66-585: The Bicentennial Test was a single Test cricket match played between Australia and England at the Sydney Cricket Ground in celebration of the bicentenary of permanent colonial settlement in Australia. The match took place from 29 January to 2 February 1988 and was drawn. It did not count as part of The Ashes series, in the same way as the Centenary Tests in 1977 and 1980 also were excluded from
132-457: A bowl-out is sometimes used as a tiebreaker to decide a result that would otherwise be a tie. In such cases, the result of the match is recorded in official statistics as Tie+W or Tie+L to indicate matches tied and then won or lost in the tiebreaker. The result of a match is a "draw" if a match is concluded, as defined in Law 16, without being a win or a tie. A draw therefore occurs when one or both of
198-449: A World XI in 1971–72, and the commercial " Supertests " organised by Kerry Packer as part of his World Series Cricket enterprise played between "WSC Australia", "WSC World XI" and "WSC West Indies" from 1977 to 1979, have never been regarded as official Test matches as of 2021. A standard day of Test cricket consists of three sessions of two hours each, the break between sessions being 40 minutes for lunch and 20 minutes for tea. However,
264-454: A coalition side). Despite this principle, in 2005, the ICC ruled that the six-day Super Series match that took place that October between Australia and a World XI was an official Test match: some cricket writers and statisticians, including Bill Frindall , have ignored the ICC's ruling and exclude this match from their records. The series of "Test matches" played in Australia between Australia and
330-479: A game is not included in official statistical records . Before July 2004, the same result occurred if the toss had been taken but the match was abandoned before a ball was bowled. Since 2004, the International Cricket Council for International matches has decreed that a match where the toss takes place but which is abandoned without a ball being bowled is either a draw or (for a limited-overs match)
396-423: A game of cricket may be a "win" for one of the two teams playing, or a "tie". In the case of a limited overs game , the game can also end with "no result" if the game can't be finished on time (usually due to weather or bad light), and in other forms of cricket, a "draw" may be possible. Which of these results applies, and how the result is expressed, is governed by Law 16 of the laws of cricket . The result of
462-469: A league competition for Test cricket was held in 2019–2021 . Arranged as a bilateral series in various countries with one team as host and another team as visitor. The length of each series varies between 2 and 5 matches. Ireland, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan are not taking part in this competition, but instead play a program of Test matches with each other and other teams during the same period. Supporters of Test cricket, including Adam Gilchrist , argue that it
528-400: A match is a "win" when one side scores more runs than the opposing side and all the innings of the team that has fewer runs have been completed . The side scoring more runs has "won" the game, and the side scoring fewer has "lost". If the match ends without all the innings being completed, the result may be a draw or no result. The result of a match is a "tie" when the scores are equal at
594-554: A match scheduled for six days against a World XI, which the ICC sanctioned as an official Test match, though the match reached a conclusion on the fourth day. In October 2017, the ICC approved a request for a four-day Test match, between South Africa and Zimbabwe , which started on 26 December 2017 and ended on the second day, 27 December. The ICC trialed the four-day Test format until the 2019 Cricket World Cup . In December 2019, Cricket Australia were considering playing four-day Tests, subject to consensus with other Test nations. Later
660-411: A new ball generally favours faster bowlers who can make it bounce more variably. The roughened, softer surface of an old ball can be more conducive to spin bowlers, or those using reverse swing . The captain may delay the decision to take the new ball if he wishes to continue with his spinners (because the pitch favours spin). After a new ball has been taken, should an innings last a further 80 overs, then
726-404: A no result. Such games are now included in statistical records, counting, for example, as a game played by the teams and nominated players. The umpires also have the power to "award" a match to one side where the other side either concedes defeat or in the opinion of the umpires refuses to play, in which case the game can be deemed to have been forfeited by the side in question. (Note that this
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#1732881520142792-568: A pattern of international cricket, The Ashes was established as a competition during the Australian tour of England in 1882. A surprise victory for Australia inspired a mock obituary of English cricket to be published in the Sporting Times the following day: the phrase "The body shall be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia" prompted the subsequent creation of the Ashes urn. The series of 1884–85
858-473: A result is possible and can be calculated using the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method or other competition rules. A match can be "abandoned" or "cancelled" if weather or other conditions prevent any play from occurring at all. If the bowler of the first over of play has not started his/her runup when the officials decide to abandon play then the result is termed 'abandoned without a ball being bowled'. Such
