Australia national cricket team

The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the equal oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877 (defeating England by 45 runs).

As of the 20 January 2008, the Australian team has played 692 Test matches, winning 46.82%, losing 25.86% and drawing 27.02% of its games.^[1] It has also led the ICC Test Championship table for the majority of the time since the creation of the ICC Test table system in January 2001. The South African Cricket Team did lead this table for a brief period (January to May) in 2003, before Australia resumed the first position on the table.

They are also the first-ranked international one-day cricket team and winners of the last three Cricket World Cups. Australia won the Cricket World Cup 4 times in total; 1987, 1999, 2003 & 2007. As of 28 April 2007 they are undefeated in 29 consecutive World Cup matches. They have led the ICC One-Day International Championship table from its inception through to 18 February 2007, and then again from 7 April 2007. In 2002, they were named World Team of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Awards in recognition of their world record sequence of test match victories.

History

The history of the Australian cricket team is rich and diverse. Together with the English cricket team, it participated in the first Test match in 1877. A highlight of Australia's early history was the 1882 Test match against England at The Oval. In this match Fred Spofforth took 7/44 in the game's fourth innings to save the match by preventing England from making their 85-run target. After this match The Sporting Times, a major newspaper in London at the time, printed a mock obituary in which the death of English cricket was proclaimed and the announcement made that "the body was cremated and the ashes taken to Australia." This was the start of the famous Ashes series in which every two years Australia and England play a number of Test matches to decide the holder of the Ashes. To this day, the contest is one of the fiercest rivalries in sport.

In the first half-century or so, these contests were on the whole friendly but competitive with both sides enjoying the visit to another country, and getting to play against quality cricketers. The famous Bodyline series temporarily changed things. The series was marred by the tactics used by the English captain Douglas Jardine to control the batting of Don Bradman who completely destroyed the English bowling attack in the 1930 series. Jardine used his fast bowlers to bowl 6 bouncers an over at head height over leg stump with 6 or 7 fielders around the leg stump in a close catching position. Given the fact that there were no helmets around at the time the tactics were widely condemned by nearly all of Australia including many former Test cricketers and important politicians.

Australia continued its success up until the 1980s, built mainly around the likes of Richie Benaud, the Chappell brothers, Dennis Lillee, and Rod Marsh. The 1980s was a period of relative mediocrity after the retirements of several key players, and it was not until the captaincy of Allan Border that the team was restructured. The 1990s and modern era are arguably Australia's most successful period, unbeaten in all Ashes series played bar the famous 2005 series and achieving a hat-trick of World Cups. This extraordinary success has been attributed to the restructuring of the team and system by Border, successive shrewd captains, and the brilliance of several key players, most notably Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Steve Waugh, Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting.

South Africa national cricket team

The South African cricket team, also known as The Proteas are a national cricket team representing South Africa. They are administrated by Cricket South Africa.

South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status. Between February 18, 2007 and April 7, 2007, South Africa was ranked at the top of the ICC One-Day International rankings.

As of October 2007, the South African team has played 322 Test matches, winning 32.91%, losing 35.71% and drawing 31.36% of its games.

History

Cricket in South Africa was established by the British, and the first tour by a side from England took place in 1888-89. Here South Africa played its first Test match (against touring England at Port Elizabeth), becoming the third Test nation.

In 1970, the ICC voted to suspend South Africa from international cricket indefinitely because of its government's policy of apartheid, an overtly racist policy, which led them to play only against the white nations (England, Australia, New Zealand), and field only white players. This decision excluded players such as Graeme Pollock from partaking in international Test Cricket. It would also cause the emigration of future stars like Allan Lamb and Robin Smith, who both played for England, and Kepler Wessels, who initially played for Australia, before returning to South Africa.

The ICC reinstated South Africa as a Test nation in 1991 after the deconstruction of apartheid, and the team played its first sanctioned match since 1970 (and its first ever One-Day International) against India in Calcutta on 10 November 1991.

Since South Africa have been reinstated they have achieved mixed success, and hosted the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup in 2003. However, it is widely believed the sides containing the likes of Alan Donald, Shaun Pollock and Hansie Cronje grossly underachieved, gaining a reputation as chokers, due to them reaching the semi-finals of the Cricket World Cup three times, but failing to progress into the finals, with Herschelle Gibbs famously dropping Australian captain Steve Waugh in 1999 in a league game. They have also had bad press for choking in vital matches in other important tournaments including the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy and the 2007 ICC World Twenty20.^[2]

The South African team at The Oval in August 2008.

