Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field, at the centre of which is a 22-yard (20-metre; 66-foot) pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails (small sticks) balanced on three stumps. Two players from the batting team, the striker and nonstriker, stand in front of either wicket holding bats, while one player from the fielding team, the bowler, bowls the ball toward the striker's wicket from the opposite end of the pitch. The striker's goal is to hit the bowled ball with the bat and then switch places with the nonstriker, with the batting team scoring one run for each of these exchanges. Runs are also scored when the ball reaches the boundary of the field or when the ball is bowled illegally.
John Barton "Bart" King (October 19, 1873 – October 17, 1965) was an American cricketer, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. King was part of the Philadelphia team that played from the end of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I. This period of cricket in the United States was dominated by "gentlemen cricketers"—men of independent wealth who did not need to work. King, an amateur from a middle-class family, was able to devote time to cricket thanks to a job set up by his teammates.
A skilled batsman who proved his worth as a bowler, King set numerous records in the continent of North America during his career and led the first-class bowling averages in England in 1908. He successfully competed against the best cricketers from England and Australia. King was the dominant bowler on his team when it toured England in 1897, 1903, and 1908. He dismissed batsmen with his unique delivery, which he called the "angler", and helped develop the art of swing bowling in the sport. Sir Pelham Warner described Bart King as "one of the finest bowlers of all time", and Donald Bradman called him "America's greatest cricketing son." (Full article...)
Glenn McGrath Glenn McGrath, a retired international Australiancricketer, took a number of five-wicket hauls during his career. In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement, as of October 2024[update], only 54 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers.
McGrath made his Test debut in November 1993, against New Zealand, but it was not until March 1995 that he took his first five-wicket haul in Australia's victory over the West Indies in Barbados; his performance earned him the man of the match award. He followed that three weeks later with six wickets in a defeat in Trinidad. McGrath took 10 of his 29 Test five-wicket hauls in The Ashes (the traditional name for Test matches between Australia and England). During the 1997 Ashes series, McGrath "humiliated" England, taking eight wickets in a single innings at Lord's and restricting England to 77, the lowest total in any Test match at the ground since 1888. A month later, he dismissed seven English batsmen in the first innings at The Oval but despite these performances, Australia did not win either Test match. The 2001 Ashes series saw McGrath make four five-wicket hauls in consecutive matches. He twice took five-wicket hauls in both innings of a Test match – in March 1999 he dismissed five West Indian batsmen in each innings of the first Test of the Frank Worrell Trophy; in the following year, he took ten wickets against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground. (Full article...)
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Gayle has scored 42 centuries for the West Indies. Chris Gayle is a West Indian cricketer who captained the West Indies cricket team from 2007 to 2010. A left-handed batsman, he has scored centuries (100 or more runs in a single innings) in Test and One Day International (ODI) matches on fifteen and twenty-five occasions respectively. He has also scored century in Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket on two occasions. Gayle made his Test debut in March 2000 against Zimbabwe, scoring 33 and 0. He made his first Test century the following year, scoring 175 against the same team during the first match of the 2001 series between the teams. Gayle's first double century came in June 2002 against New Zealand when he scored 204 in a man of the match performance in Queen's Park. He scored his first triple century against South Africa at Antigua Recreation Ground in May 2005. His highest score of 333—fourth highest total for the West Indies—came against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium in November 2010. Gayle is one of four players to score two triple centuries in Test cricket. He has scored centuries against seven different opponents, and has been most successful against New Zealand and South Africa, making three against each of them. He has scored Test centuries at twelve different cricket grounds, including eight at venues outside the West Indies.
