Cricket is a bat-and-ball game that is played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a 22-yard (20-metre) pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. Two players from the batting team (the striker and nonstriker) stand in front of either wicket, with one player from the fielding team (the bowler) bowling the ball towards the striker's wicket from the opposite end of the pitch. The striker's goal is to hit the bowled ball and then switch places with the nonstriker, with the batting team scoring one run for each exchange. Runs are also scored when the ball reaches or crosses the boundary of the field or when the ball is bowled illegally.
In the final round of group matches during the 1979 Benson & Hedges Cup, a one-day cricket competition, Somerset County Cricket Club faced Worcestershire County Cricket Club at New Road, Worcester, on 24 May 1979. The result of the match would help to determine which teams progressed to the quarter-finals. If Somerset lost and Glamorgan won their match, Somerset, Worcestershire and Glamorgan would have been level on points; bowling strike rate would have then been used as a tie-breaker. The Somerset team, led by their captain, Brian Rose, realised that if they batted first and declared the innings closed after just one over, it would protect their strike rate advantage to guarantee their qualification. Somerset scored one run from their over and declared; Worcestershire took ten deliveries to score the two runs they needed to win. The match was completed in 18 minutes, and consisted of only 16 legal deliveries.
Although Somerset's declaration was within the laws of the game, Rose was condemned by the press and cricket officials. The Wisden Cricketers' Almanack claimed that Rose had "sacrificed all known cricketing principles by deliberately losing the game". Just over a week after the match, the Test and County Cricket Board met for an emergency session and voted to eject Somerset from the competition by a vote of seventeen to one. Cricket's rules were later changed to ban declarations in professional one-day cricket, although a similar incident occurred in club cricket in 2017.
A women's Test match is an international four-innings cricket match held over a maximum of four days between two of the ten leading cricketing nations. The first women's Test was played between England and Australia in 1934. As of 2014, the Pakistan women's team have played three Test matches since their first appearance in 1998, against Sri Lanka at the Colts Cricket Club. Pakistan have lost two matches, while one resulted in a draw. Twenty women have played Test matches for Pakistan.
As of 2014, four players have made the most appearances for Pakistan in Women's Test cricket, playing in all the three matches. Five players have appeared in two matches each, and eleven have played in one match each. Shaiza Khan has captained the side in all the three matches. Kiran Baluch has scored the most runs in total, making 360 from 6 innings. Her score of 242, made against West Indies in March 2004, is the highest total by any batsman in Women's Test cricket as of 2014. Khan has taken more wickets than any other Pakistani bowler in this format of the game, dismissing 19 batsmen over 3 matches. She has the best bowling figures in an innings among Pakistani bowlers, 7 wickets for 59 runs. Her 13 wickets for 226 runs in a match is the best performance by any bowler in the format. Khan, Urooj Mumtaz, and Batool Fatima have taken the most catches with three each. Fatima holds the record for the most Test cricket dismissals for Pakistan with five. (Full article...)
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In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. A five-wicket haul on debut is regarded by the critics as a notable achievement. As of February 2024, 171 cricketers have taken a five-wicket haul on Test match debut, out of which twenty-five were from the South Africa national cricket team. The five-wicket hauls have come against six different opponents, and the South Africans have performed this feat fifteen times against England. Of the twenty-two matches where a South African debutant has taken a five-wicket haul, twelve have ended in defeat, six in victory and the other four in a draw. The five-wicket hauls were taken at eleven different venues, six of them being taken at the Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town.
Albert Rose-Innes was the first South African to take a five-wicket haul on Test cricket debut. He took 5 wickets for 43 runs against England in 1889. In the second Test of the series, Gobo Ashley took 7 wickets for 95 runs, in what turned out to be his only appearance in Test cricket. When the country was re-admitted to play competitive cricket in 1991, Lance Klusener became the first debutant to take a five-wicket haul. His 8 wickets for 64 runs against India in November 1996 remain the best bowling figures in an innings by a South African on debut. Sydney Burke and Alf Hall are the only South African debutants to collect 10 or more wickets in a match as of February 2015. Klusener's figures, along with George Bissett's 5 for 37 runs, were included among the "Top 100 Bowling performances of all time" by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002. Neil Brand is the latest cricketer to achieve this feat; he took 6/119 against New Zealand in February 2024. (Full article...)
