On the day that South Africa take on Sri Lanka in the 10,000th men's T20 match ever, CHARLIE PETERS runs the numbers on the first 9,999...
The brave new world of T20 cricket began on 13 June 2003, in what was then known as the Twenty20 Cup. Durham v Nottinghamshire, Hampshire v Sussex, Somerset v Warwickshire and Worcestershire v Northamptonshire all hold the honour of taking place on the opening night.
Stand-out performances include a 29-ball 49 from Durham opener Nicky Peng and 52 off just 28 deliveries by Warwickshire’s Trevor Penney.
It only took a year for the format’s 100th game to come around – a Twenty20 Cup North Group clash between Durham and Yorkshire at the Riverside Ground, in July 2004.
Keeper Phil Mustard’s 42 and Gareth Breese’s unbeaten 24 were enough to see the home side to victory, waltzing home with seven wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare.
Another Twenty20 Cup landmark fixture, the 1,000th T20 was a semi-final at the Rose Bowl, on 26 July, 2008. Kent came up trumps to book their place in the final, brushing past Essex by 14 runs.
A half century from captain Mark Pettini was in vain, as Kent’s attack, spearheaded by Pakistanis Azhar Mahmood and Yasir Arafat, was too strong for the Eagles.
By the 2010s, T20 cricket had firmly established itself as a global phenomenon. It’s fitting, therefore, that the 5000th game was a Caribbean Premier League fixture.
Jamaica Tallawahs thumped St Lucia Zouks by 10 wickets on 28 June, 2015, thanks to an unbeaten 90 off just 36 deliveries from a certain Christopher Henry Gayle. You’ll be seeing that name a few more times on this list…
Hampshire's batsmen (John Crawley, Simon Katich, Shaun Udal, Lawrence Prittipaul and Alan Mullally) wait in the dugout on the first night of Twenty20 cricket
Gloucestershire’s Ian Harvey struck T20’s very first century from 50 balls against Warwickshire on 23 June 2003, in the inaugural Twenty20 Cup. The Australian dismantled a strong bowling attack, including Waqar Younis and Graham Wagg, making history in the process.
It’s that man again. On 23 April 2013, Chris Gayle walloped a remarkable 175 not out from just 66 balls, helping guide Royal Challengers Bangalore to a colossal 130-run victory over Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League.
Gayle’s knock included 13 fours and 17 sixes, coming at a strike rate of 265.15.
No surprises for guessing this one. Chris Gayle is miles ahead of the competition with 22 T20 centuries – the next-best, Australians Michael Klinger, Aaron Finch and David Warner, are some 14 behind with eight apiece.
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It was always going to be a pair of openers that set the record. Afghanistan’s Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani put on a mammoth 236-run first-wicket partnership against Ireland in 2019.
Zazai made an unbeaten 162 off just 62 deliveries, while Ghani fell for 73 off 48, to blast Afghanistan to a winning total of 278 for 3.
An unlikely source. Leicestershire captain Colin Ackermann is best known for his middle-order batting, but his off-spin ripped through the core of Warwickshire’s line-up to return the remarkable figures of 7 for 18.
Chris Gayle: surely the most devastating T20 batsman of all time?
Dominic Cork (then of Lancashire) dismissed Nottinghamshire’s Kevin Pietersen, Mark Ealham and Samit Patel in consecutive deliveries to claim T20’s first ever hat-trick on 15 July 2004. Rain reduced the game to eight overs per innings, but Cork took full advantage of his one and only over, finishing with figures of 3 for 9 as Lancashire won by seven wickets.
Amit Mishra, Andrew Tye, Rashid Khan and Andre Russell make up an illustrious list of bowlers to have taken three T20 hat-tricks.
Sri Lankan seamer Lasith Malinga leads the way, with five career five-fers to his name. Malinga, somewhat fittingly, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket today, was known from his slingy right-arm action and nailing yorkers at the death.
West Indies allrounder Kieron Pollard’s 559 T20 appearances make him the most experienced T20 cricketer to date. Pollard has played for 18 different domestic sides and franchises, including Mumbai Indians, Dhaka Gladiators, Trinbago Knight Riders and Somerset.
Suresh Raina played 158 consecutive matches for Chennai Super Kings between 2008 and 2018. The batter, who represented India 78 times in T20, was an integral cog in the Super Kings’ line-up, not missing a single match in ten years.
You guessed it. MS Dhoni is leader of the pack, having appeared as captain 291 times for India, Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiant. Dhoni has played 338 T20 matches, meaning he has been captain for 87 per cent of his appearances.
Rashid Khan is arguably the greatest T20 bowler ever
And again. Dhoni has been involved in 269 dismissals in T20, putting the Indian top of the pile for keepers. Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal gets a shoutout too, as the only keeper to have taken over 100 stumpings (101).
Sri Lankan umpire Ranmore Martinesz holds the record for the umpire who has stood in most T20s, having officiated 210 matches, including 29 T20Is from 2010 to date.
368 venues have held host to T20 cricket since 2003. The Riverside Ground, The Rose Bowl, Taunton County Ground and New Road can all claim to have hosted the very first night of T20 cricket 18 years ago, with a further 364 grounds joining them in the years to follow.
The Dubai International Cricket Stadium has hosted more internationals than anywhere else, with 62 T20Is being played there from 2009 onwards.
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