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; 66-foot) 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 holding bats, 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 with the bat 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.
Douglas Robert Jardine (23 October 1900 – 18 June 1958) was an English cricketer who played 22 Test matches for England, captaining the side in 15 of those matches between 1931 and 1934. A right-handed batsman, he is best known for captaining the English team during their successful 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia. During that series, England employed "Bodyline" tactics against the Australian batsmen, headed by Donald Bradman, wherein bowlers pitched the ball short on the line of leg stump to rise towards the bodies of the batsmen in a manner that some contemporary players and critics viewed as intimidatory and physically dangerous. As captain, Jardine was the person responsible for the implementation of Bodyline.
A controversial figure among cricketers, partially for what was perceived by some to be an arrogant and patrician manner, he was well known for his dislike of Australian players and crowds, and thus was unpopular in Australia, especially so after the Bodyline tour. However, many who played under his leadership regarded him as an excellent and dedicated captain. He was also famous in cricket circles for wearing a multi-coloured Harlequin cap. (Full article...)
Steve Waugh has scored the third-highest number of centuries .
Steve Waugh is a former cricketer and captain of the Australia cricket team. He is a right-handed middle order batsman and a right-arm medium bowler. Described as one of the most consistent batsmen, and by Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid as "a gritty player who did not throw away his wicket easily and is someone who valued his wicket", Waugh scored centuries (scores of 100 or more) in both Test and One Day International (ODI) matches organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). During his career in international cricket he scored centuries on 35 occasions and half centuries on 95 occasions. Considered to be one of the greatest modern day cricket captains, Waugh led Australia to 41 wins out of the 57 Test matches under his captaincy. "He was named Cricketer of the Year in 1988 by Indian Cricket, and a year later by Wisden. In January 2010, the ICC inducted him into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Waugh made his Test debut against India in December 1985, and scored a century for the first time in a match against England in 1989 which Australia won. In Test matches, Waugh has scored centuries against all Test cricket playing nations, the second player to do so. He has scored a century in at least one cricket ground of all Test cricket playing nations, except Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. He has made scores of 150-plus in an innings on 14 occasions. His career best score of 200—his only double century—came against West Indies in April 1995. Waugh has been most successful against England, scoring ten centuries against them, the first in 1989 and the last one in 2003. On 25 July 2003 he became the first player to score 150 runs in an innings against all Test-playing nations, a world record. He has been dismissed eight times between scores of 90 and 99, with a further two innings not out in the 90s. As of August 2015, Waugh is ninth in the list of leading century makers in Test cricket. (Full article...)
Each team selected a squad of 15 players which was finalised by 24 January 2013, and any changes to that squad due to illness or injury had to be requested in writing, and approved by the ICC's Event Technical Committee. Once a player had been removed from the squad through this process, they could only return as an approved replacement for a different player suffering illness or injury. (Full article...)
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Members of the Pakistan women's cricket team at the 2009 ICC Women's World Twenty20 in Sydney.
The Pakistan women's national cricket team represents Pakistan in international cricket and is a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test and One Day International (ODI) status. They first competed in international cricket in 1997 when they played an ODI against New Zealand. Pakistan lost the match by 10 wickets. They recorded their first ODI win against the Netherlands, in April 2001 at the National Stadium. As of 2018[update], Pakistan has played 150 ODI matches; they have won 44 matches and lost 104 matches, whilst two had no result. They have faced 13 teams in ODI cricket, with their most frequent opponent being Sri Lanka, playing 30 matches against them. Pakistan registered more wins against Ireland than any other team, with 12. They have lost to Sri Lanka in 21 matches. Pakistan has participated in three editions of the Women's Cricket World Cup: 1997, 2009 and 2013. In the 2009 edition, they defeated Sri Lanka in the group stage match by 57 runs. They also defeated West Indies in the "Super Six" match by four wickets, and finished at sixth losing in the fifth place playoff to the same team by three wickets.