Amla made his Test debut against India at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, in 2004. His first century came two years later against New Zealand at the Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town. His score of 311 not out, against England at The Oval, London, in 2012, is the only triple century by a South African batsman in Test cricket. Amla has scored Test centuries at sixteen cricket grounds, including ten at venues outside South Africa. In Tests, he has scored centuries against eight different opponents, and has the most centuries (six) against England. , Amla has the second-highest number of centuries for South Africa in Tests. (Full article...)
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International cricket, which had been suspended since 1939 due to the Second World War, resumed in 1946. From then until the end of 1959, the England cricket team, which represented England, Scotland and Wales in Test cricket, played 115 Test matches, resulting in 45 victories, 39 draws and 31 defeats. During this period, England faced Pakistan for the first time, when they toured England in 1954. During that tour, they became the first team to win a Test match on their first visit to England. England were the dominant team in international cricket during the 1950s; they did not lose a Test series between March 1951 and December 1958, and featured an array of stars such as Colin Cowdrey, Denis Compton, Fred Trueman, Brian Statham and Jim Laker.
England faced Australia most frequently during this period—playing 35 matches against them—followed by South Africa. England won more matches than they lost against India, New Zealand and South Africa, but against Australia they won seven and lost seventeen Ashes matches, while against the West Indies they won six and lost seven. They faced newcomers Pakistan in just four matches, winning one, losing one and drawing the others. England won 16 matches by an innings, with their largest victory being by an innings and 248 runs against New Zealand in 1958. Their largest victory by runs alone during this period was in 1956–57 against South Africa, when they won by 312 runs, while they won by ten wickets on four occasions. Conversely, England suffered their largest ever defeat, losing to Australia by an innings and 332 runs during the 1946–47 Ashes series. (Full article...)
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Herschelle Gibbs is a former South African cricketer who represented his country between 1996 and 2010. He made centuries (100 or more runs in a single innings) on 14 and 21 occasions in Test and One Day International (ODI) matches respectively. With over 14,000 runs, Gibbs is fourth in the list of South Africa's most prolific run-scorers in international cricket. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack included him among its "top 40 cricketers of 2004".
Gibbs made his Test and ODI debuts in 1996 against India and Kenya respectively. However, it was only in 1999 that he made his first century, when he scored 125 against the West Indies, an ODI South Africa won at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth. He followed that with another century against Australia in the 1999 World Cup, although this time in a losing cause. In 2002, Gibbs made three centuries in consecutive innings, equaling a record that was previously held by two other players. He was denied a fourth successive century when he remained 97 not out against Bangladesh. His career-best score of 175, achieved against Australia, led South Africa to the most successful run-chase in the history of ODIs. Gibbs made a minimum of one century each year from 1999 to 2009. As of October 2015, he is jointly second with Hashim Amla (both with 21 centuries) in the number of ODI centuries among his countrymen, only behind AB de Villiers (22). Along with Shikhar Dhawan, Sourav Ganguly, and Chris Gayle, Gibbs holds the record for the most centuries in the ICC Champions Trophy, with three. (Full article...)
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In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement, and as of 2014 only 42 bowlers have taken at least 15 five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers. Courtney Walsh, a former cricketer, who represented the West Indies cricket team from 1984 to 2001, took 23 five-wicket hauls in international cricket. He played 132 Tests and 205 One Day Internationals (ODIs), and took 519 and 227 wickets respectively. A right-arm fast bowler, Walsh took 22 five-wicket hauls in Tests and 1 in ODIs. In 1987, when he was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year, the cricket almanack Wisden noted his "three distinct speeds, all delivered with the same action", and his "sparing use of the bouncer, his shorter deliveries generally threatening the batsman's rib-cage, a tactic which, allied to change of pace, produced many catches in the short-leg area off splice or glove." He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in October 2010.
Walsh made his Test debut in November 1984 against Australia at the WACA Ground, Perth, a match West Indies won by an innings and 112 runs. His first Test five-wicket haul came in 1987 against New Zealand at the Eden Park, Auckland; the match was won by West Indies by 10 wickets. His career-best bowling figures for an innings were 7 wickets for 37 runs against the same team at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, in February 1995. He took another 6 wickets in the next innings, accumulating 13 wickets for 55 runs in the match—his solitary pair of five-wicket hauls. West Indies won the match by an innings and 322 runs, and his performance earned him a man of the match award. Walsh took more five-wicket hauls against England than any other nation: five. He took ten or more wickets in a match on three occasions. (Full article...)
