Cricket is a game of technicalities with a touch of history. It is about stories that are sometimes true and sometimes misinformed.

Due to its long and complex history, even die-hard Cricket fans can fall prey to believing common cricket myths as facts.

This article aims to debunk cricket myths and clear misconceptions about the game. Read and enjoy!

Myths about Cricket

Cricket was free from match-fixing and betting in the past. 

Cricket has been prone to match-fixing and betting since its inception. Some countries still openly practice cricket betting. Matches have even been thrown to help a team qualify for the next round or avoid facing an opponent in the next round.

Early Test cricket was played for glory, not money

Contrary to cricket misconceptions, Cricket was always played with monetary benefits. Even from its initial stage, teams used to play and win their games to earn and, in some cases, fund their travel back home.

Modern cricketers are inferior to the greats of the past

Cricket has become more physical and fast as compared to the past.

Test cricket in particular has become more result-oriented and competitive as compared to the previous generations who have played the game.

ODIs were also prone to monotony in the past as compared to the current style of play.

Players today have become stronger and more skillful. They emphasize running between the wickets, and fielding standards. In the yesteryears, most batsmen were too lazy to run.

Sachin Tendulkar’s hundreds led to India’s losses

Another of the cricket myths busted: ODI – India has won overall 67.34% of all games when Sachin has scored a century.

Test Cricket – Out of the 51 centuries, 40 centuries have come in either India winning or drawing a test.

In total 73 of his 100 centuries were in causes in which India did not lose the match.

AB de Villiers was a champion hockey player

A cricket urban legend suggests that Cricket’s 360-degree man, AB de Villiers was always referred to as a player who played multiple sports including hockey. In his autobiography, the star has set the record straight and confirmed that those stories were untrue.

Cricket was originally played in White

White clothes were never the traditional dress. However, cricket superstitions and myths aside, Cricket gears of the past were as colorful as the modern limited-overs game today.

Opening the batting is more difficult than batting lower down the order

This cricket false belief is partially true. Opening the batting has its challenges like extra movement. But, it is also true that the openers have time on their hands. It is also the best time to score runs due to the hardness of the cricket ball.

Batsmen with the most runs are always from the top 4 in the batting order which proves the point that opening is not as hard as it is projected.

Great Batsmen have strong team behind them

There is no evidence for this claim. Contrary to this cricket misconception, a good batsman plays even better when he has a weaker team. Brian Lara was considered one of the best players of his time when West Indies cricket was witnessing its worst declining phase.

The numbers indicate that quite a few great batsmen are inclined to be more prolific when he has to carry the side alone.

There are no field restrictions in Test Cricket.

One of the common cricket myths: In cricket, there is a restriction to place fielders behind square on the legside. Only a maximum of 2 fielders can be behind the square leg. This ruling is consistent across all formats, including Test cricket.

Batsmen change ends after each over.

Another cricket myth debunked: Batsman does not change ends. It is the fielding side who change ends after every over along with the umpire.

This gives the impression that the batsmen have also swapped positions.

Only one new ball is provided at the start of an ODI innings.

In ODI cricket, two new balls are introduced at the beginning of an innings. This allows for one ball to be used from each end, providing a level playing field throughout the match.

Also Read : Cricket Ball Standards and ICC-Approved Balls for Champions Trophy 2025

LBW only applies if the ball strikes the legs. 

One of the most enduring cricket false beliefs  is “Leg Before Wicket” is applicable if the ball hits any part of the batsman’s body not just the legs.

A batsman can be given out LBW if struck anywhere on the body within the stumps’ line, provided the ball didn’t pitch outside the leg stump.

Some Stars never bowled a no Ball

For a long time in cricket, it was believed that yesteryear greats like Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, Dennis Lillee, and Ian Botham never bowled a No Ball in their careers

Busting another popular cricket myth all bowlers have bowled No balls in their careers.

Overcast conditions. The ball will swing.

This is one of the biggest myths that is still spoken today by many TV presenters including ex-players.

There is no scientific evidence that overcast conditions cause a cricket ball to swing more. Studies have found no relationship between weather conditions and a cricket ball’s swing. The swing effect is caused by different airflows on opposite sides of the ball. The seam position and the lacquer on the ball too assist swing.

The Olympics Used to Include Cricket

Many events took place in the 1900 Paris festival. These events were wrongly recorded as Olympic events.

One such event was a Cricket match between an English club team from Devon and another team of Englishmen living in Paris. The game was recorded as being a match between “England” and “France”.

The truth is that Cricket has never been a competitive event in the Olympics.

The infamous underarm ball- considered as the most disgraceful act in cricket

All cricket fans believe New Zealand required a six to win the game against Australia in the last ball of the game. This is factually incorrect as New Zealand required 7 to win the game. New Zealand could have only tied the match if they had managed to hit a six.

In truth, the Australian captain was very exhausted and did not want a rematch the next day (as per the rule in case of a tie).

Sanath Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana- Pinch Hitting

The Srilankan opening pair of Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana played the pinch–hitters’ role in the 1996 World Cup leaving the world stunned.

While this was a remarkable strategy adopted, it was not the first time the game of cricket witnessed this.

New Zealand’s Mark Greatbatch was rightly credited to be the first who consistently did this before the Sri Lankan pair.

The Nelson score Myth

111 is known as Nelson. The myth says that it is an unlucky number for the team or the player to be stuck at this score. This is again factually untrue.

The Left-Right bowlers not bowling to The Left – Right  Batsman–

It is a myth that Right-handed batsmen play better to a right-hand (off-spinner) spinner and vice-versa.

A good batsman can score runs against both right and left-arm bowlers and similarly, a good bowler can take wickets against both right and left batsmen in any conditions.

Captains today still believe this is true even when there is no statistical data to prove the same.

Fast Bowlers do not make good fielders

Bowlers in the past were generally average fielders. In the current era, fast bowlers in particular are extremely good fielders with rocket arms.

Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Pat Cummins all are considered among the best fielders in modern cricket.

Fast Bowlers do not make good captains

Fast bowlers were known for their aggression and spinners were considered as smart and cunning ones. This is not necessarily entirely true.

In the past, fast bowlers were never considered to be captain material till Imran Khan became captain.

Today Pat Cummins, Jasprit Bumrah have proved that fast bowlers can become great captains too.

A batsman cannot be out on a ‘free hit’

It is wrongly construed that a batsman cannot be out in a free hit.

A batsman can be dismissed by being run out, obstructing the field, or hitting the ball twice.

A batsman, however, cannot be stumped on a free hit.

Conclusion

Cricket Myths are still present because of the way we interpret the game according to our understanding. Hero Worshipping of certain players contribute to common cricket misconceptions, making them widely accepted as facts.

Even broadcasters and presenters hype the game and bring out exaggerated stories of players which lead to inaccurate beliefs.

Unless you have an in-depth knowledge of the technical aspect of the game, you tend to get swayed by the complex history and the nuances of the game.

This leads to misconceptions and the story believed by fans.

To truly appreciate the game, we must separate cricket facts vs myths, understand its technicalities, and celebrate its rich legacy.