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 (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 swaps. Runs are also scored when the ball reaches the boundary of the field or when the ball is bowled illegally.
Consistent performances in the County Championship helped Somerset remain challengers for the competition until the last few weeks of the season, but the batting-friendly pitch at their home ground, the County Ground, Taunton, meant that the county finished with too many draws to claim their first Championship title. Consistency was also key for Somerset's success in one-day cricket, where they remained unbeaten in the group stage of the Friends Provident Trophy, but were eliminated in the first knock-out round, and finished runners-up by one point in the NatWest Pro40. In the Twenty20 Cup, Somerset finished as losing finalists. This meant that they qualified for the Champions League Twenty20, where they progressed into the second group stage of the competition. They failed to win any matches in that phase of the competition, resulting in their elimination.
New Zealand (pictured in 2009) have been involved in ten Twenty20 Internationals tied matches. A Twenty20 International (T20I) is an international cricket match between two representative teams, each having T20I status, as determined by the International Cricket Council (ICC), and is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket. The first such match was played between Australia and New Zealand on 17 February 2005. A Twenty20 International can have three possible results: it can be won by one of the two teams, it could be tied, or it could be declared to have "no result". For a match to finish as a tie, both teams must have scored the same number of runs. The number of wickets lost is not considered. Although such matches are initially a tie, a tiebreak is usually played to determine a winner; prior to December 2008, this was a bowl-out, and since then it has been a Super Over.
The first tied T20I occurred in 2006, between New Zealand and the West Indies. Hosted at Eden Park in Auckland, it was the fifth T20I. The crowd had started to leave the stadium, disappointed with the result, when the bowl-out was announced; the 2007 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack reported that "suddenly the evening took a madcap turn." The next tie, involving India and Pakistan, happened during the group stages of the 2007 ICC World Twenty20. India won the resulting bowl-out, and were awarded two points, the equivalent of a win. In October 2008, the tie between Canada and Zimbabwe was the final international match to be decided by a bowl-out; Zimbabwe won 3–1. Two months later, New Zealand and the West Indies took part in the first Super Over in an international. The West Indies won the eliminator by scoring 25 runs in their extra over, compared to New Zealand's 15. (Full article...)
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Meg Lanning of Australia has scored the most centuries in WODIs with 15.
A women's One Day International (WODI) is an international cricket match between two teams, each having WODI status, as determined by the International Cricket Council (ICC). In a WODI match, the two teams play a single innings, each of which is restricted to a maximum of fifty overs. The first WODI matches were played as part of the Women's Cricket World Cup in 1973 held in England, two years after the first men's One Day International was contested between Australia and England in January 1971. A century is a score of one hundred or more runs by a batsman in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement. As of May 2026[update], 365 centuries have been scored by 122 different players from over 1,500 WODI matches.
The first two centuries in WODIs were scored as part of the opening round in the 1973 Women's World Cup. England's Lynne Thomas and Enid Bakewell both achieved the feat as part of their team's victory over the International XI. Thomas and Bakewell are two of only eight players to score a century during their WODI debut, the others being Nicole Bolton of Australia, India's Reshma Gandhi and Mithali Raj, Natthakan Chantam of Thailand, Zimbabwe's Mary-Anne Musonda, and United States' Chetna Pagydyala; Thomas, Bakewell, Chantam and Musonda's centuries all came in their teams' maiden WODIs. Raj and Gandhi centuries came in a match against Ireland in 1999 which saw Raj become the then youngest player to score a century, aged 16 years 205 days. This record stood for 22 years before it was broken by Ireland's Amy Hunter who scored hers on her 16th birthday against Zimbabwe in 2021. Raj and Gandhi's centuries are one of 53 occurrences where two or more centuries have been scored in a WODI. The oldest player to score a WODI century is New Zealand's Barbara Bevege who was aged 39 years and 48 days when she reached 101 against the International XI during the 1982 Women's World Cup. (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, losing both matches by big margins. At the 2008 Asia Cup, Hong Kong again played two matches, against Pakistan and India, and lost both matches heavily. 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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Statue of Hadlee
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 fewer than 54 bowlers have taken more than 15 five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers as October 2024. Richard Hadlee, a retired New Zealandcricketer, took 41 five-wicket hauls during his career in international cricket. A fast bowler who represented his country between 1973 and 1990, Hadlee was described by the BBC as "one of the greatest bowlers the world has seen". Hadlee was named by Wisden as one of their Cricketers of the Year in 1982. In 2009, the International Cricket Council (ICC) inducted him into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Hadlee was the first bowler to take 400 wickets in Test cricket.