With Donald retiring, Cronje banned for match-fixing and later killed in a plane crash, and Pollock nearing the end of his career, the team has once again changed shape. It is currently captained by Graeme Smith, although following injuries to Smith and Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince deputised as Test captain on July 12, 2006. At the age of 29, he became the first non-white man to captain the once all-white South African cricket team.

Due to a racial quota policy, the side was once required to contain black players, unlike the past. However, that policy has recently been removed.

England cricket team

The England cricket team is the national cricket team which represents England and Wales. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) from 1903 until the end of 1996.^[1][2]

England and Australia were the first teams to be granted Test status on 15 March 1877 and they gained full membership to the International Cricket Council (ICC) on 15 June 1909. England and Australia also took part in the first One Day International (ODI) on 5 January 1971. England played their first Twenty20 match on 13 June 2005 and once again their opponents were Australia.

As of 2 September 2008 England have won 305 of the 877 Test matches they have played and are ranked fifth in the ICC Test Championship.^[3][4] They have finished runners-up in three Cricket World Cups (1979, 1987 and 1992) and are ranked third in the ICC ODI Championship.^[5]

Peter Moores was appointed head coach on 1 May 2007, following the resignation of Duncan Fletcher. Moores subsequently named Andy Flower as his assistant coach.^[6] Kevin Pietersen was announced as both Test and ODI captain on 4 August 2008. Pietersen replaced Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood, who resigned their roles as Test and ODI captains respectively.

History

The first recorded incidence of a team with a claim to represent England comes from 9 July 1739 when an "All-England" team which consisted of eleven gentlemen from any part of England, exclusive of Kent. This team played against 'the Unconquerable County' of Kent and lost by a 'very few notches'. Such matches were repeated on numerous occasions for the best part of the century.

In 1846 William Clarke formed the All-England Eleven, this team would eventually compete against a United All-England Eleven with annual matches occurring between 1857 to 1866. These matches were arguably the most important contest of the English season, if judged by the quality of the players.

The first overseas tour occurred in September 1859 with England going to North America. This team had six players from the All-England Eleven and six from the United All-England Eleven, and was captained by George Parr. With the outbreak of the American Civil War, attention turned to Australia and New Zealand with the inaugural tour of Australia taking place in 1861-2. England would visit New Zealand in 1863–64 with the tour being the first to be organised by the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC). Most tours prior to 1877 were played "against odds", meaning the opposing team was permitted to have more than 11 players (usually 22) in order to make for a more even contest.^[8] As a result these matches were not considered first-class matches and were organised purely for commercial reasons.^[9]

James Lillywhite led the England team which sailed on the P&O steamship Poonah on 21 September 1876. They would play a combined Australian XI, for once on even terms of 11 a side. The match, starting on 15 March 1877 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground came to be regarded as the first Test match. The combined Australian XI won this Test match by 45 runs with Charles Bannerman of Australia scoring the first Test century. At the time this match carried little significance and was classed as another tour match and was labelled as the James Lillywhite's XI v South Australia and New South Wales.^[10] The first Test match on English soil occurred in 1880 with England winning this series 1–0. The series was also the first for England to field a fully representative side with W.G. Grace being present in the team.^[11] England would lose their first home series 1–0 in 1882 with The Sporting Times famously printing an obituary on English cricket:

“

In Affectionate Remembrance of ENGLISH CRICKET, which died at the Oval on 29th AUGUST, 1882, Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances R.I.P. N.B. - The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.[12]

”

As a result of this loss the tour of 1882–83 was dubbed by England captain Ivo Bligh as "the quest to regain the ashes". England with a mixture of amateurs and professionals won the series 2–1.^[13] Bligh was presented with an urn that contained some ashes, which have variously been said to be of a bail, ball or even a woman's veil and so The Ashes was born. A fourth match was then played which Australia won by 4 wickets but the match was not considered part of the Ashes series.^[14][15] England would dominate many of these early contests with England winning the Ashes series 10 times between 1884–98.^[16] During this period England also played their first Test match against South Africa in 1889 at Port Elizabeth.^[17]

The 1899 Ashes series was the first tour where the MCC and the counties appointed a selection committee. There were three active players: Lord Hawke, W.G. Grace and HW Bainbridge who was the captain of Warwickshire. Prior to this, England teams for home Tests had been chosen by the club on whose ground the match was to be played.

