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.
Bodyline, also known as fast leg theory bowling, was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia. It was designed to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's leading batsman, Don Bradman. A bodyline delivery was one in which the cricket ball was bowled at pace, aimed at the body of the batsman in the expectation that when he defended himself with his bat, a resulting deflection could be caught by one of several fielders deliberately placed nearby on the leg side.
At the time, no helmets or other upper-body protective gear was worn, and critics of the tactic considered it intimidating, and physically threatening in a game traditionally supposed to uphold conventions of sportsmanship. The England team's use of the tactic was perceived by some, both in Australia and England, as overly aggressive or even unfair. It caused a controversy that rose to such a level that it threatened diplomatic relations between the two countries before the situation was calmed. (Full article...)
When a player is found by the umpire to have delivered the ball contrary to those rules, the umpire will call a no-ball and he is said to have been called for throwing. Where public opinion is that a player's bowling action appears to be that he routinely throws, he is said to have a 'suspect' or an 'illegal' action, or more derogatorily, is said to be a 'chucker'. The issue is often highly emotive with accusers considering that deliveries with an illegal action are akin to cheating. (Full article...)
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Former West Indian captain, Courtney Walsh 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 October 2024[update], only 54 bowlers have taken 15 or more 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...)
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Bardsley c.1909 In cricket, a player is said to have scored a century when he scores 100 or more runs in a single innings. Test cricket, the longest version of the game, involves two innings per side in a match. An individual scoring centuries in each innings of a Test match, a feat which is called "Twin centuries," is considered a "milestone" by critics. Players from all teams that are full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) except Ireland and Afghanistan have scored centuries in both innings of a Test.
The first player to score centuries in both innings of a Test match was Warren Bardsley of Australia, who made 136 and 130 against England in August 1909. Since then, the feat has been accomplished by 77 players on 94 occasions as of March 2024[update]. India'sSunil Gavaskar and Australians Ricky Ponting and David Warner are the only cricketers who have scored two centuries in a match on three occasions, while 11 players have achieved the feat twice. England's Graham Gooch has the highest aggregate in a match while scoring centuries in both the innings; his combined tally of 456 runs in the match—333 in the first and 123 in the second innings—was entered into The Guinness Book of Records as "Most runs scored by a player in a Test match (male)". His feat of scoring a triple century and a century was subsequently equalled, though with lower scores, by Kumar Sangakkara: while six other players have scored a double century and a single century in the match. Allan Border is the only player to have scored 150 (or more) in each innings. Sri Lanka's Aravinda de Silva is the only player to remain not out in both innings. (Full article...)
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Saqlain Mushtaq, a former Pakistanicricketer, took 19 five-wicket hauls during his career in international 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 by cricket critics 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. A right-arm off break bowler who represented his country between 1995 and 2004, Saqlain was described by the BBC as "a revolution in the art of attacking off-spin bowling". Saqlain was named by Wisden as one of their Cricketers of the Year in 2000.
India played their first Women's One Day International cricket (WODI) match against England in the 1978 World Cup, which they hosted. They finished at the bottom of the table as they lost the remaining two games of the group stage. In the 1982 World Cup, they won their first ever WODI match when they beat the International XI by 79 runs at McLean Park, Napier. India's first overseas WODI series win came at the 1994–95 New Zealand Women's Centenary Tournament. They won the WODI series during their tour 1999 of England. They were the runner-up at the 2005 and the 2017World Cup tournaments. As of October 2022[update], they have played 301 WODIs against twelve different opponents, and have the fourth highest number of victories (164) for any team in the format; They have recorded 81 wins and have been the fifth most successful team in the T20 format. Since their first Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) against England in August 2006, India have played 151 matches. They have been most successful against Bangladesh with eleven wins against them. They were among the semi-finalists in the 2009 and 2010ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournaments. (Full article...)
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Gloucestershire's first ever match was played at Durdham Down in 1870, but it was the only time the county club played there. Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire, is one of the 18 member clubs of the English County Championship. The club was established in 1846 following the merger of the Mangotsfield Cricket Club and West Gloucestershire Cricket Club and played under the latter name until 1867, after which it became the Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. It has played first-class cricket since 1870, 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" away from the club's main headquarters has diminished since the 1980s. Gloucestershire have played home matches at eighteen different grounds.