Hadlee made his Test debut in 1973 against Pakistan at the Basin Reserve, Wellington. His first Test five-wicket haul came in 1976, against India in a match at the same venue which New Zealand won. In February 1980, he took his first pair of five-wicket hauls in a single match against the West Indies at the Carisbrook, Dunedin. By the end of his career, he had claimed five-wicket hauls in both innings of a match on five occasions. He went on to take ten or more wickets in a match on nine occasions. In Tests, Hadlee was most successful against Australia, with fourteen five-wicket hauls. His best bowling figures in an innings were 9 wickets for 52 runs against the same team at the Brisbane Cricket Ground, in November 1985. He followed up in the second innings of that match with 6 for 71 and achieved his best match figures of 15 for 123 to give New Zealand an innings win. (Full article...)
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Graeme Smith's five double centuries is a record for South Africa Graeme Smith is a retired South African cricketer who played international cricket between 2002 and 2014. In a career spanning 12 years, he scored centuries (100 or more runs in a single innings) on 27 and 10 occasions in Test and One Day International (ODI) matches respectively. As of October 2016, his tally of 37 international centuries places him fourth among his countrymen, behind Jacques Kallis (62), Hashim Amla (53) and AB de Villiers (45).
Smith made his Test and ODI debuts against Australiaduring the 2001–02 home series. His maiden century—200 against Bangladesh—came in October 2002. During South Africa's tour of England in 2003, he scored double centuries—277 at Edgbaston and 259 at Lord's—in consecutive Tests. Smith's performances in the season led to him being named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2004. His three centuries in consecutive Tests were instrumental in ensuring South Africa's series win against the West Indies in 2005. In Tests, Smith made centuries against all teams except India and Sri Lanka. He was most successful against England with seven centuries. With five double centuries he leads the list among South African cricketers as of May 2014. As of October 2015, Smith's four centuries in the fourth innings of a Test match is the second highest by any player, only behind Younus Khan, who has scored five centuries in the fourth innings of a Test. Of his 27 Test centuries, 25 came while captaining the side, and South Africa lost none of its matches on any such instance. (Full article...)
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Lasith Malinga has taken three five-wicket hauls, the most by any bowler in Asia Cup matches.
The Frank Worrell Trophy is awarded to the winner of the West Indies–Australia Test match series in cricket. The trophy is named after Frank Worrell who was the first black captain of the West Indies. It was first awarded at the end of the 1960–61 series in Australia, the first Test of which ended in a tie. The Australian Cricket Board of Control and Don Bradman commissioned former Test cricketer and professional jeweller Ernie McCormick to create a perpetual trophy following the tie. The trophy's design incorporated a ball used in the tied Test. As of 2025[update], Australia hold the trophy following the 3–0 series victory in the 2025 series. Australia also lead in overall wins, winning 16 of the 27 series, while the West Indies have won 8, the remaining 3 ending in draws (with the trophy being retained by the incumbents). Brian Lara is the most successful batsman in the history of the trophy, scoring 2,815 runs for the West Indies in 56 innings at an average of 52.12. He also holds the record for the highest score (277) which he made in the third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground during the 1992–93 series. West Indian fast bowler Courtney Walsh has taken the most wickets in the trophy, with 135 over 38 matches, at an average of 28.68, while Australia's Graham McKenzie has the best bowling figures of 8 wickets for 71 runs, achieved in the second Test of the 1968–69 series. Australian Mark Waugh has taken the most catches, with 45 in 28 matches, while West Indian Jeff Dujon is the most successful wicketkeeper, making 84 dismissals in 23 matches. (Full article...)