The turn of the century saw mixed results for England as they lost four of the eight Ashes series between 1900 and 1914.^[18] During this period England would lose their first series against South Africa in the 1905/06 season 4–1 as their batting faltered.^[19] The 1912 season saw England take part in a unique experiment. A nine Test triangular tournament involving England, South Africa and Australia was set-up. The series was hampered by a very wet summer and player disputes however and the tournament was considered a failure with The Daily Telegraph stating:^[20]

“

Nine Tests provide a surfeit of cricket, and contests between Australia and South Africa are not a great attraction to the British public.

”

With Australia sending a weakened team and the South African bowlers being ineffective England dominated the tournament winning four of their six matches. The Australia v South Africa match, at Lord's, was notable for a visit by King George V, the first time a reigning monarch had watched Test cricket.^[21] England would go on one more tour against South Africa before the outbreak of World War I.

England's first match after the war was in the 1920–21 season against Australia. Still feeling the effects of the war England went down to a series of crushing defeats, and suffered their first whitewash losing the series 5–0. Six Australians scored hundreds while Mailey spun out 36 English batsmen. Things were no better in the next few Ashes series losing the 1921 Ashes series 3–0 and the 1924–5 Ashes 4–1. England's fortunes were to change in 1926 as they regained the Ashes and were a formidable team during this period dispatching Australia 4–1 in the 1928–29 Ashes tour.

On the same year the West Indies became the fourth nation to be granted Test status and played their first game against England. England won each of these three Tests by an innings, and a view was expressed in the press that their elevation had proved a mistake although Learie Constantine did the double on the tour. In the 1929–30 season England went on two concurrent tours with one team going to New Zealand (who were granted Test status earlier that year) and the other to the West Indies. Despite sending two separate teams England won both tours beating New Zealand 1–0 and the West Indies 2–1.

Bill Woodfull evades a Bodyline ball. Note the number of leg-side fielders.

The 1930 Ashes series saw a young Don Bradman dominate the tour, scoring 974 runs in his seven Test innings. He scored 254 at Lord's, 334 at Headingley and 232 at the Oval. Australia regained the Ashes winning the series 3–1. As a result of Bradman's prolific run-scoring the England captain Douglas Jardine chose to develop the already existing leg theory into fast leg theory, or bodyline, as a tactic to stop Bradman. Fast leg theory involved bowling fast balls directly at the batsman's body. The batsman would need to defend himself, and if he touched the ball with the bat, he risked being caught by one of a large number of fielders placed on the leg side.

Using his fast leg theory England won the next Ashes series 4–1. But complaints about the Bodyline tactic caused crowd disruption on the tour, and threats of diplomatic action from the Australian Cricket Board, which during the tour sent the following cable to the MCC in London:

“

Bodyline bowling assumed such proportions as to menace best interests of game, making protection of body by batsmen the main consideration. Causing intensely bitter feeling between players as well as injury. In our opinion is unsportsmanlike. Unless stopped at once likely to upset friendly relations existing between Australia and England.

”

Later, Jardine was removed from the captaincy and the laws of cricket changed so that no more than one fast ball aimed at the body was permitted per over, and having more than two fielders behind square leg were banned.

England's following tour of India in the 1933–34 season was the first Test match to be staged in the subcontinent. The series was also notable for Morris Nichols and Nobby Clark bowling so many bouncers that the Indian batsman wore solar topees instead of caps to protect themselves.

Australia won the 1934 Ashes series 2–1 and would keep the urn for the following 19 years. Many of the wickets of the time were friendly to batsmen resulting in a large proportion of matches ending in high scoring draws and many batting records being set.

The 1938–39 tour of South Africa saw another experiment with the deciding Test being a timeless Test that was played to a finish. England lead 1–0 going into the final timeless match at Durban. Despite the final Test being ‘timeless’ the game ended in a draw, after 10 days as England had to catch the train to catch the boat home. A record 1981 runs were scored, and the concept of timeless Tests was abandoned. England would go in one final tour of the West Indies in 1939 before the World War II, although a team for an MCC tour of India was selected more in hope than expectation of the matches being played.

After World War II, England fell under difficult times suffering a heavy defeat 3–0 to Australia. This followed by a 4–0 loss to Bradman's 'invincibles' and a stunning 2–0 loss to the West Indies. These loses were tempered by victories against India and South Africa.

