Friday, May 21, 2010
Historic Match Could Boost US Cricket
Sri Lanka and New Zealand will stage the first cricket matches on US soil between two full ICC members this weekend, a move officials hope will launch a US boom for the sport.
“The historic event will provide great exposure,” USA Cricket Association president Gladstone Dainty said. “We’re very excited about the potential impact of this series for the growth and development of cricket in the United States.”
Saturday and Sunday afternoon matches will be staged at Lauderhill’s Central Broward Regional Park in Florida, the only ICC-approved venue in the United States. The 20,000-capacity facility must still upgrade lighting to ICC standards in order to host night events.
With an India property developer sponsoring the Pearls Cup Twenty20 matches and Indian Premier League officials talking about staging US events as early as 2011, the US breakthrough could be only a hint of greater things to come.
“We’ll be meeting with potential investors and event developers to keep building our momentum,” USA Cricket chief executive Don Lockerbie said. “Interest is already high and this is very encouraging.
“To grow the game of cricket in the USA, we need to have the best teams in the world play in our country. We want to demonstrate to the American public just how exciting the Twenty20 format is.”
USA Cricket hopes to organize a US Twenty20 league as quickly as 2012.
“Given the door to cricket has been opened to investment through the sale of Indian Premier League franchises, this model is a logical step to raising the capital required to take cricket in the US to another level,” New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan said.
“The structure proposed is a wonderful opportunity for someone to get in on the ground floor, particularly given the growing level of interest in the US cricket market.”
“The historic event will provide great exposure,” USA Cricket Association president Gladstone Dainty said. “We’re very excited about the potential impact of this series for the growth and development of cricket in the United States.”
Saturday and Sunday afternoon matches will be staged at Lauderhill’s Central Broward Regional Park in Florida, the only ICC-approved venue in the United States. The 20,000-capacity facility must still upgrade lighting to ICC standards in order to host night events.
With an India property developer sponsoring the Pearls Cup Twenty20 matches and Indian Premier League officials talking about staging US events as early as 2011, the US breakthrough could be only a hint of greater things to come.
“We’ll be meeting with potential investors and event developers to keep building our momentum,” USA Cricket chief executive Don Lockerbie said. “Interest is already high and this is very encouraging.
“To grow the game of cricket in the USA, we need to have the best teams in the world play in our country. We want to demonstrate to the American public just how exciting the Twenty20 format is.”
USA Cricket hopes to organize a US Twenty20 league as quickly as 2012.
“Given the door to cricket has been opened to investment through the sale of Indian Premier League franchises, this model is a logical step to raising the capital required to take cricket in the US to another level,” New Zealand Cricket chief executive Justin Vaughan said.
“The structure proposed is a wonderful opportunity for someone to get in on the ground floor, particularly given the growing level of interest in the US cricket market.”
Dilshan to lead Sri Lanka in Zimbabwe
COLOMBO (AFP) - – Batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan has been appointed to lead the squad to Zimbabwe for a tri-nation one-day international series that also involves India, Sri Lanka Cricket said Thursday.Several senior players including captain Kumar Sangakkara, former skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga and Sanath Jayasuriya, who had a dismal World Twenty20 tournament in the Caribbean, have been left out of the team.
Muttiah Muralitharan, the most successful bowler in history with a record 792 Test and 512 one-day international wickets, was not picked for the tour. Muralitharan is recovering from a groin injury.
All rounder Angelo Mathews will deputise for Dilshan, who is on his maiden stint as a captain for the one-day games.
The 15-member squad includes left-hand batsman Lahiru Thirimanne, who played two one-day games against Bangladesh in January, and uncapped allrounder Jeewan Mendis.
The selectors also included fast bowler Dilhara Fernando, opener Upul Tharanga and middle-order batsman Chamara Silva, who were left out of the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean.The tri-nation series gets under way in Bulawayo on May 28, with Zimbabwe taking on India in the opener.
Sri Lanka squad: Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), Angelo Mathews (vice-capt), Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Chamara Kapugedera, Suraj Randiv, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thushara, Ajantha Mendis, Jeevan Mendis, Dilhara Fernando,Chamara Silva, Thissira Perera
Pakistan hold nerve in low-scoring brawl
Pakistan tripped and stumbled and chased with the assurance of sleepwalkers, but ultimately a superior fast-bowling attack and depth in batting sealed them a low-scoring showdown. A fine bowling performance where wickets were shared all around ensured a woefully inexperienced West Indies were bowled out for an unthreatening 133 after they opted to bat. Pakistan's batting has floundered repeatedly this year and today they nearly lost it, bewildered by Gavin Tonge's four-wicket haul, before Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi added 58 to finish the deal.
This match as a contest ended well before Pakistan could come out to bat. Floyd Reifer had spoken of the importance of this tournament for fans in the Caribbean, and vowed at the toss that his team would play "the best cricket possible". What followed was anything but, as a combination of accurate fast bowling and not-so-clever batting decided the direction of this match.
Afridi, captaining Pakistan for the first time in ODIs, had said after losing the toss that he would have fielded first on a surface he reckoned had a bit in it for his bowlers. He was spot on, and Pakistan's trio of fast bowlers exploited whatever juice there was. There were no magic deliveries or exaggerated reverse swing, just good old line and length but that proved sufficient for an inept line-up. The professionals stuck to the basics: Mohammad Aamer found a bit of seam movement, Naved-ul-Hasan swung it gently and varied his pace, and Umar Gul hit the deck hard to apply the chokehold.
At one point it looked as though the game would be finished before the lights came on. West Indies' woes started in the first over, when Dale Richards spooned a return catch to Aamer. Andre Fletcher found it wasn't easy slogging Naved and when he got one that wasn't full enough to stab at, he scooped to backward point. Aamer got Travis Dowlin for 0, trying to cut one that was too full.
With the batsmen uneasy defending and playing off the back foot, Aamer settled for back of a length and beat the bat numerous times. Naved found movement when he pitched it up and the slips were kept interested. He hit a tidy line with the new ball and cleverly changed his pace, conceding just 12 off his first five overs.
Gul took a few deliveries to find his length, and when he changed his angle to around the stumps he immediately had Devon Smith - the most experienced batsman - lobbing a sharp, rising delivery to second slip. West Indies went from deep trouble to catastrophe in a matter of minutes when Aamer changed ends after a break and ripped one through David Bernard, and Gul nipped out Reifer and Chadwick Walton off successive deliveries. Gul was the pick of the lot, finding a superb line and getting the ball to sit up sharply.
Had it not been for some enthusiastic hitting from Nikita Miller, West Indies may have folded for their second lowest score ever. Miller, beginning shakily but gaining in confidence with three boundaries off Saeed Ajmal's second over, showed a technique and temperament that his batting team-mates so desperately lacked. He was last out for 51 off 57 balls as West Indies collapsed in 34.3 overs.
A target of 134 was easily going to be in Pakistan's range, but they still managed to make it a tough chase. The openers, with ten overs to negotiate before the lunch break, took the frenzied approach and paid for it. Tonge set the tone for a very good evening by bowling Imran Nazir with a full ball in a wicket-maiden opening over, and then undid Kamran Akmal for seam and carry. Tonge understood the virtue of pitching the ball up, yet also got it to bite off the pitch on more than one occasion. He smacked Mohammad Yousuf in the ribs and should have had him on 1 but Darren Sammy erred at second slip.
Tonge bowled a very consistent line, showing an aptitude to test the batsmen by pitching it up; Shoaib Malik was drawn into a fatal drive. Tonge's length was immaculate and Yousuf's was the only wicket he got off a shorter length. Otherwise his variation was generally full or on a good length.
At 76 for 5, after Misbah-ul-Haq edged Bernard, the match could have swung either way. Umar's entrance brought some stability to the proceedings and with Afridi, calmed nerves and sealed victory. Umar displayed the virtues required to negate the pressure and turn the heat back on the fielders, backing himself to go over the top. Even a severe rap from a Tino Best beamer didn't deter young Umar from finishing the job. West Indies displayed remarkable fight, but were a few runs short as Pakistan crossed the finish line in the 31st over.
This match as a contest ended well before Pakistan could come out to bat. Floyd Reifer had spoken of the importance of this tournament for fans in the Caribbean, and vowed at the toss that his team would play "the best cricket possible". What followed was anything but, as a combination of accurate fast bowling and not-so-clever batting decided the direction of this match.
Afridi, captaining Pakistan for the first time in ODIs, had said after losing the toss that he would have fielded first on a surface he reckoned had a bit in it for his bowlers. He was spot on, and Pakistan's trio of fast bowlers exploited whatever juice there was. There were no magic deliveries or exaggerated reverse swing, just good old line and length but that proved sufficient for an inept line-up. The professionals stuck to the basics: Mohammad Aamer found a bit of seam movement, Naved-ul-Hasan swung it gently and varied his pace, and Umar Gul hit the deck hard to apply the chokehold.
At one point it looked as though the game would be finished before the lights came on. West Indies' woes started in the first over, when Dale Richards spooned a return catch to Aamer. Andre Fletcher found it wasn't easy slogging Naved and when he got one that wasn't full enough to stab at, he scooped to backward point. Aamer got Travis Dowlin for 0, trying to cut one that was too full.
With the batsmen uneasy defending and playing off the back foot, Aamer settled for back of a length and beat the bat numerous times. Naved found movement when he pitched it up and the slips were kept interested. He hit a tidy line with the new ball and cleverly changed his pace, conceding just 12 off his first five overs.
Gul took a few deliveries to find his length, and when he changed his angle to around the stumps he immediately had Devon Smith - the most experienced batsman - lobbing a sharp, rising delivery to second slip. West Indies went from deep trouble to catastrophe in a matter of minutes when Aamer changed ends after a break and ripped one through David Bernard, and Gul nipped out Reifer and Chadwick Walton off successive deliveries. Gul was the pick of the lot, finding a superb line and getting the ball to sit up sharply.
