Benedict Bermange
Cricket Statistician
Benedict Bermange looks at the stats and stories from the early stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup as Curtis Campher takes four wickets in four balls, Shakib Al Hasan shows his all-round skills and Netherlands lose five batsmen to first-ball ducks!
Last Updated: 22/10/21 12:17pm
As week one of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup draws to a close, Sky Sports Cricket statistician Benedict Bermange picks out some of the key numbers and narratives…
Curtis Campher lit up Ireland’s victory over the Netherlands at Abu Dhabi by taking four wickets in four balls, dismissing Colin Ackermann, Ryan ten Doeschate, Scott Edwards and Roelof van der Merwe in his second over.
He became the third player to perform that feat in T20I cricket after Rashid Khan for Afghanistan against Ireland in Dehradun and Lasith Malinga for Sri Lanka against New Zealand in Pallekele, both in 2019.
Campher became the second player to perform the feat in ICC tournament play, after Malinga, who took four South African wickets in four balls at Providence during the 50-over World Cup in 2007. The only previous ICC T20 WC hat-trick was taken by Brett Lee for Australia against Bangladesh at Cape Town in 2007.
Five Dutch players were dismissed first ball, setting a new record for any Twenty20 International innings. Four New Zealand players made golden ducks against Sri Lanka at Pallekele in 2019 and four Estonians were dismissed first ball against Cyprus at Episkopi earlier this month.
David Wiese is now playing for Namibia, having represented South Africa in the previous competition, in India in 2016. He became the second player to play for different teams in successive competitions, following Dirk Nannes, who played for the Netherlands in 2009 before switching allegiance to Australia for the following year’s tournament in the Caribbean.
While on the subject of players representing different teams, Wiese and fellow former South African van der Merwe locked horns at Abu Dhabi.
The day before, at Desert Springs, Almeria, former England players Amjad Khan (now playing for Denmark) and Jade Dernbach (now playing for Italy) faced each other in ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier Europe 2021/22.
Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan has been back to his all-round best so far. Having scored 42 and taken 3-28 in victory over Oman, he followed up with 46 and 4-9 as his side defeated Papua New Guinea.
He became only the second player to score at least 40 and take at least four wickets in the same ICC T20 WC game, after Dwayne Bravo, who scored an unbeaten 66 and bagged 4-38 for West Indies against India at Lord’s in 2009.
Those four wickets drew Shakib level with Shahid Afridi as the leading wicket-taker in ICC T20 World Cup history with 39 wickets apiece.
After the first seven Papua New Guinea batsmen had all been dismissed in single figures, wicketkeeper Kiplin Doriga gave some respectability to the score by striking an unbeaten 46 from 34 balls, the highest individual score by anyone batting at number eight or lower in any ICC T20 WC match.
Despite falling to defeat against Sri Lanka, Ireland’s Mark Adair became the second-fastest bowler – and the fastest paceman to reach 50 wickets in T20I cricket:
Oman started in great form, defeating Papua New Guinea in their opening match to record just the third victory by 10 wickets in the competition’s history.
That margin of victory was also recorded by Australia against Sri Lanka in Cape Town in 2007 and South Africa against Zimbabwe in Hambantota in 2012.
Watch the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports between now and November 14.