Test cricket

Test cricket is the highest standard of first-class cricket. A Test match is an international fixture between teams representing those countries that are Full Members of the ICC.

Although the term "Test match" was not coined until much later, Test cricket is deemed to have begun with two matches between Australia and England in the 1876–77 Australian season. Subsequently, eight other national teams have achieved Test status: South Africa (1889), West Indies (1928), New Zealand (1929), India (1932), Pakistan (1952), Sri Lanka (1982), Zimbabwe (1992) and Bangladesh (2000). Zimbabwe subsequently suspended its Test status in 2006 due to its inability to compete against other Test teams and has yet to resume playing Test cricket.
Welsh players are eligible to play for England, which is in effect an England and Wales team. The West Indies team comprises players from numerous states in the Caribbean, most notably Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands.

Limited overs

Standard limited overs cricket was introduced in England in the 1963 season in the form of a knockout cup contested by the first-class county clubs. In 1969, a national league competition was established. The concept was gradually introduced to the other major cricket countries and the first limited overs international was played in 1971. In 1975, the first Cricket World Cup took place in England. Limited overs cricket has seen various innovations including the use of multi-coloured kit and floodlit matches using a white ball.

A "one day match", named so because each match is scheduled for completion in a single day, is the most common form of limited overs cricket played on an international level. In practice, matches sometimes continue on a second day if they have been interrupted or postponed by bad weather. The main objective of a limited overs match is to produce a definite result and so a conventional draw is not possible, but matches can be undecided if the scores are tied or if bad weather prevents a result. Each team plays one innings only and faces a limited number of overs, usually a maximum of 50. The Cricket World Cup is held in one day format and the last World Cup in 2007 was won by Australia. The next World Cup will hosted by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in 2011.

Umpires and scorers

The game on the field is regulated by two umpires, one of whom stands behind the wicket at the bowler's end, the other in a position called "square leg", a position 15–20 metres to the side of the "on strike" batsman. When the bowler delivers the ball, the umpire at the wicket is between the bowler and the non-striker. The umpires confer if there is doubt about playing conditions and can postpone the match by taking the players off the field if necessary, for example rain or deterioration of the light.

History ICC

On 15 June 1909 representatives from England, Australia and South Africa met at Lord's and founded the Imperial Cricket Conference. Membership was confined to the governing bodies of cricket within the British Empire where Test cricket was played. India, New Zealand and West Indies were elected as Full Members in 1926, doubling the number of Test-playing nations to six. That year it was also agreed to make a change in membership, with election being for; "governing bodies of cricket in countries within the Empire to which cricket teams are sent, or which send teams to England." However the United States who met this criteria were not made members.After the formation of Pakistan in 1947, it was given Test status in 1952, becoming the seventh Test-playing nation. In May 1961 South Africa left the Commonwealth and therefore lost membership.

Location

From its formation the ICC had Lord's Cricket Ground as its home, and from 1993 had its offices in the "Clock Tower" building at the nursery end of the ground. The independent ICC was funded initially by commercial exploitation of the rights to the World Cup of one day international cricket. As not all Member countries had double-tax agreements with England, it was necessary to protect cricket's revenues by creating a company [ICC Development (International) Pty Ltd - known as IDI] outside the UK. This was established in Jan 1994 and was based in Monaco.
For the remainder of the nineties, the administration of IDI was a modest affair. But with the negotiation of a bundle of rights to all ICC events from 2001-2008, revenues available to International cricket and the ICC member countries rose substantially. This led to a growth in the number of commercial staff employed by IDI in Monaco. It also had the disadvantage that the Council's cricket administrators, who remained at Lord's, were separated from their commercial colleagues in Monaco. The Council decided to seek ways of bringing all of their staff together in one office whilst protecting their commercial income from tax.

Rules and regulation

The International Cricket Council overlooks playing conditions, bowling reviews, and other ICC regulations. Even though the ICC doesn't have copyright to the laws of cricket and only the MCC may change the laws, nowadays this would usually only be done after discussions with the game's global governing body, the ICC. The ICC also has a "Code of Conduct" to which teams and players in international matches are required to adhere. Where breaches of this code occur the ICC can apply sanctions, usually fines. In 2008 the ICC imposed 19 penalties on players.

Competitions and awards

The ICC organises various First-Class and One-Day cricket competitions:
First Class

ICC Test Championship (test league)

ICC Intercontinental Cup (tests for non test nations)

One Day

ICC ODI Championship (one-day league)

ICC Cricket World Cup (50 over tournament)

ICC World Twenty20 (twenty20 tournament)

ICC Champions Trophy (miniature version of the world cup)

ICC World Cricket League (league for associate & affiliate members)

ICC World Cup Qualifier (qualifier for the world cup)

The ICC has instituted the ICC Awards to recognise and honour the best international cricket players of the previous 12 months. The inaugural ICC Awards ceremony was held on 7 September 2004, in London.