History

There is a consensus of expert opinion that cricket may have been invented during Saxon or
Norman times by children living in the Weald, an area of dense woodlands and clearings in
south-east England. The first reference to cricket being played as an adult sport was in 1611, and
in the same year, a dictionary defined cricket as a boys' game. There is also the thought that
cricket may have derived from bowls, by the intervention of a batsman trying to stop the ball
from reaching its target by hitting it away.

Village cricket had developed by the middle of the 17th century and the first English “county
teams” were formed in the second half of the century, as “local experts” from village cricket
were employed as the earliest professionals. The first known game in which the teams use county
names is in 1709. 

In the first half of the 18th Century cricket established itself as a leading sport in London and the
south-eastern counties of England. Its spread was limited by the constraints of travel, but it was
slowly gaining popularity in other parts of England and Women’s Cricket dates back to the 1745,
when the first known match was played in Surrey.

In 1744, the first Laws of Cricket were written and subsequently amended in 1774, when
innovations such as lbw, a 3rd stump, - the middle stump and a maximum bat width were added.
The codes were drawn up by the “Star and Garter Club” whose members ultimately founded the
famous Marylebone Cricket Club at Lord's in 1787. MCC immediately became the custodian of
the Laws and has made revisions ever since then to the current day.

Rolling the ball along the ground was superseded sometime after 1760 when bowlers began to
pitch the ball and in response to that innovation the straight bat replaced the old “hockey-stick”
style of bat. The Hambledon Club in Hampshire was the focal point of the game for about thirty
years until the formation of MCC and the opening of Lord's Cricket Ground in 1787.

Cricket was introduced to North America via the English colonies as early as the 17th century,
and in the 18th century it arrived in other parts of the globe. It was introduced to the West Indies
by colonists and to India by British East India Company mariners. It arrived in Australia almost
as soon as colonisation began in 1788 and the sport reached New Zealand and South Africa in
the early years of the 19th century.
history of cricket in India
The British brought cricket to India in the early 1700s, with the first cricket match played in 1721. In
1848, the Parsi community in Mumbai formed the Oriental Cricket Club, the first cricket club to be
established by Indians. After slow beginnings, the Europeans eventually invited the Parsis to play a
match in 1877.  By 1912, the Parsis, Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims of Bombay played a quadrangular
tournament with the Europeans every year. In the early 1900s, some Indians went on to play for the
England cricket team. Some of these, such as Ranjitsinhji and Duleepsinhji were greatly appreciated
by the British and their names went on to be used for the Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy – two
major first-class tournaments in India. In 1911, an Indian men's cricket team, captained by Bhupinder
Singh of Patiala, went on their first official tour of the British Isles, but only played English county
teams and not the England cricket team.

ICC Development

There are 104 Member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). This includes 12 Full Members
and 92 Associate Members.

Cricket numbers have increased significantly

The ICC Global Development team who are based across five continents is tasked with building a bigger,
better global game by assisting the 92 Associate Members (AMs) grow and improve the standard of cricket
within the different territories. The team provides global support through a number of services to the Members
which can range from assistance on governance, high performance, growth of the game at grassroots level,
marketing and communications expertise and how to develop commercial strategies within an organisation.
Over the past 20 years the amount of cricket being played in AMs has increased significantly, to the point
where there are now over 1.5 million participants currently in the game of cricket, outside the Full Member
nations.

A number of countries are involved in ICC Qualifying Events

The team are also responsible for implementing and administering the qualifying event structures and
investment provided to the 92 Associate Member (AMs) countries by the ICC to assist the development of
cricket across the globe through the ICC Development Funding Model.

History of ICC
1909-1963
1964-1988
 1989-PRESENT
 ICC OFFICE BEARERS

1909 - 1963
 1909 - 1963 - Imperial Cricket Conference
The governing body of world cricket, which has 105 countries currently in membership, began its life with
some very tentative steps. On 30th November, 1907 the President of the South African Cricket Association,
Abe Bailey, wrote a letter to F.E. Lacey, MCC Secretary. Bailey, having accompanied the South African team
on their tour of England, was now on his way home.