924-475: A subset of first-class cricket . Performances in first-class matches count towards only the first-class statistical record, but performances in Test matches count towards both the Test statistics and the first-class statistics. Statisticians have developed criteria to determine which matches count as Tests if they were played before the formal definition of Test status. There have been exceptional circumstances including
990-505: Is "the ultimate test of a player's and team's ability". However, it has been suggested that Test cricket may be losing popularity, particularly in the face of competition from short form cricket . Day/night Test matches have been suggested as one way to address this problem. The suggested fall in popularity has been disputed, with a Marylebone Cricket Club poll showing that 86% of all cricket fans support Test cricket, more than any other format. Result (cricket) The result in
1056-467: Is a format of the sport of cricket , considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of international cricket where two teams in white clothing, each representing a country, compete over a match that can last up to five days. It consists of four innings (two per team), maximum of ninety overs are scheduled to be bowled per day making it
1122-462: Is not the same as the (voluntary) forfeiture of an innings under Law 15.) This power is very rarely used. Before this rule was introduced there had been cases in the international arena where one team has refused to play, or deliberately stopped playing for a while. One notable incident was when Sri Lanka temporarily stopped play during a match in January 1999 against England when Muttiah Muralitharan
1188-425: Is played in innings (the word denotes both the singular and the plural). In each innings, one team bats and the other bowls (or fields ). Ordinarily four innings are played in a Test match, and each team bats twice and bowls twice. Before the start of play on the first day, the two team captains and the match referee toss a coin ; the captain who wins the toss decides whether his team will bat or bowl first. In
1254-430: Is reversed: Team A will bat in the fourth innings. It is rare for a team forced to follow-on to win the match. In Test cricket it has only happened four times, although over 285 follow-ons have been enforced. Australia was the losing team on three occasions, having lost twice to England, in 1894 and in 1981, and once to India in 2001. Most recently, on February 24, 2023, England lost to New Zealand by one run after enforcing
1320-490: Is said to have "won by an innings and five runs". If the match is decided by one side conceding defeat or refusing to play, the result shall be stated as "Match Conceded" or "Match Awarded". If a match is unfinished when time expires, the result is a "draw" (this does not apply to limited overs cricket, where this is considered to be "no result"). If all innings of both teams are completed (either because all batsmen have been dismissed or one/more innings are completed by way of
1386-401: Is the one that scores more runs in their two innings. A team's innings ends in one of the following ways: If, at the completion of Team B's first innings, Team A leads by at least 200 runs, the captain of Team A may (but is not required to) order Team B to have their second innings next. This is called enforcing the follow-on . In this case, the usual order of the third and fourth innings
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#17328815201421452-460: Is when umpires Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove awarded England the Fourth Test against Pakistan on 20 August 2006 after Pakistan refused to take the field at the scheduled time after tea on the fourth day. This was because Hair alleged that Pakistani bowlers tampered with the ball. He did not name a player involved in the incident. Later during the ICC general body meeting in 2008, the result
1518-536: The Asian Test Championship , an event held in 1998–99 and 2001–02. The number of matches in Test series has varied from one to seven. Up until the early 1990s, Test series between international teams were organised between the two national cricket organisations with umpires provided by the home team. With the entry of more countries into Test cricket, and a wish by the ICC to maintain public interest in Tests in
1584-642: The French Revolution and the American Civil War . The earliest international cricket match was between the United States and Canada , on 24 and 26 September 1844 (bad weather prevented play on the 25th). Overseas tours by national English teams began in 1859 with visits to North America, Australia and New Zealand. The 1868 Australian Aboriginals were the first organised overseas team to tour England. Two rival English tours of Australia were proposed in
1650-504: The constituent countries of England and Wales , the West Indies is a combined team from fifteen Caribbean nations and territories, and Ireland represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland . Following the D'Oliveira affair in 1969, South Africa was suspended from all forms of cricket from 1970 until the end of the apartheid regime in 1991 . Zimbabwe's Test status
1716-418: The early days of Test cricket, matches were played for three or four days. England hosted Ireland at Lord's on 1st June 2023 for a four-day test. Four-day Test matches were last played in 1973, between New Zealand and Pakistan . Until the 1980s, it was usual to include a 'rest day,' often a Sunday. There have also been ' Timeless Tests ', which have no predetermined maximum time. In 2005, Australia played
1782-578: The 1890s, but many international matches since 1877 have been retrospectively awarded Test status. The first such match took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in March 1877 between teams which were then known as a Combined Australian XI and James Lillywhite 's XI, the latter a team of visiting English professionals. Matches between Australia and England were first called "test matches" in 1892. The first definitive list of retrospective Tests
