 'The cricketer who represented Proteas and Australia'2
  • Duckworth, Lewis and Stern, 'Cricket's raining champion', Significance (Royal Statistical Society, 2019); ICC2
  • ESPNcricinfo, Steve Waugh profile2
  • ESPNcricinfo, Jack Russell profile2
  • ESPNcricinfo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul profile2
  • ESPNcricinfo, Australia v Pakistan, Perth 19792
  • ESPNcricinfo, Test records, longest ducks2
  • ESPNcricinfo, Billy Bowden profile2
  • ESPNcricinfo, England v South Africa, Lord's 19942
  • Royal Southern Yacht Club; Island Sailing Club2
  • ESPNcricinfo, 'A Sabina Park farce' (espncricinfo.com); Wisden1
  • CNN, 'Farcical scenes as Antigua Test abandoned' (2009); Dawn, 'Test switched after Antigua 10-ball farce'1
  • ESPNcricinfo, 'Vandals stopped play' (espncricinfo.com)1
  • ESPNcricinfo, 'Rewind to 1975: snow stopped play'; Lancashire Cricket, 'Fifty year anniversary: when snow stopped play'1
  • Khaleej Times, 'Snake interrupts play during second India-South Africa T20I' (2022)1
  • AFP via GDN Online, 'Swarm of bees stops play at South Africa ODI' (2017)1
  • ABC News, 'New Delhi pollution halts India-Sri Lanka Test match' (2017); CNN1
  • ESPNcricinfo (Buxton, Headingley, Sabina Park); CNN (North Sound)1
  • AFP; ABC News (Delhi, Napier); Khaleej Times1
  • ABC News, 'New Zealand v India ODI interrupted by setting sun' (2019)1
  • ESPNcricinfo, 'Rewind to 1930: when England played two Tests in a day'1
  • ESPNcricinfo, England v Australia, 3rd Test, The Oval, 1884, scorecard1
  • ESPNcricinfo, England v Australia, 3rd Test, The Oval, 1884, scorecard; Cricket Country1
  • ESPNcricinfo, 'What we remember: the Oval forfeit, 2006'1
  • Guinness World Records, shortest completed Test match; ESPNcricinfo records, shortest matches by balls bowled1
  • ESPNcricinfo (1884, 1930, 2006); Guinness World Records (2024)1
  • ESPNcricinfo, 'A glossary of cricket terms' (espncricinfo.com); The Daily Star, 'Duck in cricket: the quirky origins of a zero run'1
  • NHL.com, 'Hat trick traces its history back to 19th century'; Mental Floss, 'Where does the phrase hat trick come from?'1
  • ABC News, 'Percy Sledge: soul singer's link to cricket's sledging' (2015)1
  • Cricket Country, 'Wisden replaces Chinaman with slow left-arm wrist-spin bowlers' (2018); CricTracker1
  • NHL.com; The Daily Star; ABC News; Cricket Country1
  • ESPNcricinfo, Sachin Tendulkar; his autobiography 'Playing It My Way'1
  • ESPNcricinfo, England v Australia, Lord's 20191
  • ESPNcricinfo, the Super Sub experiment1
  • Lord's Taverners history1
  • ESPNcricinfo, England v Australia, Lord's 18841
  • ESPNcricinfo, Neil McKenzie profile1
  • ESPNcricinfo, Sachin Tendulkar profile1
  • ESPNcricinfo, Lasith Malinga profile1
  • ESPNcricinfo, player profiles1
  • ESPNcricinfo, cricket superstitions1
  • ESPNcricinfo, England v South Africa, The Oval 19511
  • ESPNcricinfo, India v England, Bangalore 20011
  • ESPNcricinfo, Sri Lanka v Bangladesh, Colombo 20011
  • ESPNcricinfo, England v Australia, Lord's 20151
  • ESPNcricinfo, Test records, modes of dismissal1
  • ESPNcricinfo, ODI records, modes of dismissal1
  • ESPNcricinfo, Pakistan v India, Peshawar 20061
  • ESPNcricinfo, Ajit Agarkar profile1
  • ESPNcricinfo, Mark Waugh profile1
  • ESPNcricinfo, Graham Gooch profile1
  • ESPNcricinfo, Andy Lloyd profile1
  • ESPNcricinfo, Test records, most pairs1
  • ESPNcricinfo, England v India, Lord's 19751
  • ESPNcricinfo, Rudi Koertzen profile1
  • ESPNcricinfo, Pakistan v West Indies, Lahore 19861
  • ICC Awards; ESPNcricinfo, Simon Taufel profile1
  • Barnsley Council; ESPNcricinfo, Dickie Bird profile1
  • ESPNcricinfo, Kumar Dharmasena profile1
  • ESPNcricinfo, Steve Bucknor profile1
  • ESPNcricinfo, Dickie Bird profile1
  • ESPNcricinfo, England v West Indies 19761
  • BBC, Fred Trueman obituary1
  • Channel Nine; ESPNcricinfo, Tony Greig obituary1
  • BBC Sport, Geoffrey Boycott1
  • ESPNcricinfo, the 1974-75 Ashes1
  • ESPNcricinfo, the 2007 World Cup1
  • Kent Cricket heritage1
  • ESPNcricinfo, South African cricket history1
  • ECB, hybrid pitches; SISGrass1
  • Kent Cricket; ESPNcricinfo; St Moritz Ice Cricket1
  • Royal Southern Yacht Club1