Test match cricket in 1912

Bailey suggested the formation of an 'Imperial Cricket Board'. The Board's function would be to formulate a
set of rules and regulations to govern international matches involving England, Australia and South Africa. He
also wished to promote a Triangular Test series between the three countries in England in 1909. Though what
was classified as a Test match had taken place on their own soil as far back as 1889, South Africa's 1907 tour
to England was the first such visit to include official Test Matches. South Africa had first played Tests against
Australia in 1902/03. 

The idea of a Triangular Tournament found favour in England, but was rejected by Australia. This was
probably on financial grounds - Australia had agreed to tour England in 1909 and was not keen to share the
tour with South Africa. Bailey was not deterred and continued to lobby both MCC and Australia. On 15th
June, 1909 representatives of all three countries met at Lord's under the chairmanship of the President of MCC,
the Earl of Chesterfield, and agreed to stage a Triangular Test Tournament. A month later, under Lord Harris's
chairmanship, a second meeting set the Imperial Cricket Conference on its way, when rules were agreed to
control Test cricket between the three nations. The Triangular Tournament duly took place in England in 1912.
The weather that summer was appalling and problems in Australia meant that their major cricketers refused to
come. The tournament was not a success.

The MCC England Cricket Team In The West Indies

There was no further meeting of the Conference until 1921, when the main discussions centered on the use of
eight-ball overs. Five years went by without a further meeting, but in 1925-26, MCC sent a team to the West
Indies, a visit of particular interest to Lord Harris, who had spent his early years in Trinidad. A West Indies
side came close to beating MCC in Georgetown and this performance strengthened the home side's resolve to
join the Test-playing countries. When the Imperial Cricket Conference met in England in 1926, delegates from
West Indies, New Zealand and India were invited to attend. Later that summer, Lord Harris presided at a
second meeting at The Oval, where it was agreed that the membership of the ICC should comprise, 'governing
bodies of cricket in countries within the Empire to which cricket teams are sent, or which send teams to
England.' This definition rather unfortunately excluded the United States, which had regularly received teams
from England since 1859 and had dispatched several teams to England. The meeting effectively created three
new Test playing nations, West Indies, New Zealand and India. West Indies played their first Test in 1928,
New Zealand in 1929-30 and India in 1932.
Pakistan v Commonwealth XI 1949

From now onward, the ICC met on an almost annual basis except during the war years. The main business of
these meetings was to set out future Test tours, check that players were properly qualified and encourage the
use of turf pitches as against matting ones. Possible law changes, the enlargement of the wickets for example,
also came under discussion.

The next major event was the admission to the ICC on 28 July, 1952 of Pakistan, and in October of that year,
Pakistan played their first Test match. In May 1961, South Africa withdrew from the Commonwealth and was
thus no longer eligible for ICC membership. However, they did send an 'observer' to the ICC meeting that
summer.

 1964 - 1988
1964 - 1988 - International Cricket Conference
In 1964, Pakistan suggested an expansion of the ICC in order to include non-Test playing countries. The
following year at the July meeting, the ICC changed its name to International Cricket Conference and
Pakistan's idea was acted upon - USA, Ceylon and Fiji being admitted to a new type of membership named
Associate. South Africa did not apply to rejoin. The Netherlands, Denmark, Bermuda and East Africa became
Associates in 1966. At the same meeting, after several years of debate, a 'throw' was redefined. The basic rules
of ICC were amended in 1969.

The squads from the inaugural 1975 World Cup

At the 1971 Conference, the possibility of a World Cup was mooted and ideas requested from members; in the
same year, the voting system was amended with full members (i.e. Test playing countries) having two votes
each and Associates, one. A scheme to stage a World Cup (60 overs-per-side) in England during 1975 was
approved in 1973; East Africa and Sri Lanka were invited to take part, as well as the six Test playing countries.