The club's first home match in first-class cricket was played at Durdham Down in the Clifton district of Bristol. This was the only time the county used this venue for a match. The following year Gloucestershire began to play matches at the Clifton College Close Ground in the grounds of Clifton College in the same part of the city, and this remained a regular venue for the county until the 1930s, hosting nearly 100 first-class matches. In 1872 the county used a venue outside Bristol for the first time when they played at the College Ground in the grounds of Cheltenham College. This venue has continued to be used regularly for the county's annual "Cheltenham festival" event, which in the modern era incorporates additional charity events and off-field entertainment. In 1889 Gloucestershire began to play matches at the County Ground in Bristol, which has subsequently served as the club's main headquarters and hosted the majority of the county's matches. It was here that the club played its first List A match in 1963 against Middlesex, and its first Twenty20 match forty years later against Worcestershire. Bristol is not officially part of Gloucestershire and has been considered an independent county since 1373, though it was officially part of the county of Avon from 1974 until 1996. Somerset have played first-class matches at other venues in the city. (Full article...)
Gower made his Test debut for England in June 1978 against Pakistan at Edgbaston, Birmingham. He achieved his first century in Test cricket later that year, scoring 111 runs against New Zealand at The Oval, London. The following summer, Gower scored his first double-century, remaining unbeaten on 200 off 279 deliveries, in a batting innings described as "effortless" by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. He did not pass a hundred again until 1981, when he scored 154 not out against the West Indies, his runs coming off 403 deliveries at a strike rate of 38.21 – his lowest when scoring a century. Across 1984 and 1985, Gower struck five centuries in Test cricket, and on each occasion he passed 150 runs. Three of these centuries were scored during the 1985 Ashes, in which Gower was named as Man of the Series. In the fifth match he reached his highest score in Test cricket, amassing 215 runs and sharing a partnership of 331 with Tim Robinson. At the time, it was the sixth largest partnership for England, but in the next match Gower and Graham Gooch surpassed it, putting on 351 runs together. Gower's final Test century was scored in January 1991, when he reached 123 against Australia. In total, nine of Gower's eighteen Test centuries came during Ashes series, the fourth most by any batsman. (Full article...)
AB de Villiers is a former South African cricketer who captained the national team between 2012 and 2017. A right-handed batsman, he scored 51 centuries (100 or more runs in a single innings)—22 in Tests, 4 in T20 and 25 in ODIs—over his playing career. He reached the top of the ICC Test batting rankings in March 2012.
De Villiers made his Test debut in December 2004 against England, scoring 28 and 15. He made his first Test century the following month, scoring 109 in the drawn fifth Test at Centurion. His first double-century came in April 2008 against India when he scored 217 not out in a man-of-the-match performance in Ahmedabad. He has scored 22 Test centuries and holds the record for the second-highest individual score by a South African batsman, with 278 not out against Pakistan. De Villiers has the fourth-highest number of centuries in Tests for South Africa. (Full article...)
Pune Warriors India (PWI) was a Pune-based franchise cricket team that participated in the Indian Premier League (IPL). They played their first Twenty20 match in the 2011 season of the IPL against Kings XI Punjab. PWI played in three editions of the IPL, failing to reach the playoffs on all occasions. They came last in the 2012 IPL, and came second-last in the 2011 and the 2013 IPL. After the 2013 season, PWI owners withdrew from the IPL due to financial differences with the Board of Control for Cricket in India. In total, 46 players had played for PWI, of whom Robin Uthappa had played the most matches (46, since his debut for the franchise in 2011).
The leading run-scorer for PWI was Uthappa, who had scored 1,103 runs. Jesse Ryder scored 86 runs against Delhi Daredevils in 2012, which was the highest individual score in an innings by a PWI batsman. Steve Smith had the team's best batting average: 40.07. Among PWI's bowlers, Rahul Sharma had taken more wickets than any other, claiming 34. The best bowling average among bowlers who had bowled more than 20 overs was Yuvraj Singh's 22.93. Ashok Dinda had the best bowling figures in an innings; he claimed four wickets against Mumbai Indians in a 2012 match, conceding 18 runs. Uthappa had taken the most catches as wicket-keeper for PWI, with 24, and had also made the most stumpings: six. Smith and Manish Pandey had claimed the highest number of catches among fielders, taking 14 each. (Full article...)
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Sri Lanka playing England in its first Twenty20 International, at the Rose Bowl, Hampshire on 15 June 2006.
Sri Lanka recorded the highest team total in T20I cricket on 14 September 2007, in a group stage match at the inaugural edition of the ICC World Twenty20, scoring 260 runs for 6 wickets against Kenya and winning the match by 172 run which is the highest winning margin in T20Is (till date). (Full article...)
