Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field, at the centre of which is a 22-yard (20-metre; 66-foot) pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails (small sticks) balanced on three stumps. Two players from the batting team, the striker and nonstriker, stand in front of either wicket holding bats, while one player from the fielding team, the bowler, bowls the ball toward the striker's wicket from the opposite end of the pitch. The striker's goal is to hit the bowled ball with the bat and then switch places with the nonstriker, with the batting team scoring one run for each of these exchanges. Runs are also scored when the ball reaches the boundary of the field or when the ball is bowled illegally.
Charles George Macartney (27 June 1886 – 9 September 1958) was an Australian cricketer who played in 35 Test matches between 1907 and 1926. He was known as "The Governor-General" in reference to his authoritative batting style and his flamboyant strokeplay, which drew comparisons with his close friend and role model Victor Trumper, regarded as one of the most elegant batsmen in cricketing history. Sir Donald Bradman—generally regarded as the greatest batsman in history—cited Macartney's dynamic batting as an inspiration in his cricket career.
He started his career as a bowling all-rounder. He made his Test debut in 1907, primarily as a left arm orthodox spinner who was considered to be a useful lower-middle order right-hand batsman. As Macartney was initially selected for his flexibility, his position in the batting order was frequently shuffled and he was largely ineffective. His most noteworthy Test contribution in his early career was a match-winning ten wicket haul at Headingley in 1909, before being dropped in the 1910–11 Australian season. It was around this time that Macartney befriended Trumper and began to transform himself from a bowler who batted in a defensive and technically correct manner, into an audacious attacking batsman. He reclaimed his Test position and made his maiden Test century in the same season, before establishing himself as the leading batsman in the team. (Full article...)
The County Ground in Derby was first used in 1871 and has staged the vast majority of Derbyshire's games. Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 member clubs of the English County Championship, representing the historic county of Derbyshire. The club was established on 4 November 1870 and has competed in first-class cricket since 1871, 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. The Derbyshire team have played first class, List A, or Twenty20 home matches at twenty-five different grounds. This includes grounds in Burton upon Trent, Knypersley, Leek, Cheadle and Checkley, all of which are not actually located in Derbyshire, but in the adjoining county of Staffordshire.
The county's debut home game in first-class cricket was played at the County Ground in Derby against Lancashire. The venue has also been known as the Racecourse Ground, as it had previously been used for horse racing, and also served as the original home ground of Derby County Football Club, which was formed as an offshoot of the cricket club in 1884. The County Ground has remained the cricket club's primary ground, hosting the majority of home matches, and also played host to the club's first home fixture in Twenty20 cricket against Nottinghamshire in 2003. Queen's Park in Chesterfield, however, staged the club's first home game in List A cricket against Essex in 1964. Queen's Park was first used by the county in 1898 and has continued to be a regular venue for Derbyshire matches, staging over 400 first-class games. (Full article...)
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Australian opening batsman Bill Woodfull was the first cricketer to carry the bat two times in Test cricket.
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. As of January 2024[update], 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...)
Dravid scored his first Test century in January 1997 against South Africa. In a man-of-the-match performance, he made 148 runs spanning nine hours and took India to their only draw of the series. He made centuries in both innings of a match when he scored 190 and 103 not out in the final Test of the 1998–99 series against New Zealand. He repeated the feat in March 2005 when he scored 110 and 135 against Pakistan in another man-of-the-match performance, leading India to victory in the second of the three-match series. Scoring 180 in a fifth-wicket partnership of 376 with VVS Laxman, in the Second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2001, Dravid helped lead India to victory by 171 runs despite being asked to follow-on by the Australians. His partnership with Laxman was the third-highest for the fifth wicket in Test cricket history. Dravid's highest Test score of 270, achieved in April 2004 in Rawalpindi, helped India to an innings victory against Pakistan. The performance was the fourth-highest score by an Indian batsman in Test cricket. He scored centuries against all Test playing nations and was the first cricketer to score centuries in all 10 Test playing nations. (Full article...)
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New Zealand (pictured in 2009) have been involved in ten Twenty20 Internationals tied matches. A Twenty20 International (T20I) is an international cricket match between two representative teams, each having T20I status, as determined by the International Cricket Council (ICC), and is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket. The first such match was played between Australia and New Zealand on 17 February 2005. A Twenty20 International can have three possible results: it can be won by one of the two teams, it could be tied, or it could be declared to have "no result". For a match to finish as a tie, both teams must have scored the same number of runs. The number of wickets lost is not considered. Although such matches are recorded as ties, a tiebreak is usually played; prior to December 2008, this was a bowl-out, and since then it has been a Super Over.