New Associate members were regularly added - Argentina, Israel and Singapore in 1974, West Africa in 1976
and Bangladesh in 1977. It was agreed to stage a competition for Associate members, with the most successful
nations qualifying to play in future World Cups. 1978 was largely occupied with the controversy surrounding
World Series Cricket, the matches staged by the Australian media magnate Kerry Packer, which attracted
many of the world's best players and, for a time, threatened to de-rail official Test cricket.
The Bangladesh team celebrate their victory over Fiji in the ICC Trophy
In 1978, Papua-New Guinea joined as an Associate, but South Africa's application to rejoin was rejected. After
several years of trying, Sri Lanka was raised to full membership in July 1981 and played their first Test in
February 1982. The problem of whether to re-admit South Africa occupied much time at the 1981 Conference
before their application was again rejected. 1982 saw the idea of an international panel of umpires for Tests
being discussed. In 1984, a third category of membership was approved - Affiliate - with Italy being the first to
gain admittance; Switzerland followed in 1985. New Affiliates in 1987 were Bahamas and France, followed by
Nepal in 1988.

989 - present
1989 - present - International Cricket Council
A special meeting in 1989 agreed a set of rules effectively banning from Test cricket players who had sporting
links with South Africa. In July of the same year, the ICC had another name change - to International Cricket
Council - but still retained the three initials that had served from its inception. This was also the year in which
the practice of the President of MCC automatically assuming the chairmanship of ICC came to an end, but
with the election of Colin Cowdrey, it was still a British hand at the helm. The newly-named organisation had
more teeth: it was no longer confined to making recommendations to national governing bodies; now it could
impose binding decisions on Members.

UAE joined as an Associate in 1990. January 1991 saw the first ICC meeting away from England - in
Melbourne, where the discussions centered on the appointment of independent Match Referees, created to
enforce the proposed new Code of Conduct for the players. In July, South Africa was re-admitted as full
Members and the ban on players who had sporting connections with South Africa was revoked. Zimbabwe was
admitted as a full Member, their first Test being in October 1992. Namibia joined as an Associate and Austria,
Belgium, Brunei and Spain as Affiliates. A revised set of ICC Regulations was published.

The nine competing teams of the 1992 Cricket World Cup

The most far-reaching effect of the changes at this time was the creation, in 1993, of the post of Chief
Executive of ICC, a position to which David Richards of the Australian Cricket Board was appointed. Then, in
July, Sir Clyde Walcott, from Barbados, was elected the first non-British Chairman, in succession to Sir Colin
Cowdrey, who had been very active in encouraging cricket development in countries with little tradition of the
game.

Since its inception, the ICC had been run as a virtual appendix to MCC. Even after MCC's influence within the
game in England had been curtailed by the formation of the Cricket Council and the Test and County Cricket
Board in 1969, and after the club's annually changing President had no longer assumed the chairmanship of
ICC, MCC's Secretary was still performing the same administrative function for ICC. But with Richards'
appointment, this came to an end. Another change saw ICC with its own office for the first time, though this
was still at Lord's, with a separate office soon established for commercial purposes in Monaco.

For thirty years, from the time of South Africa's withdrawal, England and Australia had enjoyed the status of
'Foundation members,' and this effectively meant that little could be achieved unless the two countries
concurred. But with the implementation of the new Regulations, all this changed. England and Australia lost
their special privilege, all Test playing countries now being of equal standing.

New technology was becoming available around this time to show with increasing accuracy the correctness of
umpires' decisions. 1993 saw the first chance for umpires in Test matches to refer doubtful line decisions to a
third umpire equipped with video playback facilities. By 1995, it had been agreed that TV replays should be
available in Tests 'wherever possible' and that the third umpire should signal out with a red light and not out
with a green. The following year, cameras were also permitted to pronounce whether a ball had crossed the
boundary. In 1997, the third umpire could be called on to rule on the cleanness of catches. This was also the
year in which, for the first time, the Duckworth-Lewis method of adjusting targets in rain-affected matches
was trialled by ICC in ODIs.

