5 Records that will probably soon be broken
The game of cricket has a long history and has undergone much change from its early years.
Bowling, for example, used to be performed underarm. It is believed that the shift to overarm began in the early 19th century when Christina Willes bowled an overarm delivery to her brother, and first-class cricketer, John Willes.
Christina Willes is believed to have adopted this technique because the voluminous skirts that were fashionable at the time made underarm bowling difficult. John took notice of his sister's unorthodox technique and trialled in a first-class game at Lord's. However, the umpire no-balled this delivery, and John stormed off the field, hopped on his horse, and rode away.
The game has clearly undergone many changes since then. Even the last few decades have seen dramatic shifts in the game. What constitutes a good total in a one day match, for example, has fluctuated greatly, and the 15-degree rule has enabled bowlers with more unorthodox techniques to thrive.
Players are no longer the same either. The portly W.G. Grace may have played a ridiculous 870 first-class games in his day, but in the modern game, his fitness would likely render his talent moot.
It is largely because of these changes that some of the game's records are almost certain to stand the test of time. It is unlikely Test cricket will see an older cricketer than Wilfred Rhodes, who was 52 at the time of his last appearance. Nor is it likely that any bowler will surpass George Lohmann's bowling average of just 10.76, as he had the advantage of bowling on matted pitches against often weak opposition.
However, there are some cases where it is actually surprising the record has not been beaten. This may simply be down to chance, or because cricket has evolved to a point where the game is more heavily weighted towards records being set.
This article looks at records such as these, those which are vulnerable and may not last for much longer.
However, T20I are not considered, as with only a little over a decade of history, many T20I are still very likely to change in the near future.