Cricket in film and television

Depiction of Cricket in film and TV

Cricket has been a popular theme in films and television, often used to showcase drama, teamwork, and cultural significance. Many films, like Lagaan (2001) and Iqbal (2005), highlight cricket as a source of inspiration and struggle. TV shows and documentaries frequently explore the sport’s history, legendary players, and behind-the-scenes stories. Reality shows and biopics, such as MS Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016) and Inside Edge (2017), bring the game to a wider audience, blending entertainment with the passion of cricket.[1][2]

## Documentaries

[edit]

* Prince Ranjitsinhji Practising Batting in the Nets (1897) (Australia)
* Trobriand Cricket: An Ingenious Response to Colonialism (1976) (Australia/Papua New Guinea)
* The Australian Cricket Collection (Cricket History Series) (2002–2006) (Australia)[3]
* Cricket in the 50s: Discovering New Boundaries (2002–2006) (Australia)
* Cricket in the 60s: Windows of Change (2002–2006) (Australia)
* Cricket in the 70s: Chappell Era (2002–2006) (2parts; Australia)
* Cricket in the 80s: Rookies, Rebels and Renaissance (2002–2006) (2 parts; Australia)
* Not Cricket: The Basil d'Oliveira Conspiracy (2004) (UK)
* Cricket and the Meaning of Life (2005) (Canada)
* Breaking Boundaries (2008) (Ireland)
* Out of the Ashes (2010) (UK/Afghanistan)
* Fire in Babylon (2010) (UK)
* From the Ashes (2011) (UK)
* Cricket Nation (2012) (Canada)
* Cricket & Parc Ex: A Love Story (2015) (Canada)[4]
* Beyond All Boundaries (2014) (USA/India)
* Death of a Gentleman (2015) (UK)
* Sachin: A Billion Dreams (2017) (India)
* The Test (2020) (Australia)[5]
* The Greatest Rivalry: India vs Pakistan (2025) (Netflix)[6]

## Films

[edit]

* The Final Test (1953) (UK)
* The Shout (1978) (UK)
* Outside Edge (1982) (UK)
* P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang (1982) (UK)
* Arthur's Hallowed Ground (1984) (UK)
* Playing Away (1987) (UK)
* Awwal Number (1990) (India)
* Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) (India)
* I Love You Da (2002) (India)
* Stumped (2003) (India)
* Wondrous Oblivion (2003) (UK)
* Iqbal (2005) (India)
* Chennai 600028 (2007) (India)
* Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii (2007) (India)
* Say Salaam India (2007) (India)
* Hit for Six (2009) (Barbados)
* Meerabai Not Out (2008) (India)
* Jannat (2008) (India)
* Hansie (2008) (South Africa)
* Victory (2009) (India)
* World Cupp 2011 (2009) (India)
* 99 (2009) (India)
* Dil Bole Hadippa! (2009) (India)
* Le Chakka (2010) (India)
* Patiala House (2011) (India)
* Sinhawalokanaya (2011) (Sri Lanka)
* Golconda High School (2011) (India)
* Potta Potti (2011) (India)
* Dhoni (2012) (India)
* Ferrari Ki Sawaari (2012) (India)
* Main Hoon Shahid Afridi (2013) (Pakistan)
* 1983 (2014) (India)
* Jeeva (2014) (India)
* Bangalore 560023 (2015) (India)
* Azhar (2016) (India)
* M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016) (India)
* Chennai 600028 II (2016) (India)
* 22 Yards (2018) (India)
* Kanaa (2018) (India)
* Son of Manjeet Singh (2018)
* The Zoya Factor (2019) (India)
* Jersey (2019) (India)
* Majili (2019) (India)
* 83 (2021) (India)
* Kaun Pravin Tambe? (2022) (India)
* Jersey (2022) (India)
* Shabaash Mithu (2022) (India)
* Kacchey Limbu (2022) (India)
* 800 (2023) (India)
* Ghoomer (2023) (India)[7]
* Hukus Bukus (2023) (India)
* Lal Salam (2024) (India)
* Mr. & Mrs. Mahi (2024) (India)
* Lubber Pandhu (2024) (India)

## TV series

[edit]