Pakistan played their first Test match against Sri Lanka in April 1998, a match they lost by 309 runs. They have played three Test matches against three different opponents: Ireland, Sri Lanka and West Indies. As of 2018[update], Pakistan has played 82 Twenty20 International (T20I) matches since their first such contest in 2009 against Ireland, winning 32 matches and losing 47; they also tied two match, whilst one had no result. They have competed against 10 different opponents, and their first win in the format came against Ireland at the Vineyard in May 2009. The team has played most frequently against Ireland, in 13 matches, and defeated them in 11 matches. Pakistan has participated in all the editions of the ICC Women's World Twenty20. They lost all of their games in 2009 and 2010 editions, and in the 2012 edition, they registered their solitary win over India. Pakistan lost the final of the 2012 Women's Twenty20 Asia Cup to India by 18 runs. In the 2014 ICC Women's World Twenty20, Pakistan finished at seventh place defeating Sri Lanka by 14 runs in the playoffs. (Full article...)
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The ICC Cricket Hall of Fame recognises "the achievements of the legends of the game from cricket's long and illustrious history". It was launched by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Dubai on 2 January 2009, in association with the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA), as part of the ICC's centenary celebrations. The initial inductees were the 55 players included in the FICA Hall of Fame which ran from 1999 to 2003, but further members are added each year during the ICC Awards ceremony. The inaugural inductees ranged from W. G. Grace, who retired from Test cricket in 1899, to Graham Gooch, who played his last Test match in 1995. Living inductees receive a commemorative cap; Australian Rod Marsh was the first member of the initial inductees to receive his. Members of the Hall of Fame assist in the selection of future inductees.
South African Barry Richards played the fewest Test matches during his career with four, before South Africa were excluded from participating in international cricket in 1970. Indian Sachin Tendulkar, inducted in July 2019, played the most Tests with 200 in an international career spanning 24 years. Out of 112 inductees in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, 82 are from England, Australia and the West Indies, while the other 30 inductees are from the remaining Test playing nations, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. In 2024 it was reported that all three New Zealand inductees were listed as Australian on the ICC's official Hall of Fame website. (Full article...)
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Myrtle Maclagan took seven wickets for 10 runs on her Test debut in 1934, achieving both the best figures on debut, and the first five-wicket haul in women's Tests. Women's Test cricket has been played since 1934, when England faced Australia in a three-match series. Since that first match, over 130 Tests have been competed. The advent of Twenty20 cricket in the early part of the 21st century has all but eliminated Test cricket from the woman's game. Thirteen players have claimed five-wicket hauls (five or more wickets in an innings) on their debut in women's Test cricket.
The only occasion on which more than one player has taken a five-wicket haul on debut in the same match was during the first women's Test match in December 1934. During this match, three players achieved the feat; Myrtle Maclagan and Mary Spear for England, and Anne Palmer for Australia. Maclagan's bowling figures of seven wickets for 10 runs are the best by any woman on Test debut, and is one of three occasions on which a player has claimed seven wickets on their women's Test debut, along with Palmer and Lesley Johnston. Betty Wilson, who was the fourth player to take five wickets in an innings on debut, is the only woman to have taken ten wickets in a match on debut. Spear's five wickets for 51 runs was the most economical bowling when taking five wickets, conceding just 0.44 runs per over. Conversely, Shubhangi Kulkarni was the most expensive, allowing 4.11 runs per over. Isobel Joyce bowled the least overs in her innings when taking a five-wicket haul, six wickets for 21 runs from 11.1 overs. (Full article...)
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Boon scored 26 international centuries for Australia David Boon is a former international cricketer who represented Australia between 1984 and 1996. A right-handed batsman who primarily played as an opener, Boon took part in 107 Test matches and 181 One Day Internationals (ODIs) for his country and scored centuries (100 or more runs in a single innings) on twenty-one and five occasions respectively.