New countries joining ICC were Ireland (1993), Scotland (1994) and Italy (1995) as Associates, and Greece,
Thailand, Vanuatu and Portugal as Affiliates, whilst Nepal was raised to Associate status in 1996. Problems
occurred in 1996, when there was much bitter wrangling as it became clear that no candidate could command
the necessary two-thirds majority to succeed Sir Clyde Walcott, who was to retire from the chairmanship the
following year. A meeting in Kuala Lumpur in March 1997 resolved the impasse with a revised ICC structure.

ICC Cricket World Cup winners 1999

Implementing proposals drawn up by Sir John Anderson, Chairman of New Zealand Cricket, ICC became an
incorporated body with a President, an appointment which was to be assigned to a member country who would
then nominate an individual to serve in the role for a period of three years. India was the choice, and Jagmohan
Dalmiya became the first man to hold this new office, with the policy and direction of ICC now vested in an
executive board comprising representatives of all the Test-playing nations plus three Associate members.
Reporting to that board were committees covering cricket, development and finance and marketing.

Bangladesh's application for full membership was deferred in 1998, but France and Uganda were raised to
Associates and Kuwait, Luxembourg and Malta became Affiliates. Match-fixing and betting by players and
other officials had featured in the media: in April 1999, a Code of Conduct Commission under Lord Griffiths,
a British law lord with first-class cricket experience, was set up to investigate the rumours. This was followed
by the setting up of an anti-corruption unit under Sir Paul Condon, the former Commissioner of the
Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom.

In 2000, on the completion of Dalmiya's term in office, Malcolm Gray from Australia became President, and in
July 2001, Malcolm Speed succeeded David Richards as Chief Executive. A full-time panel of eight elite
umpires, who would stand in all Test matches, was created in 2002, one umpire from a non-competing country
having stood with an official of the home country in all Tests since 1994. In March 2004, a new ICC
Intercontinental Cup was inaugurated for major Associate members and the matches were granted first-class
status.

ICC umpires inspect the pink ball during a day/night test match
In August 2005, ICC left its base at Lord's to set up its new headquarters in Dubai, there was also a crucial
development in the same year when it was decided that the International Women's Cricket Council would
merge with the existing International Cricket Council to form one unified body to manage and develop cricket
worldwide.

In Dubai, the ICC was under the presidency of David Morgan until 2010, until he was succeeded by Sharad
Pawar until 2012, who was eventually replaced by Alan Issac until 2014. Mustafa Kamal served in the position
for a year, until the final standing President Zaheer Abbas undertook the role in 2015. Then in 2016 the ICC
elected its first independent Chairman, Mr Shashank Manohar, a role he continues in to the current day.

The current Chief Executive former South African player David Richardson has been in post since 2012,
taking over from Haroon Lorgat who was in the role from 2008 to 2012, succeeding Speed. ICC continues to
face such matters as match-fixing, player conduct, the use of floodlights and the challenge of balancing the
three formats of the game, including the recent inception of day/night Test matches.

ICC Office Bearers

ICC Presidents
Lord Colin Cowdrey 1989 - 1993*
Sir Clyde Walcott 1993 - 1997*
Jagmohan Dalmiya 1997 - 2000
Malcolm Gray 2000 - 2003
Ehsan Mani 2003 - 2006
Percy Sonn 2006 - 2007
Ray Mali 2007 - 2008
David Morgan 2008 - 2010           
Sharad Pawar 2010 - 2012
ICC Presidents
Alan Isaac 2012 - 2014
Mustafa Kamal 2014 - 2015*
Zaheer Abbas 2015 - 2016*
 

ICC Chairs

N.Srinivasan 2014 - 2015        

Shashank Manohar 2015 - 2020**

Greg Barclay 2020 - present

 

ICC Deputy
 
Chair
Imran Khawaja 2017 - present

ICC Chief Executives

David Richards 1993 - 2001        
Malcolm Speed 2001 - 2008
Haroon Lorgat 2008 - 2012
David Richardson 2012 - 2019
Manu Sawhney 2019 - 2021
Geoff Allardice 2021 - present
 

*Lord Cowdrey and Sir Walcott have both held the post of Chairman at the ICC. Prior to the appointment of
Mr Richards, the ICC was administered by the secretary of the Marylebone Cricket Club. Mr Mustafa (2014-
2015) and Mr Zaheer (2015-2016) both held the post of President following the 2014 constitutional changes,
which also saw the position of ICC Chairman being created. The position of the ICC President was abolished
in 2016.

