TEST CRICKET

Test cricket

A TEST CRICKET between South Africa and England in January 2005. The men wearing black trousers are the UMPIRES . Teams in Test cricket, first-class cricket and club cricket wear traditional white uniforms and use red ball.

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. Subsequently, eight other national teams have achieved Test status:South africa (1889),West Indies (1928),Zenland (1929), India(1932), Pakistan (1952), Srilankla(1982),Zimbawe (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.

Test matches between two teams are usually played in a group of matches called a "series". Matches last up to five days and a series normally consists of three to five matches. Test matches that are not finished within the allotted time are drawn.

Since 1882, most Test series between England and Australia have been played for a trophy known as The Ashes.

INFORMATION ABOUT CRICKET PITCH

Pitch, wickets and creases

The CRICKET PITCH dimensions

The pitch 22 yd (one chain ) long 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.

The CRICKET PITCH dimensions

Each wicket consists of three wooden stumps placed in a straight line and surmounted by two wooden crosspieces called ; 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.

The stumps are placed in line on the bowling creases and so these must be 22 yards (20 m) apart. A bowling crease is 8 feet 8 inches (2.6 m) long with the middle stump placed dead centre. The popping crease has the same length, is parallel to the bowling crease and is 4 feet (1.2 m) in front of the wicket. The return creases are perpendicular to the other two; they are adjoined to the ends of the popping crease and are drawn through the ends of the bowling crease to a length of at least 8 feet (2.4 m).

When bowling the ball, the bowler's back foot in his "delivery stride" must land within the two return creases while his front foot must land on or behind the popping crease. If the bowler breaks this rule, the umpire calls "No ball".

The importance of the popping crease to the batsman is that it marks the limit of his safe territory for he can be stumped or run out (see Dismissals below) if the wicket is broken while he is "out of his ground".

Pitches vary in consistency, and thus in the amount of bounce, spin, and seam movement available to the bowler. Hard pitches are usually good to bat on because of high but even bounce. Dry pitches tend to deteriorate for batting as cracks often appear, and when this happens spinners can play a major role. Damp pitches, or pitches covered in grass (termed "green" pitches), allow good fast bowlers to extract extra bounce. Such pitches tend to offer help to fast bowlers throughout the match, but become better for batting as the game goes on.

BASIC CRICKET INFORMATION

Cricket is a bat and ball team sports that is first documented as being played in southern in England the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, cricket had developed to the point where it had become the national sport of England. The expansion of the British Empire led to cricket being played overseas and by the mid-19th century the first international matches were being held. Today, the sport is played in more than 100 countries.

The rules of the game are known as the LAWS OF CRICKET These are maintained by the INTERNATIONL CRICKET COUNCIL (ICC), the governing body of cricket, and the MAYRELBONE CRICKET CLUB (MCC), the club that has been the guardian of the Laws since it was founded in 1787.

A cricket match is played on a cricket field at the centre of which is a pitch .The match is contested between two teams of eleven players each.

In cricket, one team bats , trying to score as many runs as possible without being dismissed ("out") while the other team bowls and fields , trying to dismiss the other team’s batsmen and limit any runs being scored. When the batting team has used all its available overs or has no remaining batsmen, the roles become reversed and it is now the fielding team’s turn to bat and try to outscore the opposition.