Boon made his Test and ODI debuts against the West Indies in 1984. He made his first Test century in December 1985, when he scored 123 against India at the Adelaide Oval. He achieved his highest Test score in 1989, when he made 200—his solitary double-century—against New Zealand at the WACA Ground, Perth. Boon scored three centuries in three consecutive Tests, against India during the 1991–92 home series; he achieved the feat once more in the 1993 Ashes series. His accomplishments with the bat during the 1993 English cricket season led to Wisden naming him as one of their Cricketers of the Year in 1994 and describing him as "the most assured batsman in the Australian team". As of 2017[update], Boon is ninth (with Neil Harvey) in the list of leading Test century-makers for Australia. He scored centuries against six different opponents, including six outside Australia. He was most successful against England, scoring seven Test centuries; six of his Test centuries came against India. (Full article...)
Sharma made his ODI debut against Ireland in June 2007. His first century came during the 2010 Tri-nation tournament in Zimbabwe when he made 114 against the hosts. In the 2013 bilateral series against Australia at home, he made two centuries, including a double-century. The next year, he scored 264 against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The score remains the highest individual total by a batsman in the format. In January 2016, he made 171 not out against Australia; it remained the highest score by a visiting batsman against Australia until England's Jason Roy made 180 in 2018. Sharma set the record for most centuries scored in a World Cup when he scored five centuries in the 2019 World Cup. He has scored centuries against nine different opponents and has the joint second-highest number of centuries (eight) against Australia in the format. As of January 2020[update], Sharma has eight scores in excess of 150, and three double-centuries, both of which are records in ODIs. He has the second highest number of centuries for an active player in the format. (Full article...)
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In cricket, a batsman reaches a triple century if they score 300 or more runs in a single innings. The Ranji Trophy is the premier first-class cricket championship played in India. Conducted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, it was founded in 1934 as "The Cricket Championship of India". As of January 2020[update], a triple century has been scored on 46 occasions by 41 different batsmen in the Ranji Trophy.
Australia's Charles Bannerman was the first cricketer to score a century on Test debut, in the first Test match. For a cricketer to score a century (100 runs or more) on his Test match debut is considered a notable achievement, and as of 13 July 2023, it has been accomplished 115 times by 113 players. Two of those players, Lawrence Rowe and Yasir Hameed, have scored centuries in both innings of their debut match. Players representing 11 of the Test-playing nations (all except Afghanistan) have scored centuries on Test debut.
Curtly Ambrose has taken the most five-wicket hauls for the West Indies. Curtly Ambrose, a former West Indiancricketer, took 26 five-wicket hauls at international level. 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 only 41 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers. Ambrose played 98 Tests and 176 One Day Internationals (ODIs), and took 405 and 225 wickets respectively. A right-arm fast bowler who represented the West Indies from 1988 to 2000, he took 22 five-wicket hauls in Tests and 4 in ODIs. The cricket almanack Wisden noted his "smooth, leggy run-up, fast arm action and accuracy", apart from "lethal yorker[s]" and "nasty bouncer[s]", and named him one of their Cricketers of the Year in 1992. Upon his induction into the International Cricket Council Cricket Hall of Fame in September 2011, ESPNcricinfo described Ambrose as "one of the finest bowlers of all time", and as of 2013 he is tenth overall among all-time combined five-wicket haul takers.
Ambrose made his Test debut in 1988 against Pakistan at the Bourda, Georgetown, a match the West Indies lost by 9 wickets. His first five-wicket haul came eight months later against Australia at the WACA Ground, Perth; West Indies won the match by 169 runs. His career-best bowling figures for an innings were 8 wickets for 45 runs against England at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, in April 1990 where his match-winning performance earned him a man of the match award. Ambrose took his solitary pair of five-wicket hauls in a Test match—5 wickets for 60 runs and 6 wickets for 24 runs—against the same opponents at the Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, in March 1994, his best bowling performance in a Test match. Ambrose achieved his 22 five-wicket hauls at 12 different grounds, including 11 at 9 different venues outside the West Indies. He was most successful against Australia and England taking eight five-wicket hauls each. He took ten or more wickets in a match on three occasions. (Full article...)
