Shane Watson

1) Shane Robert Watson was born on 17 June, 1981 in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
2) Shane Watson is a scholarship holder from AIS (Australian Cricket Academy). watson received it in the year 2000
3) Only Player to win 4 Consecutive Player of the Match Awards in ICC Event History
4) Voted the Man of the Tournament in the IPL Record two times in 2008 and 2013
5) Shane Watson Became Highest paid Australian cricketer in 2011
6) Shane watson is highest paid cricketer outside of india earning over US$5.9 million in 2012, 2013 and 2014
7) Watson married Lee Furlong, a former presenter with Fox Sports. He has two children
8) Only player to have held number 1 ranking for both batting and all-rounder rankings in T20I
9) Only player to post a half-century and take three wickets in the same match three times in T20I
10) In the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy Final, Australia defeated West Indies and won the tournament. Watson was given the Man of the Match award for his contribution of 57 runs and taking 2 wickets
11) At the crease Watson is an aggressive brutal batsman with a broad chest, resembling a right-handed disciple of Matthew Hayden, and someone who often doesn’t need to follow-through to gain a boundary
12) Shane Watson is the only player to have won the ICC player of the year award in all three formats
13) Highest One Day International (ODI) batting average of all Australian opening batsmen who have scored over 1000 runs
14) Debuting at the SCG against Pakistan in January 2005, as a blond-haired 23-year-old, he scored 31 and captured the prize scalp of Younis Khan as his first Test wicket
15) After making his ODI debut in 2002, Watson was a regular member of the side but 3 stress fractures just before the 2003 World Cup forced him to sit out of the tournament
16) Only player to score a century and have taken four wickets in an innings in all forms of cricket
17) Played 12 ICC events, which is the most by an Australian (6 ICC World T20s, 3 ICC World Cups, 2 ICC Champion trophies, 1 ICC Super Series)
18) Shane’s highest ODI score is 185 not out in 96 balls against Bangladesh in 2011. He hit 15 fours and 15 sixes in the match which broke several ODI records
19) Awards and Honors :- 
* Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year: 2002
* Australian ODI Player of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2012
* Allan Border Medal: 2010, 2011
* McGilvray Medal 2010
* Australian Test Player of the Year: 2011
* Australian Twenty20 Player of the Year: 2012, 2013.

Michael Clarke

1) Michael Clarke was born on 2 April, 1981 in Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
2) Michael Clarke's father used to own an indoor sports centre
3) Michael Clarke is the first and only Australian batsman to score Test centuries on both home and away debuts. Clarke scored 151 against India in Bangalore and 141 against New Zealand at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia: both in 2004
4) Clarke’s highest Test batting score of 329* against India, in 2012 at Sydney is the highest Test score at the SCG, and the 4th best Test score of all time by an Australian
5) The 35-year old is also the first and only Test batsman to score four double centuries in a calendar year. Clarke achieved the feat at the Adelaide Oval in November, 2012 when he played a superb knock of 230 runs
6) Michael Clarke best Test bowling figures of 6 for 9 came against India, Mumbai, 2004–05 thus ensuring a memorable series win for the Aussies
7) Michael Clarke captained Australia in the under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in 2000
8) Besides being a fighter on the cricket field, Clarke is also a fighter in real life. Clarke was diagnosed with chronic back pain at the age of just 17 years in 1998 and Skin Cancer in 2005. However, he overcame both to play for Australia till 2015
9) Clarke also made 210 in the Adelaide Test in the same series in 2012 against India thereby becoming the third batsman after Don Bradman and Wally Hammond to score a triple century and double century in the same series
10) A brilliant slip fielder, Clarke took 125 catches in Tests and 106 in ODIs. Clarke is one of the few players who are equally good at throwing with either hand
11) Michael Clarke led Australia in 74 ODIs, of which Australia won 50. He finished his ODI career with 7981 runs from 245 matches with 8 centuries and 58 half-centuries. Clarke also made more than 8000 runs with an average close to 50 in Tests
12) Michael Clarke made his professional debut with New South Wales at age 19
13) Under Clarke, Australia won their 4th ICC ODI World Cup earlier this year at home. He played a significant role in the final against the Kiwis scoring 72. Clarke has been a part of 2 ODI World Cups (2007 and 2015) and a Champions Trophy (2006) winning sides
14) Clarke first Ashes century came in December 2006, when he hit 124 at the Adelaide Oval to help Australia to victory
15) Clarke dismissed India's last three batsman in five balls on the fifth day of the 2nd Test against India on 6 January 2008
16) Michael Clarke was named full-time one-day and Test captain of Australia on 29 March 2011
17) Clarke's highest ODI batting score of 130 was made against India, at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore, 2007
18) His tally of 1595 Test runs in 2012 is the most for an Australian in a calendar year. He went past Ricky Ponting’s record of 1544 runs
19) Clarke won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, thereby winning the ICC Cricketer of the Year award 2013. Clarke also won the Allan Border medal for the year 2005, 2009, 2012 and 2013
20) Clarke was named as Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 2010 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack. He was named Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for the year 2012 in 2013 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack
21) Clarke was very close to former Australian Cricketer Phil Hughes who died in November 2014 when he was hit by a bouncer on the neck. Clarke couldn’t hold his tears at Hughes funeral and gave a very emotional speech
22) Michael Clarke got married to model and media personality Kyly Boldy on May 15, 2012. They have a daughter named Kelsey.