The only bowler to have taken three ODI hat-tricks is Sri Lanka'sLasith Malinga. Five other bowlers— Pakistan's Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq, Sri Lanka's Chaminda Vaas, New Zealand's Trent Boult and India's Kuldeep Yadav—have taken two hat-tricks in the format. Hat-tricks are dominated by spinners. Vaas is the first and only bowler to claim a hat-trick on the first three balls of any form of international cricket; he achieved the feat against Bangladesh during the 2003 World Cup. Malinga is the only player to claim four wickets in consecutive balls; he achieved the feat against South Africa in the 2007 World Cup. Four players have taken a hat-trick on their ODI debuts: Bangladesh's Taijul Islam against Zimbabwe in 2014, South Africa's Kagiso Rabada against Bangladesh in 2015, Sri Lanka's Wanindu Hasaranga against Zimbabwe in 2017, and Sri Lanka's Shehan Madushanka against Bangladesh in 2018. India's Chetan Sharma was the first cricketer to take a hat-trick in a World Cup match. Eleven hat-tricks have been taken in World Cup matches. (Full article...)
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The Kensington Oval is a 15,000-capacity sports stadium located in Bridgetown on the island nation of Barbados. Used mainly for cricket, the Kensington Oval hosted its first Test in 1930 and its first One Day International (ODI) in 1985. The ground has seen 51 Tests—all including the West Indies—along with 30 ODIs, and has been the scene of 108 Test and 14 ODI centuries. Additionally, the ground hosted a pair of World Series Cricket one-day games and a Supertest between the WSC West Indies and WSC Australian teams.
West Indian Clifford Roach became the first player to score a century at the venue, managing 122 runs in the ground's inaugural match. Two other batsmen, Andy Sandham and George Headley from England and the West Indies respectively, also scored centuries in this match. However, it took a further four Tests until West Indian Clyde Walcott scored the next hundred, 220 in 1954. The innings was also the first double century to be scored at the Kensington Oval. PakistaniHanif Mohammad's score of 337, which was achieved in 1958, remains the highest score seen at the ground, while West Indian Lawrence Rowe is the only other batsman to score a triple century at the venue, hitting 302 against England in 1974. Desmond Haynes, Clive Lloyd and Shivnarine Chanderpaul are the only players to score four Test centuries at the Kensington Oval, while Garry Sobers, Viv Richards and Brian Lara have all stuck three hundreds. As of January 2019, 9 batsmen have scored double centuries and two triple centuries has scored at the venue. (Full article...)
Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 member clubs of the English County Championship, representing the historic county of Essex. The club was established on 14 January 1876 and has played first-class cricket since 1894, List A cricket since 1963 and Twenty20 cricket since 2003.[A] Unlike most professional sports, in which a team usually has a single fixed home ground, county cricket clubs have traditionally used different grounds in various towns and cities within the county for home matches, although the use of minor "out grounds" has diminished since the 1980s. Essex have played first class, List A, or Twenty20 matches at 14 different grounds.
The club's debut home fixture in first-class cricket was played at the County Ground in Leyton against Leicestershire in 1894. This ground remained the county's headquarters and principal match venue until the end of the 1933 season and was used regularly for over 80 years. Until April 2024 it had still hosted more of the county's first-class matches than any other ground. Essex played their final match at the venue in 1977, however, since when the similarly-named County Ground in Chelmsford has hosted the majority of first-class games. The ground in Leyton has continued to be used for matches in local competitions. (Full article...)
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Sunil Gavaskar is a former international cricketer who represented and captained the Indian cricket team. In a career spanning over 16 years he made 35 centuries (100 or more runs) at the international level. Described as one of the greatest opening batsmen in cricket history, Gavaskar played 125 Test matches and scored 10,122 runs. He was the first batsman to score 10,000 Test runs and held the record for most runs until Allan Border surpassed it. Gavaskar's record of 34 Test centuries stood for almost two decades before Tendulkar surpassed it in December 2005. He was named the Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year in 1971 and as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1980. In February 2012, the International Cricket Council (ICC) inducted him into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. As of 2012, he is the third-highest run scorer for India in Test cricket, after Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
Making his Test debut against the West Indies in March 1971, Gavaskar scored his first century in the third Test of the same series. In the final Test at Port of Spain he scored centuries in both innings of the match with scores of 124 and 220, becoming the second Indian player to perform the feat. He became the first player to score two centuries in a Test match for the third time, when he made 107 and 182 not out in a match against the West Indies in December 1978. Gavaskar's highest Test score of 236 not out came against the West Indies at Chennai in 1983, an Indian record at that time. He has scored 150 or more runs in a Test match innings on twelve occasions. Gavaskar was most successful against the West Indies and Australia scoring 13 and 8 centuries respectively. (Full article...)