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Muttiah Muralitharan has captured the highest number of five-wicket hauls in Test cricket. 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; only five bowlers have taken more than 30 five-wicket hauls in their Test cricketing careers. Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan has the most five-wicket hauls in Test cricket, and also the second-highest number of five-wicket hauls in One Day Internationals (ODI). He did not take any five-wicket hauls in a Twenty20 International, where his best bowling figures were 3 wickets for 29 runs. One of the most experienced bowlers in international cricket, Muralitharan is the leading wicket taker in both Tests and ODIs. He was declared as the "best bowler ever" in Test cricket by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002, and the Sri Lankan team depended heavily on the off spinner for wickets.
Muralitharan is well ahead of other bowlers by number of five-wicket hauls in Tests with 67 to his name; Australian cricketer Shane Warne ranks in second place with 37. Making his Test debut in 1992, Muralitharan took his first five-wicket haul a year later against South Africa. He performed this feat against every other Test playing nation. He went on to take ten or more wickets per match on 22 occasions—also a world record—while Shane Warne ranks second, having achieved this on 10 occasions. His career best is 9 wickets for 51 runs against Zimbabwe, which ranks as the world's fifth-best figures in an innings. He was most successful against Bangladesh and South Africa, with 11 five-wicket hauls against each team. Fourteen of Muralitharan's five-wicket hauls were taken at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground (SSC) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He retired from Test cricket in July 2010, capturing his 67th and final five-wicket haul during his last match. (Full article...)
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 October 2019[update] only 48 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at the international level. A right-arm off break bowler, Harbhajan Singh has taken 417 wickets in Test, 269 wickets in One Day International (ODI) and 25 wickets in Twenty20 International (T20I) matches for India. He has the second-highest number of five-wicket hauls (28) in international cricket—next to Anil Kumble—among Indian cricketers and the eleventh among overall.
Harbhajan made his Test debut against Australia in 1998. His first five-wicket haul came against the same team during the second Test of the 2000–01 series at Eden Gardens. His six wickets for 73 runs in the second innings of the match raised his tally to thirteen wickets in the match; his performance was instrumental in India winning the match after being forced to follow-on. In the third Test of the series, he claimed fifteen wickets for 217 runs, including career-best figures of eight wickets for 84 runs. The majority of his five-wicket hauls in Test cricket—seven out of his twenty-five—have come against Australia. (Full article...)
Hong Kong gained ODI status in its own right following the 2014 World Cup Qualifier, but had previously been accorded ODI status twice on a temporary basis, when it participated in the Asia Cup. The team's first ODI came against Bangladesh in the 2004 Asia Cup, with the team then playing one further match in that competition, against Pakistan. At the 2008 Asia Cup, Hong Kong again played two matches, against Pakistan and India, although it lost heavily in all matches played. After gaining full ODI status in 2014, the team's first matches in that format came in the 2014 ACC Premier League tournament, against Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Hong Kong did not win an ODI until its tenth match, in November 2015, when it defeated the UAE by 89 runs as part of the World Cricket League Championship. (Full article...)
1968 - England win the fifth and final Test of The Ashes series to square the rubber with six minutes to spare after a final day in which The Oval is flooded by a lunchtime storm. Mopping up by staff and spectators enables play to resume with 75 minutes left and five wickets to get. Derek Underwood took four of them to finish with seven for 50.
1973 - Gary Sobers takes six catches at Lord's, a record for a non-wicketkeeper in a Test
1979 - Mike Procter hits six consecutive sixes off Somerset's Dennis Breakwell at Taunton.
The following are images from various cricket-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1In 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 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 3Afghan 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 5Photograph of Miss Lily Poulett-Harris, founding mother of women's cricket in Australia. (from History of women's 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 7New articles of the game of cricket, 25 February 1774 (from Laws of Cricket)
Image 9A 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 10Broadhalfpenny Down, the location of the first First Class match in 1772 is still played on today (from History of cricket)
Image 13Plaquita, 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 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)
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.