Gayle made his ODI debut in 1999 against India, and his maiden century in the format came three years later against Kenya at the Simba Union Ground. His highest score of 215 came during the 2015 Cricket World Cup against Zimbabwe at the Manuka Oval, Canberra. With five scores over 150 in ODIs, he is joint-third in the list. Gayle has scored ODI centuries at nineteen different cricket grounds. Eighteen of his ODI centuries came at fifteen different venues outside the West Indies. Along with Shikhar Dhawan, Herschelle Gibbs, and Sourav Ganguly, Gayle holds the record for the most centuries in the ICC Champions Trophy, with three. (Full article...)
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Don Bradman scored 29 centuries in Test Cricket. Australian cricketer Sir Don Bradman, often recognized as the greatest batsman of all time, scored twenty-nine Test cricketcenturies during his international career which lasted from 1928 to 1948. However, his cricketing career was interrupted from 1940 to 1946 due to the outbreak of World War II, followed by poor health. He assumed captaincy of the Australian side in 1946, and scored fourteen of his centuries as captain. Bradman holds the world record for the most double centuries scored by a single batsman, with twelve to his name. He was the first of four batsmen to have twice scored triple centuries, Brian Lara, Virender Sehwag and Chris Gayle. His total of nineteen centuries against England remains the world record for the highest number of centuries against a single team.
When he made 334—his first triple century—against England in the 1930 Ashes, Bradman scored 309 of those runs on 11 July 1930, which remains as the highest number of runs scored by a single batsman in one day. It was the highest individual Test score until Wally Hammond scored 336 in 1933. Len Hutton then surpassed Wally Hammond with 364 in 1938 which stood until 1958 when Garfield Sobers scored 365 not out. Later Brian Lara scored 400 in 2004. In the same series, Bradman went on to score a further century and two more double centuries, accumulating 974 runs in 7 innings—the most runs scored by one batsman in a single series. In 1937, Bradman, suffering from influenza and coming in at the seventh position, scored 270 to guide his team to victory against England. It was rated as the best Test innings of all time by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2001. It is also the highest score made by a number 7 batsman, while his 304 against England in 1934 was the highest score made by a number 5 batsman, until January 2012, when Michael Clarke made 329* against the touring Indians. (Full article...)
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Boon scored 26 international centuries for Australia David Boon is a former international cricketer who represented Australia between 1984 and 1996. A right-handed batsman who primarily played as an opener, Boon took part in 107 Test matches and 181 One Day Internationals (ODIs) for his country and scored centuries (100 or more runs in a single innings) on twenty-one and five occasions respectively.
Boon made his Test and ODI debuts against the West Indies in 1984. He made his first Test century in December 1985, when he scored 123 against India at the Adelaide Oval. He achieved his highest Test score in 1989, when he made 200—his solitary double-century—against New Zealand at the WACA Ground, Perth. Boon scored three centuries in three consecutive Tests, against India during the 1991–92 home series; he achieved the feat once more in the 1993 Ashes series. His accomplishments with the bat during the 1993 English cricket season led to Wisden naming him as one of their Cricketers of the Year in 1994 and describing him as "the most assured batsman in the Australian team". As of 2017[update], Boon is ninth (with Neil Harvey) in the list of leading Test century-makers for Australia. He scored centuries against six different opponents, including six outside Australia. He was most successful against England, scoring seven Test centuries; six of his Test centuries came against India. (Full article...)
AB de Villiers is a former South African cricketer who captained the national team between 2012 and 2017. A right-handed batsman, he scored 47 centuries (100 or more runs in a single innings)—22 in Tests and 25 in ODIs—over his playing career. He reached the top of the ICC Test batting rankings in March 2012.
De Villiers made his Test debut in December 2004 against England, scoring 28 and 15. He made his first Test century the following month, scoring 109 in the drawn fifth Test at Centurion. His first double-century came in April 2008 against India when he scored 217 not out in a man-of-the-match performance in Ahmedabad. He has scored 22 Test centuries and holds the record for the second-highest individual score by a South African batsman, with 278 not out against Pakistan. De Villiers has the fourth-highest number of centuries in Tests for South Africa. (Full article...)