** Mr Manohar replaced Mr Srinivasan as the ICC Chairman in October 2015. In April 2016, following
constitutional reforms, Mr Manohar became the first independent elected Chairman of the ICC until the 2018
annual conference

ICC Members
By
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global governing body for international cricket, encompassing
men's, women's and youth participation and competition. It is governed by the ICC Constitution.

It is responsible for the administration of men's and women's cricket including the management of playing
conditions and officials for Test Match and One-Day International (ODI) cricket and the staging of
international cricket events for men, women and juniors.

It has two Membership categories which are as follows:

Full Members are the governing bodies for cricket of a country recognised by the ICC, or nations associated
for cricket purposes, or a geographical area, from which representative teams are qualified to play official Test
matches (12 Members).

Associate Members are the governing bodies for cricket of a country recognised by the ICC, or countries
associated for cricket purposes, or a geographical area, which does not qualify as a Full Member, but where
cricket is firmly established and organised (94 Members).

Board
ICC / IBC / IDI Board Directors Alternate Director

Chair Greg Barclay  

Independent Female
Indra Nooyi  
Director

Chief Executive Geoff Allardice  

     

Country:  Name Name

Afghanistan Mirwais Ashraf  TBC

Australia Mike Baird Richard Freudenstein

Bangladesh Nazmul Hassan Mahbub ul Anam

England & Wales Richard Thompson

 India Jay Shah Roger Binny

Ireland Ross McCollum Michael Howard

New Zealand Martin Snedden TBC

Pakistan Najam Sethi

South Africa Lawson Naidoo TBC

Sri Lanka Shammi Silva Mohan de Silva

Dr. Kishore
West Indies Azim Bassarath
Shallow

Tavengwa
Zimbabwe Ronald Chibwe
Mukuhlani

     

Associate Member Directors:

  Pankaj Khimji  

  Neil Speight  

  Imran Khwaja

The basics of cricket, explained

Cricket is played with two teams of 11 players each. Each team takes turns batting and playing
the field, as in baseball. In cricket, the batter is a batsman and the pitcher is a bowler. The
bowler tries to knock down the bail of the wicket. A batsman tries to prevent the bowler from
hitting the wicket by hitting the ball. Two batsmen are on the pitch at the same time.

SCORING

The batters can run after the ball is hit. A run is scored each time they change places on the
pitch. The team with the highest number of runs (typically in the hundreds) wins the match.

 6 runs: A ball hit out of the field on a fly.

 4 runs: A ball hit out of the field on a bounce.
OUTS (DISMISSALS)
 Bowled out: Bowler knocks over (breaks) the wicket with a bowl.
 Caught out: Fielder catches a batted ball on the fly
 Run out: Fielder catches ground ball and throws it at the wicket, knocking it down
before the batsman gets there.
  Leg before wicket: Batsman's body interferes with a bowled ball that would hit the
wicket.
THE FIELD
Circular, natural or artificial turf

Sizes vary from ground to ground. There are 11 players per team positioned around the oval.

THE BALL
 Construction: Core of cork built up with string, has raised seams.
 Size: Circumference around 9 inches (slightly smaller, harder and heavier than a
baseball).
THE BAT
 Construction: Made of willow wood, with a maximum width of 4.25 inches, and a
maximum length of 38 inches.
THE GAME IS OVER WHEN

Sides take turns batting and fielding. Each at-bat, called an "over," comprises no more than six
bowls per batsman. The fielding team must retire or dismiss 10 batsmen to end the innings
(always plural). World Cup matches are limited to one inning per team and a limit of 50 overs
per inning. Non-elimination games are limited to a single day. Elimination games are allowed a
second day if needed.

