10. In the Swing of Things – Mohammed Azharuddin
Rotating the bat in his hands was one of Mohammed Azharuddin’s habits. When preparing to face the ball, he would constantly twirl the bat before taking stance. While some say that his habit was to ensure that each time he twirled the bat and stopped it, the front face of the bat had to face the right direction. There is no evidence to support this matter to that extent.
09. Kissing the Handle – Roshan Mahanama
Before every ball, Roshan Mahanama would raise his bat’s handle to his lips and kiss the top. A way of bringing good luck only, we hope!
08. Not Out, Not Accessible – Michael Atherton
If Mike Atherton remained not-out at the end of day’s play, then he would shut himself out from the media. No interviews, no comments; nothing would come out of Atherton’s lips as he would keep himself from jinxing his innings.
07. The Red Handkerchief – Steve Waugh
His grandfather gave him a handkerchief that stayed as a faithful companion throughout his playing days. Whether it really got him luck or senior Waugh was just that good – we’ll never know! Many have copied his style since but none have got his skill, talent & determination.
06. Four-Leaf Clover – In Silver – Dennis Compton
A four-leaf clover is said to be lucky! For Dennis Compton, keeping the same four-leaf clover was even more important and so he decided to get one made in silver, for himself, and kept it with him at all times.
05. Flushed Out – Neil McKenzie
When Neil McKenzie went out to bat, the dressing toilet seats had to be down, and flushed. Such was his paranoia that anyone inside one of the toilets was forced to come out and then go back in once the deed was done. Wonder if a water shortage ever kept him out of a test match?
04. Sitting Tight
This is probably one of the most common superstitions followed by fans and players alike. When a player or team is doing well, everyone is forced to stay in the same seat, even posture at times, as they are. It is said that if you change positions when a person is playing well, you disturb his concentration and bring bad luck. After all, you wouldn’t want little Rodney’s ice-lolly to destroy Michael Clark’s century from row Z, would you?
03. Cap & Sweater leads to 10 – Anil Kumble & Sachin Tendulkar
At the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium in New Delhi, India, Anil Kumble created history by taking all 10 wickets in a game against Pakistan. After taking the first couple of wickets, Kumble realised that it was Sachin Tendulkar who had been handing Kumble’s sweater and hat to the umpire, as he stepped up to bowl. Thus began a day of waiting on Kumble, for Sachin Tendulkar. Every over, for the rest of the innings, he handed over the cap and sweater and got Anil Kumble his ten wicket haul.
02. Everything’s in Place – Sanath Jayasurya
One of the most prolific batsmen in world cricket, Sanath Jayasurya has an almost obsessive compulsive behaviour when it comes to taking stance. Before a ball is bowled, Jayasurya proceeds to touch, wiggle and tighten every single piece of equipment & guard that he has on his body. This is, presumably, from some previous memory of a guard failing him in the line of duty. Today, he religiously does this before every single delivery – even when he bats through two days of test match cricket.
01. The Nelson
One of the oldest traditions and superstitions of cricket, the Nelson was a three-digit number with the same three digits, for e.g. 111 or 222 or 333 and so on. In England, this score was considered unlucky for the batting side who would, inadvertently, lose a wicket on this number. For some strange reason, they decided that keeping their feet off the ground would be the best way to avoid the bad luck of this score. Hence, every time a team or individual reached a Nelson, the entire dressing room, even fans to some extent, would sit on their chairs with their feet in the air. The most memorable sight is of umpire David Sheppard doing a little skip, with all his weight, each time the score would be on a Nelson.