1848-469: The Adelaide Sunday Mail in 1912. Test matches are the highest level of cricket, played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council . As of June 2017 , twelve national teams have Test status, the most recently promoted being Afghanistan and Ireland on 22 June 2017. Test status is conferred upon a country or group of countries by
1914-681: The Ashes lists. The match was played in the middle of an England tour to New Zealand , where the team later played three Test matches, all of them also drawn. In late 1987, the England team had toured Pakistan , and Australia had hosted Tests and One Day Internationals against New Zealand. Australia also hosted a single test against the Sri Lanka after the Bicentennial test in Perth in February 1988. Following
1980-534: The Game revived the term "test match" and freely applied it to the three international matches which had just been played in Australia by Lord Sheffield's XI , starting with the match at the MCG which was billed as Lord Sheffield's Team v Combined Australia. The report began: "There was no little appropriateness in fixing the first of the three great test matches for January 1". The first list of matches considered to be "Tests"
2046-402: The ICC, with its inaugural season starting in 2019 . In line with the ICC's goal of having one pinnacle tournament for each of the three formats of international cricket, it is the premier championship for Test cricket. Teams designated as "England" or "All England" began to play in the 18th century, but these teams were not truly representative. Early international cricket was disrupted by
Bicentennial Test - Misplaced Pages Continue
2112-485: The ICC. There are currently twelve men's teams that have been granted this status: international teams that do not have Test status can play first-class cricket in the ICC Intercontinental Cup , under conditions which are similar to Tests. The teams with Test status (with the date of each team's Test debut) are: Nine of these teams represent independent sovereign nations: the England cricket team represents
2178-419: The big name players of recent years, such as Graham Gooch , David Gower , Allan Lamb , and Ian Botham . The team was, in batting order: Australia were captained by Allan Border . The team, in batting order, was: England won the toss and batted. Broad shared stands of 93 with Moxon, who made 40, and 99 with Robinson, who made 43, on his way to a century on the first day. Wickets fell more steadily across
2244-475: The captain will have the option to take another new ball. A Test match will produce a result by means of one of six scenarios: Traditionally cricketers play in all-white kit. Unlike in limited overs cricket , this remains the case in Test cricket, as mandated by the ICC Clothing and Equipment Regulations. Test cricket is almost always played as a series of matches between two countries, with all matches in
2310-546: The case of rain playing a factor, this is often known as the match being "washed out". The result is effectively the same as a draw. Limited overs cricket formats require that each team has to have the opportunity bat for a minimum number of overs in order for a result to be possible: 20 overs in One Day International cricket and five overs in Twenty20 cricket. If each team is able to face at least this number of overs,
2376-448: The conclusion of play, but only if the side batting last has completed its innings (i.e. all innings are completed, or, in limited-overs cricket , the set number of overs has been played or play is terminally stopped by weather or bad light). This is unusual in Test cricket : only two tied Tests have ever occurred. In some forms of one-day cricket , such as Twenty20 , a Super Over or
2442-441: The early months of 1877, with James Lillywhite campaigning for a professional tour and Fred Grace for an amateur one. Grace's tour fell through and it was Lillywhite's team that toured New Zealand and Australia in 1876–77. Two matches against a combined Australian XI were later classified as the first official Test matches. The first match was won by Australia, by 45 runs and the second by England. After reciprocal tours established
2508-880: The face of the popularity of One Day International cricket , a rotation system was introduced that sees all ten Test teams playing each other over a six-year cycle, and an official ranking system (with a trophy held by the highest-ranked team). In this system, umpires are provided by the ICC. An elite panel of eleven umpires was maintained since 2002, and the panel is supplemented by an additional International Panel that includes three umpires named by each Test-playing country. The elite umpires officiate almost all Test matches, though usually not Tests involving their home country. Several pairs of Test teams have established perpetual trophies which are competed for whenever teams play each other in Test series. The current ones are: The twelve Test-playing nations are currently ranked as follows: After years of delays since proposals began in 2009,
2574-425: The follow-on, though chose not to. This is similar to four-day first-class cricket, where the follow-on can be enforced if the difference is 150 runs or more. If the Test is two days or fewer then the "follow-on" value is 100 runs. After 80 overs, the captain of the bowling side may take a new ball , although this is not required. The captain will usually take the new ball: being harder and smoother than an old ball,
2640-494: The follow-on. If the whole of the first day's play of a Test match has been lost because of bad weather or other reasons like bad light, then Team A may enforce the follow-on if Team B's first innings total is 150 or more fewer than Team A's. During the 2nd Test between England and New Zealand at Headingley in 2013, England batted first after the first day was lost because of rain. New Zealand, batting second, scored 180 runs fewer than England, meaning England could have enforced