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David Gower at the SCG in his commentator avatar post retirement c.2007
Gower made his Test debut for England in June 1978 against Pakistan at Edgbaston, Birmingham. He achieved his first century in Test cricket later that year, scoring 111 runs against New Zealand at The Oval, London. The following summer, Gower scored his first double-century, remaining unbeaten on 200 off 279 deliveries, in a batting innings described as "effortless" by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. He did not pass a hundred again until 1981, when he scored 154 not out against the West Indies, his runs coming off 403 deliveries at a strike rate of 38.21 – his lowest when scoring a century. Across 1984 and 1985, Gower struck five centuries in Test cricket, and on each occasion he passed 150 runs. Three of these centuries were scored during the 1985 Ashes, in which Gower was named as Man of the Series. In the fifth match he reached his highest score in Test cricket, amassing 215 runs and sharing a partnership of 331 with Tim Robinson. At the time, it was the sixth largest partnership for England, but in the next match Gower and Graham Gooch surpassed it, putting on 351 runs together. Gower's final Test century was scored in January 1991, when he reached 123 against Australia. In total, nine of Gower's eighteen Test centuries came during Ashes series, the fourth most by any batsman. (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.
Statue of Trueman, who took seventeen five-wicket hauls in Test cricket. Fred Trueman was an English cricketer, an "aggressive" fast bowler widely known as "Fiery Fred". He is generally acknowledged to have been one of the greatest bowlers in cricket history. He represented England in 67 Test matches, and was the first bowler to take 300 wickets in a Test career, taking twelve years and 65 Tests to reach the landmark.
Trueman's wicket tally included seventeen five-wicket hauls (also known as "five-fors" or "fifers") which refer to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement, as of October 2024[update], only 54 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers. Trueman's seventeen five-wicket hauls places him joint-third in a list of most five-wicket hauls by England Test players, behind Ian Botham and Sydney Barnes. It includes three instances of him taking five or more wickets in each innings of the same Test match, and only one of the Tests in which he took a five-for ended in defeat for England. (Full article...)
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Virender Sehwag has represented Delhi Daredevils in 86 matches.
The Delhi Capitals are a franchise cricket team based in Delhi, India, and are one of the teams participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Capitals played their first match in the first season of the IPL against the Rajasthan Royals. The Capitals reached the IPL playoffs three times, and have topped the group stage table twice. Their performances in the competition have resulted in their qualification for the 2009 and 2012 Champions League Twenty20, in which they reached the semi-finals on the second occasion. In total, 108 players have played for the Capitals, of whom Rishabh Pant has played the most matches: 111 since his debut for the franchise in 2016.
Marcus Trescothick is one of two players to have won the Men's Player of the Year award three times. 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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Gibbs in 2009 Herschelle Gibbs is a former South African cricketer who represented his country between 1996 and 2010. He made centuries (100 or more runs in a single innings) on 14 and 21 occasions in Test and One Day International (ODI) matches respectively. With over 14,000 runs, Gibbs is fourth in the list of South Africa's most prolific run-scorers in international cricket. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack included him among its "top 40 cricketers of 2004".
Gibbs made his Test and ODI debuts in 1996 against India and Kenya respectively. However, it was only in 1999 that he made his first century, when he scored 125 against the West Indies, an ODI South Africa won at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth. He followed that with another century against Australia in the 1999 World Cup, although this time in a losing cause. In 2002, Gibbs made three centuries in consecutive innings, equaling a record that was previously held by two other players. He was denied a fourth successive century when he remained 97 not out against Bangladesh. His career-best score of 175, achieved against Australia, led South Africa to the most successful run-chase in the history of ODIs. Gibbs made a minimum of one century each year from 1999 to 2009. As of October 2015, he is jointly second with Hashim Amla (both with 21 centuries) in the number of ODI centuries among his countrymen, only behind AB de Villiers (22). Along with Shikhar Dhawan, Sourav Ganguly, and Chris Gayle, Gibbs holds the record for the most centuries in the ICC Champions Trophy, with three. (Full article...)