Mitchell Johnson

1) Mitchell Johnson was born on November 2, 1981 and raised in Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
2) As a kid, Mitchell Johnson’s first sporting love was tennis and Johnson was a huge fan of the legendary Pete Sampras. Not only that, Johnson was also agifted and highly sought after junior tennis player. When Johnson was 14, he had been given the chance to relocate to Brisbane in order to work towards a successful career in tennis; however, the offer was rejected. It turned out to be the right decision as 3 years later, Australian bowling great Dennis Lillee spotted his talent and arranged for him to join the Australian Cricket Academy
3) At the age of 17, when Johnson actually started professional cricket, Dennis Lillee recognised his talent and selected him for Australian Cricket Academy in Adelaide. Johnson played for the Australian Under-19 side that toured England in 1999 but was always troubled by injuries
4) Mitchell Johnson made his first-class debut in 2001 for his native state of Queensland. In his debut match, which was played against the touring Kiwis, Johnson smashed a six off the very first ball that he faced. This was an early proof of the fact that despite being a fast bowler, Mitchell Johnson was certainly no mug with the bat in hand and could hit the big ones
5) It was still early days for Mitchell Johnson and in just his seventh ODI, Johnson destroyed the star-studded Indian line up and took 4 wickets taking the scalps of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh and Irfan Pathan. Johnson generated genuine pace and prodigious swing and announced himself on the international circuit
6) Mitchell Johnson represented Australia at the ICC under-19 World Cup in 2000. His teammates then were Shane Watson, Nathan Hauritz, Michael Clarke, Ed Cowan, Shaun Marsh and Andrew McDonald. Johnson also played for Australia Under-19 in three one-dayers against Sri Lanka in 2001
7) A more than useful tail end batsman, Johnson scored 2,065 runs at an average of 22.20 with one century, an unbeaten 123 against South Africa at Cape Town in 2009.
8) Named International Cricket Council (ICC) Player of the Year, in 2009 and 2014. His former captain Ricky Ponting was the only other player to win it twice
9) Mitchell Johnson is the 398th player to play Test cricket for Australia. Johnson made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2007 after Glenn McGrath had retired. McGrath had presented him his Baggy Green on his debut at Brisbane
10) Mitchell Johnson successfully created impact in his maiden test against Sri Lanka in 2007 claiming a total of 4 wickets in the match
11) Mitchell Johnson is married to an Australian model named Jessica Bratich. Apart from modelling, Jessica also knows a thing or two about karate and is a black belt holder in the sport