Had it not been for some enthusiastic hitting from Nikita Miller, West Indies may have folded for their second lowest score ever. Miller, beginning shakily but gaining in confidence with three boundaries off Saeed Ajmal's second over, showed a technique and temperament that his batting team-mates so desperately lacked. He was last out for 51 off 57 balls as West Indies collapsed in 34.3 overs.
A target of 134 was easily going to be in Pakistan's range, but they still managed to make it a tough chase. The openers, with ten overs to negotiate before the lunch break, took the frenzied approach and paid for it. Tonge set the tone for a very good evening by bowling Imran Nazir with a full ball in a wicket-maiden opening over, and then undid Kamran Akmal for seam and carry. Tonge understood the virtue of pitching the ball up, yet also got it to bite off the pitch on more than one occasion. He smacked Mohammad Yousuf in the ribs and should have had him on 1 but Darren Sammy erred at second slip.
Tonge bowled a very consistent line, showing an aptitude to test the batsmen by pitching it up; Shoaib Malik was drawn into a fatal drive. Tonge's length was immaculate and Yousuf's was the only wicket he got off a shorter length. Otherwise his variation was generally full or on a good length.
At 76 for 5, after Misbah-ul-Haq edged Bernard, the match could have swung either way. Umar's entrance brought some stability to the proceedings and with Afridi, calmed nerves and sealed victory. Umar displayed the virtues required to negate the pressure and turn the heat back on the fielders, backing himself to go over the top. Even a severe rap from a Tino Best beamer didn't deter young Umar from finishing the job. West Indies displayed remarkable fight, but were a few runs short as Pakistan crossed the finish line in the 31st over.
Ponting hit for six - dropped from Twenty20
Following Australia’s historic Ashes defeat on Sunday, Australian Captain Ricky Ponting has been dropped from the up coming Twenty20 matches in England and Scotland starting Aug 28th. Other casualties include out of form batsmen Mike Hussey and seam bowler Peter Siddle.
Despite publicly backing Ricky and his teams’ performance throughout the Ashes series it seems that the Australian Selection Panel’s actions are somewhat different from their words – Australia lost to England therefore changes need to be made.
National Selector Andrew Hilditch commented that the Twenty20 squad was picked keeping in mind the looming World Twenty20 series in the West Indies in May.
Hilditch goes on to say that the omission of Ricky Ponting will provide a great opportunity for Vice Captain Michael Clarke to captain in the two Twenty20 matches and one ODI against Scotland.
“The selection panel is using the two matches against England to look at different make-ups to the squad and include players who we consider Twenty20 specialists in preparation for the ICC World Twenty20 next year," he said.
Gary Bowen
Despite publicly backing Ricky and his teams’ performance throughout the Ashes series it seems that the Australian Selection Panel’s actions are somewhat different from their words – Australia lost to England therefore changes need to be made.
National Selector Andrew Hilditch commented that the Twenty20 squad was picked keeping in mind the looming World Twenty20 series in the West Indies in May.
Hilditch goes on to say that the omission of Ricky Ponting will provide a great opportunity for Vice Captain Michael Clarke to captain in the two Twenty20 matches and one ODI against Scotland.
“The selection panel is using the two matches against England to look at different make-ups to the squad and include players who we consider Twenty20 specialists in preparation for the ICC World Twenty20 next year," he said.
Gary Bowen
Australia Defeat Pakistan In Fourth ODI In Dubai
Australia rode an unbeaten century from captain Michael Clarke and a five-wicket haul from Doug Bollinger to hand Pakistan an eight-wicket defeat and secure an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match one-day series.
Clarke scored a fluent 100 off 122 deliveries while Shane Watson supported him with 85 not out as the two helped Australia easily reach its measly target of 198 set by Pakistan.
Doug Bollinger had wrecked Pakistan's line-up with an accurate spell which earned him the brilliant figures of 5-35 in only his second one-dayer, but Shoaib Akhtar threatened to better that effort when he sent back both openers cheaply, reducing Australia to 2-3.
But Clarke and Watson weathered the storm and lifted Australia out of a slump with an unbroken third-wicket stand worth 197 as Australia finished at 2-200 in 44.2 overs.
Shoaib dismissed Brad Haddin for a golden duck and ended debutant Marcus North's innings early by trapping him in front for one.
Shoaib should have had the wicket of Watson immediately thereafter, but his appeal for leg before was turned down by umpire Aleem Dar.
Sohail Tanvir, Akhtar's new-ball partner, kept the pressure on with a maiden first up, but Clarke and Watson slowly wrested control.
Younus Khan shuffled his bowlers around and even brought on Shahid Afridi inside the powerplay in an effort to break the partnership, but the Australian duo remained watchful and resolute.
Afridi's match ended at the start of the 36th over when he came on to bowl and pulled up with a strained calf muscle even before he could deliver. He hobbled off the field, with three overs of his quota remaining.
Clarke brought up his fourth one-day century with a cracking cover drive off Shoaib, while Watson finished off the chase by sweeping Saeed Ajmal for a boundary.
Earlier Afridi made a run-a-ball 40 and opener Ahmed Shehzad top scored with a patient 43, but Pakistan's innings stuttered and stumbled and eventually ended in 48.4 overs.
Bollinger, who was handed the new ball, secured his first one-day international wicket when he dismissed the dangerous Salman Butt (two) off just the third delivery of the innings.
Then Younus, who got off the mark with an inside-edged boundary that narrowly missed leg stump, made seven before he was accounted for by Nathan Bracken, the left-arm seamer pegging back leg stump via an inside edge.
Bracken should have had the wicket of Misbah-ul-Haq with his next ball, the Pakistan vice-captain edging to Haddin, but umpire Dar ruled not out.
Misbah struggled against the spinners and looked scratchy right through, but he rode his luck and added 68 for the third wicket with Shehzad.
Misbah's laboured innings finally ended on 34 when he attempted to sweep Clarke, missed the ball completely and was trapped plumb in front.
Pakistan then lost wickets in quick succession as Shehzad holed out to long-on.
Shoaib Malik (27), who had shown positive intent, became Bollinger's second victim when he was trapped in front by the left-arm quick and Kamran Akmal managed just one run before he was bowled by Stuart Clark.
Afridi, in typically brisk fashion, knocked the bowlers around, all the while getting Pakistan closer to the 200-run mark.
He had hammered Clark for a couple boundaries in the seamer's sixth over, but mistimed a pull while attempting to force the pace in the batting powerplay and presented Bollinger with his third wicket.
Yasir Arafat chipped in with a useful, unbeaten 23, but Bollinger ran through the tail, claiming the wickets of Shoaib and Saeed Ajmal in his eighth over as Pakistan's innings came to an end.
The fifth match of the series is on Sunday.
Clarke scored a fluent 100 off 122 deliveries while Shane Watson supported him with 85 not out as the two helped Australia easily reach its measly target of 198 set by Pakistan.
Doug Bollinger had wrecked Pakistan's line-up with an accurate spell which earned him the brilliant figures of 5-35 in only his second one-dayer, but Shoaib Akhtar threatened to better that effort when he sent back both openers cheaply, reducing Australia to 2-3.
But Clarke and Watson weathered the storm and lifted Australia out of a slump with an unbroken third-wicket stand worth 197 as Australia finished at 2-200 in 44.2 overs.
Shoaib dismissed Brad Haddin for a golden duck and ended debutant Marcus North's innings early by trapping him in front for one.
Shoaib should have had the wicket of Watson immediately thereafter, but his appeal for leg before was turned down by umpire Aleem Dar.
Sohail Tanvir, Akhtar's new-ball partner, kept the pressure on with a maiden first up, but Clarke and Watson slowly wrested control.
Younus Khan shuffled his bowlers around and even brought on Shahid Afridi inside the powerplay in an effort to break the partnership, but the Australian duo remained watchful and resolute.
Afridi's match ended at the start of the 36th over when he came on to bowl and pulled up with a strained calf muscle even before he could deliver. He hobbled off the field, with three overs of his quota remaining.
Clarke brought up his fourth one-day century with a cracking cover drive off Shoaib, while Watson finished off the chase by sweeping Saeed Ajmal for a boundary.
Earlier Afridi made a run-a-ball 40 and opener Ahmed Shehzad top scored with a patient 43, but Pakistan's innings stuttered and stumbled and eventually ended in 48.4 overs.
Bollinger, who was handed the new ball, secured his first one-day international wicket when he dismissed the dangerous Salman Butt (two) off just the third delivery of the innings.
Then Younus, who got off the mark with an inside-edged boundary that narrowly missed leg stump, made seven before he was accounted for by Nathan Bracken, the left-arm seamer pegging back leg stump via an inside edge.
Bracken should have had the wicket of Misbah-ul-Haq with his next ball, the Pakistan vice-captain edging to Haddin, but umpire Dar ruled not out.
Misbah struggled against the spinners and looked scratchy right through, but he rode his luck and added 68 for the third wicket with Shehzad.
Misbah's laboured innings finally ended on 34 when he attempted to sweep Clarke, missed the ball completely and was trapped plumb in front.
Pakistan then lost wickets in quick succession as Shehzad holed out to long-on.
Shoaib Malik (27), who had shown positive intent, became Bollinger's second victim when he was trapped in front by the left-arm quick and Kamran Akmal managed just one run before he was bowled by Stuart Clark.
Afridi, in typically brisk fashion, knocked the bowlers around, all the while getting Pakistan closer to the 200-run mark.
He had hammered Clark for a couple boundaries in the seamer's sixth over, but mistimed a pull while attempting to force the pace in the batting powerplay and presented Bollinger with his third wicket.
Yasir Arafat chipped in with a useful, unbeaten 23, but Bollinger ran through the tail, claiming the wickets of Shoaib and Saeed Ajmal in his eighth over as Pakistan's innings came to an end.
The fifth match of the series is on Sunday.
Australia Defeat Pakistan in Third ODI In Dubai
Australia took a 2-1 lead in the five-match one-day series after beating Pakistan by 27 runs in Abu Dhabi on Monday evening.
Pakistan had restricted Australia to 7-198 from its 50 overs but could only manage 171 all out in reply.