SOME CRICKET JARGON

 Bumper or bouncer: A short pitched ball targeted at head height.
 Bunny: Lower order batsman who is easy to dismiss.
 Dibbly-dobbly: A medium to slow-moving bowler.
 Googly or Wrong'un: A ball from the leg spinner which spins the other way.
 Howzat: What fielders yell when they are appealing for a wicket.
 Jaffa: Unplayable ball.
 No Ball: Illegal delivery which adds 1 run to the batting team's total.
 Quack or Duck: When a batsman is dismissed without scoring.
 Ramp: When the ball is intentionally guided over the top of the wicket keeper and
slips from fast-paced bowling.
 Village: Mindless or mediocre play.
 Waft: An unconvincing shot where the batsman waves the bat at the ball without
making contact.
 Yorker: A full pitched ball aimed at the batsman's toes or on the crease line.
 Zooter: A leg spin delivery which skids through low and quick.

Rules of Cricket
Cricket is played by two teams of 11, with one side taking a turn to bat a
ball and score runs, while the other team will bowl and field the ball to
restrict the opposition from scoring. The main objective in cricket is to
score as many runs as possible against the opponent. Before the match
begins, the captain of both teams will toss a coin, with the winner of the
toss being able to decide which team bats and fields first.
Each cricket match consists of periods known as innings, and the
number of innings that each team has will be determined before the
match, usually one or two. During an inning, one team bats the ball while
the other attempts to field. Both teams take turns alternating between
batting and fielding.

The match takes place on an oval cricket field, which consists of a

rectangular pitch in the center. A boundary marks the perimeter of the
field, and can take the form of a fence, ropes or lines. Additionally, a
wooden target known as the wicket is placed on both ends of the
rectangular pitch, approximately 20 meters apart. The wicket is made out
of three stumps, supporting two bails that sit on the stumps.

Lines also mark the pitch, with a line called the bowling crease placed in
line to the wicket. Another line, known as the popping or batting crease,
is located around 1.2 meters in front of the wicket. These creases
determine the area in which the bowler and batter can operate.

While the game is in progress, all 11 members of the fielding team have
to be on the field, but only two members of the batting team are allowed
to be on the playing ground. A player is selected from the fielding team
and he is known as the bowler, while the rest of the 10 players are
known as fielders. The bowler will then attempt to hit the wicket with the
ball, while one of the fielders – specifically known as the wicket keeper –
crouches behind the wicket to catch the ball if it misses.

The batsman from the opposition team will attempt to hit the bowled ball
before it hits the wicket. The rest of the fielders are required to chase the
ball once the batsman has hit it. The role of the batsman is to prevent
the wicket from getting hit by the ball, by batting the ball away.
Additionally, in order to score a run, both batsman have to run from their
respective wickets to the other as many times as possible after a ball
has been hit.
Indian cricket team coaching staff members

 Rahul Dravid (Head Coach)

 Vikram Singh Rathore (Batting Coach)
  Paras Mhambrey (Bowling Coach)
 T Dilip (Cricket Fielding Coach)
 Nitin Patel (Physio)
 Sohum Desai (Strength & Conditioning Cricket Coach)
 Paddy Upton (Mental Conditioning Cricket Coach):
 S Raghu (Throwdown Specialist)

Captain: Rohit Sharma

Greatest players of all time

 10. Mahendra Singh MS Dhoni (India)

 9. Jaques Kallis (South Africa)
 8. Brian Lara (West Indies)
 7. Sir Viv Richards (West Indies)
 6. Shane Warne (Australia)
 5. Sir Ian Botham (England)
 4. Imran Khan (Pakistan)
 3. Sir Garfield Sobers (West Indies)
 2. Sachin Tendulkar (India)
 1. Sir Don Bradman (Australia)