Their fortunes would change in the 1953 Ashes tour as they won the series 1–0. England would not lose a series for five years and secured famous victories in the 1954–55 and 1956 Ashes series. The 1956 series was remembered for the bowling of Jim Laker who took 46 wickets at 9.62 which included bowling figures of 19/90 at Old Trafford. After drawing to South Africa, England defeated the West Indies and New Zealand comfortably. The England team would then leave for Australia in the 1958–59 season with a team that had been hailed as the strongest ever to leave on an Ashes tour but lost the series 4–0 as Richie Benaud's revitalised Australians were too strong.

The early and middle 1960s were poor periods for English cricket. Despite England's strength on paper, Australia held the Ashes for the entire decade and the West Indies dominated England in the early part of the decade. England would the end the 60s on a high however, regaining the Wisden Trophy in 1968 and drawing the Ashes series in the same year 1–1.

England carried their good form from the late 60s into the 70s regaining the Ashes in 1970 but then suffered a loss of form losing to India and a rising West Indian side. This culminated in a 4–1 defeat in the 1974 Ashes series. The inaugural 1975 Cricket World Cup saw England reach the semi-finals and was to be the turning point in England's fortunes. The results of the Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket were felt in Test cricket with Australia and Pakistan losing many of its star players. England replaced captain Tony Greig who had joined the league with Mike Brearley while Geoffrey Boycott returned from his England exile. England would defeat a divided Australian side 3–1 in the centenary Ashes series. This was followed by a comfortable 4–0 win against Pakistan and a World Cup final appearance against the West Indies.

With Ian Botham and Bob Willis at their peak with the ball, Boycott and Graham Gooch opening the batting, and a young David Gower in the middle order, England were a formidable team. Their results were initially promising, narrowly losing to the West Indies, the unofficial champions at the time. England would then fight back to win the 1981 Ashes series, often referred to as "Botham's Ashes" 2–1. The third Test at Headingley saw a revitalised Botham perform well with bat and ball, taking 6/95 and then scoring a unbeaten 149. England won by 18 runs after following-on, only the second time in the history of England v Australia Tests that this has been achieved. England suffered their second whitewash series against the West Indies in 1984 but continued to produce good results, defeating India 2–1 and regaining the Ashes in the 1985 season with a comfortable 3–1 victory.

Hopes that this victory could see a challenge mounted on the 1985–86 tour of the West Indies were dashed as England were soundly beaten 5–0. A shocked England team never truly recovered from this defeat and although England managed to retain the 1986–87 Ashes, they would only win one further Test series in the 80s against a relatively weak Sri Lanka side and suffered heavy defeats to Australia and the West Indies.

England continued their decline during the 90s. This was not helped by squabbles between key players and the chairman of selectors, Raymond Illingworth. Another reason for their poor performances were the demands of County Cricket teams on their players, meaning that England could rarely field a full strength team on their tours. This would eventually lead to the ECB taking over the MCC as the governing body of England and the implementation of central contracts.

In the early 90s players such as Botham, Gower and Allan Lamb came to the end of their international careers and, specifically in the case of Botham, England had trouble replacing them. This lead to a string of disappointing results as England did not win a Test match for two and half years. However, England’s performance in ODI cricket was still good, as they defeated Australia, the West Indies and South Africa to reach the final of the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Shortly after the World Cup Mike Atherton replaced Gooch as England captain but his captaincy was regarded as a failure with England winning only one Test series under his captaincy. A win against South Africa in 1998 was England’s first five Test series win since 1986–87, but this would be a false dawn as they were eliminated in the first round of the 1999 Cricket World Cup (which they hosted) and lost a home Test series against New Zealand 2–1, resulting in England being officially ranked as the worst Test nation.^[22]

With the appointment of Duncan Fletcher as coach and Nasser Hussain as captain, England began to rebuild their team. They won four consecutive Test series which included impressive wins against West Indies (a first in 32 years) and Pakistan. England were still left wanting against Australia and lost the 2001 Ashes 4–1. Promising results against India and Sri Lanka gave England some positive sentiments towards their chances against Australia in 2002-2003, yet a 4–1 defeat showed that they were still falling short. This setback did not stop England’s resurgence however as they defeated the West Indies 3–0 and followed this up with whitewashes against New Zealand and the West Indies at home. A victory in the first Test against South Africa at Port Elizabeth meant England had won their eighth successive Test, their best sequence of Test match wins for 75 years.