2706-424: The following scenarios, the team that bats first is referred to as Team A and their opponents as Team B . Usually the teams will alternate at the completion of each innings. Thus, Team A will bat (and Team B will bowl) until its innings ends, and then Team B will bat and Team A will bowl. When Team B's innings ends, Team A begin their second innings, and this is followed by Team B's second innings. The winning team
Bicentennial Test - Misplaced Pages Continue
2772-405: The game to continue. Sri Lanka were well ahead of India at the time. Law 16 allows a team to concede a match. This seldom happens, but it covers the situation where the scoreboard has in good faith displayed an incorrect score which is accepted by the "losing" team, who leave the field, thereby conceding the match to the opposition. The result of a cricket match is stated in several ways. If
2838-488: The interval may be delayed until either 30 minutes has elapsed or the team is all out ; the final session may be extended by up to 30 minutes if 90 or more overs have not been bowled in that day's play (subject to any reduction for adverse weather); the final session may be extended by 30 minutes (except on the 5th day) if the umpires believe the result can be decided within that time. Today, Test matches are scheduled to be played across five consecutive days. However, in
2904-475: The match. They were helped by the loss of more play to bad light (when Gatting recalled fast bowler Dilley to the attack), injuries to both Dilley and Foster and lack of penetration among the other England bowlers. The match was watched by 103,831 people, well below the forecast figure. Test cricket First-class cricket One Day International Limited overs (domestic) Twenty20 International Twenty20 (domestic) Other forms Test Cricket
2970-508: The recent match at the Association Ground, Sydney played 14–20 December 1894. All 39 were retrospectively recognised as Test matches, as was the unlisted 1890 Old Trafford match that was abandoned without a ball being bowled. No South African matches were included in Moody's list but three against England were also given retrospective Test status. Moody became a newspaper editor and founded
3036-609: The result shall be stated as a win to that side by penalty runs. In a two-innings match, if the number of runs scored in its first innings by the side due to bat last is greater than the total runs scored by the opposition in both its innings, the result is stated as a win by an innings and number of runs short. Here "due to bat last" includes a team who batted first, but forced their opponent to follow-on (bat consecutive innings). If Team A bat first and make 200 runs in their first innings, Team B make 300 runs in their first innings, and Team A only make 95 runs in their second innings, Team B
3102-678: The same month, the ICC considered the possibility of making four-day Test matches mandatory for the ICC World Test Championship from 2023. There have been attempts by the ICC, the sport's governing body, to introduce day-night Test matches . In 2012, the International Cricket Council passed playing conditions that allowed for the staging of day-night Test matches. The first day-night Test took place during New Zealand's tour to Australia in November 2015. Test cricket
3168-495: The second day, including Broad for 139. Broad reacted angrily to his dismissal, and flattened the leg stump with his bat as he departed: he was fined the maximum permitted (£500) by the tour manager. England's final total of 425 contained no other scores of more than 50: the next highest after Broad was French with 47. On the third day, Australia batted poorly and lost wickets regularly to shots more suited to one-day cricket. Jones made 56, but when bad light ended play two hours early,
3234-400: The series taking place in the same country (the host). Often there is a perpetual trophy that is awarded to the winner, the most famous of which is the Ashes contested between England and Australia. There have been two exceptions to the bilateral nature of Test cricket: the 1912 Triangular Tournament , a three-way competition between England, Australia and South Africa (hosted by England), and
3300-404: The side batting last wins the match without losing all its wickets , the result shall be stated as a win by the number of wickets still then to fall. For example, in a single-innings match, if Team A bat first and make 200 runs, then Team B make 201 after losing four wickets out of ten, Team B is said to have "won by six wickets", regardless of how many batsmen Team A lost during their innings. If
3366-410: The side fielding last wins the match, the result shall be stated as a win by runs. For instance, if Team A bat first and make 200 runs, but Team B make only 192, Team A is said to have "won by eight runs". If the side batting last has lost all its wickets, but as the result of an award of 5 penalty runs at the end of the match has scored a total of runs in excess of the total scored by the opposing side,
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#17328815201423432-461: The side was 164 for seven wickets, 62 runs short of the follow-on. In tense cricket on the fourth morning, they failed to reach that figure by 12 runs, and Gatting enforced the follow-on. With the pitch getting slower and easier, Marsh and Boon put up a first-wicket partnership of 162 and after Marsh went for 56, Boon batted on and on across the final day, eventually reaching 184 not out, his then-highest Test score, as Australia got to 328 for two to save
3498-468: The simultaneous England touring sides of 1891–92 ( in Australia and South Africa ) and 1929–30 ( in the West Indies and New Zealand ), all of whose international matches are deemed to have Test status. In 1970, a series of five "Test matches" was played in England between England and a Rest of the World XI: these matches, originally scheduled between England and South Africa, were amended after South Africa
