Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at the international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings in which players have to play until they get all batsmen out; the match ends when all batsmen of the opposing team are out. It is scheduled to last for up to five days with 6 hours of play each day. A minimum of 90 overs are scheduled to be bowled per day making it the sport with the longest playing time. In the past, some Test matches had no time limit and were called Timeless Tests. The term "test match" was originally coined in 1861–62 but in a different context.
Saqlain Mushtaq is a Pakistani cricket coach and former international cricketer who was the head coach of the Pakistani national cricket team between 2021 and 2022. He is best known for pioneering the "doosra", a leg break delivery bowled with an off break action. He was the fastest to reach the milestones of 200 and 250 wickets in ODIs. Mushtaq made history when he became the first Pakistani to take a hat-trick at a Cricket World Cup, which he did against Zimbabwe during the 1999 tournament.
The England men's cricket team represents England and Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club since 1903. England, as a founding nation, is a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) with Test, One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) status. Until the 1990s, Scottish and Irish players also played for England as those countries were not yet ICC members in their own right. England are the current ICC Men's T20 World Cup champions.
The Zimbabwe men's national cricket team, also known as the Chevrons, represents Zimbabwe in men's international cricket and is overseen by Zimbabwe Cricket. Zimbabwe has been a Full Member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1992. As of May, 2023, Zimbabwe was ranked 10th in Tests, 11th in One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 11th in Twenty20 internationals (T20Is) by the ICC.
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 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.It played its first Test match in November 2000 against India with a 9 wicket loss in Dhaka, becoming the tenth Test-playing nation.
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 its members.
Durham County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Durham. Founded in 1882, Durham held minor status for over a century and was a prominent member of the Minor Counties Championship, winning the competition seven times. In 1992, the club joined the County Championship and the team was elevated to senior status as an official first-class team. Durham has been classified as an occasional List A team from 1964, then as a full List A team from 1992; and as a senior Twenty20 team since the format's introduction in 2003.
Kevin Peter Pietersen is a South African-English cricket commentator, conservationist, and former England international captain. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who played in all three formats for England between 2005 and 2014, which included a brief tenure as captain. He won the Player of the Series award for his heroics in 2010 ICC World Twenty20 and for helping the England Cricket Team win their maiden ICC trophy.
The Scotland national cricket team represents the country of Scotland. They play their home matches at The Grange, Edinburgh, and also some other venues.
The Afghanistan men's national cricket team represents Afghanistan in international cricket. Cricket has been played in Afghanistan since the mid-19th century, but it was only in the early 21st century that the national team began to enjoy success. The Afghanistan Cricket Board was formed in 1995, becoming an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001 and a member of the cricket confederation, Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in 2003. After nearly a decade of playing international cricket, on 22 June 2017 full ICC membership was granted to Afghanistan. Alongside Ireland, this took the number of Test cricket playing nations to twelve. Afghanistan is the first country to achieve Full Member status after holding Affiliate Membership of the ICC. In view of the persistent conflict and insecurity in Afghanistan, following this status, the team moved to a new home ground in Dehradun, in India. The current home ground of the Afghanistan Men's Cricket team is the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the UAE.
The Namibia men's national cricket team, nicknamed the Eagles, is the men's team that represents the Republic of Namibia in international cricket. It is organised by Cricket Namibia, which became an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1992.
The Rose Bowl, known for sponsorship reasons as Utilita Bowl, is a cricket ground and hotel complex in West End, Hampshire. It is the home of Hampshire County Cricket Club, who have played there since 2001.
The 2020–23 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League was the first edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League, a One Day International (ODI) league. The league took place from July 2020 to May 2023, and served as part of the 2023 Cricket World Cup qualification process.
The 2019 English cricket season ran between 26 March and 26 September. It was the 120th in which the County Championship has been an official competition and featured first-class, one-day and Twenty20 cricket competitions throughout England and Wales.
The 2021–22 international cricket season took place from September 2021 to April 2022. 29 Tests, 111 One Day Internationals (ODIs), 112 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), 25 Women's One Day Internationals (WODIs), 40 Women's Twenty20 Internationals (WT20Is), and two women's Test matches were scheduled to be played during this period. Additionally, a number of other T20I/WT20I matches were also scheduled to be played in series involving associate nations.
The India women's cricket team toured England to play the England women's cricket team in June and July 2021. On International Women's Day 2021, Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), stated that the India team would play a one-off Women's Test match against the England team. India women last played a Test match in November 2014, against South Africa. In April 2021, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed the fixtures for the tour, including the one-off Test match, three Women's One Day International (WODI) and three Women's Twenty20 International (WT20I) matches.
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 Indian cricket team toured England in August and September 2021 to play five Test matches. Prior to their matches against England, India played New Zealand in the 2021 ICC World Test Championship Final at the Rose Bowl in Southampton in June 2021. The Test series were the first matches of the 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship.
The England cricket team toured Bangladesh in March 2023 to play three One Day International (ODI) and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The ODI series formed part of the inaugural 2020–2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. It was the first bilateral T20I series between the two teams, and England's first tour of Bangladesh since 2016.
The England cricket team toured Pakistan in September and October 2022 to play seven Twenty20 International (T20I) matches as a preparatory series before the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. The English team returned to Pakistan in December 2022 to play three Test matches. The Test matches formed part of the 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship.