In 2005, England, under Michael Vaughan's captaincy and aided by Kevin Pietersen's batting in his maiden series (most notably 158 at the Oval), and Andrew Flintoff's superb all-round performances, defeated Australia 2–1 to regain the Ashes for the first time in 18 years.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhalese: ; known as Ceylon before 1972) is an island nation in South Asia, located about 31 kilometres (19.3 mi) off the southern coast of India. It is home to around twenty million people.

Because of its location in the path of major sea routes, Sri Lanka is a strategic naval link between West Asia and South East Asia, and has been a center of Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times. Today, the country is a multi-religious and multi-ethnic nation, with more than a quarter of the population following faiths other than Buddhism, notably Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. The Sinhalese community forms the majority of the population, with Tamils, who are concentrated in the north and east of the island, forming the largest ethnic minority. Other communities include the Muslim Moors and Malays and the Burghers.

Famous for the production and export of tea, coffee, coconuts and rubber, Sri Lanka boasts a progressive and modern industrial economy and the highest per capita income in South Asia. The natural beauty of Sri Lanka's tropical forests, beaches and landscape, as well as its rich cultural heritage, make it a world famous tourist destination.

After over two thousand years of rule by local kingdoms, parts of Sri Lanka were colonized by Portugal and the Netherlands beginning in the 16th century, before the control of the entire country was ceded to the British Empire in 1815. During World War II, Sri Lanka served as an important base for Allied forces in the fight against the Japanese Empire.^[4] A nationalist political movement arose in the country in the early 20th century with the aim of obtaining political independence, which was eventually granted by the British after peaceful negotiations in 1948.

History

Paleolithic human settlements have been discovered at excavations in several cave sites in the Western Plains region and the South-western face of the Central Hills region. Anthropologists believe that some discovered burial rites and certain decorative artifacts exhibit similarities between the first inhabitants of the island and the early inhabitants of Southern India. Recent bioanthropological studies have however dismissed these links, and have placed the origin of the people to the northern parts of India. One of the first written references to the island is found in the Indian epic Ramayana, which described the emperor Ravana as monarch of the powerful kingdom of Lanka, which was created by the divine sculptor Vishwakarma for Kubera, the treasurer of the Gods.[11] English historian James Emerson Tennent also theorized Galle, a southern city in Sri Lanka, was the ancient seaport of Tarshish from which King Solomon is said to have drawn ivory, peacocks and other valuables. The main written accounts of the country's history are the Buddhist chronicles of Mahavansa and Dipavamsa.

The earliest-known inhabitants of the island now known as Sri Lanka were probably the ancestors of the Wanniyala-Aetto people, also known as Veddahs and numbering roughly 3,000. Linguistic analysis has found a correlation of the Sinhalese language with the languages of the Sindh and Gujarat, although most historians believe that the Sinhala community emerged well after the assimilation of various ethnic groups. From the ancient period date some remarkable archaeological sites including the ruins of Sigiriya, the so-called "Fortress in the Sky", and huge public works. Among the latter are large "tanks" or reservoirs, important for conserving water in a climate that alternates rainy seasons with dry times, and elaborate aqueducts, some with a slope as finely calibrated as one inch to the mile. Ancient Sri Lanka was also the first in the world to have established a dedicated hospital in Mihintale in the 4th century BCE. Ancient Sri Lanka was also the world's leading exporter of cinnamon, which was exported to Egypt as early as 1400 BCE. Sri Lanka was also the first Asian nation to have a female ruler in Queen Anula (47–42 BC)

Since ancient times Sri Lanka was ruled by monarchs, most notably of the Sinha royal dynasty that lasted over 2000 years. The island was also infrequently invaded by South Indian kingdoms and parts of the island were ruled intermittently by the Chola dynasty, the Pandya dynasty, the Chera dynasty and the Pallava dynasty. The island was also invaded by the kingdoms of Kalinga (modern Orissa) and those from the Malay Peninsula. Buddhism arrived from India in the 3rd century BCE, brought by Bhikkhu Mahinda, who is believed to have been the son of Mauryan emperor Ashoka. Mahinda's mission won over the Sinhalese monarch Devanampiyatissa of Mihintale, who embraced the faith and propagated it throughout the Sinhalese population. The Buddhist kingdoms of Sri Lanka would maintain a large number of Buddhist schools and monasteries, and support the propagation of Buddhism into Southeast Asia.