12) Johnson’s moustache became the talk of the town during the Ashes 2013-14. The “handlebar” moustache added to his persona in the summer of 2013-14 as he blew England away with some breathtaking performances. Johnson had grown the moustache in support of Movember. In the month of November, men grow facial hair. This is done to raise awareness with regards to prostate cancer and other male-related health problems
13) Mitchell Johnson is not known as one of the most fearsome fast bowlers in world cricket for nothing. Johnson has caused lots of physical and mental damage to players over the years with his brutal pace and raw aggression. Former South African skipper Graeme Smith had managed to get his hand broken twice by Johnson, whereas his fellow countryman Jacques Kallis once suffered a broken jaw thanks to the fearsome pacer. Not to forget the manner in which he terrorised England’s Jonathan Trott and forced him out of the Ashes series due to depression and burnout
14) The England cricket team’s legendary fan club Barmy Army are known to get after opposition players and Mitchell Johnson learnt this the hard way. Before being the wrecker-in-chief for Australia during the 2013-14 Ashes series, Johnson’s performances had been quite indifferent in the iconic confrontations.As a result of this, the Barmy Army had made a song which criticised his wayward bowling and they sung it whenever he came in to bowl. However, Johnson did shut them up once and for all with a riveting performance in Australia’s 5-0 whitewash of England in the 2013-14 Ashes
15) Mitchell Johnson played a key role in the semi-final and final matches of ICC World Cup 2015 and added the World Cup winners medal in his bag as Australia lifted the trophy
16) The fourth highest wicket-taker in Test matches for Australia with 313 wickets, behind Shane Warne (708), Glenn McGrath (563) and Dennis Lillee (355), while going past Brett Lee's tally of 310 Test wickets in his final Test
17) The third highest wicket-taker among left-arm fast bowlers in Tests, behind Wasim Akram (414) & Chaminda Vaas (355)
18) Had taken most wickets (37) in the 2013–14 Ashes series at an average of 13.97 – the most by a fast bowler in The Ashes since 1981
19) Has 590 international wickets (313 in Tests, 239 in ODIs & 38 in T20Is) to his name across all formats, in just 256 international matches (320 innings) at an average of 26.65, and is fourth in the list of most international wicket-takers for Australia, behind Shane Warne (1001), Glenn McGrath (949) and Brett Lee (718)
20) Awards and Honors :- 
* 2006 ICC Champions Trophy
* 2007 Cricket World Cup
* 2009 ICC Champions Trophy
* 2015 Cricket World Cup
* 2009 ICC Cricketer of the Year
* 2014 Allan Border Medal
* 2014 ICC Test Player of the Year
* 2014 ICC Cricketer of the Year
* McGilvray Medal 2008, 2009
* Johnson was named the 2009 ICC Cricketer of the Year award at the 2009 LG ICC Awards
* Allan Border Medal 2014
* 2014 ICC Cricketer of the Year
* 2014 ICC Test Cricketer of the Year

