Top 10 teams with most maidens in T20Is

The origin of the term ‘maiden’ in cricket is difficult to pin down. One of the more compelling theories is that traditionally, a maiden (i.e. an unmarried woman) has not been touched by a man; similarly, a maiden over is untouched by runs. That said runs can still be scored in a maiden over as long as they are no fault of the bowler’s. Runs off the bat are always counted against a bowler’s figures, as are no balls and wides, however, byes and leg byes are not. Even an over in which four byes are scored off every ball goes down as a maiden in the bowler’s final analysis! Maiden overs are a rarity in T20 cricket which is known for high-scoring encounters. Here is a list of teams who have managed to bowl such overs in the shortest format. 10. Netherlands- 12: Netherlands. (Photo Source:AFP) The Dutch have played 39 matches and registered 12 maiden overs. The team has conceded a total of 4823 runs and taken 235 wickets. Their best individual bowling figures in the innings are 5/19. Cricket was introduced to The Netherlands by British soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th Century, and the Cape Colony in 1856. In the 1860s, it was considered a major sport in the country. The Netherlands national team played its first-ever game in 1881. It fielded 22 players against an Uxbridge Cricket Club XI, but still lost by an innings. The Dutch Cricket Association, forerunner of the present, Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Bond (KNCB), or Royal Dutch Cricket Association, was formed in 1883. 9. Bangladesh- 13: Bangladesh. (Photo Source: Twitter) The Tigers have played 54 matches and registered 13 maiden overs. The team has conceded a total of 7673 runs and taken 291 wickets. Their best individual bowling figures in the innings are 5/13. Although cricket was introduced to Bangladesh under British rule two centuries ago, it was not until independence in 1971 that the game took hold with the masses. It became an Associate Member of the ICC in 1977 and quickly rose to prominence thanks to its results in ACC tournaments. Bangladesh qualified for its first ICC Cricket World Cup (England 1999) on the back of winning the ICC Trophy in Malaysia in 1997. It followed that up soon after by becoming the 10th Test nation in June 2000 (playing its first match five months later). 8. Afghanistan- 15: Afghanistan. (Photo by Matthew Lewis-IDI/IDI via Getty Images) The Afghans have played 41 matches and registered 15 maiden overs. The team has conceded a total of 5612 runs and taken 246 wickets. Their best individual bowling figures in the innings are 5/13. Afghanistan’s profile rose in 2010 when it won the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers to reach the finals in the Caribbean. Although it lost both matches – to India and South Africa – the experience stood the team in good stead for the future. Afghanistan was awarded Associate membership in June 2013. The team qualified for the World T20 that was held in Sri Lanka in 2012. It also qualified for its first 50-over World Cup in 2015 and has shown tremendous potential in recent times. 7. Ireland- 16: Ireland. (Photo Source: Twitter) The Irish have played 50 matches and registered 16 maiden overs. The team has conceded a total of 5673 runs and taken 305 wickets. Their best individual bowling figures in the innings are 4/11. Cricket was introduced into Ireland by the English in the later stages of the 18th Century. The first record of a cricket match being played is in Phoenix Park in 1792 between a Colonel Lennox XI and an All-Ireland team under the guidance of Major Hobart. The first native Irish club, Ballinasloe, was formed in 1825, and the majority of Irish clubs were set up in the next 50 years – among the most famous are Phoenix (1830), Waringstown (1851), Sion Mills (1864) and Cork County (1874). Ireland played its first international game in 1855 when it beat The Gentlemen of England by 107 runs, and three years later it beat the MCC by an innings and 10 runs. 6. South Africa- 17: South Africa. (Photo by ANESH DEBIKY/AFP/Getty Images) The Proteas have played 84 matches and registered 17 maiden overs. The team has conceded a total of 11505 runs and taken 513 wickets. Their best individual bowling figures in the innings are 5/19. Cricket took hold in South Africa from the time that Great Britain began to seize control from the Dutch in the late 1700s (the whole of South African Dutch possession finally being ceded through the Anglo-Dutch Treaty in 1814). The first recognised cricket match in the history of South Africa was played on 5 January 1808 between two teams of English officers posted there. Interest accelerated sufficiently for South Africa to become the third Test nation (following in the footsteps of England and Australia) in 1889 (the same year that first-class cricket began in the country) against England at St George’s Park Cricket Ground in Port Elizabeth. It was also one of the three founder Members of the ICC in 1909. 