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In cricket, the phrase "carrying the bat" refers to a situation in which an opening batter remains not out at the end of an innings where all the 10 wickets have fallen; the other 10 players in the team have all been dismissed. It may also be used in situations where one or more of these players are unable to bat due to retiring out or causes like injury or illness, and the remaining players are dismissed. It is not used, however, in any other situation where the innings closes before all 10 wickets have fallen, such as when it is declared closed, or when the team successfully chases a set run target to win the match. A rare feat, this has happened only 72 times in international cricket spanning all three formats—Tests, One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is).
In Tests, South AfricanBernard Tancred was the first cricketer to carry the bat; he made 26 runs in his team's total of 47 against England in 1889. The following year, Jack Barrett of Australia became the first player to carry the bat on debut. In the 1892 tour of Australia, England's Bobby Abel scored 132 and became the first player to score a century while carrying the bat. In 1933, Bill Woodfull of Australia set a new record by becoming the first player to perform this feat twice in Tests; he scored 73 not out during the third test of England's 1933 tour. Apart from Woodfull, five other cricketers have performed this feat more than once in their in Test careers—while Bill Lawry (Australia), Glenn Turner (New Zealand) and Len Hutton (England) have done it twice, Dean Elgar (South Africa) and Desmond Haynes (West Indies) have performed the feat on three occasions. , New Zealand's Tom Latham's 264, against Sri Lanka in December 2018, is the highest score in Test cricket by a player while carrying the bat. The Australian players have performed this feat more than any other, followed by England. In all, 49 players have carried their bats on 57 occasions in Test cricket. (Full article...)
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In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five-for" or "fifer") refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a significant achievement. , 170 cricketers have taken a five-wicket haul on their debut in a Test match, with ten of them being taken by West Indian players. They have taken a five-wicket haul on debut against five different opponents: four times against England, twice against India and Australia, and once against Pakistan and Sri Lanka each. Of the ten occasions, the West Indies won the match four times, and drew once. The players have taken five-wicket hauls at four different venues, two in the West Indies and two overseas. The most common venue for a West Indies player to achieve the feat is Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, where it has occurred five times. Of the overseas hauls, three occurred at Old Trafford in Manchester, England.
Image 3A Game of Cricket at The Royal Academy Club in Marylebone Fields, now Regent's Park, depiction by unknown artist, c. 1790–1799 (from History of cricket)
Image 4Photograph of Miss Lily Poulett-Harris, founding mother of women's cricket in Australia. (from History of women's cricket)
Image 5 First Grand Match of Cricket Played by Members of the Royal Amateur Society on Hampton Court Green, August 3rd, 1836 (from History of cricket)
Image 6A wicket consists of three stumps, upright wooden poles that are hammered into the ground, topped with two wooden crosspieces, known as the bails. (from Laws of Cricket)
Image 7Broadhalfpenny Down, the location of the first First Class match in 1772 is still played on today (from History of cricket)
Image 8New articles of the game of cricket, 25 February 1774 (from Laws of Cricket)
Image 9In men's cricket the ball must weigh between 5.5 and 5.75 ounces (155.9 and 163 g) and measure between 8.81 and 9 in (22.4 and 22.9 cm) in circumference. (from Laws of Cricket)
... that Indian gynaecologist and reproductive medicine pioneer Baidyanath Chakrabarty, who performed over 4,000 IVF procedures, was a cricket fan who thought Virat Kohli and Ashwin were "such good boys"?
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the international governing body of cricket, and produces team rankings for the various forms of cricket played internationally.
Test cricket is the longest form of cricket, played up to a maximum of five days with two innings per side.
Matches is the number of matches played in the 12–24 months since the May before last, plus half the number in the 24 months before that. See points calculations for more details.