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.
Bosanquet played cricket for Eton College from 1891 to 1896, before gaining his Blue at Oriel College, Oxford. He was a moderately successful batsman who bowled at fast-medium pace for Oxford University between 1898 and 1900. As a student, he made several appearances for Middlesex and achieved a regular place in the county side as an amateur. While playing a tabletop game, Bosanquet devised a new technique for delivering a ball, later named the "googly", which he practised during his time at Oxford. He first used it in cricket matches around 1900, abandoning his faster style of bowling, but it was not until 1903, when he had a successful season with the ball, that his new delivery began to attract attention. Having gone on several minor overseas tours, Bosanquet was selected in 1903–04 for the fully representative Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) tour of Australia. During that tour, he made his Test debut for England and although he largely failed as a batsman, he performed well as a bowler and troubled all the opposing batsmen with his googly. (Full article...)
Abdul Qadir was a Pakistanicricketer who took 17 five-wicket hauls during his career in international 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, 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 leg spin bowler who represented his country between 1977 and 1994, Yahoo! Cricket wrote that Abdul Qadir "was a master of the leg-spin" and "mastered the googlies, the flippers, the leg-breaks and the topspins."
Abdul Qadir made his Test debut in 1977 against England at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. His first Test five-wicket haul came the following year against the same team in a match at the Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad. In March 1984 against the English at the Gaddafi Stadium, he took a five-wicket haul in both innings of a Test match for the first time. He repeated this feat only once more in his career, at the National Stadium, Karachi, against the same team, in December 1987. His career-best figures for an innings were 9 wickets for 56 runs against England at the Gaddafi Stadium, in November 1987. In Tests, Qadir was most successful against the English taking eight of his five-wicket hauls against them. He took ten or more wickets in a match on five occasions. Qadir claimed 15 five-wicket hauls in his Test career, and Pakistan never lost any of the games on such instances. (Full article...)
Shoaib Akhtar, a Pakistani former cricketer, took 16 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 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 fast bowler who represented his country from 1997 to 2011, BBC described Shoaib as "one of the fastest bowlers ever to play the game".
Shoaib made his Test debut in 1997 against the West Indies at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where he took two wickets in the first innings. His first Test five-wicket haul came the following year against South Africa, a match Pakistan won at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban. Shoaib took a pair of five-wicket hauls against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve, Wellington in December 2003. His career-best figures for an innings were 6 wickets for 11 runs against New Zealand at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, in May 2002. Shoaib took twelve five-wicket hauls in Test cricket and ten or more wickets per match twice in the format. (Full article...)
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Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 member clubs of the English County Championship, representing the historic county of Somerset. The club was established in August 1875 and has played first-class cricket since 1882, List A cricket since 1963, and Twenty20 cricket 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" has diminished since the 1980s. Somerset have played first class, List A, or Twenty20 matches at eighteen different grounds.
Somerset's first home first-class match was against Hampshire in 1882 at the County Ground, Taunton. This ground is the headquarters of the county club, and has hosted more Somerset matches than any other ground. It was originally known as the Taunton Athletic Ground, and featured a cycling/running track around the outside of the playing area which was later removed. Prior to the cessation of cricket during the First World War, Somerset only played at three other grounds; two in Bath, and Clarence Park in Weston-super-Mare. The Recreation Ground in Bath, the home ground of Bath Rugby, has been a regular setting for Somerset, hosting over 300 county matches. It is also Somerset's only venue other than the County Ground to have hosted a Twenty20 match. Clarence Park also frequently hosted Somerset matches until 1996, and has featured over 200 Somerset games. The next most frequently used ground is Morlands Athletic Ground in Glastonbury, where Somerset played 24 times between 1952 and 1978. (Full article...)
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A One Day International (ODI) is an international cricket match between two representative teams, each having ODI status, as determined by the International Cricket Council (ICC). An ODI differs from Test matches in that the number of overs per team is limited, and that each team has only one innings. As of September 2018[update], 41 players have represented the Hong Kong national team in ODIs, since its debut in 2004. Many of these players are of South Asian origin, a demographic which comprises only a small fraction of the overall population of Hong Kong.