The first tied T20I occurred in 2006, between New Zealand and the West Indies. Hosted at Eden Park in Auckland, it was the fifth T20I. The crowd had started to leave the stadium, disappointed with the result, when the bowl-out was announced; the 2007 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack reported that "suddenly the evening took a madcap turn." The next tie, involving India and Pakistan, happened during the group stages of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20. India won the resulting bowl-out, and were awarded two points, the equivalent of a win. In October 2008, the tie between Canada and Zimbabwe was the final international match to be decided by a bowl-out; Zimbabwe won 3–1. Two months later, New Zealand and the West Indies took part in the first Super Over in an international. The West Indies won the eliminator by scoring 25 runs in their extra over, compared to New Zealand's 15. (Full article...)
Nathan Astle is a former international cricketer who represented the New Zealand cricket team between 1995 and 2007. He scored centuries (100 or more runs in a single innings) in Test cricket and One Day International (ODI) matches on 11 and 16 occasions, respectively. Described by BBC Sport as "one of the best one-day batsmen New Zealand has ever produced", Astle is the fourth-highest run-scorer for his country in international cricket.
Stuart Broad has taken twenty-one five-wicket hauls in international cricket.
In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "fifer") refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement, and as of July 2020[update] only as of October 2024[update], only 54 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers. Stuart Broad—a right-arm fast-medium bowler—is a former Test, One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) cricketer who represented England. Broad has taken 604 wickets in Test matches, 178 wickets in ODIs and 65 wickets in T20Is. As of July 2023[update], Broad has 21 five-wicket hauls across all formats in his international career and ranks twenty-eighth in the all-time list, and fourth in the equivalent list for England.
Broad made his Test debut against Sri Lanka during England's tour in 2007 with bowling figures of one wicket for 77 runs. His first five-wicket haul came against the West Indies during the first Test of the 2008–09 series at Sabina Park, taking five wickets for 85 runs in the first innings. His best bowling figures are eight wickets for 15 runs which he took in the first innings of the fourth and decisive Test of the 2015 Ashes series at Trent Bridge. Securing the five wickets in 19 deliveries, Broad equalled the fastest five-wicket haul in Test history, set in 1947 by Ernie Toshack for Australia against India, and recorded the best Test bowling figures ever at Trent Bridge, surpassing Muttiah Muralitharan's eight for 70 against England in June 2006. Broad has been most successful against Australia, taking eight Test five-wicket hauls. (Full article...)
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The County Ground, Hove, which was first used in 1872, and has hosted the majority of Sussex's matches.
Sussex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 member clubs of the English County Championship, representing the historic county of Sussex. Although Sussex representative sides had been playing cricket since the mid-eighteenth century and had also played first-class cricket matches since 1815, the County Cricket Club was established on 1 March 1839. They have played first-class matches since 1839, List A matches since 1963, and Twenty20 matches since 2003.
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" away from the club's main headquarters has diminished since the 1980s. In total, Sussex have played first-class, List A and Twenty20 cricket at 17 different grounds across the county. (Full article...)
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Bowlers have taken fifty-three five-wicket hauls in Tests and two five-wicket hauls in One Day International matches played at Chepauk. M. A. Chidambaram Stadium (MAC), also known as the Chepauk Stadium or simply Chepauk due its location in the city's locality of Chepauk, is a sports ground in Chennai, India that has hosted international cricket matches along with provincial games. Named after M. A. Chidambaram, former President of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the venue was formerly known as the Madras Cricket Club ground. It has a capacity of 38,000 spectators for international matches. It is the home ground of the Tamil Nadu cricket team and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. The first Test at this venue took place in 1934, between India and England. As of February 2021, it has hosted a further 33 Test matches. Chepauk has also staged 22 One Day International (ODI) matches, the first of which was in 1987 when Australia defeated India in a group-match during the 1987 World Cup.