Skipper Michael Clarke was again Australia's hero as he made a battling 63 before taking 3-15 with the ball.
A ragged spell from left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir - who was picked at the expense of Shoaib Akhtar - helped Australia openers Brad Haddin and James Hopes make a cracking start in good batting conditions.
Haddin struck Tanvir for consecutive blows in his first over, the left-arm seamer conceding 14 runs in his first two overs.
Umar Gul, who had handled the new ball, was also a touch expensive to begin with, helping Australia flourish.
But Pakistan hit back with skipper Younus Khan throwing down the stumps at the non-striker's end with a direct throw from mid-off catching Hopes (15) just short of his crease while the batsman attempted a single.
Gul then sent back Shane Watson for a second-ball duck immediately after to have Australia reeling at 2-28.
Clarke and Haddin steadied the ship somewhat but Australia lost its way again with the advent of the spinners.
Shahid Afridi was pressed into action at the start of the 14th over and Australia's scoring rate dropped dramatically.
But it was Shoaib Malik who separated the pair, bowling Haddin (26) as the wicketkeeper-batsman moved too far across while attempting to tuck one down to third man.
Andrew Symonds, who had survived a good shout for leg before on only the second ball he faced, was eventually snared by Afridi for only six and Clarke fell while attempting to force the pace while the batting powerplay was in progress.
Clarke had put on 54 for the fifth wicket with Callum Ferguson, who carried on briefly after his skipper's departure, while Nathan Hauritz got Australia close to the 200-run mark with an unbeaten 19 off only 18 deliveries.
Gul finished the top wicket-taker with 3-38 from eight.
Pakistan made a good start to its reply, with Salman Butt and Ahmed Shehzad putting on 95 for the first wicket and seemingly putting their side on course for victory.
But Butt's wicket, two short of a half-century, proved the turning point, the opener edging Hauritz to first slip.
Khan went for a duck the next ball before Misbah-ul-Haq became Clarke's first victim.
The same bowler then snared Shehzad for 40 while Afridi (6), Kamran Akmal (8), Yasir Arafat (3) and Tanvir (11) all went cheaply.
Malik chipped in with a useful 30 but, when he was run out, the game was up, and Gul quickly became the last man out with nearly three overs left.
Pakistan had restricted Australia to 7-198 from its 50 overs but could only manage 171 all out in reply.
Skipper Michael Clarke was again Australia's hero as he made a battling 63 before taking 3-15 with the ball.
A ragged spell from left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir - who was picked at the expense of Shoaib Akhtar - helped Australia openers Brad Haddin and James Hopes make a cracking start in good batting conditions.
Haddin struck Tanvir for consecutive blows in his first over, the left-arm seamer conceding 14 runs in his first two overs.
Umar Gul, who had handled the new ball, was also a touch expensive to begin with, helping Australia flourish.
But Pakistan hit back with skipper Younus Khan throwing down the stumps at the non-striker's end with a direct throw from mid-off catching Hopes (15) just short of his crease while the batsman attempted a single.
Gul then sent back Shane Watson for a second-ball duck immediately after to have Australia reeling at 2-28.
Clarke and Haddin steadied the ship somewhat but Australia lost its way again with the advent of the spinners.
Shahid Afridi was pressed into action at the start of the 14th over and Australia's scoring rate dropped dramatically.
But it was Shoaib Malik who separated the pair, bowling Haddin (26) as the wicketkeeper-batsman moved too far across while attempting to tuck one down to third man.
Andrew Symonds, who had survived a good shout for leg before on only the second ball he faced, was eventually snared by Afridi for only six and Clarke fell while attempting to force the pace while the batting powerplay was in progress.
Clarke had put on 54 for the fifth wicket with Callum Ferguson, who carried on briefly after his skipper's departure, while Nathan Hauritz got Australia close to the 200-run mark with an unbeaten 19 off only 18 deliveries.
Gul finished the top wicket-taker with 3-38 from eight.
Pakistan made a good start to its reply, with Salman Butt and Ahmed Shehzad putting on 95 for the first wicket and seemingly putting their side on course for victory.
But Butt's wicket, two short of a half-century, proved the turning point, the opener edging Hauritz to first slip.
Khan went for a duck the next ball before Misbah-ul-Haq became Clarke's first victim.
The same bowler then snared Shehzad for 40 while Afridi (6), Kamran Akmal (8), Yasir Arafat (3) and Tanvir (11) all went cheaply.
Malik chipped in with a useful 30 but, when he was run out, the game was up, and Gul quickly became the last man out with nearly three overs left.
Australia Defeat Pakistan In Second ODI In Dubai
Andrew Symonds rewarded the faith of the Australian selectors as he led his side to a six-wicket victory over Pakistan in the second one-day international in Dubai.
His two wickets for 12 runs helped finish off the Pakistan tail as it made 207, and his brisk half-century carried Australia almost all the way in reaching its target with 29 balls to spare.
After Brad Haddin went for eight, Shane Watson's 30 and 48 from James Hopes had helped Australia build a solid platform, but Pakistan dismissed the pair within the space of three balls to leave the tourists in a more nervous position at 3-93 when Symonds strode to the crease.
He took a while to play himself in, but after the offer of a free hit against Shoaib Malik was smashed for his first four in the 29th over, Symonds began to express himself a little more and hit Saeed Ajmal for six in the next over.
By the time he was bowled by Shahid Afridi for 58 off 62 balls, the damage had been done with Australia well ahead of the run rate and only 25 runs from its target.
Michael Clarke's unbeaten 39 and 10 from Callum Ferguson saw it home.
Earlier, Pakistan had scratched its way to a competitive total mainly thanks to opener Salman Butt and his laborious 57.
Shahid Afridi slammed 41 off 40 deliveries, but his dismissal while the batting powerplay was in progress left Pakistan's tail exposed in the final overs.
Shoaib Akhtar, however, threw his bat around and landed some lusty blows en route to 25 off 14 deliveries as Pakistan breached the 200-run mark.
That target looked unlikely at the start when debutant opener Ahmed Shehzad was run out with five runs on the board.
Shehzad turned a delivery from Nathan Bracken to square leg and set off for a single. Butt at first responded and was almost halfway down the pitch when he turned back while Shehzad continued with the run.
Clarke swooped on the ball and fired in a return to wicketkeeper Haddin, who whipped off the bails at the striking end. Umpire Billy Bowden adjudged Shehzad as the batsman out.
Butt rebuilt the innings in the company of skipper Younus Khan (28), who looked in fine touch. The two added 53 for the second wicket.
Younus, who survived a run-out attempt on one, was out edging the first ball from Ben Laughlin to Haddin.
Nathan Hauritz then claimed three wickets in quick succession as Pakistan wobbled, ending with figures of three for 41, while debutant Doug Bollinger turned in an economical spell conceding 26 in his 10 overs.
His two wickets for 12 runs helped finish off the Pakistan tail as it made 207, and his brisk half-century carried Australia almost all the way in reaching its target with 29 balls to spare.
After Brad Haddin went for eight, Shane Watson's 30 and 48 from James Hopes had helped Australia build a solid platform, but Pakistan dismissed the pair within the space of three balls to leave the tourists in a more nervous position at 3-93 when Symonds strode to the crease.
He took a while to play himself in, but after the offer of a free hit against Shoaib Malik was smashed for his first four in the 29th over, Symonds began to express himself a little more and hit Saeed Ajmal for six in the next over.
By the time he was bowled by Shahid Afridi for 58 off 62 balls, the damage had been done with Australia well ahead of the run rate and only 25 runs from its target.
Michael Clarke's unbeaten 39 and 10 from Callum Ferguson saw it home.
Earlier, Pakistan had scratched its way to a competitive total mainly thanks to opener Salman Butt and his laborious 57.
Shahid Afridi slammed 41 off 40 deliveries, but his dismissal while the batting powerplay was in progress left Pakistan's tail exposed in the final overs.
Shoaib Akhtar, however, threw his bat around and landed some lusty blows en route to 25 off 14 deliveries as Pakistan breached the 200-run mark.
That target looked unlikely at the start when debutant opener Ahmed Shehzad was run out with five runs on the board.
Shehzad turned a delivery from Nathan Bracken to square leg and set off for a single. Butt at first responded and was almost halfway down the pitch when he turned back while Shehzad continued with the run.
Clarke swooped on the ball and fired in a return to wicketkeeper Haddin, who whipped off the bails at the striking end. Umpire Billy Bowden adjudged Shehzad as the batsman out.
Butt rebuilt the innings in the company of skipper Younus Khan (28), who looked in fine touch. The two added 53 for the second wicket.
Younus, who survived a run-out attempt on one, was out edging the first ball from Ben Laughlin to Haddin.
Nathan Hauritz then claimed three wickets in quick succession as Pakistan wobbled, ending with figures of three for 41, while debutant Doug Bollinger turned in an economical spell conceding 26 in his 10 overs.
Pakistan Defeat Australia In First ODI In Dubai
Shahid Afridi claimed six victims to pave the way for Pakistan to claim victory by four wickets in its opening one-day international against Australia in Dubai.
The Pakistan all-rounder claimed career-best figures of 6-38 as Australia could only manage 168 in an innings that lasted just 38.5 overs.
The world champions again lost their way in the middle overs, losing 8-27 at one stage as they wilted against Afridi's spin.
It could have been worse for the Australians who relied on a last-wicket stand of 46 runs between James Hopes (48 not out) and Ben Hilfenhaus (four) to give their score some respectability.
Pakistan's reply, while slow going at times, always looked on track with Kamran Akmal hitting 48 at the top of the order before Misbah-ul-Haq anchored the innings with an unbeaten 30 from 68 balls.
A near-capacity crowd filled the Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium as the venue hosted international cricket for the first time.
The postponed series, which was originally due to be played last year, had been moved from Pakistan to neutral turf because the Australian team harboured security concerns about touring the strife-torn nation.
That meant this series came after its 3-2 series defeat to South Africa, when Australia's middle order had shown weakness against spin.