5. New Zealand- 19: (Photo Source: Twitter) The Proteas have played 88 matches and registered 19 maiden overs. The team has conceded a total of 12532 runs and taken 506 wickets. Their best individual bowling figures in the innings are 5/18. First-class cricket began in New Zealand in 1906 with the Plunket Shield, named after the governor-general, Lord Plunket. Originally a series of challenges among five regions, from 1921-22 it was a league. Shell Oil took over the sponsorship in 1975-76, and introduced a new prize, the Shell Trophy, for the same competition. The competition was later known as the State Championship, after its current sponsor, State Insurance. With State Insurance withdrawing from their sponsorship, the Plunket Shield was reinstated for the 2009–10 season. New Zealand Cricket has stated that the naming rights are no longer for sale and that the name Plunket Shield will remain. 4. Australia- 20: Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images) The Aussies have played 81 matches and registered 20 maiden overs. The team has conceded a total of 11632 runs and taken 480 wickets. Their best individual bowling figures in the innings are 4/15. Cricket began in Australia soon after the start of colonisation in 1788 and quickly became popular in the colonies. Within a century, First-class status was achieved, with Tasmania’s three-wicket victory against Launceston Racecourse in February 1851 becoming Australia’s inaugural first-class match while Victoria was already established, and the other states would join in time. Cricket’s popularity soared in the 1860s, through touring teams, WG Grace’s arrival in 1873 further boosting interest. Standards increased to the extent where Australia was ready to face England in a Test, in the 1876-77 season. So began Australia’s illustrious international history. 3. Sri Lanka- 23: (Photo Source: Twitter) The Islanders have played 79 matches and registered 23 maiden overs. The team has conceded a total of 10648 runs and taken 463 wickets. Their best individual bowling figures in the innings are 6/8. Cricket began to develop in Sri Lanka once the process of British colonisation was completed in the early 1800s. The earliest reference to the game in Sri Lanka was reported in the ‘Colombo Journal’ on 5 September 1832 which was when the formation of a cricket club was recorded. The Colombo cricket club was formed soon after in November 1832 and played its first cricket match against the 97th British Regiment. Although the domestic first-class system was set up in 1937-38 it was not until 1981 that Sri Lanka became the eighth Test-playing country (playing its inaugural Test the following year in Colombo against England). 2. India- 24: India. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images) The Indians have played 67 matches and registered 24 maiden overs. The team has conceded a total of 9447 runs and taken 393 wickets. Their best individual bowling figures in the innings are 4/8. Cricket’s arrival in India came courtesy of English colonialists in the late 1700s. Calcutta Cricket Club was the first club, formed in 1792 for Europeans only. Indians soon began to play, however, with the game taking prominent hold in Bombay. The Parsees beat the Europeans in 1877 and subsequently toured England though won only one game. By the late 1920s, India was keen to play Test cricket but had to persuade the ICC it was ready – and it needed a national organizing body, so the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) was formed in 1928. India finally made its Test debut in 1932, after which a national competition followed in 1934, named the Ranji Trophy after KS Ranjitsinhji. 1. Pakistan- 25: Pakistan. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images) The Pakistanis have played a record 101 matches and registered 25 maiden overs. The team has conceded a total of 13697 runs and taken 620 wickets. Their best individual bowling figures in the innings are 5/6. Following the Partition of India in 1947, and the establishment of the separate nation state of Pakistan, it was not long before the latter was accepted into the Test fold at a meeting of the Imperial Cricket Conference in July 1952, after being recommended by India. Pakistan’s first Test match took place in Delhi in October 1952 and its first home five-day encounter was held in Dacca (also against India) in January 1955. The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is Pakistan’s premier first-class competition and was first contested in 1953. (Historical source icc-cricket) (All stats updated till 10th march 2016)

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Top 10 teams with most maidens in T20Is

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