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. The first bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a Test match at Chepauk was Amar Singh for India against England in 1934; he finished the innings with bowling figures of 7 wickets for 86 runs. Australia's Ashley Mallett became the first to take two five-wicket hauls in the same match at Chepauk, when he took 5 for 91 and 5 for 53 in the second and fourth innings of the fifth Test of Australia's 1969–70 tour of India. Narendra Hirwani is the most recent cricketer and the first Indian to take two five-wicket hauls on debut. He took 8 for 61 and 8 for 75 against the West Indies during the fourth Test of the 1987–88 series between the teams, which was held at this ground, and finished the match with bowling figures of 16 for 136. These are also the best match-figures by any bowler on Test debut. The best figures in Test cricket at Chepauk are 8 for 55, taken by India's Vinoo Mankad against England in 1952. Axar Patel took the most recent five-wicket haul at Chepauk, with figures of 5 for 60 against England in their 2020–21 tour of India. As of September 2024, 33 bowlers have taken 53 Test match five-wicket hauls at this ground. (Full article...)
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English fast bowler, James Anderson, took 32 five-wicket hauls in Test cricket and 2 five-wicket hauls in ODIs.
Anderson took a five-wicket haul on his Test debut in 2003 against Zimbabwe at Lord's Cricket Ground. He took 5 wickets for 73 runs in the match which England won by an innings and 92 runs. In July 2010, he took five-wicket hauls in both innings of a Test match against Pakistan at the Trent Bridge. In total, he took 11 wickets for 71 runs, which remains his best bowling figures in a Test match as of August 2020[update]. He took another pair of five-wicket hauls at the same venue, against Australia in the first Test of the 2013 Ashes series. Anderson's career-best figures for an innings are 7 wickets for 42 runs against West Indies at Lord's Cricket Ground, in September 2017. As of 2022[update], he has taken 32 Test five-wicket hauls at 11 cricket grounds, and has been most successful against India with six five-wicket hauls against them. (Full article...)
Introduced in 2006, the award adjudges the best-performed female international cricketer across an approximate twelve-month voting period. Prior to 2009, each of the top ten women's national teams nominated two players and the final selection was made by a 16-person panel. Since 2009, a long list has been chosen by the ICC Awards voting panel, consisting of cricket administrators, journalists and former players. A subsequent short list is then created by a different, 25-person, board. (Full article...)
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Batool Fatima has taken the most Test cricket dismissals for Pakistan. 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...)
Selected for the Australian ODI side, Gilchrist made his debut in October 1996 against South Africa in the Titan Cup at Faridabad. His first century came in January 1998 against the same opponents, this time at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Opening the batting, he scored 100 runs from 104 deliveries, and led Australia to a seven-wicket victory. Gilchrist's third ODI century helped Australia to equal the world record for the highest ODI runchase, while his fourth, against Sri Lanka in 1999, helped Australia achieve the highest successful run chase in ODI history at the SCG at the time. His fifth ODI century, 154 against the same team later in the tournament, broke Dean Jones and Ricky Ponting's Australian record score of 145. Gilchrist's sixth ODI century, 128 from 98 deliveries against New Zealand, helped Australia on their way to their highest ever ODI total. He reached the milestone in 78 balls, equalling the Australian record of Allan Border for the fastest hundred in ODIs. As part of Gilchrist's eighth century, he and Ponting shared an Australian second-wicket record partnership of 225. He was named the Australian One-Day International Player of the Year in both 2003 and 2004. Gilchrist's highest score in ODI cricket is 172, achieved against Zimbabwe in January 2004. Gilchrist's century against the World XI came from 73 deliveries, breaking his own Australian record by five balls. He broke this mark again with his 14th century, reaching three figures in 67 balls. His penultimate ODI century was made in the 2007 Cricket World Cup final which also happened to be his only world cup century. Scoring 149 runs from 104 deliveries, including eight sixes and thirteen fours, Gilchrist made the highest score and quickest century in the final of the World Cup. Australia won every ODI match in which Gilchrist scored a century, and he retired with 16 to his name, scoring at a rate of more than one run per delivery in 13 of them. (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. As of January 2019[update], Amla has the second-highest number of centuries for South Africa in Tests. (Full article...)
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Bowlers have taken fourteen five-wicket hauls in Tests and five five-wicket hauls in One Day International matches played at McLean Park. McLean Park is a sports ground in Napier, New Zealand which has hosted international rugby union and cricket matches as well as provincial sports matches. It is one of the home grounds of the Central Districts cricket team and the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union. It has hosted international cricket matches since 1979, the first Test match at the ground taking place between New Zealand and Pakistan in February of that year. It was first used for One Day International (ODI) cricket during the 1982 Women's Cricket World Cup and the first Twenty20 International match played on the ground took place in 2017. The ground has a capacity of 10,500 spectators for international matches.