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Wilfred Rhodes made the most appearances for England in Tests between 1877 and 1914. The England cricket team represented England, Scotland and Wales in Test cricket. England played Australia in the first ever Test match, which took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 1877. Although four touring parties of English players had visited Australia prior to 1877, the Australian team had not previously been considered strong enough to play on equal terms. The two matches between the English cricketers and the Australians were retrospectively granted Test status.
Between 1877 and 1914, when competitive cricket was interrupted by the First World War, England played 123 Test matches, resulting in 59 victories, 22 draws and 42 defeats. For much of this period, England and Australia were the only Test playing countries and played each other every year or two. In 1888–89, England toured South Africa and played two matches subsequently deemed to be Test matches. Subsequently, the sides played each other sporadically and from 1906 fixtures were played as frequently as the Ashes series. In 1912, the three sides competed in a Triangular Tournament, which was deemed a failure, partly due to a damp English summer and in part because of the perceived complexity of the tournament. (Full article...)
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Vernon Philander has conceded the fewest runs while taking a five-wicket haul. In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. A five-wicket haul on debut is regarded by the critics as a notable achievement. As of September 2024, 174 cricketers have taken a five-wicket haul on Test match debut, out of which twenty-five were from the South Africa national cricket team. The five-wicket hauls have come against six different opponents, and the South Africans have performed this feat fifteen times against England. Of the twenty-two matches where a South African debutant has taken a five-wicket haul, twelve have ended in defeat, six in victory and the other four in a draw. The five-wicket hauls were taken at eleven different venues, six of them being taken at the Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town.
Albert Rose-Innes was the first South African to take a five-wicket haul on Test cricket debut. He took 5 wickets for 43 runs against England in 1889. In the second Test of the series, Gobo Ashley took 7 wickets for 95 runs, in what turned out to be his only appearance in Test cricket. When the country was re-admitted to play competitive cricket in 1991, Lance Klusener became the first debutant to take a five-wicket haul. His 8 wickets for 64 runs against India in November 1996 remain the best bowling figures in an innings by a South African on debut. Sydney Burke and Alf Hall are the only South African debutants to collect 10 or more wickets in a match as of February 2015. Klusener's figures, along with George Bissett's 5 for 37 runs, were included among the "Top 100 Bowling performances of all time" by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002. Neil Brand is the latest cricketer to achieve this feat; he took 6/119 against New Zealand in February 2024. (Full article...)
Kenya gained ODI status in its own right following a strong performance in the 1996 World Cup, a competition they qualified for by gaining a second-placed finish in the 1994 ICC Trophy. The team's first ODI came against India in the 1996 World Cup, a competition for which Kenya was given temporary ODI status, with the team then playing four further matches in the competition. Kenya's first ODI win came in their fourth World Cup match against the West Indies. The Kenyans won the game by 73 runs but ultimately finished last in group A. Kenya have since qualified for four more Cricket World Cups. They reached the group stage in the 1999 competition, the 2007 competition and the 2011 competition. At the 2003 Cricket World Cup, partly hosted in Kenya, the Kenyan team finished second in their group and in doing so qualified for the Super Sixes stage. Kenya finished third in the Super Sixes stage and qualified for the semi-finals where they lost to India by 91 runs. The Kenyan team have played 154 ODI games with the most recent coming in 2014. Thomas Odoyo and Steve Tikolo have played the most ODIs for Kenya with 131 each. Tikolo has scored the most runs with 3369 for the team while Odoyo has taken the most wickets with 141. (Full article...)
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Gloucestershire's first ever match was played at Durdham Down in 1870, but it was the only time the county club played there. Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire, is one of the 18 member clubs of the English County Championship. The club was established in 1846 following the merger of the Mangotsfield Cricket Club and West Gloucestershire Cricket Club and played under the latter name until 1867, after which it became the Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. It has played first-class cricket since 1870, List A cricket since 1963 and Twenty20 cricket since 2003.[A] Unlike most professional sports, in which a team usually has a single fixed home ground, county cricket clubs have traditionally used different grounds in various towns and cities within the county for home matches, although the use of minor "out grounds" away from the club's main headquarters has diminished since the 1980s. Gloucestershire have played home matches at eighteen different grounds.