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...)
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The Hyderabad Deccan Chargers (often abbreviated as DC) was a franchise cricket team based in Hyderabad, Telangana, that competed in the Indian Premier League (IPL) from 2008 to 2012. The team was owned by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited who won the bid for the Hyderabad franchise at US$107 million. VVS Laxman and Robin Singh were appointed as the captain and the coach for their first season in 2008. After finishing last in that season, the DC sacked their coach and removed their captain and replaced them with Darren Lehmann and Adam Gilchrist under whom they won their only IPL title in 2009, when they defeated the Royal Challengers Bangalore by six runs in the final. They reached the semi-finals again in 2010 but failed to reach past the group stages before the team was folded in 2012. They qualified for the Champions League Twenty20 only once, for the 2009 season, but failed to advance past the group stage. Lehmann remained as the coach for the DC but they were forced to replace Gilchrist with Kumar Sangakkara in 2011 after they lost former to the Kings XI Punjab in the 2011 auction. Sangakkara remained as the captain until the middle of the 2012 season before he was replaced by Cameron White following the poor performances. Sangakkara later returned as captain as the move did not yield the desired results for the Deccan Chargers.
On 15 September 2012, the Deccan Chargers' IPL contract was terminated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which was concerned about overdue payments to the players. The Hyderabad franchise was later acquired by the Sun TV Network for ₹85.05 crore (US$10 million) per year in a bid which also retained 20 players. (Full article...)
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These were the 10 squads picked to take part in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, the fourth instalment of the Champions Trophycricket tournament. The tournament was held in India from 7 October to 5 November 2006. Teams could name a preliminary squad of 30, but only 14-man squads were permitted for the actual tournament, and these had to be submitted by 7 September, one month before the start of the tournament.
Several of the squads were changed during or before the tournament due to injuries or suspensions; Pakistan changed their captains three times before the tournament had begun, and also sent home two players due to doping allegations. Both India and Zimbabwe had to replace a player during the tournament, which required the permission of the International Cricket Council's Technical Committee. (Full article...)
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Younis Khan (also spelled as Younus Khan) is a Pakistani cricketer and former captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He has scored centuries (100 or more runs in a single innings) in Test and One Day International (ODI) matches on thirty-four and seven occasions respectively. He has played 115 Test and 265 ODI matches for Pakistan, scoring 10000+ and 7,249 runs respectively. He was described by the BBC as "a dependable member of the strong Pakistan middle order" and the "most graceful batsman in the side". Former Australian captain Michael Clarke said about him that he was "one of the gentlemen of our game, class player" and "a very good player".
The PCA Player of the Year Awards are a set of annual cricket awards. Awards are given for the Men's Player of the Year, Women's Player of the Year, Men's Young Player of the Year and Women's Young Player of the Year, presented to the player who is adjudged to have been the best of the year in their respective category. The winner is chosen by a vote amongst the members of the players' trade union, the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA).
The Men's Player of the Year award was first awarded in 1970, whilst the Men's Young Player of the Year award began in 1990. An award named the Women's Player of the Summer was first awarded in 2014, presented to a member of the England women's cricket team who was adjudged to have been the best during that summer. However, in 2021, the awarded was opened up to domestic players, and named the Women's Player of the Year. Finally, the Women's Young Player of the Year award was established in 2021. (Full article...)
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Dennis Lillee is a former Australiancricketer who took 24 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 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 fast bowler who represented the Australian cricket team between 1971 and 1984, Lillee was described by one writer as "the heart of Australia['s] bowling attack for more than a decade" and was rated "the outstanding fast bowler of his generation" by the BBC. He was the first bowler to capture 350 Test wickets and held the record for almost two years before Ian Botham surpassed the feat. Lillee was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1973 and the South African Cricket (Annual) Cricketer of the Year three years later. The International Cricket Council (ICC) inducted him into its Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.