Shane Bond

1) Shane Edward Bond was born on 7 June, 1975
2) Shane Bond trained as a policeman in 1999-2000 due to which he had to miss out a domestic season. Shane worked as a Police officer in Christchurch before becoming an International player
3) Before his international debut, Shane Bond had played in England. It wasn’t county cricket, but in the Northern Lancashire League
4) Shane Bond made his professional Cricket debut for Canterbury on 20 January 1997, in a match against Central Districts
5) Shane Bond had featured in U-19 level for New Zealand in only one game. Bond played Youth Test in March, 1995 at Hamilton where he top scored with the bat scoring an unbeaten 45 by batting out 127 balls. Bond bowled only 5 overs in the game and didn’t concede a run in it
6) Shane Bond made his International debut in November, 2001 at Hobart against Australia in a Test match
7) Shane Bond made his ODI debut against Australia in the tri-series in 2002 and took a three-wicket haul in his first game. In his fifth ODI Bond took five for 25 to help New Zealand beat South Africa. In the 9 matches he played in that series, he took 21 wickets at an average of 16.38. Shane was named Man of the Series
8) Shane Bond first 3 wickets in Test Cricket are Steve Waugh, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer. All the 3 were dismissed for a duck
9) Shane Bond first 3 wickets in ODI are Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh
10) In the 2003 World Cup match against Australia, Bond took 6 for 23 and bowled the eventual world champions out for 208. Unfortunately, New Zealand lost that match. However, two years later, he took 6 for 19 against India, and New Zealand managed to win the match. In the latter match, he destroyed the Indians, reducing them to 39 for 6 at one stage - Bond took 5 of those wickets
11) Shane Bond picked up a hat trick in his International career, which came in an ODI vs Australia at Hobart in 2007. Bond got wickets of Andrew Symonds, Cameron White and Nathan Bracken during his hat trick
12) Out of 147 ODI wickets, 44 came against Australia at 15.79. Moreover, one of Australia’s most prolific batsmen - Ricky Ponting - was dismissed by Bond in his first six ODIs. Moreover, his only ODI hat-trick and best figures of 6 for 23 were registered against the arch-rivals
13) In ICC Cricket World 2003, Bond clocked 156.4 kph against India. Though the fastest ball of his career did not fetch him a wicket, Bond rattled Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly, conceding only 23 runs. However, it is the 9th fastest delivery in history
14) Ricky Ponting and Chris Gayle are his most frequent victims as Bond dismissed them seven times each in international cricket. Ponting played Bond in 17 matches, whereas Gayle faced him in 16 games. Ponting has in fact recorded two blobs against Bond
15) Shane Bond took just 54 matches to reach 100 ODI wickets. Shane is the fastest New Zealand player to the milestone and the 2nd fastest in overall
16) Shane Bond played in 2007 World T20 where Bond picked up 7 wickets in 6 games. Bond bowled the first ever maiden over in World T20 history
17) Shane Bond justified his name ‘Bond’. The swaggering New Zealander, in 1999-2000, underwent police training before Shane made headlines for his bowling abilities in the 20th century
18) Just before Shane Bond called it a day from international cricket, Shane was part of IPL’s Kolkata Knight Riders. The franchisee brought him for USD 750,000. Since 2015, Shane has been the bowling coach of Mumbai Indians
19) Shane Bond played for the Delhi Giants in ICL
20) On 22 February 2008, Shane Bond signed for English domestic cricket team Hampshire, but Shane never played an International game there.
21) Shane Bond has picked up 259 wickets in 120 international games at a strike rate of 31.3, the best for any bowler who picked a minimum of 150 wickets.
His bowling strike rates in ODI and Tests read 29.2 and 38.7 which are the 2nd best for any player in respective formats
22) In December 2009, Shane Bond announced his retirement from Test cricket due to the injuries that had been plaguing him for years. Bond said he wanted to elongate his career in the Limited Overs formats of the game. Shane ended his career in Test cricket taking 87 wickets in 18 matches at an average of 22.09 and at a strike rate of 38.7
23) On 14 May 2010, Shane Bond announced retirement from all international cricket after the ICC T20 2010
24) Shane Bond played for Sagittarius Soldiers in the inaugural edition of MCL and picked up 5 wickets
25) Shane Bond was appointed as the bowling coach for New Zealand cricket team in October 2012. Bond retired from the position after the 2015 world cup where New Zealand reached the final
26) Shane Bond became bowling coach of the Mumbai Indians in 2015
27) Shane Bond is married to Tracey Bond and father of three children
28) described as "New Zealand's best fast bowler since Sir Richard Hadlee"
29) In 2007, Bond received New Zealand player of the year award for 2006/07 season. In the same year, Bond was included in ICC Test XI of the year.

