 | |
| Personnel | |
|---|---|
| Owner | England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) |
| Team information | |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Official website | Official Website |
The England Lions (formerly England A) cricket team is England and Wales' "second-tier" team, below the full England cricket team. It is largely intended as a way for promising young cricketers to gain experience of playing international cricket.
Although primarily intended as a touring team, for several years in the 1990s they played one match in England at the start of each season: between 1992 and 1995 against the previous season's county champion and in 1996 and 1997 against a Rest of England team. England A also played two List A games against the full Sri Lankan touring side in England in 1991.
Previously a second tier team known as "England B" played one game against the Pakistanis in 1982 and had made a full tour of Sri Lanka in 1985/86. The first full tour by a team named "England A" was to Zimbabwe in 1989/90, and consisted of three first-class matches and three 50-over games. On this occasion England A played against the full Zimbabwe side, but on subsequent tours their most important opponents have usually been the equivalent A teams of the countries they have been touring. However, England A has toured Australia but had played a match against their Australian A team counterparts until 2021.
They also often play matches against state or provincial sides, and in 2000/01 England A participated in the Busta Cup, the West Indian domestic first-class competition, finishing in third place out of the eight teams taking part. In 2003/04 England A took part in India's Duleep Trophy competition, but failed to progress beyond the group stages after losing both their matches. There were no England A matches played in the period between these two tours.
The newly rebranded England Lions was then integrated with the ECB National Academy, with touring parties taken from the Academy squad. On 15 June 2007, it was announced by the ECB (English & Welsh Cricket Board) the inaugural Lions side would play a one-day touring warm-up match against the West Indies at Worcester. [1] Later in the summer against the touring Indians the Lions drew a 3-day match at Chelmsford and had a one-day match abandoned due to rain at Northampton. [2]
On 4 January 2008 the squad for the England Lions tour of India was named, with Sussex batsman Michael Yardy named as captain. The team competed in the 2008 Duleep Trophy domestic first-class competition in addition to friendly matches. [3]
The following players were named in the squad for the 2023-24 England Lions tour of India.
The captain of the side typically varies from series to series. On this tour, the chosen captain was Josh Bohannon.
| Name | Age | Batting style | Bowling style | County | S/N |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsmen | |||||
| Josh Bohannon | 26 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Lancashire | 30 |
| Keaton Jennings † | 31 | Left-handed | Right-arm medium | Lancashire | 65 |
| Alex Lees † | 30 | Left-handed | Right-arm leg-spin | Durham | 2 |
| Ollie Price | 22 | Right-handed | Right-arm off-spin | Gloucestershire | 81 |
| Wicket-keepers | |||||
| James Rew | 20 | Left-handed | — | Somerset | 89 |
| Ollie Robinson | 25 | Right-handed | — | Durham | 45 |
| All-rounders | |||||
| James Coles | 19 | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | Sussex | 84 |
| Tom Lawes | 21 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | Surrey | |
| Dan Mousley | 22 | Left-handed | Right-arm off-spin | Warwickshire | 96 |
| Pace bowlers | |||||
| Kasey Aldridge | 23 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Somerset | 90 |
| Brydon Carse † | 28 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | Durham | 92 |
| Matthew Fisher † | 26 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Yorkshire | 40 |
| Matthew Potts † | 25 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Durham | 35 |
| Spin bowlers | |||||
| Jack Carson | 23 | Right-handed | Right-arm off-spin | Sussex | 60 |
| Callum Parkinson | 27 | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | Durham | |
† = has played senior international cricket for England.