The club's first home match in first-class cricket was played at Durdham Down in the Clifton district of Bristol. This was the only time the county used this venue for a match. The following year Gloucestershire began to play matches at the Clifton College Close Ground in the grounds of Clifton College in the same part of the city, and this remained a regular venue for the county until the 1930s, hosting nearly 100 first-class matches. In 1872 the county used a venue outside Bristol for the first time when they played at the College Ground in the grounds of Cheltenham College. This venue has continued to be used regularly for the county's annual "Cheltenham festival" event, which in the modern era incorporates additional charity events and off-field entertainment. In 1889 Gloucestershire began to play matches at the County Ground in Bristol, which has subsequently served as the club's main headquarters and hosted the majority of the county's matches. It was here that the club played its first List A match in 1963 against Middlesex, and its first Twenty20 match forty years later against Worcestershire. Bristol is not officially part of Gloucestershire and has been considered an independent county since 1373, though it was officially part of the county of Avon from 1974 until 1996. Somerset have played first-class matches at other venues in the city. (Full article...)
Kohli made his debut against Sri Lanka in August 2008, and scored his first century the following year when he made 107 against the same team at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. His 86-ball 133 not out against Sri Lanka in February 2012 led India to the second highest run-chase by any team in Australia. Former Australian cricketer Dean Jones described the innings as "One of the greatest ODI knocks of all time!". Kohli's highest score of 183 came against Pakistan during the 2012 Asia Cup; India successfully chased a target of 330 set by Pakistan and Kohli was adjudged man of the match. Following that, he made his first century as a captain while playing against the West Indies in the 2013 Triangular Series. In the bilateral series against Australia in October 2013, Kohli made two centuries in successful run-chases. The first of the two, 100 not out, was scored off 52 balls and remains the fastest ODI century by an Indian. The next century, which was scored off 61 balls, remains the third-fastest by an Indian as of September 2019[update]. In November 2023, he went past Sachin Tendulkar's record for most ODI centuries when he made his 50th century in the format; he scored 117 against New Zealand at the 2023 Cricket World Cup knockout stage. (Full article...)
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The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based "primarily for their influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming of "Six Great Bowlers of the Year", and continued with the naming of "Nine Great Batsmen of the Year" in 1890 and "6 Great Wicket-Keepers" in 1891.
Since 1897, with a few notable exceptions, the annual award has recognised five players of the year. No players were named in 1916 or 1917, as the First World War prevented any first-class cricket being played in England, while in 1918 and 1919 the recipients were five schoolboy cricketers. From 1941 to 1946, the Second World War caused the same issue and no players were named. Three players have been sole recipients: W. G. Grace (1896), Plum Warner (1921) and Jack Hobbs (1926). The latter two selections are the only exceptions to the rule that a player may receive the award only once. Hobbs was first recognised in 1909, but was selected a second time in 1926 to honour his breaking W. G. Grace's record of 126 first-class hundreds; Warner was first honoured in 1904, but received a second award in 1921 for his last season in first-class cricket, when he led Middlesex to a County Championship win. John Wisden, cricketer and eponymous founder of the almanack, was featured in a special commemorative section in the Jubilee edition of the publication in 1913, 29 years posthumously. (Full article...)
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Imran Khan, a retired Pakistanicricketer and former Prime Minister of Pakistan, took 24 five-wicket hauls during his career in international cricket. In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement, and as of October 2024[update], only 54 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers. A right-armfast bowler who represented his country between 1971 and 1992, Khan was described by the BBC as "one of the finest fast bowlers cricket has ever seen", while ESPNcricinfo declared him as "the greatest cricketer to emerge from Pakistan, and arguably the world's second-best allrounder after Garry Sobers". In 1983 he was named as one of the five Cricketers of the Year by the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, and was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in January 2009.
