The name "Test" may have arisen from the idea that the matches
are a "test of strength and competency" between the sides involved.
It seems to have been used first to describe an English team that
toured Australia in 1861-62, although those matches are not
considered Test matches today. The first officially recognized Test
match commenced on the 15 March 1877, contested by England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where
Australia won by 45 runs. England won the second ever match (also
at the MCG) by four wickets, thus drawing the series
1-1.[1] This was not the
first ever international
cricket match however, which was played between Canada and the United States, on
the 24th and 25th of September 1844.
cricket match is played between two teams (or sides) of eleven
players each on a field of variable size and shape. The
ground is grassy and is prepared by groundsmen whose jobs include
fertilising, mowing, rolling and levelling the surface. Field
diameters of 140-160 yards (130-150 m) are usual. The perimeter of
the field is known as the boundary and this is sometimes painted and
sometimes marked by a rope that encircles the outer edge of the
field. The field may be round, square or oval - one of cricket's
most famous venues is called The
Oval.
The objective of each team is to score more "runs" than the other team and to completely "dismiss" the other team. In one form of cricket, winning the game is achieved by scoring the most runs, even if the opposition has not been completely dismissed. In another form, it is necessary to score the most runs and dismiss the opposition in order to win the match, which would otherwise be drawn.
Before play commences, the two team captains toss a coin to decide which team shall bat or bowl first. The captain who wins the toss makes his decision on the basis of tactical considerations which may include the current and expected pitch and weather conditions.
The key action takes place in a specially prepared area of the field (generally in the centre) that is called the "pitch". At either end of the pitch, 22 yards (20 m) apart, are placed the "wickets". These serve as a target for the "bowling" aka "fielding" side and are defended by the "batting" side which seeks to accumulate runs. Basically, a run is scored when the "batsman" has literally run the length of the pitch after hitting the ball with his bat, although as explained below there are many ways of scoring runs.[6] If the batsmen are not attempting to score any more runs, the ball is "dead" and is returned to the bowler to be bowled again.[7]
The bowling side seeks to dismiss the batsmen by various means [8] until the batting side is "all out", whereupon the side that was bowling takes its turn to bat and the side that was batting must "take the field".[9]
In professional matches, there are 15 people on the field while a match is in play. Two of these are the "umpires" who regulate all on-field activity. Two are the batsmen, one of whom is the "striker" as he is facing the bowling; the other is called the "non-striker". The roles of the batsmen are interchangeable as runs are scored and "overs" are completed. The fielding side has all 11 players on the field together. One of them is the "bowler", another is the "wicketkeeper" and the other nine are called "fielders". The wicketkeeper (or keeper) is nearly always a specialist but any of the fielders can be called upon to bowl.
The pitch is 22 yards (20 m) long [10] between the wickets and is 10 feet (3.0 m) wide. It is a flat surface and has very short grass that tends to be worn away as the game progresses. The "condition" of the pitch has a significant bearing on the match and team tactics are always determined with the state of the pitch, both current and anticipated, as a deciding factor.
Each wicket consists of three wooden stumps placed in a straight line and surmounted by two wooden crosspieces called bails; the total height of the wicket including bails is 28.5 inches (720 mm) and the combined width of the three stumps is 9 inches (230 mm).
Four lines, known as creases, are painted onto the pitch around the wicket areas to define the batsman's "safe territory" and to determine the limit of the bowler's approach. These are called the "popping" (or batting) crease, the bowling crease and two "return" creases.
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". 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.
Off the field and in televised matches, there is often a third umpire who can make decisions on certain incidents with the aid of video evidence. The third umpire is mandatory under the playing conditions for Test matches and limited overs internationals played between two ICC full members. These matches also have a match referee whose job is to ensure that play is within the Laws of cricket and the spirit of the game.