Jayawardene's debut Test match was against India in August 1997, in which the Sri Lankan team made a world record 952 runs for 6 wickets. He scored his maiden Test century in his fourth match, played in June 1998 against New Zealand. The 150 he scored against Bangladesh in September 2001 is the fastest Test century made by a Sri Lankan player. However, this innings came to an unusual end when he retired out just after reaching 150 runs. Jayawardene's best innings was made against South Africa in July 2006 when he scored 374 runs, surpassing Sanath Jayasuriya's record of 340 for the highest individual score by a Sri Lankan batsman. It is also the fourth-highest score in Test cricket, as well as part of the world's highest Test partnership—624 runs—which he established with teammate Kumar Sangakkara. Jayawardene has scored a total of 34 centuries during his career, the second highest number by a Sri Lankan player, after Kumar Sangakkara. He has scored more than 200 runs on seven of these occasions. This is the second-highest number of double centuries by a Sri Lankan player, behind Kumar Sangakkara. He is also one of only three players who have scored a triple century for Sri Lanka; the other two being Jayasuriya and Sangakkara. (Full article...)
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Former Australian captain, Richie Benaud.
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. Richie Benaud, a leg spinner and former captain of the Australia cricket team, played 63 Tests for his country between 1952 and 1964. He took 248 wickets at an average of 27.03, including 16 five-wicket hauls. The cricket almanack Wisden named him one of their Cricketers of the Year in 1962. He was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame in 2007, and into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame as one of the inaugural members in January 2009. Leo McKinstry, a cricket writer, in 1998 described Benaud as "one of cricket's greatest legends" and "one of the great all-rounders", and further noted him being the first to take 200 wickets and make 2,000 runs in Tests.
Benaud made his Test debut in January 1952 against the West Indies at the Sydney Cricket Ground, a match Australia won by 202 runs. His first Test five-wicket haul came in the first match of the 1956–57 series against India at the Corporation Stadium. He took 7 wickets for 72 runs in the first innings of the match, his best bowling figures for an innings. Benaud took his solitary pair of five-wicket hauls in the third Test of the series at the Eden Gardens. He accumulated 11 wickets for 105 runs in the match, his career-best performance in Test cricket. Benaud claimed his 16 five-wicket hauls against five different opponents, and Australia never lost any of the games on such instances. He was most successful against India and South Africa, taking 5 five-wicket hauls against each side. Benaud took his five-wicket hauls at 12 cricket grounds, including 11 at venues outside Australia. As of August 2014, he is thirty-first among all-time combined five-wicket haul takers. (Full article...)
Anniversaries...
On this day in cricket
England
1994 - Brian Lara scored 501 not out for Warwickshire at Edgbaston, making the highest score in first-class cricket.
Pakistan
1943 - The Pakistani batsman Asif Iqbal was born in Hyderabad, India. He started his career as an opening bowler, but made his way into the middle order.
West Indies
1940 - Herbert Lance, the South African all-rounder nicknamed "Tiger" was born.
The following are images from various cricket-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1A 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 2Afghan 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 4A 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 5 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 6The boundary can be marked in several ways, such as with a rope. (from Laws of Cricket)
Image 7Plaquita, 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 8A wicket can be put down by throwing the ball at it and thereby dislodging the bails. (from Laws of Cricket)
Image 9A 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 10Broadhalfpenny Down, the location of the first First Class match in 1772, is still played on today. (from History of cricket)
Image 11In 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 12New articles of the game of cricket, 25 February 1774 (from Laws of Cricket)
Image 13Photograph of Miss Lily Poulett-Harris, founding mother of women's cricket in Australia. (from History of women's 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.
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