| Season | Country | First-class v. A team | Other first-class | List A v. A team | Other List A | Twenty20 v. A team | Other Twenty20 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | D | L | W | D | L | W | L | T/NR | W | L | T/NR | W | L | T/NR | W | L | T/NR | ||
| England B (1982–1985/86) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1982 | Pakistan | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1985/86 | Sri Lanka | — | — | — | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| England A (1989/90–2006/07) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1989/90 | Zimbabwe [4] | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1990/91 | Pakistan [5] | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sri Lanka | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1991 | England | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1991/92 | West Indies | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1992 | England | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1992/93 | Australia | — | — | — | 0 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1993 | England | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1993/94 | South Africa | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1994 | England | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1994/95 | India | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1995 | England | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1995/96 | Pakistan | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1996 | England | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1996/97 | Australia | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1997 | England | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1997/98 | Kenya [6] | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 [7] | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1998/99 | Zimbabwe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 [7] | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 [7] | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Africa | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1999/2000 | Bangladesh [8] | — | — | — | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| New Zealand | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2000/01 | West Indies | — | — | — | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2003/04 | India | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2004/05 | Sri Lanka [9] | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2005/06 | West Indies | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2006/07 | Bangladesh | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| England Lions (2007–present) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | West Indies | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 1 [10] | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| India | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2007/08 | India [11] | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2008 | New Zealand | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Africa | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2008/09 | New Zealand | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 2009 | West Indies | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Australia | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2009/10 | Pakistan [12] | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — |
| England [12] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | |
| 2010 | Bangladesh | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| West Indies [13] | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| India [13] | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2010/11 | West Indies [14] | — | — | — | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2011 | Sri Lanka | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2011/12 | Bangladesh | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Sri Lanka | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2012 | West Indies | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Australia | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2012–13 | Australia | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 4 | 1 [15] | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2013 | New Zealand | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bangladesh | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2013/14 | Sri Lanka | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2014 | Sri Lanka [16] | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| New Zealand [16] | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2014/15 | South Africa | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2015/16 | Pakistan [17] | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | Sri Lanka [18] | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pakistan [18] | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2018 | West Indies [19] | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| India [19] | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Team | First-class | List A | Twenty20 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | D | L | W | L | T/NR | W | L | T/NR | |
| Australians | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Australia A | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Bangladesh | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Bangladesh A | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Bangladeshis | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Barbados | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Border | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Central Districts | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Central Zone | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Combined XI | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Combined Campuses and Colleges | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eastern Province | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| East Zone | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| England | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Essex | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Gauteng XI | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Guyana | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| India A | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Indian Board President's XI | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Indians | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Indian Youth XI | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jamaica | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Karachi | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Karnataka | — | — | — | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Kenya | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — |
| Leeward Islands | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mashonaland | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Middlesex | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Natal | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| New South Wales | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — |
| New Zealand A | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| New Zealand Academy | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| New Zealanders | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Northern Transvaal | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| North Island | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Orange Free State | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pakistan A | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| Pakistan Cricket Board XI | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Pakistan Cricket Board Patron's XI | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pakistanis | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pakistan University Grants Commission | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Queensland | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| The Rest | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Africa A | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — |
| South African Board President's XI | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Africans | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — |
| South Australia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Southern Districts XI | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Island | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Zone | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sri Lanka | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Sri Lanka A | 4 | 7 | 1 | 9 | 11 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Sri Lanka Board President's XI | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Sri Lanka Colts XI | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sri Lanka Cricket Combined XI | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Sri Lanka Emerging Players | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sri Lankans | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Tamil Nadu | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tasmania | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Transvaal | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| United Arab Emirates | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Victoria | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Warwickshire | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Western Province | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| West Indians | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — |
| West Indies A | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — |
| West Indies B | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| West Zone | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Windward Islands | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Zimbabwe A | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Zimbabwe Country Districts | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Zimbabwe Cricket Academy | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — |
| Zimbabwe Cricket Union President's XI | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Up to date as of 16 December 2015.
| |
| |
Vangipurapu Venkata Sai Laxman is a former Indian international cricketer and a former cricket commentator and pundit. A right-hand batsman known for his elegant stroke play, Laxman played as a middle-order batsman in Test cricket. Laxman is currently the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), and the head coach of the India Under-19 and India A teams. Laxman was a member of the Indian team that was one of the joint-winners of the 2002 ICC Champions Trophy, which the title was also shared with Sri Lanka.
Yuvraj Singh is a former Indian international cricketer who played in all formats of the game. He is an all-rounder who batted left-handed in the middle order and bowled slow left-arm orthodox. He has won 7 Player of the Series awards in ODI cricket, which is joint 3rd highest by an Indian, shared with former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly. He is also the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi actor Yograj Singh.
International cricket matches are played between the teams representing their nations, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The main forms are Test matches, One-Day matches and Twenty20 matches.
The Bangladesh men's national cricket team, popularly known as The Tigers, is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). It is a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test, One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) status. It played its first Test match in November 2000 against India with a 9 wicket win in Dhaka, becoming the tenth Test-playing nation. It became an associate member of the ICC in 1977, and competed in six ICC Trophies but performed inconsistently until 1997, which marked the year of their first major victory, winning the 1997 ICC Trophy held in Malaysia. This set Bangladesh on its way of becoming a Test-playing nation, a journey which ended with success in the year 2000.
Hemang Kamal Badani is a former Indian international cricketer. He is a left-handed batter and an occasional slow left-arm bowler. He had represented the Indian cricket team while also representing Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Haryana and Vidarbha in domestic cricket.
The Kenya men's national cricket team represents the Republic of Kenya in international cricket. Kenya is an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) which has Twenty20 International (T20I) status after the ICC granted T20I status to all of their members.
The following is a list of important cricket related events which occurred in the year 2005.
