Cricket Jersey Numbers: Meanings and Retired Numbers

Cricket shirt numbers are newer than most fans think, especially in Test cricket, and the stories behind them are often less mystical than they are made out to be. This page covers when numbers arrived, which numbers have been retired and by whom, and what the players themselves have said about their own, with the source for each.

When Numbers Arrived in Test Cricket

Numbers were part of one-day and T20 shirts long before they reached the Test game. Names and numbers on Test whites arrived with the 2019 Ashes, the first series of the new World Test Championship. The ECB announced it on 31 July 2019 as "the first time any side has done this in the 142 year history of Test cricket". England's first Test numbers included Jimmy Anderson 9, Stuart Broad 8, Joe Root 66, Ben Stokes 55 and Jos Buttler 63. The stated aim was to help new fans pick out the players, and when the idea was first floated, Wisden reported that players were expected to pick a number from 1 to 99, usually the one on their white-ball shirt.

Shirt numbers are a separate thing from cap numbers. An England Test cap number counts every player to have represented the side in order, and stays with them for life; a shirt number is chosen and can change.

Who Chooses a Player's Number

Each board allocates its own numbers, not the ICC. Boards also set their own limits. New Zealand Cricket told The Spinoff in 2017 that 69 was the only number it would not issue, because of its double meaning, which is why Lockie Ferguson, who wore 69 for Auckland, made his New Zealand debut in 87: 13 was taken, and 87 is 100 minus 13. Other countries have issued 69, including South Africa to Lance Klusener and England to Owais Shah.

Retired Numbers

Hughes's is the most poignant. Two days after he died, Michael Clarke read a statement at the SCG saying he had asked Cricket Australia whether "Hughesy's Australian one-day international shirt, number 64, could be retired", and it agreed. India's two retirements came without a formal announcement. With Tendulkar's 10, a BCCI official said wearing it "unnecessarily creates controversy", so it was simply taken off the list for international cricket. Dhoni's 7 followed the same informal route in 2023.

What Players Say About Their Numbers

• MS Dhoni, 7: he has said he chose it for a very simple reason, being born on 7 July, the seventh day of the seventh month, rather than out of superstition.
• Virat Kohli, 18: in 2023 he said the number was handed to him with his first India Under-19 shirt and he never asked for it. It took on meaning later: his India debut came on 18 August 2008, and his father died on 18 December 2006. He called it a cosmic connection.
• Shardul Thakur, 10: his reason was numerology, his date of birth adding up to 10, which did not save him from the reaction to wearing Tendulkar's number.
• Michael Clarke, 23: he took it from Shane Warne and said he was honoured to receive it.
• Mashrafe Mortaza, 0: Wisden records his reason as a wish to start from zero again.

Wisden's round-up of unusual numbers adds others with a story attached: Chris Gayle's 333 and Muttiah Muralitharan's 800, matching a Test score and a Test wickets tally, and Morne Morkel's 65, his height of 6ft 5in.

Numbers on Shirts You Can Buy

Most replica shirts are sold plain, and the player's name and number are a separate print. Some of ours come already printed: our Kolkata Knight Riders player edition long sleeve shirts carry a named player and number, such as Rovman Powell and Harshit Rana, at £54.99. Our guide to Kolkata Knight Riders jerseys covers the editions, and the guide to cricket shirts in the UK explains fan, replica and player versions.

FAQs: Cricket Jersey Numbers

Why is 69 not used in New Zealand cricket?
New Zealand Cricket said in 2017 that it was the only number it would not issue, because of its double meaning. It is not an ICC rule, and other countries have used it.

Why does Dhoni wear number 7?
Because he was born on 7 July, he has said, not for superstition.

Why does Virat Kohli wear 18?
It was given to him with his India Under-19 shirt. It later matched the date of his India debut and the date his father died.

Is number 10 retired in Indian cricket?
Informally, since 2017, in honour of Sachin Tendulkar. The BCCI stopped issuing it for international cricket rather than making a formal announcement.

When did Test cricketers start wearing numbers?
At the 2019 Ashes, the first series of the World Test Championship.

Which cricket numbers have been retired?
Phillip Hughes's 64 by Cricket Australia, Tendulkar's 10 and Dhoni's 7 by the BCCI, and Andre Russell's 12 by Kolkata Knight Riders.