Off the field, the match details including runs and dismissals
are recorded by two official scorers, one
representing each team. The scorers are directed by the hand
signals of an umpire. For example, the umpire raises a forefinger
to signal that the batsman is out (has been dismissed); he raises
both arms above his head if the batsman has hit the ball for six
runs. The scorers are required by the Laws of cricket to record all
runs scored, wickets taken and overs bowled. In practice, they
accumulate much additional data such as bowling analyses and run
rates
Innings
The innings (ending with 's' in both singular and plural form) is the term used for the collective performance of the batting side.[11] In theory, all eleven members of the batting side take a turn to bat but, for various reasons, an "innings" can end before they all do so (see below).
Depending on the type of match being played, each team has one or two innings apiece. The term "innings" is also sometimes used to describe an individual batsman's contribution ("he played a fine innings" etc).
The main aim of the bowler, supported by his fielders, is to dismiss the batsman. A batsman when dismissed is said to be "out" and that means he must leave the field of play and be replaced by the next batsman on his team. When ten batsmen have been dismissed (i.e., are out), then the whole team is dismissed and the innings is over. The last batsman, the one who has not been dismissed, is not allowed to continue alone as there must always be two batsmen "in". This batsman is termed "not out".
If an innings should end before ten batsmen have been dismissed, there are two "not out" batsmen. An innings can end early for three reasons: because the batting side's captain has chosen to "declare" the innings closed (which is a tactical decision), or because the batting side has achieved its target and won the game, or because the game has ended prematurely due to bad weather or running out of time. In limited overs cricket, there might be two batsmen still "in" when the last of the allotted overs has been bowled.
Overs
The bowler bowls the ball in sets of six deliveries (or "balls") and each set of six balls is called an over. This name came about because the umpire calls "Over!" when six balls have been bowled. At this point, another bowler is deployed at the other end and the fielding side changes ends. A bowler cannot bowl two successive overs, although a bowler can bowl unchanged at the same end for several overs. The batsmen do not change ends and so the one who was non-striker is now the striker and vice-versa. The umpires also change positions so that the one who was at square leg now stands behind the wicket at the non-striker's end and vice-versa.
Innings closed
An innings is closed when:
- Ten of the eleven batsmen are out (have been dismissed); in this case, the team is said to be "all out"
- The team has only one batsman left who can bat, one or more of the remaining players being unavailable owing to injury, illness or absence; again, the team is said to be "all out"
- The team batting last reaches the score required to win the match
- The predetermined number of overs has been bowled (in a one-day match only, most commonly 50 overs; or 20 in Twenty20)
- A captain declares his team's innings closed while at least two of his batsmen are not out (this does not apply in one-day limited over matches)
Results
If the team that bats last is all out having scored fewer runs than their opponents, the team is said to have "lost by n runs" (where n is the difference between the number of runs scored by the teams). If the team that bats last scores enough runs to win, it is said to have "won by n wickets", where n is the number of wickets left to fall. For instance a team that passes its opponents' score having only lost six wickets would have won "by four wickets".
In a two-innings-a-side match, one team's combined first and second innings total may be less than the other side's first innings total. The team with the greater score is then said to have won by an innings and n runs, and does not need to bat again: n is the difference between the two teams' aggregate scores.
If the team batting last is all out, and both sides have scored the same number of runs, then the match is a tie; this result is quite rare in matches of two innings a side. In the traditional form of the game, if the time allotted for the match expires before either side can win, then the game is declared a draw.
If the match has only a single innings per side, then a maximum number of deliveries for each innings is often imposed. Such a match is called a "limited overs" or "one-day" match, and the side scoring more runs wins regardless of the number of wickets lost, so that a draw cannot occur. If this kind of match is temporarily interrupted by bad weather, then a complex mathematical formula, known as the Duckworth-Lewis method after its developers, is often used to recalculate a new target score. A one-day match can also be declared a "no-result" if fewer than a previously agreed number of overs have been bowled by either team, in circumstances that make normal resumption of play impossible; for example, wet weather.
