Cricket: True or False
Cricket True or False: 10 Myths vs Real Facts. Test your knowledge with 10 true-or-false cricket statements.
Cricket True or False: 10 Myths vs Real Facts
Cricket has more rules, quirks and “wait, is that allowed?” moments than almost any other sport. Read each statement, decide TRUE or FALSE, then check the answer. No searching allowed.
[Insert in-article image: sportskeeda-true-or-false-question-card.png | Alt: True or false card asking whether a batter can be stumped off a wide ball]
1. A batter can be stumped off a wide ball.
TRUE. A wide is not a free hit. A batter can still be stumped, run out or out hit wicket off a wide.
2. A batter can be given out without facing a single delivery.
TRUE. The non-striker can be run out before facing a ball, and a new batter can be “timed out” for taking too long to arrive. Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews became the first player timed out in international cricket, at the 2023 World Cup.
3. Test cricket has never produced a tied match.
FALSE. There have been two tied Tests: Australia vs West Indies in Brisbane (1960) and India vs Australia in Chennai, then Madras (1986).
4. Every over in Test history has had six balls.
FALSE. Australia used eight-ball overs in Tests until the late 1970s, and other countries experimented with them too.
5. Test cricket must always be played with a red ball.
FALSE. Day-night Tests use a pink ball. The first one was played in Adelaide in 2015, between Australia and New Zealand.
6. There is a legal limit on how wide a cricket bat can be.
TRUE. The blade can be no wider than 4.25 inches (10.8 cm). The rule dates back to 1771, when a batter reportedly walked out with a bat as wide as the stumps.
7. A player once batted in a Test match with an aluminium bat.
TRUE. Australia’s Dennis Lillee used one against England in Perth in 1979. The laws were later tightened so that the blade must be made of wood.
8. The ball weighs exactly the same in every match.
FALSE. The men’s ball must weigh between 155.9 g and 163 g, and the women’s and junior balls are lighter.
9. The first men’s T20 International was played in 2005.
TRUE. New Zealand hosted Australia in Auckland in February 2005, and the players famously wore retro kits for the occasion.
10. The bowler gets credit for the wicket when a batter is run out.
FALSE. Run-outs are never added to a bowler’s wicket tally, even if the bowler did the run-out themselves.
Your score
- 9–10: Walking rulebook
- 6–8: Umpire material
- 3–5: Club cricketer
- 0–2: Time to read the Laws of Cricket
Which answer surprised you most? Tell us in the comments.