* The Magnificent Six and a Half – episode: It's Not Cricket (1969) (UK)
* Dad's Army – episode 4.10: The Test (1970) (UK)
* All Creatures Great and Small – episode 2.9: The Name of the Game (1978) (UK)
* Doctor Who – Black Orchid (1982) (UK)
* Bodyline: It's Not Just Cricket (1984) (Australia)
* Ever Decreasing Circles – episode 2.2: The Cricket Match (1984) (UK)
* Malgudi Days – episodes: various (1986) (India)
* Inspector Morse – episode: Deceived by Flight (1989) (UK)
* Duck Tales – episode 1.51 – Take Me Out of the Ballgame (Duckworth mistakes Baseball for Cricket) (1987) (USA)
* Grace & Favour – episode 2.2: "The Cricket Match" (1993) (UK)[8]
* Outside Edge (a UK sitcom based on the stage play of the same name) (1994–1996) (UK)
* Gower's Cricket Monthly (1995–1998) (UK)
* Champion (1998–1999) (India)[9]
* Sports Night – episode: 1.21 Ten Wickets (1999) (USA)
* Midsomer Murders – episodes 2.3: "Dead Man's Eleven" (1999),[10] 19.3: "Last Man Out" (2017) (UK)[11]
* The Inspector Lynley Mysteries – episode 2.1: Playing for the Ashes (2002) (UK)
* An Aussie Goes Barmy (2006) (Australia)
* Cricket Star (2006–2007) (India)
* Champions of the World (2007–2008) (India)
* Jersey No. 10[12] (2007–2008) (India)
* Extraaa Innings T20 (2008–2017) (India)
* An Aussie Goes Bolly (2008) (Australia)
* Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah (A fictional cricket tournament "Gokuldham Premiere League" takes place in the series)[13] (2008–2014) (India)
* Empire of Cricket (2009) (UK)
* Knights and Angels (2009) (India)
* Best of Luck Nikki – episode 1.3: Narendra Tauji – A Cricket Freak (2011) (India)
* Howzat! Kerry Packer's War (2012) (Australia)
* The Suite Life of Karan & Kabir – episode 1.15: Big Hair & Cricket (2012) (India)
* Downton Abbey – episode 3.8 (2012) (UK)
* Suraj: The Rising Star (2012–2013) (India)
* Howzzattt (2013) (India)
* Father Brown (2013 TV series) – episode 3.5: "The Last Man" (2015) (UK)[14]
* Sumit Sambhal Lega (2015–2016) (India)
* Mid Wicket Tales (2015–2016) (India)
* Tamanna (2016) (India)
* ICC Cricket 360° (2016–present) (USA)
* Inside Edge (2017–present) (India)
* The Night Watchmen (2018–present) (Australia)
* Bluey (2018–present, Australia) – Series 3, Episode 47 "Cricket" (2023)
* Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan (2018) (India)[15]
* Selection Day (2018–2019) (India)
* Cricket Fever: Mumbai Indians (2019) (India)
* Roar of The Lion (2019) (India)
* The Test: A New Era for Australia's Team (2020) (Australia)
* Bandon Mein Tha Dum (2022) (India)[16]
* Baarwan Khiladi (2022) (Pakistan)[17]
* Inside Story: A Season With Rajasthan Royals (2020) (India)[18]
* Sixer (2022) (India)[19]

## Indoor cricket

[edit]

* Full Toss[20][21] (2004–2005) (India)
* Box Cricket League (2014–2019) (India)
* Box Cricket League - Punjab (BCL Punjab) (2016) (India)

## See also

[edit]

* Cricket in fiction
* Cricket poetry

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Ten great cricket movies and series". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
2. ^ "Cricket on screen: The game's best (and worst) moments in film and TV | The Cricketer". www.thecricketer.com. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
3. ^ "The Australian Cricket Collection (Cricket History Series)". Trakd.tv. Archived from the original on 4 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
4. ^ "ReFrame Films". Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
5. ^ "The Test: A New Era For Australia's Team". Amazon. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
6. ^ Balachandran, Kanishkaa (9 February 2025). "'The Greatest Rivalry: India vs Pakistan' review: Nostalgia trip for 90s kids, but with few too many omissions". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
7. ^ "Saiyami Kher lives childhood dream with Sachin Tendulkar: ' God of Cricket asked me to show how I bowled the Ghoomer'". Hindustan Times. 22 August 2023. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
8. ^ "BBC – Grace and Favour, Series 2, Episode 2". BBC. 11 January 1993. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
9. ^ Khosla, Mukesh (4 October 1998). "Sunday Reading... Film and tv". The Tribune (Chandigarh). Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
10. ^ "Midsomer Murders S2". Britbox. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
11. ^ "Midsomer Murders S19". Britbox. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
12. ^ "Cricket-based drama on SAB TV". The Times of India. 8 November 2007. Archived from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
13. ^ "Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah: Gokuldham Premier League takes India by Storm". 4 December 2014. Archived from the original on 28 January 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
14. ^ "BBC One – Father Brown, Series 3, The Last Man". BBC. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
15. ^ "Sunil Grover launches new show Dhan Dhana Dhan, says he is willing to work with Kapil Sharma. See pics". Hindustan Times. 5 April 2018. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
16. ^ "Bandon Mein Tha Dum review: While comprehensive, series falls flat in capturing glory & drama of India's win". 16 June 2022. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
17. ^ "Passion over profit: Mahira Khan talks production debut 'Baarwan Khiladi'". The Express Tribune. 3 March 2022. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
18. ^ "Jio Cinema releases 'Inside Story: A season with Rajasthan Royals' showcasing their 2019 IPL campaign". technosports. 1 August 2020. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
19. ^ Service, Tribune News. "Actor Shivankit Singh Parihar talks about his latest series Sixer on Amazon miniTV". Tribuneindia News Service. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
20. ^ "Hungama TV banking on movies, four driver shows". 21 September 2004. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
21. ^ "Hungama TV's on-air cricket game show Full Toss goes outdoor". 22 April 2005. Archived from the original on 9 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.