Choosing the top 10 moments in all of cricketing history is a very difficult prospect indeed. The sport is full of controversies, victories, and defeats that all deserve to be written in the history books, so how can you choose just 10 of them? Well, we’ve whittled it down to the cricketing moments we think are the most breathtaking we’ve seen across the sport’s modern history. Of course, your mileage may vary, but everyone has a different perspective on cricket, after all. Here are our top 10 moments in cricketing history, in no particular order.
1. Chris Gayle’s 175 not out run in 2013
During an otherwise-unremarkable IPL game in 2013, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s opener Chris Gayle scored an absolute blinder, breaking several records and establishing himself as a true legend. He scored the fastest century the IPL has ever seen, ending up with 175 runs not out and 17 sixes. This year’s IPL playoffs may never see a player as brutally brilliant as Chris Gayle, but Betway’s Kevin Pietersen reckons there are still some players out there who could give Gayle a run for his money.
2. Sandpaper ball tampering in 2018
Not all of cricket’s top 10 moments are to be celebrated. In 2018, cricketers Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft were discovered to be tampering with the ball in Cape Town, using the sandpaper that’s traditionally used for bat maintenance in order to give themselves a competitive advantage. Their reputations have since recovered to some degree, but ball tampering will always be a stain on these players’ records, and they were banned for a year for doing this.
3. Belinda Clark’s first double-century in 1997
Many people think that cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is the first to score a double-century in ODI cricket, but this isn’t the case. In fact, that honour goes to legendary batswoman Belinda Clark, who managed to achieve this feat in 1997. Clark’s double-century was the first in ODI history and was scored against the Danish Women’s World Cup team, with Clark representing Australia. She scored 229 runs on 155 balls, which is an incredible feat that deserves to be recognised more often.
4. Sachin Tendulkar retires, 2013
Many Indian cricket fans revere Sachin Tendulkar as a god of the sport, and rightly so. His record is unblemished in terms of performance, so when he finally retired in 2013, it was a watershed moment for Indian cricket. At the conclusion of his final game in Mumbai, he gave a farewell speech that is remembered to this day as one of the most fond and iconic speeches in cricketing history. Tendulkar’s legacy is cemented, so he needn’t worry about being remembered.
5. Glenn McGrath is shown the red card, 2005
Let it never be said that cricket doesn’t have a sense of humour. In a 2005 game against New Zealand, Australia’s Glenn McGrath bowled an illegal underarm to NZ batsman Kyle Mills. New Zealand had already lost the match, needing 45 runs off a single ball in order to win. As such, McGrath’s ball was little more than a formality, but that didn’t stop beloved umpire Billy Bowden showing McGrath the red card (which wasn’t a punishment in cricket) for McGrath’s transgression.
6. Ireland beats England in 2011
Nobody expected the Irish cricket team to triumph over England, since the latter is one of the undisputed titans of the sport. However, that’s exactly what happened in Bangalore back in 2011, when Irish batsman Kevin O’Brien stepped up and began to dominate the field for his team. O’Brien ended with the fastest century in Cricket World Cup history at the time, and although he was subsequently bowled out, he managed to secure an unexpected Irish victory.
7. Andrew Strauss shatters his sunglasses in 2012
Now here’s a moment that defies all chance. Back in 2012, England was facing off against South Africa in a Test match when captain Andrew Strauss fielded the ball. As he did so, his sunglasses flew off his cap. In an astoundingly unlikely manoeuvre, Strauss then fielded the ball right into his sunglasses, shattering them. Naturally, this caused the entire stadium to fall about in fits of laughter, and even Strauss himself ended up seeing the funny side.
8. Hansie Cronje fixes a Test game in 2000
This is one of international cricket’s darker moments. South African national captain Hansie Cronje was found to have fixed a Test match against England in 2000, one that was generally regarded as a strong game due to its high entertainment value (despite rain conspiring to call it off). Cronje was subsequently banned from cricket for life, leaving a dark stain on the South African team that the squad has since worked diligently to clean.
9. Basil D’Oliveira highlights cricketing racism, 1968
Back in 1968, South Africa was in the grip of Apartheid, a racist regime that brutally oppressed and segregated its Black citizens. When England was due to play South Africa on the latter’s home turf in 1968, all-rounder Basil D’Oliveira was controversially left out of the team. When another England player was injured, D’Oliveira was swapped in, and South Africa announced that England would not be welcome on its turf. South Africa was subsequently banned from international cricket all the way up to 1991.
10. New Zealand’s first World Test Championship win in 2021
Let’s end on a positive note. In 2021, New Zealand managed to secure its first ever World Test Championship victory, playing against India after suffering humiliating defeats in both 2015 and 2019. There was absolutely no doubt that the 2021 New Zealand squad was in it to win it, with the team striding out to the field and consistently showing India what real Test cricket is supposed to look like. This was also the first ICC title for New Zealand since 2000, so there were many reasons for the Black Caps to celebrate that day.