Nathan Bracken

1) Nathan Wade Bracken was born on 12 September, 1977 in Penrith, New South Wales.
2) Nathan’s cricket love affair with the game started years before he made his debut, while in school Nathan was famous for the way he swung the ball and took serious interest in the game right from school
3) Nathan Bracken performance in 2001-01 domestic season was outstanding. Picked up 29 wickets at an average of 23.72 and gained the second spot in leading wicket-taker of the year. With this amazing performance in domestic circuit, he was awarded with Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year in 2001
4) Best first class-season: Bracken’s best season for New South Wales was in the year 2004-05 when Nathan picked 43 wickets of 11 matches. The season includes his marvelous spell of 7/4 off 7 overs that helped NSW bowl out South Australia for 29 runs at Sydney Cricket Ground. His spell is considered one of the best in the Australian domestic cricket history
5) Nathan Bracken made his Test debut in 2003 against India, and as a result appeared less frequently for New South Wales. Following his Test selection Bracken was also signed by the county team Gloucestershire to play in the English first-class competition
6) After his Test debut in December 2003, Bracken was kept away from the Australian Test team for 2 years due to the amazing fast bowling unit the team had. Bracken was finally selected for the 1st Test of the 2005-06 series against West Indies
7) In 2009, Bracken was seen spreading awareness about the consequences of speeding, which is biggest cause of death and injuries in New South Wales along with NSW Centre for Road Safety and Speed Blitz Bluez
8) A significant part of the World Cup 2007 Australian team, Nathan Bracken announced retirement from the international cricket on 29thJanuary 2012, due to his chronic knee-injury, the southpaw had to retire from all forms of cricket
9) Nathan Bracken, an all-rounder: Bracken’s batting is so often over looked just because Nathan used to bat lower down the order. However, Nathan was no mug with the bat. Bracken’s best Test performance was recorded in the first match against West Indies both with the bat and the ball, Bracken scored 31 off 51 balls in the first innings and grabbed 4/48 off 16 over in West Indies’ second. Due to continuity of excelling performances with the bat, he even got promoted up the order and sometimes even batted an number 7
10) However, his performance did not help him retain his spot in the team for the rest of the series and he was overlooked as Stuart MacGill was induced into the team by the selectors
11) Nathan Bracken 1st Test wicket was that of Virender Sehwag, caught by Matthew Hayden
12) Nathan Bracken 1st One Day International wicket was that of Sherwin Campbell, caught by Michael Bevan
13) Nathan Bracken was part of Australia's Cricket World Cup winning squads in both 2003 and 2007
14) Nathan Bracken 1st Twenty20 International wicket was that of Boeta Dippenaar, caught by Brad Haddin
15) In March, 2015, Nathan Bracken sued Cricket Australia for $1 million over his knee injury and claiming that the board failed to investigate, diagnose and treat, which he suffered before an ODI match against England in 2007. But later after two months in May, Bracken settled his case against the board.

James Anderson

1) James Michael "Jimmy" Anderson was born on 30 July, 1982 in Burnley, Lancashire, England

2) On his Test debut at Lord’s against Zimbabwe, Jimmy took a five wicket haul and secured a place in the honour’s board

3) James Anderson is one of only four Englishmen who have taken 300 Test wickets, alongside Fred Trueman, Bob Willis and Botham

4) Despite being a lower batsman who usually comes in at no. 11, Jimmy went 54 consecutive innings without being dismissed for a duck which is an English record

5) Jimmy has career-best figures of seven for 43 – against New Zealand in 2008

6) His stand of 198 with Joe Root against India at Trent Bridge in 2014 is the highest 10th-wicket partnership in Test history

7) Though Jimmy is quite amicable character (as he claims in his autobiography), mostly with his family (and close friends, which include Cook and Graeme Swann) Anderson is not quite the same once he steps on to the ground. During the 2013 Ashes, Joe Root gifted him a package: on opening it he found a t-shirt with the word GRUMPY written on it

8) Jimmy has never played away Tests against Bangladesh or Zimbabwe

9) Jimmy was England’s 12th man for the deciding Test of the famous 2005 Ashes series

10) James Anderson is married to Daniella Lloyd an English model he met in 2004 and they have two daughters

11) Jimmy Anderson became the first cricketer to model naked for Attitude, 'Britain's biggest-selling gay magazine', in September 2010

12) Major teams - England, Auckland, England Under-19s, Lancashire, Lancashire Cricket Board

13) In the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours, Anderson was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire "for services to cricket"

14) On 11 February 2016 Jimmy received his OBE at Buckingham Palace

15) James Anderson was honoured as one of Wisden’s five ‘Cricketers of the year’ in 2009.