Sri Lanka had always been an important port and trading post in the ancient world, and was increasingly frequented by merchant ships from the Middle East, Persia, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia. The islands were known to the first European explorers of South Asia and settled by many groups of Arab and Malay merchants. A Portuguese colonial mission arrived on the island in 1505 headed by the Lourenço de Almeida the son of Francisco de Almeida. At that point the island consisted of three kingdoms, namely Kandy in the central hills, Kotte at the Western coast, and Yarlpanam (Anglicised Jaffna) in the north. The Dutch arrived in the 17th century. Although much of the island came under the domain of European powers, the interior, hilly region of the island remained independent, with its capital in Kandy. The British East India Company established control of the island in 1796, declaring it a crown colony in 1802, although the island would not be officially connected with British India. The fall of the kingdom of Kandy in 1815 unified the island under British rule.

European colonists established a series of tea, cinnamon, rubber, sugar, coffee and indigo plantations. The British also brought a large number of indentured workers from Tamil Nadu to work in the plantation economy. The city of Colombo was established as the administrative centre, and the British established modern schools, colleges, roads and churches that brought Western-style education and culture to the native people. Increasing grievances over the denial of civil rights, mistreatment and abuse of natives by colonial authorities gave rise to a struggle for independence in the 1930s, when the Youth Leagues opposed the "Ministers' Memorandum," which asked the colonial authority to increase the powers of the board of ministers without granting popular representation or civil freedoms. Buddhist scholars and the Teetotalist Movement also played a vital role in this time. During World War II, the island served as an important Allied military base. A large segment of the British and American fleet were deployed on the island, as were tens of thousands of soldiers committed to the war against Japan in Southeast Asia.

Following the war, popular pressure for independence intensified. The office of Prime Minister of Ceylon was created in advance of independence on 14 October 1947, Don Stephen Senanayake being the first prime minister. On February 4, 1948 the country won its independence as the Commonwealth of Ceylon. On July 21, 1960 Sirimavo Bandaranaike took office as prime minister, and became the world's first female prime minister and the first female head of government in post-colonial Asia. In 1972, during Sirimavo Bandaranaike's second term as prime minister, the country became a republic within the Commonwealth, and the name was changed to Sri Lanka. The island enjoyed good relations with the United Kingdom and had the British Royal Navy stationed at Trincomalee.

Since 1983, there has been on-and-off civil war, predominantly between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, also known as the Tamil Tigers), a separatist militant organization who fight to create an independent state named Tamil Eelam in the North and East of the island.

Pakistan national cricket team

The Pakistan National Cricket Team is an international cricket team representing Pakistan. It is administrated by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Pakistan is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status.

Before the independence of Pakistan, cricket was played well before the first Pakistan national team was granted test match playing status. Documentation and archives show that during the 18th century, cricket was played on the western side of India and many successful Indian cricketers played for the English cricket team.^[3] It was not until July 28, 1952 that Pakistan started playing test match cricket. Their first match took place in Delhi against India on October of the same year. Their first international tour was to England during 1954. Over the half century, Pakistan has become one of the most challenging and unpredictable teams in the world, the team won the 1992 World Cup and were runners up in the 1999 World Cup. The country has produced several world-class players such as Fazal Mahmood, Hanif Mohammad, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Mushtaq Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Abdul Qadir, Wasim Akram, Inzamam-ul-Haq,Saeed Anwar, Waqar Younis, Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Akhtar.^[4]

As of October 2007, the Pakistani team has played 332 Test matches, winning 31.02%, losing 26.50% and drawing 42.46% of its games.^[5] The team is ranked sixth in the ICC Test Championship and fifth place in the ICC ODI Championship.^[6] On 28 August 2006, Pakistan won its debut Twenty20 International match in England and were runners up in the inaugral ICC World Twenty20 in September 2007.

History

Following the Partition of India in 1947, and the establishment of the separate nation state of Pakistan, cricket in the country developed steadily and Pakistan was given Test Match status at a meeting of the Imperial Cricket Conference at Lord's Cricket Ground on 28 July 1952 following recommendation by India,[7] which, being the successor state of the British Raj, did not have to go through such a process.

Pakistan’s first Test match was played in Delhi in October 1952 as part of a five Test series which India won 2-1. Pakistan made their first tour of England in 1954 and drew the series 1-1 after a memorable victory at The Oval in which fast bowler Fazal Mahmood took 12 wickets. Pakistan’s first home Test match was in Dacca in January 1955 against India, after which four more Test matches were played in Bahawalpur, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi (all five matches in the series were drawn, the first such occurrence in test history[8]).