That again proved to be the case on Wednesday after openers Brad Haddin and Shaun Marsh had got it off to a solid start. They added 41 in nine overs before Marsh, who re-injured the hamstring injury that kept him out of the South Africa series, was run out for 16.
Haddin, who was dropped by Shoaib Akhtar while on 38, although the chance was a difficult one, was joined by Shane Watson and the pair put Australia back on top with a 54-run stand for the second wicket.
Watson played the dominant hand, blasting two fours and a six while racing along at better than a run a ball.
All that ended when Pakistan captain Younus Khan brought his spinners on.
Afridi made the breakthrough in his fifth over, inducing an expansive drive from Haddin (40) which was snapped up by Younus at short cover.
That prompted Australia's stunning collapse with off-spinner Saeed Ajmal (two for 19) also getting in on the act.
Ajmal snared stand-in Australia skipper Michael Clarke (four) cheaply, while Afridi picked up the wicket of Watson (40) - bowled while playing down the wrong line - in his next over.
Andrew Symonds (two) offered little on his return to the team after spending nine months on the sidelines.
Callum Ferguson (two), Nathan Bracken (one) and Stuart Clark (two) followed in quick succession as Australia slipped from 2-95 to 9-122.
Hopes revived the innings at the end, but Gul ended it, clean bowling Hilfenhaus.
The early end to Australia's innings meant Pakistan was forced to bat for seven overs before the interval and lost Salman Butt for five when Hilfenhaus trapped him lbw.
Kamran and Younus avoided any further damage before the break to steer Pakistan to 1-25.
Younus (11) fell soon after the re-start when he was frustrated into playing a cross-bat shot off Hopes which he mis-timed to Bracken at mid-off.
Kamran, however, kept the scoreboard ticking over and had closed to within two runs of a deserved half-century when Stuart Clark had him caught behind by Haddin.
Australia showed signs of a fightback when it then had Shoaib Malik (24) caught by Haddin off Hopes shortly after, to leave Pakistan on 4-99.
But Pakistan got the steadying innings it needed from Misbah.
With Afridi adding a quickfire 24, Misbah was content to play a patient a role, eventually guiding his team home with 5.5 overs to spare.
The Pakistan all-rounder claimed career-best figures of 6-38 as Australia could only manage 168 in an innings that lasted just 38.5 overs.
The world champions again lost their way in the middle overs, losing 8-27 at one stage as they wilted against Afridi's spin.
It could have been worse for the Australians who relied on a last-wicket stand of 46 runs between James Hopes (48 not out) and Ben Hilfenhaus (four) to give their score some respectability.
Pakistan's reply, while slow going at times, always looked on track with Kamran Akmal hitting 48 at the top of the order before Misbah-ul-Haq anchored the innings with an unbeaten 30 from 68 balls.
A near-capacity crowd filled the Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium as the venue hosted international cricket for the first time.
The postponed series, which was originally due to be played last year, had been moved from Pakistan to neutral turf because the Australian team harboured security concerns about touring the strife-torn nation.
That meant this series came after its 3-2 series defeat to South Africa, when Australia's middle order had shown weakness against spin.
That again proved to be the case on Wednesday after openers Brad Haddin and Shaun Marsh had got it off to a solid start. They added 41 in nine overs before Marsh, who re-injured the hamstring injury that kept him out of the South Africa series, was run out for 16.
Haddin, who was dropped by Shoaib Akhtar while on 38, although the chance was a difficult one, was joined by Shane Watson and the pair put Australia back on top with a 54-run stand for the second wicket.
Watson played the dominant hand, blasting two fours and a six while racing along at better than a run a ball.
All that ended when Pakistan captain Younus Khan brought his spinners on.
Afridi made the breakthrough in his fifth over, inducing an expansive drive from Haddin (40) which was snapped up by Younus at short cover.
That prompted Australia's stunning collapse with off-spinner Saeed Ajmal (two for 19) also getting in on the act.
Ajmal snared stand-in Australia skipper Michael Clarke (four) cheaply, while Afridi picked up the wicket of Watson (40) - bowled while playing down the wrong line - in his next over.
Andrew Symonds (two) offered little on his return to the team after spending nine months on the sidelines.
Callum Ferguson (two), Nathan Bracken (one) and Stuart Clark (two) followed in quick succession as Australia slipped from 2-95 to 9-122.
Hopes revived the innings at the end, but Gul ended it, clean bowling Hilfenhaus.
The early end to Australia's innings meant Pakistan was forced to bat for seven overs before the interval and lost Salman Butt for five when Hilfenhaus trapped him lbw.
Kamran and Younus avoided any further damage before the break to steer Pakistan to 1-25.
Younus (11) fell soon after the re-start when he was frustrated into playing a cross-bat shot off Hopes which he mis-timed to Bracken at mid-off.
Kamran, however, kept the scoreboard ticking over and had closed to within two runs of a deserved half-century when Stuart Clark had him caught behind by Haddin.
Australia showed signs of a fightback when it then had Shoaib Malik (24) caught by Haddin off Hopes shortly after, to leave Pakistan on 4-99.
But Pakistan got the steadying innings it needed from Misbah.
With Afridi adding a quickfire 24, Misbah was content to play a patient a role, eventually guiding his team home with 5.5 overs to spare.
New Zealand Defeat Australia In Women's World Cup
New Zealand has made a terrific start to its ICC Women's World Cup campaign, beating Australia in a rain-marred encounter at North Sydney Oval.The match was abandoned at 5.22pm (AEDT) with Australia 6-132 in the 33rd over chasing New Zealand's 205.
Under the Duckworth-Lewis method, the White Ferns were declared victors.
New Zealand pace bowler Kate Pulford, who took 3-32, was named player of the match.
Australia, the pre-tournament favourite and five-time World Cup winners, did well to restrict the Kiwis in the field but batted poorly to throw away any hope of victory.
Karen Rolton
The home side's run chase began badly, opener Alex Blackwell out for just four in the third over.
Skipper Karen Rolton (21) joined Shelley Nitschke at the crease and took the score to 49 before mistiming a pull shot to present McGlashan an easy catch at mid-on off Kate Pulford's bowling.
The Southern Stars sunk deeper into trouble when Lisa Sthalekar (six) was brilliantly caught one-handed by wicket-keeper Rachel Priest, leaving Australia a shaky 3-58.
The White Ferns continued to take wickets at regular intervals, Nitschke (27), Jessica Cameron (15) and Lauren Ebsary (one) all falling before rain forced play to be halted with the hosts 6-100.
The Aussies moved the score on to 6-132 when play resumed before the rain returned to wash play out for the day.
New Zealand's 205 looked a little skinny on the postage stamp-sized North Sydney Oval.
The Kiwis were looking at a large score after moving to 3-171 in the 41st over before a dramatic late collapse saw them lose 7-34.
New Zealand skipper Haidee Tiffen (59) played a lone hand at the top of the order, with cameo knocks from Suzie Bates (29), Amy Satterthwaite (38) and Sara McGlashan (29) setting up what should have been a 250-plus score.
But some poor shot selection and steady bowling from Sthalekar (2-35) and Ellyse Perry (3-40) brought the Kiwis undone.
Perry made a brave and remarkable return after earlier leaving the field with a dislocated finger.
Australian won the toss and sent New Zealand into bat in overcast conditions.
The Kiwis made a disastrous start, losing opener Pulford (three) in the fourth over to a brilliant piece of fielding from Sthalekar.
Sthalekar picked the ball up at mid-wicket and through the stumps down at the keeper's end to leave Pulford well short of her ground.
Bates and Tiffen moved the score on to 42 before Bates (29) was bowled after failing to get her feet moving to a beautiful Rene Farrell (1-20) inswinger.
Tiffen was joined by Satterthwaite and the pair was untroubled in posting 67 for the third wicket.
But there was no keeping Sthalekar out of the game.
She enticed Satterthwaite (38) into an ill-advised drive which ballooned to skipper Karen Rolton at mid-off.
Tiffen's well-crafted knock came to an end on 57, the skipper lofting Erin Osborne (2-37) down the throat of substitute Jessica Cameron in the deep.
The captain's departure triggered a dramatic collapse, the visitors going from 3-171 to all out 205 in the 48th over.
But the modest total proved beyond Australia, with rain eventually ending their unlikely bid for victory.
New Zealand innings
Pulford run out (Sthalekar) 3 (12)
Tiffen c sub (Cameron) b Osborne 57 (113)
Bates b Farrell 29 (24)
Satterthwaite c Rolton b Sthalekar 38 (51)
McGlashan c Fields b Perry 29 (54)
Mason c Nitschke b Sthalekar 0 (2)
Browne b Osborne 3 (2)
Tsukigawa c & b Sampson 2 (9)
Priest c Sthalekar b Perry 7 (9)
Devine c Rolton b Perry 13 (7)
Burrows not out 3 (7)
Extras: 21 (3lb, 2nb, 16w)
Total: 205 (10 wickets; 48 overs)
FOW: 1-6, 2-42, 3-109, 4-171, 5-171, 6-174, 7-176, 8-180 9-187, 10-205
Bowling
Sampson 9 – 0 – 33 - 1
Farrell 7 – 1 – 20 - 1 (6w)
Perry 6 – 1 – 40 – 3 (2nb, 2w)
Nitschke 6 – 0 – 37 - 0 (2w)
Osborne 10 – 0 – 37 - 2 (2w)
Sthalekar 10 – 1 – 35 – 2 (2w)
Australia innings
Nitschke lbw b Pulford 27 (41)
Blackwell c Mason b Devine 4 (8)
Rolton c McGlashan b Pulford 21 (28)
Sthalekar c Priest b Pulford 6 (12)
Fields not out 26 (53)
Cameron c Browne b Devine 15 (27)
Ebsary c Priest b Mason 1 (5)
Perry not out 17 (27)
Extras: 14 (3lb, 2nb, 9w)
Total: 132 (6 wickets; 33 overs)
FOW: 1-12, 2-49, 3-58, 4-71, 5-98, 6-100
Bowling
Devine 7 – 2 – 19 – 2 (1nb, 1w)
Burrows 3 – 0 – 15 – 0 (2w)
Browne 7 – 0 – 25 – 0 (1nb, 1w)
Pulford 7 – 0 – 32 – 3 (4w)
Mason 6 – 1 – 21 – 1 (1w)
Bates 3 – 0 – 17 - 0
Australia Rain Supreme Over New Zealand
Australia has retained the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy after a stop-start game five was finally abandoned due to heavy rain with the game delicately poised at the Gabba.Chasing a revised total of 156 from 20 overs in the series decider after Brad Haddin and Callum Ferguson struck unbeaten half-centuries to propel the hosts to 4-168 off 22 overs, the Black Caps progressed to 6-123 through 14 overs before rain intervened.
