SETTING THE SCENE: The essential records of the standout performers ahead of the T20 Cricket World Cup in Australia
The T20 Cricket World Cup 2022 lands in Australia in just a few days, and with the planet’s best teams raring to go, the cricket world is set for a T20 spectacle unlike any other.
The T20 Cricket World Cup was first held in 2007 and has since become the most recognised form of the sport after Test cricket. The rapid time of matches and fast-paced nature of T20 has made the sport much more accessible to casual fans and, combined with the player’s need to smash the ball for six to compile as many runs as possible in the shortest space of time, the sport is thriving and is sure to blow the socks off fans in Australia this winter.
To set the scene for the eighth ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, we have analysed some of the most impressive stats and records from the standout teams, bowlers and batters in the prestigious tournament’s 15-year history.
It would be sacrilege not to mention the greatest team in the history of the competition so kicking us off is West Indies and their impressive record of the most titles. Lifting the trophy in 2012 and 2016, they have been one of the world powers in T20 cricket since the format was invented, though it would be a surprise if they were to triumph once again this year.
One of the key aspects of the sport, batting, has been dominated by the great Mahela Jayawardene, who was a key figure for Sri Lanka for several years. Over his career, he amassed 1,016 T20 World Cup runs, more than any other batsman and holds a record that will not be easily beaten. Famously helping Sri Lanka to their win in 2014, Jayawardene has gone down in history as one of the best T20 players of all time.
Shakib Al Hasan would surely have had something to say had he been on the pitch against Jayawardene, but unfortunately for the Bangladeshi ace, his side has never made it to a T20 World Cup final. Al Hasan, however, has still been one of the best T20 cricketers of his era, and for Bangladesh, he has taken a record 41 T20 World Cup wickets.
Known for their mightily impressive run chases in Test cricket in 2022, England are the side with the highest run chase in the history of the competition. Chasing down South Africa in 2016, who had amassed 229 runs for four, England achieved the feat with only two balls remaining.
In a T20 World Cup match against Bangladesh in 2012, Brendon McCullum of New Zealand smashed a whopping 123 runs off 58 balls, beating the record for the highest run haul in one match for one player at the T20 World Cup. Also recording the fastest Test century of all time, McCullum was perfectly suited for T20 and is remembered as one of the best batters of all time.
Talking of the best T20 batters of all time, there is one player that will always make the conversation: Chris Gayle. Rightly regarded as one of the best to ever grace the sport, Gayle registered the quickest T20 World Cup century in history against England in 2016 before winning the tournament with a dominant West Indies. Making the runs in just 48 balls, England will be thankful the legend won’t be playing in Australia this year.