The Bangladesh A cricket team, also known as Bangladesh Emerging cricket team, is a cricket team representing Bangladesh, and is the second tier of international Bangladeshi cricket below the full Bangladesh national cricket team. The team played its first game, against the full Pakistan side, in Savar in January 2002.
Michael Howard Yardy is an English cricket coach and former professional cricketer who played limited over internationals for the England cricket team between 2006 and 2015. He played as a left-handed batsman and captained Sussex County Cricket Club. His unusual batting technique attracted a great deal of attention due to a pronounced shuffle from leg to off immediately prior to the bowler releasing the ball. Yardy also bowled slow left arm with a characteristic round armed action, and was used as a bowling all-rounder in England's One Day International and Twenty20 International teams. Yardy retired from professional cricket at the end of the 2015 season. Yardy was a member of the England team that won the 2010 ICC World Twenty20.
The NatWest Series is the name used for One Day International cricket tournaments held in England since 2000. The tournaments are sponsored by the National Westminster Bank.
The England Under-19 cricket team have been playing official Under-19 Test matches since 1974. Prior to 1991/92 they were known as England Young Cricketers.
International cricket played in the 2006 cricket season is defined as matches scheduled between May and August 2006 in all cricketing countries, as well as all international matches scheduled for the 2006 English cricket season. Matches between January and April are defined as belonging to the 2005–06 season, while matches between September and December are defined as the 2006–07 season. The main matches in this period were played in England, as this was in the middle of the English cricket season, but the third edition of the ICC Intercontinental Cup is defined as a part of the 2006 season, even though the tournament stretched into February 2007, and three A teams were also scheduled to tour the northwestern part of Australia in June and July 2006.
International cricket in the 2006–07 cricket season is defined by major statisticians, such as CricketArchive and Wisden, as those matches played on tours that started between September 2006 and April 2007. Two major ICC tournaments are scheduled for this season, with the Champions Trophy played in October in India, and the World Cup taking place in West Indies in March. In addition, England will defend the Ashes when they go to Australia in November, and all the ten Test nations will be in action during November and December – though Zimbabwe, who are playing Bangladesh during this time, withdrew from Test matches throughout 2006 and will thus only be playing One-day International matches.
Shikhar Dhawan is an Indian cricketer. A left-handed opening batsman, he captains Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League and plays for Delhi in first-class cricket. At the 2013 Champions Trophy and 2017 Champions Trophy, Dhawan was the leading run-scorer and was awarded the 'Golden Bat' in both the tournaments. He was the leading run scorer for India at the 2015 Cricket World Cup. He also became the first player in the history of IPL to score two back-to-back centuries. He was awarded the 'Player of the Tournament' for his exploits in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, which he won with his national side. In the 2018 Asia Cup which Dhawan won with his national side, he was named Player Of The Tournament as he was the top scorer of the tournament with the bat.
Cricket was introduced to Sri Lanka in the first quarter of the 19th century, following colonisation of the island by the British. The earliest known match was recorded in 1832 and the earliest first-class one in 1926. The national team has played Test cricket from 1982. The national team has achieved international success by winning the 1996 Cricket World Cup and the 2014 ICC World Twenty20. Cricket is played nationwide with Test venues in Colombo, Galle, Kandy and Moratuwa. The country's most notable players include Aravinda de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga, Rangana Herath, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara and Chaminda Vaas. Administration and governance are performed by Sri Lanka Cricket, which was founded in July 1922 as the Ceylon Cricket Association (CCA). The main domestic competition is the Premier Trophy which attained first-class status in 1988.
Krishnakumar Dinesh Karthik is an Indian professional cricketer and commentator who nationally plays for the Indian Cricket Team and currently in Indian Premier League playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He is also the current captain of the Tamil Nadu cricket team in domestic cricket. He made his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2004. Karthik has become the 4th Indian batsman to play 300 T20 matches. Karthik was a member of the team that won both the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
The 2020 international cricket season took place from May to September 2020. 15 Test matches, 49 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 40 Twenty20 International (T20Is) were scheduled to be played during this period, as well as 8 Women's One Day Internationals (WODIs) and 9 Women's Twenty20 Internationals (WT20Is). Additionally, a number of other T20I/WT20I matches were also scheduled to be played in minor series involving associate nations. The season started with Australia leading the Test cricket rankings, England leading the ODI rankings and Australia leading the Twenty20 rankings.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to cricket around the world, mirroring its impact across all sports. Around the world and to varying degrees, leagues and competitions have been cancelled or postponed.
The 2021 English cricket season began on 4 April and finished on 3 October 2021. It was the 121st season in which the County Championship has been an official competition and featured First-Class, List-A and Twenty20 cricket competitions throughout England and Wales.
