A hectic day in International cricket with 5 matches slated today

January 22nd of 2017 will become the first ever day to witness International cricket played in 5 different countries, that too in a space of 18 hours. It is also one of the rarest of days in International cricket which will be witnessing 5 International games. This is only the 4th occasion of 5 or more International games being played on the same day in cricket history and the second such instance in 3 days.

The day starts with the 3rd day of the 2nd Test match between Bangladesh and New Zealand at Christchurch. It will be followed by the 4th ODI between Australia and Pakistan at Sydney. The first match of the Associate teams ODI tri-series between Hong Kong and Scotland at Abu Dhabi will be the 3rd game of the day while the India and England will face off in the 3rd ODI at Kolkata soon after the ODI game in UAE.

The 5th and final game of the day is between South Africa and Sri Lanka at the Johannesburg and is the 2nd T20I game of their bilateral series. Way back in 2007 February, two different days witnessed 5 Internationals games. 2nd February 2007 was the first such instance as 4 ODIs and a T20I were played on that day.

4th February bettered the record as it became the first and the only specific date till today to witness 6 different International matches. 6 different ODI matches were played on 4th February 2007.

Also read – Kevin Pietersen picks the toughest bowler he ever faced

The ICC World Cricket League Division One during that time ensured there were handful number of games played on the same date. 20th January 2017 also witnessed 5 International games as 3 Desert T20 matches were played on the day.

Here are the instances of 5 or more International games played on the same date:

Note: 22nd January 2017 won’t become a record if any of the 4 limited-overs games is washed out without even a toss.