While we all enjoy the fact that cricket is an inclusive sport, attracting fans from all walks of life, we can’t help but be a little surprised by some of the game’s celebrity supporters.

Take Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, who thinks cricket is magic, albeit on the computer. “I still love cricket. I play EA cricket on the computer – I am a nerd,” he confessed back in 2012.

Then there is musical superstar Sir Elton John. We always think of him as a football fan. He even once owned Watford, a top-flight football team, and was singing the blues when they lost to Everton in the 1983-84 FA Cup final.

Everyone knows Elton loves a party, and he celebrated with the England cricket team following there 1986/87 Ashes win in Australia. Elton invited Ian Botham back to his hotel suite in Melbourne for a knees-up.

Explaining his fondness for the game, Elton once told TMS: “Tests are far more interesting than one-day internationals; they are more of a chess game. Test match cricket is far more worthwhile and relaxing. I do think you see the best cricket in Tests and I like the fact that you can play for five days and no-one wins.”

As a fan of Test matches, Elton will no doubt enjoying the current England tour of India. After a surprise first-Test victory, inspired by the bowling of James Anderson and Jack Leach, and a superb double century by Joe Root, Elton could be tempted by the odds available on the second Test. Because despite winning the first Test, England are still an inviting 5/2 to win the second Test – attractive odds for a multi-millionaire singing megastar.

Continuing our own tour, of unlikely celebrity cricket fans, next on our list is singer Lily Allen. She once told TMS: “I like the beauty of the game, the whites against the green, the pace of it, and the fact that you’re allowed to drink in the stand, which you can’t do at football.” And we can’t argue with that.

Hollywood also has its share of cricket lovers. Actor Mark Wahlberg, star of Planet of the Apes, who bought equity interest in the CPL team Barbados Tridents in 2013.

Then there are Australian stars Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman. It’s perhaps not surprising that they should be sports fans. But you don’t expect hard men of the screen to enjoy the sound of bat on ball.

Jackman, who plays Wolverine in the X-Men series, once said: “I used to come to every day of every Test match… all day long you’re hearing people yell out, ‘Have a go, have a go, you mug’. It’s just not enough to win; it was more your attitude that people loved, and I always say that is something great about Australia.”

Crowe, famous for his roles in Gladiator, Noah and Master and Commander, is actually a cousin of former Kiwi captains Jeff and Martin Crowe. He also loves cricket, and after watching England play Australia in the UK, told the BBC it had “been my dream for 30 years to go to the home of cricket”.

Other musicians to adore the great game include Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton. The legendary guitarist once said: “I love watching cricket, but I hate playing it.” And well-known football fan Ed Sheeran was in the crowd at Lord’s when England took on Australia in the Cricket World Cup in 2019.

So, there we have our list of famous folks you probably didn’t expect to be huge cricket fans. Perhaps it is no great surprise, though, that one of the world’s greatest sports has a growing band of celebrity followers – it just shows they have good taste.