The Kiwis, who still had their two-over batting power-play up their sleeves, needed a further 33 runs off 36 deliveries to claim a rare series win on home soil.
Opener Martin Guptill was the star with the bat smashing an unbeaten 64 from 34 balls to put the Kiwis within sight of a famous victory.
Debutant Brendon Diamanti provided solid support with a timely 26 off 22 as the pair put on an unbeaten 50-run stand.
The series finished all tied up at two apiece after the Australians clawed their way back from a 2-0 deficit to set up the decider.
Ricky Ponting walks off the field as the rain falls
New Zealand made the worst possible start to their pursuit when Ben Hilfenhaus (1-28) bowled Brendon McCullum for two with the second ball of the innings.
But Guptill made his intentions clear depositing Nathan Bracken (2-33) over the mid-wicket fence before Peter Fulton chimed in with consecutive boundaries.
The onslaught continued when Hilfenhaus conceded 21 runs from his second over but Fulton's luck ran out on 22 when he skied Bracken to Callum Ferguson.
Guptill welcomed Mitchell Johnson (1-28) into the attack with a massive six behind square but Johnson soon had reason to smile when he removed the dangerous Ross Taylor for four.
The lanky opener continued to plunder the attack but the wickets kept falling as Grant Elliott (0), Neil Broom (0) and Kyle Mills (1) all went cheaply.
Guptill continued to score freely and finally found support in Diamanti as the Kiwis took the ascendancy before the weather spoiled their party.
Earlier Haddin continued his fine series blasting an unbeaten 88 off 65 deliveries to guide the hosts to a respectable total.
The in-form gloveman appeared in total control throughout striking five boundaries and three sixes, but his patience under pressure defined his knock.
Haddin didn't do it all on his own, however, with Ferguson continuing the dream start to his international career with a brilliant 55 not out off 35 balls.
Having joined Haddin at the crease at 4-70, the pair added an unbeaten 98-run-stand to steal the upper hand at the midway point.
James Hopes (5) got the Australian innings going with a boundary in the second over but his aggression soon cost him his wicket.
Mills (2-22) kept the pressure on the home side when he removed captain Ricky Ponting (2) caught behind with a well directed out swinger, and when game-four hero David Hussey fell for six the hosts were in early trouble.
Diamanti (0-25) was unlucky not to remove Haddin with his first ODI delivery but the in-form right hander put things right with a boundary from the next delivery.
Haddin continued to plunder the new-comer but Vettori (1-24) halted Australia's momentum when Hussey (9) hit a long-hop straight to Diamanti at mid wicket.
Ferguson was lucky not to depart for two when Grant Elliott failed to throw down the stumps in his follow through, and the South Australian made the visitors pay hitting Tim Southee (0-49) for three-consecutive boundaries in the first over of the batting power-play before Haddin took 14 runs off the final over.
New Zealand Beat Australia In Second ODI
New Captain, different team, same result. Australia's lean run continued, with a six-wicket loss to New Zealand in the second Commonwealth Bank one-day international at the MCG on Friday night.
Not even a stellar 98 from stand-in captain Michael Clarke and an intelligent 75 from his deputy Michael Hussey could prevent Australia from sinking to its sixth defeat from seven matches.
Playing only his 13th game, Grant Elliott proved the unlikely hero for New Zealand, making a career-best 61 not out to steer the visitors past Australia's modest 5-225 with seven balls to spare.
Australia's best chance for victory came after Ross Taylor threw away his wicket on 47 with an unnecessary slog but an unbeaten 50-run stand off 44 balls between Elliott and Neil Broom snuffed out hopes of a come-from-behind win.
Chancing their arm, Elliott and Broom regularly cleared the fingertips of desperate Australian fieldsmen by only a matter of inches.
Grant Elliott
The loss saw Australia move down to third place on the latest ICC rankings, one point behind India and only four clear of the Kiwis.
Another victory in Sydney on Sunday for the Black Caps will give them an unassailable three-nil lead in the best-of-five series and ensure the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy heads across the Tasman.
This was a match which the visitors assumed control of almost from the get go.
Fielding one of its most inexperienced line-ups in recent times, Australia could not afford another poor start with the bat.
If Clarke's promotion to open the batting was designed to calm a relatively inexperienced top order, it did not work.
David Warner, Brad Haddin and David Hussey were all back in the pavilion by the 18th over - the trio guilty of a rush of blood or a lack of judgement, or in Warner's case a bit of both.
Warner made just two, continuing a topsy-turvy start to his international career.
Predictably, Australia appeared most settled when its two most senior batsmen - Clarke and Michael Hussey - were at the crease.
Showing the patience that comes through experience, the pair took few risks in their 133-run stand, preferring instead to pick holes in the field.
Not that the Black Caps, with Kyle Mills and Iain O'Brien more than capable bookends to their bowling innings, gave them many balls with which to find or clear the rope either.
Mills, who claimed 1-12 from his six overs with the new ball, and O'Brien denied Australia a final flurry at the death.
O'Brien was particularly effective, taking the key wickets of Clarke and Michael Hussey.
Despite an early wicket from Nathan Bracken, Australia's attack again lacked penetration.
James Hopes, a non-descript all-rounder who rarely lets the team down, lifted the home side's spirits by removing Peter Fulton and key man Brendon McCullum.
Hopes was the pick of the Australian bowlers, taking 2-30 from 10 overs.
With victory in sight, the composure Taylor showed early in his innings evaporated.
He was dropped on 37 in the deep by Michael Hussey in the 37th over then surrendered his wicket four overs later when he was caught behind trying to slog Mitchell Johnson into another postcode.
Fortunately for Taylor, Elliott and Broom ensured his mistake did not spark a remarkable comeback.
Not even a stellar 98 from stand-in captain Michael Clarke and an intelligent 75 from his deputy Michael Hussey could prevent Australia from sinking to its sixth defeat from seven matches.
Playing only his 13th game, Grant Elliott proved the unlikely hero for New Zealand, making a career-best 61 not out to steer the visitors past Australia's modest 5-225 with seven balls to spare.
Australia's best chance for victory came after Ross Taylor threw away his wicket on 47 with an unnecessary slog but an unbeaten 50-run stand off 44 balls between Elliott and Neil Broom snuffed out hopes of a come-from-behind win.
Chancing their arm, Elliott and Broom regularly cleared the fingertips of desperate Australian fieldsmen by only a matter of inches.
Grant Elliott
The loss saw Australia move down to third place on the latest ICC rankings, one point behind India and only four clear of the Kiwis.
Another victory in Sydney on Sunday for the Black Caps will give them an unassailable three-nil lead in the best-of-five series and ensure the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy heads across the Tasman.
This was a match which the visitors assumed control of almost from the get go.
Fielding one of its most inexperienced line-ups in recent times, Australia could not afford another poor start with the bat.
If Clarke's promotion to open the batting was designed to calm a relatively inexperienced top order, it did not work.
David Warner, Brad Haddin and David Hussey were all back in the pavilion by the 18th over - the trio guilty of a rush of blood or a lack of judgement, or in Warner's case a bit of both.
Warner made just two, continuing a topsy-turvy start to his international career.
Predictably, Australia appeared most settled when its two most senior batsmen - Clarke and Michael Hussey - were at the crease.
Showing the patience that comes through experience, the pair took few risks in their 133-run stand, preferring instead to pick holes in the field.
Not that the Black Caps, with Kyle Mills and Iain O'Brien more than capable bookends to their bowling innings, gave them many balls with which to find or clear the rope either.
Mills, who claimed 1-12 from his six overs with the new ball, and O'Brien denied Australia a final flurry at the death.
O'Brien was particularly effective, taking the key wickets of Clarke and Michael Hussey.
Despite an early wicket from Nathan Bracken, Australia's attack again lacked penetration.
James Hopes, a non-descript all-rounder who rarely lets the team down, lifted the home side's spirits by removing Peter Fulton and key man Brendon McCullum.
Hopes was the pick of the Australian bowlers, taking 2-30 from 10 overs.
With victory in sight, the composure Taylor showed early in his innings evaporated.
He was dropped on 37 in the deep by Michael Hussey in the 37th over then surrendered his wicket four overs later when he was caught behind trying to slog Mitchell Johnson into another postcode.
Fortunately for Taylor, Elliott and Broom ensured his mistake did not spark a remarkable comeback.
The game of cricket has a known history spanning from the 16th century to the present day, with international matches played since 1844, although the official history of international Test cricket began in 
1877. During this time, the game developed from its origins in England into a game which is now played professionally in most of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Origin
No one knows when or where cricket began but there is a body of evidence, much of it circumstantial, that strongly suggests the game was devised during Saxon or Norman times by children living in the Weald, an area of dense woodlands and
clearings in south-east England that lies across Kent and Sussex. In medieval times, the Weald was populated by small farming and metal-working communities. It is generally believed that cricket survived as a children's game for many centuries before it was increasingly taken up by adults around the beginning of the 17th century.[1]
It is quite likely that cricket was devised by children and survived for many generations as essentially a children’s game. Adult participation is unknown before the early 17th century. Possibly cricket was derived from bowls, assuming bowls is the older sport, by the intervention of a batsman trying to stop the ball from reaching its target by hitting it away. Playing on sheep-grazed land or in clearings, the original implements may have been a matted lump of sheep’s wool (or even a stone or a small lump of wood) as the ball; a stick or a crook or another farm tool as the bat; and a stool or a tree stump or a gate (e.g., a wicket gate) as the wicket.[2]
Derivation of the name of "cricket"
A number of words are thought to be possible sources for the term "cricket". In the earliest known reference to the sport in 1598 (see below), it is called creckett. The name may have been derived from the Middle Dutch krick(-e), meaning a stick; or the Old English cricc or cryce meaning a crutch or staff.[2] Another possible source is the Middle Dutch word krickstoel, meaning a long low stool used for kneeling in church and which resembled the long low wicket with two stumps used in early cricket.