Virat Kohli

1) Virat Kohli began his training in cricket at West Cricket Academy in Delhi in 1998.
2) Any sportsman's greatest strength is not letting your personal life come in the way of your sport. Virat Kohli first came in to the limelight while representing Delhi against Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy on the very day of his father's death. He displayed great character to stay on and bat, and went on to score 90 runs.
3) We are all aware that Virat Kohli led the Indian U-19 cricket team to victory in the 2008 U-19 Cricket World Cup, but the very next year, Virat played a crucial role in India winning the 2009 Emerging Players tournament in Australia, finishing as the event's top scorer with 398 runs in seven matches with two hundreds.
4) Virat Kohli likes to bat in the middle order and displays swift footwork. He is adept in chasing runs under pressure. Cover and mid wicket are his strong areas, but he can hit all kinds of shots.
5) Virat is only the third ever Indian batsman to score two ODI hundreds before his 22nd birthday - the other two being Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina.
6) Kohli's nickname is Cheeku. Former Delhi coach Ajit Chaudhary gave him the name when he joined the Delhi Ranji team.
7) Virat Kohli received the Arjuna award in 2013.
8) Only 8 cricketers ever have scored 20 ODI centuries and Virat Kohli is one of them. From the other seven, the only player who hasn’t retired is Chris Gayle with 21 centuries. Which means Kohli has more centuries than Sehwag, Gilchrist, Dravid, Hayden, Kallis, Jayawardene, and Sangakkara. And he is just 26!
9) Virat Kohli is also the fastest cricketer to hit 20 ODI centuries. He took only 133 innings to do so. The previous record was held by Sachin Tendulkar who, in contrast, took a whopping 197 innings to get 20 ODI tons. Kohli is also the fastest cricketer to get 15 ODI centuries. 
10) After Sachin, Sourav and MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli is only the fourth cricketer to score a 1000 runs or more for three consecutive calendar years in ODI cricket.
11) In fifth match of Asia Cup 2012, he scored 183 off 148 balls against Pakistan, recording the joint-fourth highest score by an Indian in ODIs. His innings was also the highest individual innings for a batsman against Pakistan in a ODI surpassing previous record by Brian Lara (156).
12) He scored the fastest century (52 balls) in one day internationals by an Indian against Australia in 2013.
13) Virat Kohli became the fastest Indian batsman to reach the landmarks of 1000, 3000, 4000 and 5000 runs in ODI cricket - the milestone was achieved on his way to his 18th ODI century in Napier
13) Kohli was named the ICC ODI Cricketer of the year in 2012 - at the age of 23.
14) In 2012, Virat Kohli was named as one of the 10 best dressed international men in a list that included US President Barrack Obama. SportsPro has rated Virat as the 13th most marketable athlete in the world - putting him alongside the likes of Neymar, Rory McIlroy and Usain Bolt.
15) Karishma Kapoor, the beautiful Bollywood actress was Kohli's first crush.
16) Virat Kohli is one of the few Indian cricketers to have a tattoo. Virat dons a Golden Dragon on his forearm, apparently for good luck. 
17) In 2012, Kohli scored the most number of ODI & test runs. Rightly so, he was awarded the 2012 Cricketer of the Year award by the ICC. 
18) Virat Kohli averages above 62 with a strike rate of over 92 when India is chasing. For batsmen having played at least 20 ODIs, this batting average batting-second is the highest in ODI cricket.
19) Former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe once wrote: “Kohli exudes the intensity of Rahul Dravid, audacity of Virender Sehwag and the extraordinary range of Sachin.” It won’t be wrong to say Kohli also has the much-needed aggression of Sourav Ganguly
20) In 2012, in a match against Sri lanka, Virat kohli hit 6 Fours in an over in the 35th over of the match and as far as I remember he is the first Indian to do that in ODI. (Though I am not sure about this but I remember once Sanath Jayasurya did that against England but in Test match).
21) Virat kohli is the only captain in test matches to have scored three centuries in his first 3 innings as captain.
22) Virat Kohli favourite recipe? Mutton biryani and kheer. Especially when it's cooked by his mother.