Lillee made his Test debut during the sixth Test of the 1970–71 Ashes series where he claimed a five-wicket haul on debut. He was subsequently selected for the 1972 tour of England and took a pair of five-wicket hauls for the first time in a single match during the final Test of the same series. He ended the series with 31 wickets at an average of 17.67. He went on to claim five-wicket hauls in both innings of a Test match on three more occasions. Lillee's career-best figures for an innings were 7 wickets for 83 runs against the West Indies in 1981. He was most successful against England with eleven five-wicket hauls against them, and was most effective at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where he took seven of his twenty three five-wicket hauls. When Lillee retired from Test cricket in 1984, he had taken ten or more wickets in a match on seven occasions. (Full article...)
Warner made his Test debut against New Zealand in December 2011 and scored his first century (123 not out) in the second match of the series held at the Bellerive Oval. He carried the bat in the fourth innings of the match, which Australia lost by seven runs. He followed that with a 69-ball century in the third match of the home series against India in January 2012. It was the joint-fourth fastest in terms of balls faced at the time. In January 2017, while playing against Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground, he became the fifth cricketer—and the first in Australia—to score a century before lunch on the first day of a Test match. His highest score of 335 not out was made against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval in November 2019. Warner is one of three batsmen to score centuries in both innings of a Test match on three occasions. In December 2022, he scored 200 in his hundredth Test match, becoming the second Australian to score a century in his hundredth Test, and the second overall to score a double century. Among all countries, Warner has scored the most Test centuries (six) against Pakistan. (Full article...)
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Since their first match in 2005, 111 players have represented Australia in Twenty20 Internationals. A Twenty20 International is an international cricket match between two representative teams, as determined by the International Cricket Council (ICC). A Twenty20 International is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket. The list is arranged in the order in which each player won his first Twenty20 cap. Where more than one player won his first Twenty20 cap in the same match, those players are listed alphabetically by surname.
Top order batsman and former Australian captainRicky Ponting holds several World Cup records. Playing in five tournaments between 1996 and 2011, he has played in more World Cup matches than any player with 46. He also holds the record for the most consecutive matches played. As a slip fielder, Ponting has also taken the most catches at the World Cup with 28. Captaining his side from 2003 to 2011, Ponting holds the World Cup record for the most matches played as captain with 29. India batsman Sachin Tendulkar has scored 2,278 runs making him the only player to score more than 2,000 runs at the World Cup. He has also scored the most World Cup half-centuries with 15 and shares the record with Pakistan's Javed Miandad for the most number of World Cup tournaments played with 6. (Full article...)
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William Gilbert Grace, commonly known as W. G. Grace, is generally considered one of the greatest cricketers of all time. His first-class cricket career spanned 44 seasons, from 1865 until 1908, during which time he claimed over 2,800 wickets and over 800 catches. Despite this, he is best known for his batting ability: possessing a "high backlift and willingness to play off both front and back foot", he stood apart from other batsmen of the time. He scored over 50,000 first-class runs, a feat achieved by only six other cricketers, and was the first cricketer to score 100 or more centuries.
Disputes regarding the first-class status of a number of matches in which W. G. Grace played have resulted in him having varying career statistics published. Of his centuries, 124 were scored in matches universally accepted as being first-class, these are the figures which are published on both Cricinfo and CricketArchive. A number of further matches are considered to be first-class by some sources; in these matches he scored two centuries: for the "Gentlemen to Canada Touring Team" against the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1873, and for Gloucestershire against Somerset in 1879. Grace, in his 1899 reminiscences, records both of these centuries among his tally of first-class centuries. In Wisden Cricketers' Almanack's first-class records section, he is listed as having scored 126 centuries, the eleventh most hundreds scored during a career. He retains this position with the lower total of 124, also appearing eleventh on Cricinfo's list. (Full article...)
Anniversaries...
On this day in cricket
Australia
2002 - Mark Waugh is dropped from Australia's squad for The Ashes series and announces his immediate retirement from international cricket
Image 4Plaquita, 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 5A 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 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 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 9 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 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 12Afghan 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)
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.