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.