Khan made his Test debut in 1971 against England at Edgbaston Cricket Ground. His first Test five-wicket haul came in 1977 against Australia in a match at Melbourne Cricket Ground which Pakistan lost. In the same year, he took his first pair of five-wicket hauls in a single match against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. By the end of his career, he had claimed five-wickets hauls in both innings of a match on three occasions. His career-best figures for an innings were 8 wickets for 58 runs against Sri Lanka at Gaddafi Stadium, in March 1982. He took ten or more wickets in a match on six occasions. (Full article...)
Image 3Broadhalfpenny Down, the location of the first First Class match in 1772 is still played on today (from History of cricket)
Image 4A wicket consists of three stumps, upright wooden poles that are hammered into the ground, topped with two wooden crosspieces, known as the bails. (from Laws of Cricket)
Image 5New articles of the game of cricket, 25 February 1774 (from Laws of Cricket)
Image 6The boundary can be marked in several ways, such as with a rope. (from Laws of Cricket)
Image 7A 1793 American depiction of "wicket" being played in front of Dartmouth College. Wicket likely came to North America in the late 17th century. (from History of cricket)
Image 9A Game of Cricket at The Royal Academy Club in Marylebone Fields, now Regent's Park, depiction by unknown artist, c. 1790–1799 (from History of cricket)
Image 10Photograph of Miss Lily Poulett-Harris, founding mother of women's cricket in Australia. (from History of women's cricket)
Image 11Plaquita, a Dominican street version of cricket. The Dominican Republic was first introduced to cricket through mid-18th century British contact, but switched to baseball after the 1916 American occupation. (from History of cricket)
Image 14Afghan soldiers playing cricket. Afghan refugees in Pakistan brought the sport back to Afghanistan, and it is now one of the most popular sports in the country. (from History of cricket)
Image 15In men's cricket the ball must weigh between 5.5 and 5.75 ounces (155.9 and 163 g) and measure between 8.81 and 9 in (22.4 and 22.9 cm) in circumference. (from Laws of Cricket)
Image 16 First Grand Match of Cricket Played by Members of the Royal Amateur Society on Hampton Court Green, August 3rd, 1836 (from History of cricket)
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the international governing body of cricket, and produces team rankings for the various forms of cricket played internationally.
![Image 1 Glenn McGrath Glenn McGrath, a retired international Australian cricketer, took a number of five-wicket hauls during his career. In cricket, a five-wicket haul (also known as a "five–for" or "fifer") refers to a bowler taking five or more wickets in a single innings. This is regarded as a notable achievement, as of October 2024[update], only 54 bowlers have taken 15 or more five-wicket hauls at international level in their cricketing careers. McGrath made his Test debut in November 1993, against New Zealand, but it was not until March 1995 that he took his first five-wicket haul in Australia's victory over the West Indies in Barbados; his performance earned him the man of the match award. He followed that three weeks later with six wickets in a defeat in Trinidad. McGrath took 10 of his 29 Test five-wicket hauls in The Ashes (the traditional name for Test matches between Australia and England). During the 1997 Ashes series, McGrath "humiliated" England, taking eight wickets in a single innings at Lord's and restricting England to 77, the lowest total in any Test match at the ground since 1888. A month later, he dismissed seven English batsmen in the first innings at The Oval but despite these performances, Australia did not win either Test match. The 2001 Ashes series saw McGrath make four five-wicket hauls in consecutive matches. He twice took five-wicket hauls in both innings of a Test match – in March 1999 he dismissed five West Indian batsmen in each innings of the first Test of the Frank Worrell Trophy; in the following year, he took ten wickets against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground. (Full article...)](/wiki/File:Blank.png)
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