According to Heiner Gillmeister, a European language expert of Bonn University, "cricket" derives from the Middle Dutch met de (krik ket)sen (i.e., "with the stick chase"), which also suggests a Dutch connection in the game's origin. It is more likely that the terminology of cricket was based on words in use in south east England at the time and, given trade connections with the County of Flanders, especially in the 15th century when it belonged to the Duchy of Burgundy, many Middle Dutch[3] words found their way into southern English dialects.[4]
First definite reference
John Derrick played creckett at The Royal Grammar School in GuildfordDespite many prior suggested references, the first definite reference to the game is found in a 1598 court case concerning dispute over a school's ownership of a plot of land. A 59-year old coroner, and Mr Derrick's account proves beyond reasonable doubt that the game was being played in Surrey c.1550.[5]
The first reference to it being played as an adult sport was in 1611, when two men in Sussex were prosecuted for playing cricket on Sunday instead of going to church.[6] In the same year, a dictionary defines cricket as a boys' game and this suggests that adult participation was a recent development.[5]
John Derrick, testified that he and his school friends had played creckett on the site fifty years earlier. The school was the Royal Grammar School, Guildford
Early 17th century
A number of references occur up to the English Civil War and these indicate that cricket had become an adult game contested by parish teams, but there is no evidence of county strength teams at this time. Equally, there is little evidence of the rampant gambling that characterised the game throughout the 18th century. It is generally believed, therefore, that village cricket had developed by the middle of the 17th century but that county cricket had not and that investment in the game had not begun.[1]
The Commonwealth
After the Civil War ended in 1648, the new Puritan government clamped down on "unlawful assemblies", in particular the more raucous sports such as football. Their laws also demanded a stricter observance of the Sabbath than there had been previously. As the Sabbath was the only free time available to the lower classes, cricket's popularity may have waned during the Commonwealth. Having said that, it did flourish in public fee-paying schools such as Winchester and St Paul's. There is no actual evidence that Oliver Cromwell's regime banned cricket specifically and there are references to it during the interregnum that suggest it was acceptable to the authorities providing it did not cause any "breach of the Sabbath".[1] It is believed that the nobility in general adopted cricket at this time through involvement in village games.[5]
Gambling and press coverage
Cricket certainly thrived after the Restoration in 1660 and is believed to have first attracted gamblers making large bets at this time. In 1664, the "Cavalier" Parliament passed the Gaming Act 1664 which limited stakes to £100, although that was still a fortune at the time,[1] equivalent to about £12 thousand in present day terms [7]. Cricket had certainly become a significant gambling sport by the end of the 17th century. There is a newspaper report of a "great match" played in Sussex in 1697 which was 11-a-side and played for high stakes of 50 guineas a side.[6]
With freedom of the press having been granted in 1696, cricket for the first time could be reported in the newspapers. But it was a long time before the newspaper industry adapted sufficiently to provide frequent, let alone comprehensive, coverage of the game. During the first half of the 18th century, press reports tended to focus on the betting rather than on the play.[1]
Cricket and crisis
Cricket faced its first real crisis during the 18th century when major matches virtually ceased during the Seven Years War. This was largely due to shortage of players and lack of investment. But the game survived and the "Hambledon Era" proper began in the mid-1760s.
Cricket faced another major crisis at the beginning of the 19th century when a cessation of major matches occurred during the culminating period of the Napoleonic Wars. Again, the causes were shortage of players and lack of investment. But, as in the 1760s, the game survived and a slow recovery began in 1815.
MCC was itself the centre of controversy in the Regency period, largely on account of the enmity between Lord Frederick Beauclerk and George Osbaldeston. In 1817, their intrigues and jealousies exploded into a match-fixing scandal with the top player William Lambert being banned from playing at Lord's Cricket Ground for life. Gambling scandals in cricket have been going on since the 17th century.
In the 1820s, cricket faced a major crisis of its own making as the campaign to allow roundarm bowling gathered pace.
Nineteenth century cricket
The game also underwent a fundamental change of organisation with the formation for the first time of county clubs. All the modern county clubs, starting with Sussex in 1839, were founded during the 19th century.
No sooner had the first county clubs established themselves than they faced what amounted to "player action" as William Clarke created the travelling All-England Eleven in 1846. Though a commercial venture, this team did much to popularise the game in districts which had never previously been visited by high-class cricketers. Other similar teams were created and this vogue lasted for about thirty years. But the counties and MCC prevailed.
The growth of cricket in the mid and late 19th century was assisted by the development of the railway network. For the first time, teams from a long distance apart could play one other without a prohibitively time-consuming journey. Spectators could travel longer distances to matches, increasing the size of crowds.
In 1864, another bowling revolution resulted in the legalisation of overarm and in the same year Wisden Cricketers' Almanack was first published.
The "Great Cricketer", W G Grace, made his first-class debut in 1865. His feats did much to increase the game's popularity and he introduced technical innovations which revolutionised the game, particularly in batting.
A cricket match at Darnall, Sheffield in the 1820s.
International cricket begins
The first ever international cricket game was between the USA and Canada in 1844. The match was played at the grounds of the St George's Cricket Club in New York.[11]
In 1859, a team of leading English professionals set off to North America on the first-ever overseas tour and, in 1862, the first English team toured Australia.
Between May and October 1868, a team of Australian Aborigines toured England in what was the first Australian cricket team to travel overseas.
In 1877, an England touring team in Australia played two matches against full Australian XIs that are now regarded as the inaugural Test matches. The following year, the Australians toured England for the first time and were a spectacular success. No Tests were played on that tour but more soon followed and, at The Oval in 1882, arguably the most famous match of all time gave rise to The Ashes. South Africa became the third Test nation in 1889.
National championships
A major watershed occurred in 1890 when the official County Championship was constituted in England. This organisational initiative has been repeated in other countries. Australia established the Sheffield Shield in 1892–93. Other national competitions to be established were the Currie Cup in South Africa, the Plunkett Shield in New Zealand and the Ranji Trophy in India.
The period from 1890 to the outbreak of the First World War has become an object of nostalgia, ostensibly because the teams played cricket according to "the spirit of the game", but more realistically because it was a peacetime period that was shattered by the First World War. The era has been called The Golden Age of cricket and it featured numerous great names such as Grace, Wilfred Rhodes, C B Fry, K S Ranjitsinhji and Victor Trumper.
Balls per over
In 1889 the immemorial four ball over was replaced by a five ball over and then this was changed to the current six balls an over in 1900. Subsequently, some countries experimented with eight balls an over. In 1922, the number of balls per over was changed from six to eight in Australia only. In 1924 the eight ball over was extended to New Zealand and in 1937 to South Africa. In England, the eight ball over was adopted experimentally for the 1939 season; the intention was to continue the experiment in 1940, but first-class cricket was suspended for the Second World War and when it resumed, English cricket reverted to the six ball over. The 1947 Laws of Cricket allowed six or eight balls depending on the conditions of play. Since the 1979/80 Australian and New Zealand seasons, the six ball over has been used worldwide and the most recent version of the Laws in 2000 only permits six ball overs.
Growth of Test cricket
When the Imperial Cricket Conference (as it was originally called) was founded in 1909, only England, Australia and South Africa were members. India, West Indies and New Zealand became Test nations before the Second World War and Pakistan soon afterwards. The international game grew with several "affiliate nations" getting involved and, in the closing years of the 20th century, three of those became Test nations also: Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
Test cricket remained the sport's highest level of standard throughout the 20th century but it had its problems, notably in the infamous "Bodyline Series" of 1932–33 when Douglas Jardine's England used so-called "leg theory" to try and neutralise the run-scoring brilliance of Australia's Don Bradman.
Suspension of South Africa (1970–91)
See also: International cricket in South Africa from 1971 to 1981
The greatest crisis to hit international cricket was brought about by apartheid, the South African policy of racial segregation. The situation began to crystallise after 1961 when South Africa left the Commonwealth of Nations and so, under the rules of the day, its cricket board had to leave the International Cricket Conference (ICC). Cricket's opposition to apartheid intensified in 1968 with the cancellation of England's tour to South Africa by the South African authorities, due to the inclusion of "coloured" cricketer Basil D'Oliveira in the England team. In 1970, the ICC members voted to suspend South Africa indefinitely from international cricket competition. Ironically, the South African team at that time was probably the strongest in the world.
Starved of top-level competition for its best players, the South African Cricket Board began funding so-called "rebel tours", offering large sums of money for international players to form teams and tour South Africa. The ICC's response was to blacklist any rebel players who agreed to tour South Africa, banning them from officially sanctioned international cricket. As players were poorly remunerated during the 1970s, several accepted the offer to tour South Africa, particularly players getting towards the end of their careers for whom a blacklisting would have little effect.
The rebel tours continued into the 1980s but then progress was made in South African politics and it became clear that apartheid was ending. South Africa, now a "Rainbow Nation" under Nelson Mandela, was welcomed back into international sport in 1991.
World Series Cricket
See also: World Series Cricket
The money problems of top cricketers were also the root cause of another cricketing crisis that arose in 1977 when the Australian media magnate Kerry Packer fell out with the Australian Cricket Board over TV rights. Taking advantage of the low remuneration paid to players, Packer retaliated by signing several of the best players in the world to a privately run cricket league outside the structure of international cricket. World Series Cricket hired some of the banned South African players and allowed them to show off their skills in an international arena against other world-class players. The schism lasted only until 1979 and the "rebel" players were allowed back into established international cricket, though many found that their national teams had moved on without them. Long-term results of World Series Cricket have included the introduction of significantly higher player salaries and innovations such as coloured kit and night games.