The team is considered a strong but unpredictable team. Traditionally Pakistani cricket has been filled with players of great talent but limited discipline, making them a team which could play inspirational cricket one day and then perform less than ordinarily another day. Over the years, competitions between India and Pakistan have always been emotionally charged and provide for intriguing contests, as talented teams from both sides of the border elevate their game to new levels to produce high-quality cricket. Pakistani contest with India in the Cricket World Cup have seen packed stadiums and elevated atmospheres no matter where the World Cup has been held.

The 1986 Australasia Cup, played in Sharjah, is remembered as a famous last-ball victory for Pakistan against arch-rivals India, with Javed Miandad emerging as a national hero.[9] India batted first and set a target of 245 runs, leaving Pakistan with a required run rate of 4.92 runs per over. Javed Miandad came in to bat at number 3, and Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals. Later recalling the match, Miandad stated that his main focus was to lose with dignity. With 31 runs needed in the last three overs, Miandad hit a string of boundaries while batting with his team's lower order, until four runs were required from the last delivery of the match. Miandad received a leg side full toss from Chetan Sharma, which he hit for six over the midwicket boundary.[10][9]

At the 1992 World Cup Semi Final, having won the toss New Zealand chose to bat first and ended with a total of 262. Pakistan batted conservatively yet lost wickets at regular intervals. With the departure of Imran Khan and Saleem Malik shortly thereafter, Pakistan still required 115 runs at a rate of 7.67 per over with veteran Javed Miandad being the only known batsman remaining at the crease. A young Inzamam-ul-Haq, who had just turned 22 and was not a well-known player at the time, burst onto the international stage with a match-winning 60 off 37 balls. Once Inzamam got out, Pakistan required 36 from 30 balls, which wicketkeeper Moin Khan ended with a towering six over long off, followed by the winning boundary to midwicket. The match is seen as the emergence of Inzamam onto the international stage.[11][12][13]

The 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia & New Zealand marked Pakistan's first World Cup victory. It is remembered for the comeback Pakistan made after losing key players such as Waqar Younis and Saeed Anwar, and being led by an injured captain in Imran Khan. Pakistan lost 4 of their first 5 matches and were nearly eliminated in the first round of the tournament after being bowled out for 74 against England, until the match was declared as a "no result" due to rain. Captain Imran Khan famously told the team to play as "cornered tigers", after which Pakistan won five successive matches, including, most famously, the semi-final against hosts New Zealand and the final against England.[14]

The 2007 Cricket World Cup was one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history when Pakistan was knocked out of the competition in a shock defeat to Ireland, who were playing in their first competition. Pakistan, needing to win to qualify for the next stage after losing to the West Indies in their opening match, were put into bat by Ireland on a green pitch. They lost wickets regularly and only 4 batsmen crossed double figures. In the end they were bowled out by the resurgent Irish for 132. The Irish went on to win the match, helped by a knock of 72 from Niall O'Brien. This meant that Pakistan had been knocked out during the first round for the second consecutive World Cup.[15][16][17] Tragedy struck the team when coach Bob Woolmer died one day later on March 18, 2007 in a hospital in Kingston, Jamaica. Jamaican police spokesman, Karl Angell, reported on March 23, 2007 that, "Mr Woolmer's death was due to asphyxiation as a result of manual strangulation", and that, "Mr Woolmer's death is now being treated by the Jamaica police as a case of murder."[18] Subsequent to his team's defeat and the death of Bob Woolmer, Inzamam-ul-Haq announced his resignation as captain of the team and his retirement from one-day cricket, stating that he would continue to take part in Test cricket but not as captain.[19]

On 23 March 2007, Pakistan players and officials were questioned by Jamaican police and submitted DNA samples along with fingerprints, as part of the routine enquiries in the investigation into Woolmer's murder.[20] Three days after leaving the West Indies for Pakistan, via London, the Pakistan team were ruled out as suspects. The deputy commissioner of Jamaican police. Mark Shields, the detective in charge of the investigation, announced, "It's fair to say they are now being treated as witnesses." "I have got no evidence to suggest it was anybody in the squad."[21] A memorial service was held in Sacred Heart Church, Lahore, for Bob Woolmer on 1 April 2007. Among the attendees were Pakistan players and dignitaries, including Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was quoted as saying, "After Woolmer's family, the Pakistan team was the most aggrieved by his death."[22] After the World Cup ended, serious doubts were raised about the investigation, with increasing speculation that Woolmer died of natural causes. This has now been accepted as fact, and the case has been closed.[23]

On 16 July 2007, Geoff Lawson, previously head coach of New South Wales, was appointed coach of the Pakistan for two years, becoming the third foreigner to take on the role.[2] In the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, Pakistan exceeded expectations to reach the final but ended as runners-up, after losing the final to India in a nail-biting finish.