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. The first bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a Test match at McLean Park was Imran Khan in the ground's inaugural Test; he finished with bowling figures of 5 wickets for 106 runs. Sri Lanka's Chaminda Vaas became the first cricketer to take two five-wicket hauls at McLean Park, when he took 5 for 47 and 5 for 43 in the first Test of Sri Lanka's 1994–95 tour of New Zealand. The best figures in Test cricket at McLean Park are 7 for 47, taken by England's Ryan Sidebottom against New Zealand in March 2008. (Full article...)
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Sydney Barnes was a professionalcricketer who played for England in 27 Test matches between 1901 and 1914. He claimed 24 five-wicket hauls (five or more wickets in an innings) during his Test career. A five-wicket haul is regarded as a notable achievement, and as of October 2024[update], only 54 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers. Barnes had only played seven first-class matches when he was chosen by Archie MacLaren to tour Australia, and played only 47 County Championship matches throughout his entire career, opting to play Minor Counties and Lancashire League cricket instead. He based his decision upon two main criteria – playing club cricket was more financially rewarding, and he was worried about having to bowl too much in first-class county cricket, and suffering from burnout.
Barnes is generally regarded as one of the best bowlers to have played international cricket, and finished his Test career with 189 wickets at an average of 16.43; his average places him among the top-ten bowlers in Test cricket. At the start of his career, he was a fast bowler who endeavoured to swing the ball, which was the common style of bowling at the time. However, Barnes experimented with bowling a little slower and cutting the ball, and developed both an off cutter and a leg cutter that he concluded were far more effective than swinging the ball. Despite his bowling talent, Barnes did not play any Test cricket between July 1902 and December 1907, as he was considered a "prima donna" who would only put in the effort when he was in the right mood, and being suitably paid. After his recall to the England side, he played regularly until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, and was named by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack as one of their Cricketers of the Year in 1910. (Full article...)
Image 2A 1793 American depiction of "wicket" being played in front of Dartmouth College. Wicket likely came to North America in the late 17th century. (from History of cricket)
Image 6 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 7Afghan soldiers playing cricket. Afghan refugees in Pakistan brought the sport back to Afghanistan, and it is now one of the most popular sports in the country. (from History of cricket)
Image 8Plaquita, a Dominican street version of cricket. The Dominican Republic was first introduced to cricket through mid-18th century British contact, but switched to baseball after the 1916 American occupation. (from History of cricket)
Image 9A 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 10The boundary can be marked in several ways, such as with a rope. (from Laws of Cricket)
Image 11A 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 12Photograph of Miss Lily Poulett-Harris, founding mother of women's cricket in Australia. (from History of women's cricket)
Image 13A wicket can be put down by throwing the ball at it and thereby dislodging the bails. (from Laws of Cricket)
Image 15In 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)
Image 16New articles of the game of cricket, 25 February 1774 (from Laws of Cricket)
... that the relatively low standards of player selection for Somerset County Cricket Club in 1883 have been described as being "determined with a nod and a wink over drinks"?
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.
![Image 1 The County Ground in Derby was first used in 1871 and has staged the vast majority of Derbyshire's games. Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 member clubs of the English County Championship, representing the historic county of Derbyshire. The club was established on 4 November 1870 and has competed in first-class cricket since 1871, 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. The Derbyshire team have played first class, List A, or Twenty20 home matches at twenty-five different grounds. This includes grounds in Burton upon Trent, Knypersley, Leek, Cheadle and Checkley, all of which are not actually located in Derbyshire, but in the adjoining county of Staffordshire. The county's debut home game in first-class cricket was played at the County Ground in Derby against Lancashire. The venue has also been known as the Racecourse Ground, as it had previously been used for horse racing, and also served as the original home ground of Derby County Football Club, which was formed as an offshoot of the cricket club in 1884. The County Ground has remained the cricket club's primary ground, hosting the majority of home matches, and also played host to the club's first home fixture in Twenty20 cricket against Nottinghamshire in 2003. Queen's Park in Chesterfield, however, staged the club's first home game in List A cricket against Essex in 1964. Queen's Park was first used by the county in 1898 and has continued to be a regular venue for Derbyshire matches, staging over 400 first-class games. (Full article...)](/wiki/File:Blank.png)
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