Limited-overs cricket
In the 1960s, English county teams began playing a version of cricket with games of only one innings each and a maximum number of overs per innings. Starting in 1963 as a knockout competition only, limited overs grew in popularity and in 1969 a national league was created which consequently caused a reduction in the number of matches in the County Championship.
Although many "traditional" cricket fans objected to the shorter form of the game, limited overs cricket did have the advantage of delivering a result to spectators within a single day; it did improve cricket's appeal to younger or busier people; and it did prove commercially successful.
The first limited overs international match took place at Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1971 as a time-filler after a Test match had been abandoned because of heavy rain on the opening days. It was tried simply as an experiment and to give the players some exercise, but turned out to be immensely popular. Limited overs internationals (LOIs or ODIs, after One-day Internationals) have since grown to become a massively popular form of the game, especially for busy people who want to be able to see a whole match. The International Cricket Council reacted to this development by organising the first Cricket World Cup in England in 1975, with all the Test playing nations taking part.
Increasing use of technology
Limited overs cricket increased television ratings for cricket coverage. Innovative techniques that were originally introduced for coverage of LOI matches was soon adopted for Test coverage. The innovations included presentation of in-depth statistics and graphical analysis, placing miniature cameras in the stumps, multiple usage of cameras to provide shots from several locations around the ground, high speed photography and computer graphics technology enabling television viewers to study the course of a delivery and help them understand an umpire's decision.
In 1992, the use of a third umpire to adjudicate runout appeals with television replays was introduced in the Test series between South Africa and India. The third umpire's duties have subsequently expanded to include decisions on other aspects of play such as stumpings, catches and boundaries. As yet, the third umpire is not called upon to adjudicate lbw appeals, although there is a virtual reality tracking technology (i.e., Hawk-Eye) that is approaching perfection in predicting the course of a delivery.
21st century cricket
Cricket remains a major world sport in terms of participants, spectators and media interest.
The ICC has expanded its development program with the goal of producing more national teams capable of competing at Test level. Development efforts are focused on African and Asian nations; and on the United States. In 2004, the ICC Intercontinental Cup brought first-class cricket to 12 nations, mostly for the first time.
In June 2001, the ICC introduced a "Test Championship Table" and, in October 2002, a "One-day International Championship Table". Australia has consistently topped both these tables in the 2000s.
Cricket's newest innovation is Twenty20, essentially an evening entertainment. It has so far enjoyed enormous popularity and has attracted large attendances at matches as well as good TV audience ratings. The inaugural ICC Twenty20 World Cup tournament was held in 2007 with a follow-up event in 2009. The formation of Twenty20 leagues in India – the unofficial Indian Cricket League, which started in 2007, and the official Indian Premier League, starting in 2008 – raised much speculation in the cricketing press about their effect on the future of cricket.
1877. During this time, the game developed from its origins in England into a game which is now played professionally in most of the Commonwealth of Nations.Origin
No one knows when or where cricket began but there is a body of evidence, much of it circumstantial, that strongly suggests the game was devised during Saxon or Norman times by children living in the Weald, an area of dense woodlands and
clearings in south-east England that lies across Kent and Sussex. In medieval times, the Weald was populated by small farming and metal-working communities. It is generally believed that cricket survived as a children's game for many centuries before it was increasingly taken up by adults around the beginning of the 17th century.[1]It is quite likely that cricket was devised by children and survived for many generations as essentially a children’s game. Adult participation is unknown before the early 17th century. Possibly cricket was derived from bowls, assuming bowls is the older sport, by the intervention of a batsman trying to stop the ball from reaching its target by hitting it away. Playing on sheep-grazed land or in clearings, the original implements may have been a matted lump of sheep’s wool (or even a stone or a small lump of wood) as the ball; a stick or a crook or another farm tool as the bat; and a stool or a tree stump or a gate (e.g., a wicket gate) as the wicket.[2]
Derivation of the name of "cricket"
A number of words are thought to be possible sources for the term "cricket". In the earliest known reference to the sport in 1598 (see below), it is called creckett. The name may have been derived from the Middle Dutch krick(-e), meaning a stick; or the Old English cricc or cryce meaning a crutch or staff.[2] Another possible source is the Middle Dutch word krickstoel, meaning a long low stool used for kneeling in church and which resembled the long low wicket with two stumps used in early cricket.
According to Heiner Gillmeister, a European language expert of Bonn University, "cricket" derives from the Middle Dutch met de (krik ket)sen (i.e., "with the stick chase"), which also suggests a Dutch connection in the game's origin. It is more likely that the terminology of cricket was based on words in use in south east England at the time and, given trade connections with the County of Flanders, especially in the 15th century when it belonged to the Duchy of Burgundy, many Middle Dutch[3] words found their way into southern English dialects.[4]
First definite reference
John Derrick played creckett at The Royal Grammar School in GuildfordDespite many prior suggested references, the first definite reference to the game is found in a 1598 court case concerning dispute over a school's ownership of a plot of land. A 59-year old coroner, and Mr Derrick's account proves beyond reasonable doubt that the game was being played in Surrey c.1550.[5]
The first reference to it being played as an adult sport was in 1611, when two men in Sussex were prosecuted for playing cricket on Sunday instead of going to church.[6] In the same year, a dictionary defines cricket as a boys' game and this suggests that adult participation was a recent development.[5]
John Derrick, testified that he and his school friends had played creckett on the site fifty years earlier. The school was the Royal Grammar School, Guildford
Early 17th century
A number of references occur up to the English Civil War and these indicate that cricket had become an adult game contested by parish teams, but there is no evidence of county strength teams at this time. Equally, there is little evidence of the rampant gambling that characterised the game throughout the 18th century. It is generally believed, therefore, that village cricket had developed by the middle of the 17th century but that county cricket had not and that investment in the game had not begun.[1]
The Commonwealth
After the Civil War ended in 1648, the new Puritan government clamped down on "unlawful assemblies", in particular the more raucous sports such as football. Their laws also demanded a stricter observance of the Sabbath than there had been previously. As the Sabbath was the only free time available to the lower classes, cricket's popularity may have waned during the Commonwealth. Having said that, it did flourish in public fee-paying schools such as Winchester and St Paul's. There is no actual evidence that Oliver Cromwell's regime banned cricket specifically and there are references to it during the interregnum that suggest it was acceptable to the authorities providing it did not cause any "breach of the Sabbath".[1] It is believed that the nobility in general adopted cricket at this time through involvement in village games.[5]
Gambling and press coverage
Cricket certainly thrived after the Restoration in 1660 and is believed to have first attracted gamblers making large bets at this time. In 1664, the "Cavalier" Parliament passed the Gaming Act 1664 which limited stakes to £100, although that was still a fortune at the time,[1] equivalent to about £12 thousand in present day terms [7]. Cricket had certainly become a significant gambling sport by the end of the 17th century. There is a newspaper report of a "great match" played in Sussex in 1697 which was 11-a-side and played for high stakes of 50 guineas a side.[6]
With freedom of the press having been granted in 1696, cricket for the first time could be reported in the newspapers. But it was a long time before the newspaper industry adapted sufficiently to provide frequent, let alone comprehensive, coverage of the game. During the first half of the 18th century, press reports tended to focus on the betting rather than on the play.[1]
Cricket and crisis
Cricket faced its first real crisis during the 18th century when major matches virtually ceased during the Seven Years War. This was largely due to shortage of players and lack of investment. But the game survived and the "Hambledon Era" proper began in the mid-1760s.
Cricket faced another major crisis at the beginning of the 19th century when a cessation of major matches occurred during the culminating period of the Napoleonic Wars. Again, the causes were shortage of players and lack of investment. But, as in the 1760s, the game survived and a slow recovery began in 1815.
MCC was itself the centre of controversy in the Regency period, largely on account of the enmity between Lord Frederick Beauclerk and George Osbaldeston. In 1817, their intrigues and jealousies exploded into a match-fixing scandal with the top player William Lambert being banned from playing at Lord's Cricket Ground for life. Gambling scandals in cricket have been going on since the 17th century.
In the 1820s, cricket faced a major crisis of its own making as the campaign to allow roundarm bowling gathered pace.
Nineteenth century cricket
The game also underwent a fundamental change of organisation with the formation for the first time of county clubs. All the modern county clubs, starting with Sussex in 1839, were founded during the 19th century.
No sooner had the first county clubs established themselves than they faced what amounted to "player action" as William Clarke created the travelling All-England Eleven in 1846. Though a commercial venture, this team did much to popularise the game in districts which had never previously been visited by high-class cricketers. Other similar teams were created and this vogue lasted for about thirty years. But the counties and MCC prevailed.
The growth of cricket in the mid and late 19th century was assisted by the development of the railway network. For the first time, teams from a long distance apart could play one other without a prohibitively time-consuming journey. Spectators could travel longer distances to matches, increasing the size of crowds.
In 1864, another bowling revolution resulted in the legalisation of overarm and in the same year Wisden Cricketers' Almanack was first published.
The "Great Cricketer", W G Grace, made his first-class debut in 1865. His feats did much to increase the game's popularity and he introduced technical innovations which revolutionised the game, particularly in batting.
A cricket match at Darnall, Sheffield in the 1820s.
International cricket begins
The first ever international cricket game was between the USA and Canada in 1844. The match was played at the grounds of the St George's Cricket Club in New York.[11]
In 1859, a team of leading English professionals set off to North America on the first-ever overseas tour and, in 1862, the first English team toured Australia.
Between May and October 1868, a team of Australian Aborigines toured England in what was the first Australian cricket team to travel overseas.
In 1877, an England touring team in Australia played two matches against full Australian XIs that are now regarded as the inaugural Test matches. The following year, the Australians toured England for the first time and were a spectacular success. No Tests were played on that tour but more soon followed and, at The Oval in 1882, arguably the most famous match of all time gave rise to The Ashes. South Africa became the third Test nation in 1889.
