Cricket‘s midsummer slogfest returns this week, with ticket sales buoyant despite competing attractions. Here‘s ten things you might not know about the summer game‘s big hit
1 So cricket is watched by two men and a dog? The average crowd at last summer’s Twenty20 games was more than 7,000, a figure most lower-division football clubs would be delighted with.
2 Middlesex’s game against Surrey at Lord’s last year was a sell-out. Even the egg-and-tomato-tied traditionalists in the pavilion enjoyed it. They’re playing twice at HQ this summer – against Surrey on June 27, and Kent on June 30. Feature continues
3 Top man at the short game in 2005? Middlesex’s Owais Shah, who biffed 410 runs at an average of 58.
4 The most expensive bowler? No, not some rotund plodder but England hero Matthew Hoggard, whose four overs for Yorkshire against Lancashire cost a staggering 65 runs.
5 Not only did the Brit Oval stage the first bowl-out in Twenty20 history when Surrey beat Warwickshire last year, it took place at 9pm in fast-fading light following mass confusion over the result of a rain-affected tie. Even the bowl-out went to extra time. After Tim Murtagh hit the stumps for victory, he tore around the ground waving his shirt above his head like he’d just scored the winner in Berlin.
6 In Pakistan’s inaugural Twenty20 final, 5,000 spectators were locked out of the match between Karachi Dolphins and Faisalabad Wolves. Meanwhile, the 30,000 fans inside the ground ripped up seats, started a bonfire, and a pop concert had to be cancelled for fear of a stampede. They weren’t rioting, just having fun.
7 The notion that Twenty20 was ‘just not cricket’ was swiftly allayed. Thankfully, however, the idea of an ‘It’s a Knockout’-style ‘joker’ – a ‘golden over’ with all runs counting double – didn’t get off the drawing board.
8 Not every Twenty20 bowler comes in for a hammering. In 2005, Mark Alleyne conceded just six runs in four overs for Gloucestershire against Worcester.
9 Jacuzzis, fairgrounds, bands and barbecues were among the features of the first Twenty20 season. They were an unnecessary extra. Most people enjoyed themselves because the cricket was exciting.
10 Want to go to a game? Visit www.ecb.co.uk/domestic/twenty20-cup for full fixtures and ticket information.
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