Sangakkara made his Test debut against South Africa in July 2000. He scored his maiden Test century in 2001, against India, and his first double-century during the 2002 Asian Test Championship final against Pakistan. Sangakkara's highest score in Test cricket is 319, which he scored against Bangladesh in 2014. During his innings of 287 against South Africa in 2006, he and Mahela Jayawardene set a new world record of 624 runs for the highest partnership for any wicket in Test or first-class cricket. In the following year, he scored back-to-back double-centuries against Bangladesh, the fifth instance of successive double-centuries in Test cricket. He has scored 200 or more runs in a Test match on eleven occasions, surpassing Brian Lara, who has scored 200 or more runs in a Test match on nine occasions; only Donald Bradman (12 double-centuries) has done so more often. He became the ninth batsman and second Sri Lankan to score centuries against all Test-playing nations in December 2007, when he scored 152 against England. He was appointed captain of the Sri Lanka team in March 2009, following the resignation of Mahela Jayawardene, and the first of his seven Test centuries as captain came against Pakistan in July of the same year. Sangakkara has the second-highest batting average—69.60 per innings—for a captain who scored a minimum of 1,500 runs. (Full article...)
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The Indian national cricket team at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 2012. The India national cricket team represents India in international cricket and is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International (ODI) status. They first competed in international cricket in 1932, when they played against England in a three-day Test match; England won the match by 158 runs. India's first Test series as an independent country was against Australia. They secured their first Test win against England in 1952 at Madras Cricket Club Ground. As of January 31, 2025[update], India have played 589 Test matches; they have won 181 matches, lost 184 matches, and 223 matches were drawn with one being tied. India played their first ODI match against England in 1974, but registered their first win against East Africa in 1975. As of 31 January 2025[update], India have played 1058 ODI matches, winning 559 matches and losing 445; 10 matches were tied and 44 matches had no result. They also won the 1983 and 2011 Cricket World Cups, along with the 2002 and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. India played their first Twenty20 International (T20I) against South Africa in 2006, winning the match by six wickets, and won the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007 along with the ICC World Twenty20 in 2024. As of 31 January 2025[update], they have played 245 T20I matches and won 162 of them; 71 were lost, with 5 super-over/bowl-out wins (after being tied), one tied (without a super over) and 6 having no result.
India have faced ten teams in Test cricket, with their most frequent opponent being England, against whom they have played 136 matches. India have registered more wins against England than against any other team, with 35. In ODI matches, India have played against 20 teams. They have played against Sri Lanka more frequently in ODI matches, with a winning percentage of 63.37 in 99 out of 168 matches. India have defeated Sri Lanka on 99 occasions, which is their best record in ODIs. The team have played 17 countries in T20Is, and have played 31 matches with Australia. They also have recorded the most victories against Australia, Sri Lanka and the West Indies, defeating all of them in nineteen matches. (Full article...)
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Statue of Trueman, who took seventeen five-wicket hauls in Test cricket. Fred Trueman was an English cricketer, an "aggressive" fast bowler widely known as "Fiery Fred". He is generally acknowledged to have been one of the greatest bowlers in cricket history. He represented England in 67 Test matches, and was the first bowler to take 300 wickets in a Test career, taking twelve years and 65 Tests to reach the landmark.
Trueman's wicket tally included seventeen five-wicket hauls (also known as "five-fors" or "fifers") which refer to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement, as of October 2024[update], only 54 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers. Trueman's seventeen five-wicket hauls places him joint-third in a list of most five-wicket hauls by England Test players, behind Ian Botham and Sydney Barnes. It includes three instances of him taking five or more wickets in each innings of the same Test match, and only one of the Tests in which he took a five-for ended in defeat for England. (Full article...)
He is England's fourth-highest wicket-taker, as of June 2023, behind James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ian Botham. Willis took 899 first-class wickets overall, although from 1975 onwards he bowled with constant pain, having had surgery on both knees. He nevertheless continued to find success, taking a Test career-best eight wickets for 43 runs in the 1981 Ashes series against Australia, one of the all-time best Test bowling performances. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1978. (Full article...)
Anniversaries...
On this day in cricket
India
1973 - Sachin Tendulkar born. Nicknamed the 'Little Master', Tendulkar is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the game. In 2002, Wisden rated him as the second greatest Test batsman after Sir Donald Bradman, and the greatest One-day international batsman.
Image 6A wicket can be put down by throwing the ball at it and thereby dislodging the bails. (from Laws of Cricket)
Image 7A 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 8In 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 9Plaquita, 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 10The boundary can be marked in several ways, such as with a rope. (from Laws of Cricket)
Image 11Afghan 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 12A 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 13New articles of the game of cricket, 25 February 1774 (from Laws of Cricket)
Image 14 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 16A 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)
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the international governing body of cricket, and produces team rankings for the various forms of cricket played internationally.
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