Test Your Cricketing Knowledge

Fantasy Cricket: Test Your Cricketing Knowledge!

Many of us dream and aim for many things in our life, but it is not always that all our wishes are fulfilled. So how would you like to fulfill at least one of your dreams? If you are a cricket fan, you are simply going to love this. You cannot claim to be a true cricket fan if you have never dreamt of selecting your ideal dream team. Every other day, we see our team losing a match and start mumbling our disapproval about the team’s combination. In fact, all cricket fans feel that they are the ones, who can best understand the game and also select the best combination for playing a match.

Life gives very little chance to an individual to realize their dreams and so no one must ever let go this opportunity. Fantasy cricket is one such chance provided to cricket fans to realize their dream of selecting their own team. What is more important is, not only can you select your own dream team, but you can actually see them live in action. One more thing, you can choose players from several countries to represent your team. So your team can consist of leading players from all over the world and play in the field at the same time.

The concept of fantasy cricket is to play a virtual game of cricket. This game can be played online on any site that provides fans with the chance of playing the game. Playing the game is very simple. Whenever an international tournament gets underway, fans can log on to the site and play the game of fantasy cricket. The names of players who are playing in that particular tournament will be listed and points are allotted to them. The points are allotted based on several factors. The form of the player is taken care and also some of the previous performance of the player is taken into consideration before allotting the points.

Each player will be allotted a sum total of certain points within which they have to build the team. So, this means that the sum total of all the selected players cannot exceed the total allotted budget points. It is here that the actual knowledge of the cricket fan and his selection skills are put to test. So, if someone is really serious about this and wants to select his dream team, he can very easily do so. Find out how much you actually know about your favorite game and your favorite players.

Winning a game of fantasy cricket depends on the way your selected player performs on the field. So if you have selected a batsman who does not perform very well in the field during the course of the tournament, you could end up losing the game. So be very careful while selecting the members of your dream team. Never get swayed by reputation and big names while selecting your team. Go strictly by merit, as only merit will help you in successfully playing and winning fantasy cricket.

Role of an Umpire Cricket

Role of an Umpire in a Cricket Match

A bat – ball game that entertains the whole mass of people gathered and also the ones who watch it live in the televisions. Cricket a world class game captivates hearts and souls of many individuals across the world. People die to watch the game, literally starve to enter the gates of the ground in which the game is played. The fans all over the world know that cricket is definitely an entertaining game.

But in this game of cricket, can you guess who are the important players without bat and ball? They are the decision makers of the game who can make happiness or break it amongst teams. They ought to the good informers. They ought to be keen watchers of the game. They will have to be the wise decision makers irrespective of their favorites. They can earn good names if they are perfect. They are vulnerable to fans' critical comments. Their decision is very crucial for the match. The guess can never be as simple as this one is. Of course, they are umpires. Umpires are the most important players in the field. They are different types and they are three in number.

An umpire in the game of cricket plays crucial role. This word 'Umpire' is from the Old French word 'Nompere' which means not equal, i.e. not a member of one of the teams. He is the person who has the authority to make decisions on the cricket field, according to the International Laws of Cricket under ICC. Apart from making decisions about wicket appeals, delivery laws, legalities involved, conduct and the manners in the game, the umpire has a track of all the records. It involves all the deliveries and announcements of the completion of an over.

To preside over the match, there are two on-field umpires present. The umpires are different in the positions and that makes the difference. There is one umpire who stands just behind the bowler's wicket. He is the most important umpire and he decides and acts as a judiciary for most of them. There is another umpire standing with a side view from the batsman's view. He is called the square leg umpire, the reason of the name being the filed position is called square leg. He helps the main umpire for many decisions that concerns his views. If he is able to see better, then he helps the umpire. The professional matches have the other option called third umpire. Third umpire has the technology to support him. If there is a condition for the umpires on field to make flaws or if there are any difficulties, there is a third umpire who has an access to television replays.