3564-427: The sport with the longest playing time. A team wins the match by outscoring the opposition in the batting or bowl out in bowling , otherwise the match ends in a draw . It is contested by 12 teams which are the full-members of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The term "test match" was originally coined in 1861–62 but in a different context. Test cricket did not become an officially recognised format until
3630-426: The teams have not completed their innings by the scheduled end of play. In matches where the number of overs is not limited, therefore, a team unable to win may be able to 'save the draw' by either avoiding being all-out if they are batting (i.e. by having two or more batsmen left at the end of play who are ' not out '), or, if bowling, by slowing down the scoring of the batting team. The match is then drawn regardless of
3696-427: The test, a one-day international was also played as part of the bicentennial celebrations, which Australia won. Sydney's reputation for favouring spin bowling led both sides to pick two specialist spin bowlers and to favour medium-pace or fast-medium bowling over out-and-out speed. England were captained by Mike Gatting , fresh from his finger-wagging confrontation with umpire Shakoor Rana , and lacked several of
3762-399: The times of sessions and intervals may be altered in certain circumstances: if bad weather or a change of innings occurs close to a scheduled break, the break may be taken immediately; if there has been a loss of playing time, for example because of bad weather, the session times may be adjusted to make up the lost time; if the batting side is nine wickets down at the scheduled tea break, then
3828-434: The total of runs accumulated by either side. Some league competitions allow for a "winning draw" (and therefore also a "losing draw"), allocating more points to one of the teams based on factors such as run rates or overall runs scored. The official result is still a draw. A "no result" is recorded if a limited over match which has been started cannot be completed, which usually occurs if weather or light interrupts play. In
3894-453: Was called for throwing by umpire Ross Emerson (Muralitharan having previously been called for throwing by another umpire Darrell Hair in previous fixtures). A similar case occurred in the Sydney Test in 1971, when umpires came close to awarding the match to Australia after England players withdrew during crowd disturbances. The only time that a Test match has been won in this manner
3960-482: Was changed to "match drawn", and then in February 2009 changed back to an England win. In one-day international cricket, on 3 November 1978, Pakistan were awarded the third ODI against India when India conceded the match in protest against short-pitched bowling. On 13 March 1996, in a World Cup semi-final held in India, Sri Lanka were awarded the match against India by default when crowd disturbances made it impossible for
4026-565: Was coined during the English tour of Australia in 1861–62 but in a different context. It meant that the English team was testing itself against each of the Australian colonies. Following Lillywhite's tour, Australian teams reciprocated, beginning with Dave Gregory's team in 1878 . By the beginning of 1892, eight English teams had visited Australia and seven Australian teams had visited England. In its issue of 25 February 1892, Cricket: A Weekly Record of
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#17328815201424092-487: Was conceived and published by South Australian journalist Clarence P. Moody in his 1894 book, Australian Cricket and Cricketers, 1856 to 1893–94 . Moody's proposal was well received by Charles W. Alcock , editor of Cricket in England and his list of 39 matches was reproduced in the 28 December 1894 issue as part of an article entitled "The First Test Match". The list begins with the MCG match played 15–17 March 1877 and ends with
4158-433: Was suspended from international cricket due to their government's apartheid policies. Although initially given Test status and included as Test matches in some record books, including Wisden Cricketers' Almanack , this was later withdrawn, and a principle was established that official Test matches can only be between nations (the geographically and demographically small countries of the West Indies have, since 1928, fielded
4224-408: Was the first to be held over five matches: England player Alfred Shaw , writing in 1901, considered the side to be "the best ever to have left England". South Africa became the third team to play Test cricket in 1888–89, when they hosted a tour by an under-strength England side. Australia, England and South Africa were the only countries playing Test cricket before World War I . The term "test match"
4290-546: Was voluntarily suspended in 2006 because of very poor performances, but its Test status was reinstated in August 2011. The ICC has made several proposals to reform the system of granting Test status, including having two tiers with promotion and relegation , or a play-off between the winners of the ICC Intercontinental Cup and the team with the lowest Test ranking . These proposals have not been successful as of 2024. For statistical purposes , Tests are considered to be
4356-476: Was written by South Australian journalist Clarence P. Moody two years later and, by the end of the century, had gained acceptance. Day/night Tests were permitted by the ICC in 2012 and the first day/night match was between Australia and New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval in November 2015. The ICC World Test Championship is the international championship of Test cricket. It is a league competition run by
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