National championships
A major watershed occurred in 1890 when the official County Championship was constituted in England. This organisational initiative has been repeated in other countries. Australia established the Sheffield Shield in 1892–93. Other national competitions to be established were the Currie Cup in South Africa, the Plunkett Shield in New Zealand and the Ranji Trophy in India.
The period from 1890 to the outbreak of the First World War has become an object of nostalgia, ostensibly because the teams played cricket according to "the spirit of the game", but more realistically because it was a peacetime period that was shattered by the First World War. The era has been called The Golden Age of cricket and it featured numerous great names such as Grace, Wilfred Rhodes, C B Fry, K S Ranjitsinhji and Victor Trumper.
Balls per over
In 1889 the immemorial four ball over was replaced by a five ball over and then this was changed to the current six balls an over in 1900. Subsequently, some countries experimented with eight balls an over. In 1922, the number of balls per over was changed from six to eight in Australia only. In 1924 the eight ball over was extended to New Zealand and in 1937 to South Africa. In England, the eight ball over was adopted experimentally for the 1939 season; the intention was to continue the experiment in 1940, but first-class cricket was suspended for the Second World War and when it resumed, English cricket reverted to the six ball over. The 1947 Laws of Cricket allowed six or eight balls depending on the conditions of play. Since the 1979/80 Australian and New Zealand seasons, the six ball over has been used worldwide and the most recent version of the Laws in 2000 only permits six ball overs.
Growth of Test cricket
When the Imperial Cricket Conference (as it was originally called) was founded in 1909, only England, Australia and South Africa were members. India, West Indies and New Zealand became Test nations before the Second World War and Pakistan soon afterwards. The international game grew with several "affiliate nations" getting involved and, in the closing years of the 20th century, three of those became Test nations also: Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
Test cricket remained the sport's highest level of standard throughout the 20th century but it had its problems, notably in the infamous "Bodyline Series" of 1932–33 when Douglas Jardine's England used so-called "leg theory" to try and neutralise the run-scoring brilliance of Australia's Don Bradman.
Suspension of South Africa (1970–91)
See also: International cricket in South Africa from 1971 to 1981
The greatest crisis to hit international cricket was brought about by apartheid, the South African policy of racial segregation. The situation began to crystallise after 1961 when South Africa left the Commonwealth of Nations and so, under the rules of the day, its cricket board had to leave the International Cricket Conference (ICC). Cricket's opposition to apartheid intensified in 1968 with the cancellation of England's tour to South Africa by the South African authorities, due to the inclusion of "coloured" cricketer Basil D'Oliveira in the England team. In 1970, the ICC members voted to suspend South Africa indefinitely from international cricket competition. Ironically, the South African team at that time was probably the strongest in the world.
Starved of top-level competition for its best players, the South African Cricket Board began funding so-called "rebel tours", offering large sums of money for international players to form teams and tour South Africa. The ICC's response was to blacklist any rebel players who agreed to tour South Africa, banning them from officially sanctioned international cricket. As players were poorly remunerated during the 1970s, several accepted the offer to tour South Africa, particularly players getting towards the end of their careers for whom a blacklisting would have little effect.
The rebel tours continued into the 1980s but then progress was made in South African politics and it became clear that apartheid was ending. South Africa, now a "Rainbow Nation" under Nelson Mandela, was welcomed back into international sport in 1991.
World Series Cricket
See also: World Series Cricket
The money problems of top cricketers were also the root cause of another cricketing crisis that arose in 1977 when the Australian media magnate Kerry Packer fell out with the Australian Cricket Board over TV rights. Taking advantage of the low remuneration paid to players, Packer retaliated by signing several of the best players in the world to a privately run cricket league outside the structure of international cricket. World Series Cricket hired some of the banned South African players and allowed them to show off their skills in an international arena against other world-class players. The schism lasted only until 1979 and the "rebel" players were allowed back into established international cricket, though many found that their national teams had moved on without them. Long-term results of World Series Cricket have included the introduction of significantly higher player salaries and innovations such as coloured kit and night games.
Limited-overs cricket
In the 1960s, English county teams began playing a version of cricket with games of only one innings each and a maximum number of overs per innings. Starting in 1963 as a knockout competition only, limited overs grew in popularity and in 1969 a national league was created which consequently caused a reduction in the number of matches in the County Championship.
Although many "traditional" cricket fans objected to the shorter form of the game, limited overs cricket did have the advantage of delivering a result to spectators within a single day; it did improve cricket's appeal to younger or busier people; and it did prove commercially successful.
The first limited overs international match took place at Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1971 as a time-filler after a Test match had been abandoned because of heavy rain on the opening days. It was tried simply as an experiment and to give the players some exercise, but turned out to be immensely popular. Limited overs internationals (LOIs or ODIs, after One-day Internationals) have since grown to become a massively popular form of the game, especially for busy people who want to be able to see a whole match. The International Cricket Council reacted to this development by organising the first Cricket World Cup in England in 1975, with all the Test playing nations taking part.
Increasing use of technology
Limited overs cricket increased television ratings for cricket coverage. Innovative techniques that were originally introduced for coverage of LOI matches was soon adopted for Test coverage. The innovations included presentation of in-depth statistics and graphical analysis, placing miniature cameras in the stumps, multiple usage of cameras to provide shots from several locations around the ground, high speed photography and computer graphics technology enabling television viewers to study the course of a delivery and help them understand an umpire's decision.
In 1992, the use of a third umpire to adjudicate runout appeals with television replays was introduced in the Test series between South Africa and India. The third umpire's duties have subsequently expanded to include decisions on other aspects of play such as stumpings, catches and boundaries. As yet, the third umpire is not called upon to adjudicate lbw appeals, although there is a virtual reality tracking technology (i.e., Hawk-Eye) that is approaching perfection in predicting the course of a delivery.
21st century cricket
Cricket remains a major world sport in terms of participants, spectators and media interest.
The ICC has expanded its development program with the goal of producing more national teams capable of competing at Test level. Development efforts are focused on African and Asian nations; and on the United States. In 2004, the ICC Intercontinental Cup brought first-class cricket to 12 nations, mostly for the first time.
In June 2001, the ICC introduced a "Test Championship Table" and, in October 2002, a "One-day International Championship Table". Australia has consistently topped both these tables in the 2000s.
Cricket's newest innovation is Twenty20, essentially an evening entertainment. It has so far enjoyed enormous popularity and has attracted large attendances at matches as well as good TV audience ratings. The inaugural ICC Twenty20 World Cup tournament was held in 2007 with a follow-up event in 2009. The formation of Twenty20 leagues in India – the unofficial Indian Cricket League, which started in 2007, and the official Indian Premier League, starting in 2008 – raised much speculation in the cricketing press about their effect on the future of cricket.
Schedule of ODI Matches
Schedule of ODI Matches
South Africa in West Indies 2010
From 22nd May, 2010
Zimbabwe Tri-Series 2010
From 28th May, 2010
Zimbabwe, India, Sri Lanka
Scotland in Netherlands 2010
From 15th Jun, 2010
Asia Cup 2010
From 15th Jun, 2010
Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India
Australia in British Isles 2010
From 17th Jun, 2010
Ireland, Australia, England
England in Scotland 2010
From 19th Jun, 2010
ICC World Cricket League Division One 2010
From 1st Jul, 2010
Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, Scotland
Bangladesh in British Isles 2010
From 8th Jul, 2010
England, Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands
Sri Lanka Tri Series 2010
From 2nd Aug, 2010
India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Afghanistan in Scotland 2010
From 16th Aug, 2010
Pakistan in England 2010
From 10th Sep, 2010
Australia, Pakistan, England
ICC World Cup 2010/11
From 19th Feb, 2011
Bangladesh, India, Kenya, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Canada, Australia, Zimbabwe, England, Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies, Ireland
South Africa in West Indies 2010
From 22nd May, 2010
Zimbabwe Tri-Series 2010
From 28th May, 2010
Zimbabwe, India, Sri Lanka
Scotland in Netherlands 2010
From 15th Jun, 2010
Asia Cup 2010
From 15th Jun, 2010
Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India
Australia in British Isles 2010
From 17th Jun, 2010
Ireland, Australia, England
England in Scotland 2010
From 19th Jun, 2010
ICC World Cricket League Division One 2010
From 1st Jul, 2010
Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Netherlands, Scotland
Bangladesh in British Isles 2010
From 8th Jul, 2010
England, Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands
Sri Lanka Tri Series 2010
From 2nd Aug, 2010
India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Afghanistan in Scotland 2010
From 16th Aug, 2010
Pakistan in England 2010
From 10th Sep, 2010
Australia, Pakistan, England
ICC World Cup 2010/11
From 19th Feb, 2011
Bangladesh, India, Kenya, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Canada, Australia, Zimbabwe, England, Netherlands, Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies, Ireland
Schedule of Test Matches
Schedule of Test Matches
Bangladesh in British Isles 2010
From 27th May, 2010
England, Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands
South Africa in West Indies 2010
From 10th Jun, 2010
India in Sri Lanka 2010
From 10th Jul, 2010
Pakistan in England 2010
From 13th Jul, 2010
Australia, Pakistan, England
England in Australia 2010/11
From 25th Nov, 2010
Bangladesh in British Isles 2010
From 27th May, 2010
England, Bangladesh, Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands
South Africa in West Indies 2010
From 10th Jun, 2010
India in Sri Lanka 2010
From 10th Jul, 2010
Pakistan in England 2010
From 13th Jul, 2010
Australia, Pakistan, England
England in Australia 2010/11
From 25th Nov, 2010
Schedule of Twenty20 Matches
Schedule of Twenty20 Matches
Pearls Cup 2010
From 22nd May, 2010
India in Zimbabwe 2010
From 12th Jun, 2010
Pakistan in England 2010
From 5th Jul, 2010
Australia, Pakistan, England
Pearls Cup 2010
From 22nd May, 2010
India in Zimbabwe 2010
From 12th Jun, 2010
Pakistan in England 2010
From 5th Jul, 2010
Australia, Pakistan, England
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